Landing in Alabasta:

SPLOOOSH! They had been sailing along like normal when suddenly the ship started shaking. Waves rose up into the air, the sign of something BIG coming out of the water. The water fell away to reveal a GIANT SEACAT! The monster towered over the ship and had the face and front paws of a cat, one of its catlike ears was pierced with a big golden ring. A fish-like spine went down the seacat's back and its belly was covered in scales. The lower half of the seacat was below water but it comprised of a whale-like tail.

"THAT THING IS HUGE!" Mana exclaimed.

"AAAAAAHHH!" Usopp and Chopper screamed together, "IT'S A SEA MONSTER!" Usopp, Chopper, and Ms. Goldenweek all ducked behind Y/N.

"It's cute," Y/N remarked as he stared up at the giant sea cat while the other three used him as a meat shield.

"ARE YOU NUTS?" Usopp demanded.

"I happen to think that cats are cute," Y/N defended himself.

"Do you?" Mana questioned with a curious look in Nami's direction.

The navigator wasn't paying attention to the sea monster, instead she was focused on the Eternal Pose in her hand. "We're on the right track," Nami noted, "Now if we could just get there alive, that'd be great."

"IT LOOKS LIKE FOOD TO ME!" Zoro shouted as he and Luffy ran up to the front deck. Zoro drew his three swords while Luffy growled and pulled back a fist.

"YEAH! LET'S GO!" Luffy agreed. The swordfish that Y/N and Zoro had caught didn't last long when there were nine people, a reindeer, a duck, and Luffy eating it. Now the pirates, princess, and agents were hungry again. "FOOD FOR MEEEE!"

Reow! The seacat saw the two pirates looking to eat it and backed away from the pirate ship. Luffy and Zoro stared in surprise as the Going Merry continued sailing and went right passed the monster cat.

"HEY! IT'S GETTING AWAY!" Zoro yelled.

"REVERSE! PUT THE SHIP IN REVERSE!" Luffy ordered.

"IT'S A BOAT, WE CAN'T DO THAT!" Usopp snapped.

Luffy and Zoro ran across the ship to the rear deck and glared at the sea cat as the Going Merry sailed away from it. Sanji came running out of the galley.

"HEY! DON'T LET IT GET AWAY!" the cook called out. "IF THE TWO OF YOU DON'T CAPTURE IT, I'LL KILL YOU!" Sanji stood in between Luffy and Zoro and the trio prepared to attack and eat the giant sea cat. "Now seakitten how do you think I should cook you?"

"DON'T!" Vivi shouted, she grabbed a broom and took down Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji with one swing, WHAP-WHAP-WHAP! The captain, swordsman, and cook all collapsed to the deck. The seacat dove into the water and swam away.

"Vivi... what're you doing?" Luffy complained, "I'm hungry!"

"Why? Just why?" Sanji whined, "It was food!"

"Because you can't eat a seacat!" Vivi scolded them. "I just can't let you, seacats are sacred animals in Alabasta."

"There are more animals in the ocean then I thought," Chopper commented as he, Usopp, and Ms. Goldenweek came out from behind Y/N.

"That's nothing!" Usopp boasted as he struck a heroic pose, "You should've seen the monsters in the Calm Belt! While we were there I was almost eaten by a giant frog! But I escaped and named it Gamakiiro!"

"Really?" Chopper and Ms. Goldenweek questioned.

"That one's actually true," Y/N admitted.

"Ugggghhhh..." Luffy groaned as he gnawed on the railing, "Our food got away..."

"Yeah, but don't worry Luffy," Vivi consoled him, "You'll be able to eat really soon."

"Yeah?" Luffy asked with stars in his eyes, "What kind of cat's gonna show up next?"

"Vivi!" Nami called out as she joined them on the rear deck, "the wind and weather seem to be stabilizing."

"We're entering the climate area of Sandy Island," Vivi told her, "Seeing a seacat come out of the water is proof as well."

"Those things behind us are all the proof I need," Zoro stated as he stared out behind them.

Everyone looked off the stern of the ship and saw a fleet of at least ten battleships sailing up behind them.

"That's a lot of ships," Luffy commented, "Who are they?"

"They're all flying the Baroque Works symbol!" Usopp whimpered as he stared through a pair of binoculars. On the main sail of each of the battleships was either the words 'Baroque Works' or a skull with purple wings over crossed swords, the Jolly Roger for Baroque Works.

"It looks like all of Baroque Works has started gathering in Alabasta," Vivi observed.

"Yup," Mana agreed, "those are the Billions; the elite underlings of the Officer Agents."

"Which means there are two hundred enemies waiting for us," Nami reasoned.

"This group will surely be a lot better than the bounty hunters at Whisky Peak," Vivi said.

Usopp ran over to the rear cannon and began aiming it at one of the battleships. "COME ON! LET'S BLOW 'EM ALL AWAY!" Usopp shouted.

"Don't Usopp," Y/N advised, "there's too many of them for us to fight now, especially on the water. If we fight them here the Merry would take a lot of damage."

"Oh... right..." Usopp relented, he didn't want the ship that Kaya had given them to get damaged so he stopped his attack.

"Don't bother with them, they're not worth it," Zoro decided.

"He's right," Sanji agreed, "We need to keep our eyes on the prize or we might lose this all together. After all, nine against two hundred sucks."

"Hey!" Mana protested, "I'd help you!"

"If it came down to dying or helping you, I would too," Ms. Goldenweek announced.

"Hmph," Mr. 5 grunted as he sat against the main mast.

"Still, eleven against two hundred aren't great odds," Y/N pointed out, "if we don't draw attention to ourselves by attacking them we'll be able to land safely." Y/N looked over at the trio of agents, "Now, we're going to discuss our strategy to combat Mr. 2, I need you three to go into the galley so we can keep it a secret."

-x-

A few minutes later, the three Baroque Works Agents were sitting in the galley. Ms. Goldenweek was at the table contently drinking a cup of tea, Mr. 5 sat across from her staring at Mana who was sitting against the door.

"What are you doing?" Mr. 5 growled at Mana.

"Making sure you don't eavesdrop on them," Mana replied with a hard look.

Mr. 5 glared at his partner, she'd gone from happily following along while he carried out their missions to outright defying both him and Baroque Works and believing in accomplishing her silly dream. He knew right then that she was a lost cause.

-x-

"Make sure to tie 'em tight," Zoro instructed as the Straw Hats, Vivi, and Carue sat out on the main deck tying white bandages onto their left arm. Zoro sat on the steps and pulled his bandage tight with his teeth. "We can't afford to be fooled by the enemy's disguises."

"This was a good plan," Vivi agreed as she tied a bandage onto Nami's arm, her own was already in place.

"Now we'll always know who our friends are," Nami reasoned, "just look for the bandage on their arm."

"I knew Zoro's paranoia would come through for us," Y/N commented as he sat by the mast while Usopp tied the bandage onto his arm, the sniper's bandage was already in place. Nearby, Sanji had taken pity on Carue who was tied up in a length of bandages and began tying the bandages around Carue's wing. Across the deck, a bandaged Chopper was tying the bandage onto Luffy's arm.

"Those Clone Clone Fruit Powers were dangerous," Sanji stated.

"You have no idea!" Usopp exclaimed, "they weren't just similar, they were the same!"

"We know that someone with his powers is among the enemy," Zoro reasoned. "So we need to be really careful and be on our guard at all times."

"So... what should I do to help against this guy?" Chopper questioned.

"Just do whatever you can do," Usopp told them. "You're not expected to do anything more. And if you get overwhelmed, then just run."

"Sounds like the pep-talk he's always giving himself," Sanji remarked.

"There's no shame in enacting a strategic withdrawal when you get in over your head," Y/N pointed out. "It happened to me a lot in the New World against the freakishly strong pirates that were there. But I was reassured by the fact that one of my many Nakama, a Division Commander, or even Pops himself would be there to help pick up the slack."

Chopper looked thoughtful, "Whatever I can do..." the reindeer looked up and smiled, "I got it!"

"I CAN SEE THE ISLAND NOW!" Luffy announced.

"Let's stop at a town called Nanohana," Vivi instructed. "We have to hide the ship."

"Okay," Luffy addressed the others, "no matter what happens on that island, remember, this thing on all our arms is a sign of our friendship." They all stood in a circle with the bandage on their left arm proudly on display. "Now let's land! AND THEN WE EAT... oh, and help Vivi."

"That's a side note?" Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, and Chopper grumbled.

"Now remember," Nami instructed Luffy, "our enemy is a gang of assassins. Just try to think before you do anything stupid."

"Yeah, of course," Luffy agreed half-heartedly. "Really, I will. I promise."

"He won't," Y/N whispered to Zoro and Sanji, "so we'll have to be ready to deal with the results of our Captain's stupidity."

"With Luffy, that's a full time job," Sanji muttered.

Vivi stared down at the bandage on her arm and smiled, this meant that she was officially one of them. She wasn't just their friend anymore, they were treating her like part of the crew. The Straw Hats – Vivi and Carue included – had banded together and were now ready to face the problems in Alabasta.

-x-

Ahead of them was Nanohana. You'd never be able to tell that this was the town that had been attacked by pirates two days ago. Everyone was contently going about their lives. The buildings were all made out of large stone blocks, the streets were lined with stalls for the port town's large market. All the people wore desert clothing to combat the heat of the desert island.

The Going Merry was now docked at the shore nearby and the Straw Hats stood on board surveying the desert town.

"So this is an Alabasta town," Usopp commented.

"Is there food?" Luffy wondered.

"Now listen guys," Nami addressed the Straw Hats, "I want you all to do your best to control yourselves while we're here."

"OF COURSE, NAMI!" Sanji quickly agreed.

"You do realize the one who needs to here that warning the most has just abandoned ship," Zoro pointed out.

"NEEEED MEEAAAT NOOOOOOWWW!" Luffy shouted as he sprinted into the desert town in search of food.

"GET BACK HERE!" Nami screamed after him.

"He doesn't know the meaning of control," Usopp complained.

"When we need to find him, just look for the noisiest place in town," Y/N reminded him like he had in Loguetown. The other Straw Hats were wearing their usual clothing while Y/N was now wearing a black t-shirt with a red question mark on it as well as his cowboy hat as he slipped on his sunglasses and shouldered a bag that contained his money and sword before he jumped off the ship and down to the sandy shore.

"Yeah, that's our Luffy," Sanji agreed as he jumped off the ship after Y/N.

"Uh, I wish he'd just remember that he has a bounty on that rubbery head of his," Nami sighed, "Especially when we're in a big country like this."

"Forget about Luffy," Zoro said as he dropped a rope ladder off the side of the ship and climbed down it onto the shore, "He can take care of himself. Now let's go find some food, we can get to work after that." Chopper pulled on his blue backpack and emulated Y/N as he jumped off the ship and landed with the others.

"I guess I should tell you," Vivi said to Nami and Usopp, "Carue and I can't go with you. We'd both be way too recognizable here."

"No worries!" Sani replied, "I'll take care of all your shopping Ms. Vivi!"

"Um... guys?" Mana suddenly called out.

"What's wrong?" Vivi asked.

Mana pointed off the rear deck from where she was standing with Ms. Goldenweek and Mr. 5. "That's Mr. 3's ship." The Straw Hats looked where she was pointing and saw a small ship docked in a cluster of rocks. It had blue and white vertically striped sails, the wick-like '3' that marked it, the big sign that read 'Mr. 3' on the sides and the 'B.W.' on the white rear sail.

"It's not very subtle," Ms. Goldenweek admitted. "But it only works with Mr. 3's wax powers. It's a sure sign that he's here in Alabasta."

"So the bastard's here," Sanji repeated.

"Well this isn't good," Zoro grumbled. "He's seen most of our faces."

"Yeah, but even if he is here in Nanohana, he won't risk a direct attack," Y/N pointed out. "That's not the way that he operates. He's probably lying low to keep from being killed for failing his mission."

"We'll investigate it for you," Mana offered as she leapt from the Merry onto the shore. Mr. 5 followed after her while Ms. Goldenweek climbed down the rope ladder.

"This is where we say goodbye to you Straw Hats," Mr. 5 stated, "So... goodbye." Mr. 5 folded his arms across his chest while Mana shook her head at him.

The blonde former agent turned to Y/N, Zoro, and Sanji, "I have a parting gift for you guys," she told them as she pulled out a bundle of black fabric. "Zoro, Sanji, put these on your preferred limbs, Y/N put them on your wrists and ankles." The three Straw Hats stared at her skeptically as Zoro slipped the black bands on his wrists while Sanji put them on his ankles and Y/N did both.

Mana leaned in and touched each of the bands, when she was done, Zoro's arms hung like a gorilla's and Sanji and Y/N had sunk partially into the sand.

"I saw you training to cut air one night and I think these will help," Mana explained. "Zoro and Sanji's both weigh a thousand kilograms and Y/N, your four weight five hundred. If you get used to wearing them, you'll be able to move your limbs faster when you finally take them off. I thought that if it could work with swinging a sword, then maybe it could work for kicking your leg, so I have the ankle bands for Y/N and Sanji."

Y/N's eye widened in realization, "We realized that cutting air was about the speed we swung with, not the strength we put it in. These will actually be a great help. Thank you."

"So it'll be like we're always training," Zoro realized, "thanks. Now we'll be able master this technique in no time."

"Thank you for your including me in your wonderful gift Miss. Mana!" Sanji swooned.

"There's just one catch," Mana told them with a grin, "I get a hug goodbye from each of you."

"You don't even have to ask!" Sanji exclaimed, he eagerly hugged his fellow blonde, and Y/N followed suit when they were done.

When Mana broke her hug with Y/N she looked over at Zoro and raise her arms expectantly, "Come on," she encouraged the reluctant swordsman, "Give Mana a squeeze." Zoro grumbled to himself as managed to lift his arms high enough to give the blonde former agent a brief hug. "And one for Chopper too," Mana added, she knelt down in front of Chopper and hugged him like he was a big plushie.

The blonde stood up and smiled at the Straw Hats, "I'll never forget you guys and everything you've done for me," Mana told them, "Good luck, and take care."

"As agreed, we'll stay out of the problems in Alabasta," Ms. Goldenweek stated, "thank you for getting us here in one piece. Goodbye." The artist waved to the princess and the pirates and headed off towards Mr. 3's ship.

"Finally," Mr. 5 grunted as he followed behind her. Mana shook her head and went with them.

"I've got it!" Usopp announced, "I know a way we can get Vivi and Carue through town without them being recognized." The sniper grinned, "Usopp has a plan!"

-x-

A moment later, the Straw Hats were making their way through Nanohana. Y/N was at the head of the group still wearing his sunglasses and cowboy hat. Nami and Chopper walked beside him while Vivi walked behind them wearing a hooded black coat that she had borrowed from Y/N. Zoro and Sanji walked behind her, the former carrying a bag that held his and Y/N's swords as well as the money he'd brought along for the trip. Usopp brought up the rear with a Carue-shaped bundle wrapped in a tarp on his back.

"And to think he wanted us to get under that," Nami muttered in reference to Usopp's brilliant plan for all of them to walk through town under the tarp. "Your plan was much better."

"All of us under that would've attracted more attention that we would have avoided," Y/N replied, "if we act casually, they'll think we're just passing tourists. With a market this big, they're probably used to having them." Y/N pointed to a stone ruin on the outskirt of the shopping district. "Let's get behind that wall."

The Straw Hats slipped around a stone wall, Usopp freed Carue from the bundle on his back while Vivi lowered her hood.

"Well now, it looks like you should be safe from prying eyes for now," Sanji told Vivi, but the Princess seemed distracted and didn't respond. "Hello there?"

"GAH, yes!" Vivi quickly agreed, "Sorry for that. I'm just really relieved now. If nothing else, from what I've seen so far, I know that at least this town is doing alright. I can't exactly start resting easy... but it's a good sign."

"I does seem like this is a very peaceful town," Nami admitted.

"Vivi, you said you have a plan for stopping the rebel army, didn't you?" Zoro questioned. Vivi nodded in confirmation. "What are you going to do? What do we need to do to help? If you really want to stop this thing before it starts you need to act quickly."

"I agree with that," Vivi said, "but the only agreement I made was for you to bring me here to Ala—" BONK! Nami cut her off with a hard tap to the forehead.

"Quit it," Nami scolded her, "you're still thinking like that? We traveled this far together after all. We're not gonna run away and leave you now."

"Yeah Vivi, come on," Usopp added, "you're practically one of us now."

"And I wanna see this Warlord of the Sea," Zoro stated.

"You didn't need to bring that up," Nami growled at him before she turned back to Vivi, "Now listen, we're not going to abandon you!"

"You see that thing on your arm right?" Y/N asked, "That means you're practically Nakama." He cast a glance at Nami, "You've seen the things we do for our crew."

"They're trying to kill us too," Sanji pointed out.

"Besides," Nami told Vivi with an evil grin, "If this country gets destroyed we'll be out a big reward for bringing you here, you understand?"

Y/N put a hand on Nami's back, "You can just tell her you care about her. No one will hold it against you."

"SHUT UP!" Nami snapped, she lunged at him and tackled him into the wall then started strangling him.

"Ugghh... See?" Y/N gasped as Nami squeezed his throat, "This is... how she treats... people she... cares about..."

Nami finally stopped strangling Y/N and looked over at Vivi, "So what's this plan of yours?"

"Northwest of the town we're in now is an oasis called Yuba," Vivi explained, "that's where the rebel army is based at the moment. I'd like to go there first in order to head off the rebellion. But, in order to get to Yuba we're going to have to cross through the desert first. We'll need all the necessary supplies to make it. We can find anything we need easily in this town but if Baroque Works is out there waiting for us..."

"If Baroque Works is the only obstacle, we shouldn't have a problem," Sanji reassured her, "they've never seen my face before."

"And I'm going too," Y/N added, "The only one whose seen me is Mr. 3 and I'm good at not calling attention to myself. If Mr. 3 is out there and tries something, I'll make sure he's not a problem anymore."

"There's someone else too," Zoro spoke up as he smiled down at Chopper.

"That's right, Chopper!" Nami realized. The only Baroque Works Agents that knew he existed were the ones that had been on their ship.

"What do you say little brother?" Y/N asked, "Wanna go shopping for supplies?"

"Yeah, I've got it," Chopper agreed, "I want to do whatever I can to help."

"I taught him that!" Usopp bragged.

Chopper transformed into his Walk Point form, "I should bend in fine like this," he reasoned.

"Not quite," Y/N objected, "reindeer don't live in the desert. You'd be better off going in your human form and borrowing my coat from Vivi. Then you'll just look like a big hairy guy."

Chopper transformed into his big Heavy Point form causing Usopp to scream in terror, "AAAAH! MONSTER!"

"Here you go Tony," Vivi said as she took off Y/N's coat and gave it to the reindeer. Chopper quickly took off his hat so he could put the coat on and then he put his pink top hat on top of the raised black hood.

"How's this?" Chopper asked.

"Now that's what I call a brave reindeer," Usopp commented.

"Thank you for doing this," Vivi addressed them, "I really appreciate your help."

"Just leave it to us," Sanji reassured her.

"I made a list of everything we need," Vivi informed them, "Oh, and we'll need some clothes too. Normal clothes so we won't stand out."

"And perfume too!" Nami added.

"Of course!" Sanji agreed.

"We'll keep an eye out for Luffy too," Y/N assured them and with that he, Sanji and Chopper took off into town.

"Hey Y/N, where do you think Luffy went, anyway?" Sanji wondered as they walked away.

"Knowing him, he got lost and ended up in the middle of the desert," Y/N replied.

-x-

Y/N was right. Luffy had run straight out of the town and was now standing in the middle of the desert. "Hmm, there doesn't seem to be any restaurants in this place." Luffy looked around but all he could see was sand. "Aw man, WHERE THE HECK AM I?"

Luffy peered around a sand dune and spotted a stream of smoke rising up in the sky. "Hey... what's that?" The smoke was coming out of a chimney on top of a small house that was situated up against a cliff. The wheels in Luffy's head started turning as he tried to figure out what this meant. "That's smoke. If there's smoke... there's fire... and if there's fire... THERE'S FOOOOOD!" Luffy raced towards the house, his legs were moving so fast that he kicked up as cloud of sand in his wake.

-x-

Dance Powder:

-x-

Y/N, Sanji, and Chopper had made it into the food district of the Nanohana market. Y/N and Chopper enjoyed the smells while Sanji talked with a merchant. The cook turned around and held a stick of meat out in front of Chopper, "It's venison."

"EEP!" Chopper squeaked in terror and hid behind Y/N. It was comical for the villagers to see the eight-foot tall man in the hooded coat and pink top hat trying to hide behind the six-foot man with the sunglasses and cowboy hat while the five foot nine inch blond man in the suit brandished a stick of meat.

"Sanji, get that away from him!" Y/N growled.

"Calm down, I was only joking," Sanji reassured them as he handed the reindeer meat back to the merchant. "This is what's great about traveling around. They have all sorts of interesting ingredients to try."

Sniff! Sniff! "What's that smell?" Chopper wondered as he sniffed the air, his sensitive blue nose had picked up a foreign smell to the transformed reindeer.

"What's wrong Chopper?" Y/N asked.

"There's a strange scent mixed in with all of the food," Chopper told them.

Y/N and Sanji paused and took a whiff, "That's perfume," Sanji explained. "That shop over there sells it." The cook motioned to a store that was painted pink. The purple curtains that were hanging over the door of the store were pushed opened by a pair of brown haired women wearing revealing dancer girl outfits.

"Uhhh... I just don't like that smell at all," Chopper said, "Can we get out of here?"

"Actually Nami wanted us to buy some perfume," Y/N recalled, "Chopper, the reason you probably don't like the smell is because you're smelling it all at once. Some perfumes can be extremely potent, smelling multiple of them together could hurt even my nose after a while." Y/N and Chopper looked up and suddenly realized that they were alone, they looked back over to the perfume shop and saw Sanji flirting with one of the brown haired dancer girls.

"SANJI!" Chopper shouted at him.

A sly grin appeared on Y/N's face as he looked over at Chopper, "Wanna get him back for that venison thing?"

Chopper looked at Y/N and copied his grin, "Oooh yeeeaah,"

"Hello my darling, your outfit is ravishing," he complimented the dancer girl. Her long brown hair was tied back into a ponytail and she wore blue eyeliner and pink lipstick to highlight her face. "But nothing in the world could possibly compare to your amazing eyes and your beautiful smile." The dancer girl's friend who had a darker shade of brown hair and wore it as two pigtails frowned at being overlooked and stood nearby with her hands on her hips.

"Hey Cas, I wondered where you ran off to," Y/N's voice cut in. He walked over wearing a long black coat, his cowboy hat, and his sunglasses. Chopper was in his Brain Point form and was tucked under Y/N's arm. "Oh, hello ladies, I'm Jack, and this is my good buddy, Tony."

"HE'S SO CUTE!" the woman Sanji had been flirting with squealed. "CAN WE PET HIM?"

Y/N grinned, "Go right ahead," he encouraged them. The two women came over and began petting Chopper, the cook frowned as he was completely disregarded in favor of petting the cute reindeer in Y/N's arm.

When the two dancer girls finally finished petting Chopper, the darker haired one with pigtails handed Y/N a slip of paper.

"This is the name of the place we dance at," she informed him, "if you and Tony are going to be in Alabasta for a while, we'd be happy to see you again."

"But be sure to bring Tony," the lighter haired dancer girl with the ponytail added before she leaned in and quickly kissed Chopper on the cheek. The reindeer was already sporting a huge blush from all the attention he was receiving, but now his fur was practically pink.

As the girls walked away Y/N looked down at the still stunned Chopper, "And that, little brother, is why cute and cuddly will always trump sweetl and suavel."

Sanji glared at Y/N but then he smiled when he had an idea, "Hey... do you think I could carry Chopper... just for a bit?"

"You're not carrying Chopper just so you can pick up girls," Y/N stated, "we ruined your chances with those two as payback for the venison thing."

"Fine, no more venison," Sanji conceded. "And did you call me 'Cas'?"

"Short for Casanova," Y/N explained, "It seemed fitting."

"Can we... go now?" Chopper requested, "This perfume is getting to be too much."

"Miss. Nami asked us to get some for her," Sanji remembered.

Y/N put Chopper down then took the coat off and handed it to the reindeer, "Put this back on and wait here," he instructed. "Sanji and I will go in and be as quick as possible. Then we'll leave and get the other supplies."

"Okay..." Chopper agreed, "just... please hurry...this heat's starting to get to me." Y/N nodded and he and Sanji headed for the perfume shop.

"Hey," Sanji said, "do you think I could... have that paper she gave you?" Without a thought, Y/N handed it over. "Maybe after we save Miss. Vivi's kingdom I can stop there for a visit."

-x-

"Hmm..." Luffy said as he stood in front of the house out in the middle of the desert. "This doesn't really look like a restaurant." The building was only one story tall and was made out of tan blocks. On one side of the house was a huge metal funnel that led into a barrel with another bunch of barrels nearby. A large oven was built into the other side of the house and passed that a wooden shelf with an awning over it, the shelf was stocked with a bunch of sacks.

"IS ANYONE HERE?" Luffy called out. "HEELLOOO? I'M HUNGRY!"

Luffy looked up at the smoke coming out of the chimney, "A fire's going but no one's here," he noted, he took a look around and spotted the barrels. They each had a tap drilled into them. "HEY! WATER!" Luffy ran over to the barrels but was disappointed to find that they were empty. "Aww... come on, is a little water too much to ask?"

Luffy held his hands on top of his hat and backed away from the empty barrels, it was then that he spotted the sacks on the other side of the house. "What're those things?" Luffy wondered. "Can I eat it?"

RRRIIIIP! In no time, Luffy had torn almost all of the sacks open but the only thing inside was a strange green powder. "Aww... it's just green powder," he complained. "I wonder if its food. It doesn't look very tasty, that's for sure." Luffy dabbed his finger in the green powder and licked it off. "BLAAGGHHH! THAT'S SO GROSS! YUCK! WHO WOULD EAT THIS STUFF?"

Then Luffy spotted the oven, "Oh, that's perfect," he decided that he was going to rid the world of that disgusting green powder. Luffy quickly stuffed all of the sacks into the burning oven. "This stuff's obviously some kind of poison. BUT NOW IT'S GONE!"

Luffy turned and walked away from the house, he didn't notice that the smoke coming out of the chimney had turned green. THOOOM! Luffy heard the crack of thunder and looked up in the air to see a dark storm cloud up above the house. The green smoke was going up into it.

"What is that?" Luffy questioned before the storm cloud opened up and it started raining. It started lightly but then picked up until it was pouring and Luffy was quickly drenched. Luffy pulled his rubber mouth open and tried to drink the rain as it fell from the sky. "WOW! This is good! I found some water!"

WHAM! A sketchy looking man with graying black hair and a sword burst out of the house. He wore a blue and white striped hat and thick desert clothing. "WHAT'S THIS?" he demanded as he stared at the rain, then looked over and saw that all his sacks were gone. "AAAAAAAHH! THE BAGS WHERE ARE THEY?" The man turned to Luffy and held out his sword, "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO WITH MY BAGS? WHAT DID YOU DO WITH ALL THAT GREEN POWDER?"

"Oh that?" Luffy replied, "It's all burned up now."

"YOU WHAAAT?" the man shrieked, he dropped to his knees and started wailing, "MY PRECIOUS DANCE POWDER! IT WAS MY TREASURE!"

"Hey what's the matter?" Luffy asked as he walked over to the sobbing man wondering what he'd done wrong this time. "What're you so sad about?"

SWISH! The sadness turned to anger and the man swung at Luffy with his sword, but Luffy reacted quickly and jumped over the swing.

"YOU BURNT ALL MY POWDER!" the man growled. "DO YOU HAVE ANY CLUE HOW MUCH THAT COST ME?"

"No," Luffy admitted, "And why would you want the poison anyway?"

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! "THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" the man screamed as he flailed his sword around at Luffy but the rubber pirate managed to noodle around all of the swings. "NOW SHUT UP AND GIMME MY DREAM BACK!"

Luffy jumped away from the man and stared at him in surprise, "Wait... that stuff was your dream?" he asked.

"That's right," the man answered. "That powder was going to help me achieve all my goals!"

"I'm sorry," Luffy apologized as he bowed to the man. He did a lot of stupid stuff but he'd never intentionally destroy someone else's dream without a good reason.

"SORRY'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" the man yelled. "YOU HAVE TO PAY ME FOR IT!"

"Can't do that," Luffy told him, "I don't have any money I can give you."

"BASTARD!" the man snapped as he swung at Luffy again, SWISH! Luffy ducked the sword.

The man lowered his sword and was depressed again and dropped to his knees, "I'd come so far..." he said mostly to himself, "I even built this cabin here..."

"Hey, don't be so down," Luffy attempted to console the man whose dream he had accidentally destroyed. "Can't you just buy some more?"

"It's not all that easy to get," the man explained, "The World Government has outlawed the powder. It's illegal to make or sell it."

Luffy was silent for a moment. Illegal, that meant the man wasn't supposed to have that gross green powder... even if it was his dream. "Illegal?" Luffy repeated. The man flinched and covered his mouth, realizing he'd said too much. "Oh reeeaaally, so you're a criminal?"

"Haah haah," the man chuckled, "that's right..." he grabbed his sword and leapt up into the air and prepared to bring it down on Luffy's head, "NOW YOU DIE!"

-x-

"This isn't good," Chopper thought to himself as he staggered through Nanohana. The blaring heat from the sun overhead combined with his thick fur was almost too much for the poor reindeer. With the overpowering smell of all the perfume lingering in the air the reindeer had just staggered away from the perfume shop and now had no idea where he was. "I think I'm starting to come down with symptoms of heat stroke."

Whap! Chopper flinched when someone tapped him on the shoulder, "Hey buddy, you dropped your hat." Chopper turned around and saw a brown hair man with a short brown beard and mustache wearing a fedora hat and a tan trench coat holding out his pink top hat. Chopper took his hat back while the man's eye narrowed, "What's a yeti doing in a desert kingdom?"

CHUK! Chopper suddenly found himself staring down the barrel of a handheld cannon courtesy of Hannibal King... Monster Hunter.

"WWWAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Chopper screamed and transformed into his Walk Point form and then took off running away from the scary man with a gun.

Han stared after Chopper in surprise, "What the hell was that thing?" he wondered. His face hardened in determination, "Looks like I've got a monster to hunt." The monster hunter looked down at the tracks that Chopper had left in the sand and started following him.

-x-

"Hahh hahhh..." the sketchy man laughed, the rain had stopped and he and Luffy were sitting down in the wet sand outside his cabin. The man was sporting a purple lump on his forehead, a second one on his cheek, and a bloody nose. He hadn't fared well in his fight with Luffy. "My, you're certainly a strong one, aren't you?"

"Sure am," Luffy replied, "No one can beat me."

"I'm not surprised," the man commented, "your fighting style is very unique. Sorry about that."

"Oh, no, no, no," Luffy said, "I'm the one who burned up your powder stuff. I'm sorry."

"Uh... no, why don't we just go ahead and say we're even," the man suggested. "Oh, and if you think you can avoid telling anyone about the water that'd be just great." The man clearly didn't want the fact that he had illegal powder getting out.

"Wait... what was that powder stuff?" Luffy inquired.

"What? You don't know?" the man questioned.

"Nope, but it sure was gross," Luffy admitted.

"Gaahhh..." the man gasped as he was reminded of Luffy eating his treasured illegal powder. "Well it's not food. It's a very special substance known as Dance Powder. It's all called Rain Summoning Powder. That's what caused the sudden downpour we just had." Luffy just stared at the man. "Uhh... would you like me to explain more?"

"Nah, I wouldn't understand," Luffy told him.

"I guess you wouldn't, would you?" the man joked. "Hahahahaha!

"SHISHISHISHI!" Luffy laughed good-naturedly. BONK! Then hit the man on the head. "Hey, don't be so rude, old guy."

"Like I was saying," the man groaned as he recovered from being hit again by Luffy, "the Dance Powder is very special. It can be used to artificially produce rain. Dance Powder works like this..." The man began explaining how Dance Powder worked, but true to his word, Luffy didn't understand it and just nodded where necessary. "Well does all that make sense?"

"So... it's mystery powder," Luffy concluded.

"Yes... well done... that's it exactly..." the man said sarcastically as he hung his head and applauded half-heartedly. He'd just wasted his time with his long explanation.

"You being rude to me again, old man?" Luffy asked. "Why would you wanna use the powder to make rain in the first place?"

"You don't even know the first thing about this country, do you?"

"Nope," Luffy confessed, "I just landed here by boat."

"Well you see," he man explained, "here in Alabasta we're constantly battling drought." At Luffy's confused look the man elaborated, "Drought... is when there is no water and the land dries up."

"GRRR! I KNOW THAT MUCH!" Luffy snapped, BONK! He hit the man on the head again.

"Ughh..." the rude man grunted, "anyway... our country never gets much rain. But it's become much more scarce in recent years."

"That sounds bad," Luffy realized.

"And most of the oases have dried up," the man added.

"So just use the mystery powder then," Luffy told him.

"That's what you would think," the man said, "but as I told you, the World Government has now made Dance Powder illegal. Use of the powder is a crime punishable by execution. The powder is supposedly what started the country's rebellion. I don't know much about that though."

"So was it your dream to help to save your country by using that powder?" Luffy inquired, his respect for the rude old guy had grown but the man looked confused. "Earlier you said the powder was really important."

"Uhh... yeahh... but that wasn't exactly what I had in mind for it," the man confessed. "I thought by selling water in these hard times I could make a lot of money." Luffy's hopes were dashed when the man admitted that he was just a two-bit criminal out to make some quick money off of his fellow citizens while they continued to struggle with the drought.

"Oh well, I don't really care about that," Luffy bluntly told the man as he stood up and adjusted his hat. "I just need to find some place to eat."

"But but but but but... please don't tell anyone about this," the man pleaded, he didn't want to be executed even if his Dance Powder was all gone. "Let's keep it between us, okay?"

"Sure, whatever," Luffy agreed, "It makes no difference." He probably forget all about it once he found some food.

"PLEASE DON'T TELL!" the man begged. "I'LL GIVE YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT!"

POOF! An imaginary miniature Y/N suddenly appeared and floated above Luffy's shoulder. "He did say anything," mini-Y/N advised with a sly grin. "And he doesn't know what you are."

Luffy smiled at the man, "Anything?" he asked.

A moment later Luffy was holding a bundle that contained most of the man's food.

"Well, it was fun," Luffy addressed the man, "And thanks a lot for the food weird old guy."

"Sure, I only hope you enjoy it," the man replied.

"Oh trust me, I will," Luffy assured him, he turned and walked while waving over his shoulder, "See ya around rude old guy!"

"Remember not to tell anyone, okay?" the man called after him.

"Yeah, you got nothing to worry about," Luffy reassured him. "Besides, I couldn't even turn you in if I wanted too." Luffy smiled over his shoulder at the surprised man, "After all, I'm a pirate. SEE YA! THANKS AGAIN FOR THE LUNCH!"

"Hey... not fair..." the man mumbled as he stared after Luffy. He'd given the strange boy food to keep quiet about his criminal activity when he was a criminal himself. It felt odd that a seemingly oblivious boy like him was capable of such an underhanded thing.

-x-

"WWAAAAAAHHHH!" Chopper screamed as he ran through the streets of Naohana to escape the scary man with the gun. Chopper ran passed two people loaded up with packs of supplies when one of them grabbed his backpack and pulled him back to them.

"Chopper what's wrong?" asked the familiar voice of Y/N. He was dressed differently now. He wore a red cloak lined in black over his normal clothes, and a black desert headpiece called a shemagh that covered his red hair and was wrapped around his neck to protect it from the hot sun. He wore his sunglasses and a red sash around his waist that went down to his knee.

"What'd you run off?" Sanji asked, "he was dressed differently too. He wore a desert cloak that was light blue on the top and one the sleeves and white as it went down to his feet as an almost-gown. There were two maroon suns decorating his sleeves and he wore a dark blue hood which was currently down.

"I was overwhelmed with the heat and smells I just staggered off," Chopper quickly answered, "I didn't know where I was going and the next thing I know his scary guy calls me a yeti and points a huge gun at my face!"

"Sanji and I finished the shopping while you were gone," Y/N informed him, "Change back into your small form and I'll carry you back to the others. That way he won't be able to follow your tracks." Chopper quickly shifted into his Brain Point form and Y/N picked him up and carried him and all of his purchases away. Sanji followed after him but neither of the pirates noticed that the weights on their ankles were causing them to leave DEEP tracks in the sand.

-x-

The two brown-haired dancer girls from earlier were walking down a sandy street together.

"What do you think Tony was anyway?" the darker haired one with pigtails wondered.

"I don't know," the lighter haired one with the ponytail admitted, "maybe some kind of raccoon? Whatever he was, he was really cute."

"I thought Jack was kind of cute too," the pigtailed dancer girl told her friend, "he had this mysterious foxy quality to him."

WHAP! The dancer girl was grabbed by the shoulders of her outfit and was pulled around to face a green clothed woman, a pair of intense green eyes bore out of the dark hood.

"What did you say?" the woman demanded. "About a guy named Jack?"

"Th-that h-he had a m-m-mysterious f-foxy quality t-to him," the dancer girl stammered.

"Did he look anything like this?" the woman asked as she held up a wanted poster.

The dancer girl stared passed the middle finger the pirate was giving her and studied his face, "Y-yes, that's him," she answered, "but he was wearing sunglasses so I didn't see the eye patch."

"So he's here," the woman whispered, a smile appeared on her shadowed face. Without another word she released the dancer girl, hefted a long sack back onto her shoulder, and walked off.

"Looks like Jack's a wanted man," the dancer girl with the ponytail pointed out. "You always did have a think for bad boys."

"Yeah," the dancer girl with the pigtails agreed, "but if he's wanted by that woman anyone in their right mind would stay away from him."

-x-

"I LOVE THIS OUTFIT!" Nami exclaimed as she surveyed the outfit that Y/N, Sanji, and Chopper had brought back for her. The navigator was dressed like a dancer girl. The front of her top was practically a bikini, it had a low diagonal cut that showed off her cleavage and was blue in color while decorated in purple waves and blue dots. The back of it was a pink cape that went down to the back of her knees. The bottom of the outfit was a white dress with a matching low cut lined in blue that went down below the navigator's naval. For accessories, she wore a fancy gold necklace, matching gold armbands just below her shoulders, fancy earrings, and I clip in her hair that had it pinned back with the exception of one orange lock that went down her face passed her chin. "Oh yeah, love it!"

Beside her, Vivi also wore a dancer girl outfit but hers was more conservative. It was a dark navy in color and was lined in purple while her cape was white. The cut of the skimpy top was rounder and now as low as Nami's and the waistband of her dress was straight instead of cut and the front had a dark blue flap that was lined in purple going down it. For accessories, she wore a gold bracelet on her right arm, a pair of tasteful earrings, and a simple necklace. Her hair was still in the same style that she usually wore it.

"Uh... I know I asked you to pick out some clothes for us but there are meant for dancer girls," Vivi said as she surveyed her own outfit.

"OOOH MISS. VIVI, YOU'RE A VISION!" Sanji swooned with hearts in his eyes.

"But commoners would wear this," Vivi attempted to explained.

"But aren't dancers common," Sanji countered with a big grin.

"WE'RE CROSSING A DESERT!" Vivi snapped.

"Hey, don't worry!" Sanji reassured her, "if you get tired, my darling, I'll just carry you. Wahahahahaha!"

"It's pointless," Vivi muttered.

"Don't worry," Y/N spoke up from where he was sitting against the wall with Zoro and Chopper eating the food they'd brought back. "I have some actual desert clothes for the two of you. Casanova over there insisted that he knew all your sizes by heart, so the only part in those outfits that I had was the jewelry."

"Heh heh," Zoro chuckled as he gnawed on a leg of chicken, "Casanova."

"Let's see then, let's take a look at you guys," Sanji said as he turned to face the male members of the crew.

Zoro wore a white desert robe over his normal clothes, it was lined in black and was covered in black triangle designs. On his head he wore an orange shemagh that was around his shoulders and covered the back of his neck.

Beside him, Usopp wore a pale green full length robe and a mustard yellow shemagh. His goggles were tied in the top of it.

"Compared to the lovely ladies, you look like sloppy bandits," Sanji commented.

"You might wanna look in a mirror," Zoro retorted.

"Hey Chopper, what're you doing?" Usopp asked as he looked over his shoulder at Chopper.

The poor reindeer was back in his Brain Point form and was clutching his hooves over his nose. Along with his usual maroon shorts he now wore a white t-shirt and an indigo desert robe lined in blue over it. Carue was beside him dressed in his usual with a small water barrel with a straw in it tied to his neck.

"It's that smell," Chopper complained.

"Is he not feeling well?" Nami asked in concern.

"The perfume is bad on Chopper's sensitive nose," Y/N explained. "Poor guy."

"This stuff?" Nami questioned as she held up a bottle of perfume.

"NOT THAT ONE!" Y/N suddenly exclaimed, with surprising speed due to the weights he was wearing he snatched the bottle away from her and stuffed it in his top right pocket. "That's strong one that Sanji and I got to use as a weapon."

"Is it that potent?" Usopp inquired.

"It'll curl your nose," Y/N told him.

"This one is yours Miss. Nami!" Sanji said as he presented Nami with orange tinted glass.

"Citrus?" Nami read off of the label.

"A good perfume should compliment your natural scent instead covering it up," Y/N explained. "You smell like a combination of sea breeze, tangerines, and money. Although, I'm not sure exactly how a person can smell like money and this is coming from a guy that can actually sense it. Just use a light squirt of it so you don't end up making our doctor cry."

Pish! Nami lightly sprayed herself with the perfume.

"OOOH MISS. NAMI!" Sanji moaned, "YOU SMELL JUST LIKE AN ANGEL IN A FIELD OF FRESH FLOWERS!"

"You're an idiot," Zoro muttered.

"GRAAAAHHH!" Sanji snarled at him.

Chopper sat up and smelled the air curiously, Sniff! Sniff! "Actually... that one's not so bad," he admitted. "She smells like Nami... only stronger."

"See, perfume's not so bad when you just isolate one scent," Y/N pointed out. "You were overwhelmed because you were smelling it all at once."

"I'm sorry Tony," Vivi apologized, "but Nanohana is famous for its perfumes."

"At any rate," Usopp spoke up, "at least we've gathered all the supplies we're going to need to cross the desert."

"Yes, that's correct," Vivi answered, "but the trip through the desert will most likely be more difficult than any of you can even begin to imagine. There's no telling what might happen out there. One wrong step at any moment in a desert land like this one and there's no guarantee that we'll all survive. I'm still a little reluctant on asking you to follow me in such a dangerous place. But more than anything... I want to bring peace back to Alabasta. So I guess... I guess I don't have any choice but to ask...HELP ME! Please help me bring peace back to my country!"

"Well you finally said it," Nami commented, she winked and gave the Princess and thumbs up, "It's about time."

"There's no telling what might happen on the sea either, we're used to it," Sanji told her.

"And saving people's homes is kind of what we do," Y/N pointed out as he, Zoro, and Usopp stood up.

"Yeah, it'll be just like any other day," Zoro agreed as he sheathed his three swords at his side.

"Cool! I can't wait to see the desert," Chopper said.

"Quack!" Carue replied.

"OKAY YOU GUYS!" Usopp addressed the crew, "LET'S GO TO YUBA!"

"YEEEAAAHH!" the Straw Hats all cheered.

Vivi smiled happily at her friends, "Thanks."

"Wait a minute... someone's missing," Y/N observed.

"Luffy..." everyone else groaned. The pirate in question was still wandering the desert munching on a rice ball that the rude old guy had given him.

"THAT IDIOT!" Nami shouted. The Straw Hats were ready to head into the desert. Now they just needed their captain.

-x-

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!