Sir Crocodile, Alabasta's Hero:

-x-

"And suddenly... A GIANT SAND DRAGON BURST OUT OF THE SAND AND ATTACKED US!" Usopp screamed as he stood on the main deck later that same day and told another of his farfetched stories to the crew. Y/N, Zoro, Sanji, Vivi, Mana, and Mr. 5 were sitting around in a circle playing cards.

"Uh-huh, a sand dragon," Y/N repeated distractedly before he put down his cards. "Read 'em and weep." There was a collective groan from the other card players.

"Damn it!" Mr. 5 complained, not even bothering to listen to Usopp's story, "That's the fifth hand in a row!"

"Sorry," Y/N apologized, "I've been winning card games all my life. It's not exactly something I can turn on and off. If it'll make you feel better I'll start throwing more hands."

"I say we get Miss. Nami back out here," Sanji suggested, "at least she can keep him in check."

"Yeah but between the two of them none of us would stand a chance," Zoro pointed out. "Our only hope would be them abandoning the game to attack each other."

"Nami's still in her room framing Y/N's money on her wall," Vivi informed them, "her laughter was starting to get unsettling, that's why I came out here."

"Y/N, you should hit a casino," Mana advised, "with your luck you could make a fortune."

"One of my old Nakama and I used to do that all the time," Y/N admitted, "but I always preferred bars with drunken pirates over casinos with rigged games."

"And that's when we realized that there were TWO SAND DRAGONS!" Usopp called out.

"Two sand dragons?" Y/N questioned casually, "really?"

"Really!" Usopp insisted, "Look! We have pictures!" Usopp pointed to Ms. Goldenweek who was standing beside him holding a canvas. It depicted a muscular Usopp with a long blue cape and a staff-like slingshot that was about as tall as he was standing in between two big purple lizard-like dragons.

"Those actually look remarkably like Sandora Dragons," Vivi remarked as she looked at the painting and then gave the artist a hard look, "How did you know w hat they looked like?"

"I didn't," Ms. Goldenweek admitted, "I just painted what he told me to. His stories are a little farfetched but they make interesting artwork. I painted this one for him too..." Ms. Goldenweek pulled another canvas out from behind the first one, it depicted the muscular Usopp with the blue cape riding on the back of a giant condor while using his staff-sized slingshot to lasso the giant bird's neck.

"Just don't show those to Chopper," Y/N warned her, "or someone will actually start to believe Usopp's tall-tales."

The reindeer in question was up on the front deck with Luffy and Carue staring out ahead of the ship as they continued their course towards Alabasta. Luffy was in his special seat on the figure head while Chopper and Carue were behind the front railing on either side of him. They were all sporting big giddy smiles.

"This is amazing Luffy!" Chopper commented, "The sea seems to go on forever!"

"Yeah, it's huge," Luffy agreed, "And pirates are the ones that get to have great adventures on it all the time!"

"Incredible!" Chopper gushed, "Being a pirate must be really great!" A shadow suddenly fell overhead and the three of them looked up to see a bird flying over the ship. "What is that thing?"

"It's a seagull," Luffy decided.

"THAT'S NOT A SEAGULL!" Mana yelled, as they all stared up at the bird that was easily a third of the size of their ship. "IT'S A GIANT... con... dor..." As one, everyone on the main deck turned and stared at Ms. Goldenweek's painting of Usopp and the condor.

"Maybe we should start listening to Usopp's stories," Zoro muttered.

"HEEEEY! SEAGULL!" Luffy called up to the condor.

WOOOOOSH! The giant bird swung around and swooped down over the ship causing waves to splash up over the railing in its wake.

"QUUUUAAAACK!" Carue shrieked in terror.

The condor ascended back up into the air and Chopper and Carue were left staring at the now-empty figurehead. "Where'd Luffy go?" Chopper wondered.

"YAAAHOOOOO!" Luffy cheered from overhead. Everyone looked up and saw the captain clutched in the condor's beak.

"That moron's about to become that bird's dinner," Sanji grumbled.

"Want me to bring it down?" Mr. 5 offered.

"Keep your fingers out of your nose!" Zoro ordered.

"Luffy can handle it," Y/N resolved, "Usopp, how'd you beat your condor?"

"He rode on its back and lassoed its neck," Ms. Goldenweek answered for him.

"LUFFY!" Sanji shouted up at the captain, "LASSO ITS NECK AND BRING IT DOWN!"

WOING! Luffy yanked himself out of the condor's mouth and flipped onto its head, then twisted his arms together before he grabbed it around the neck and jumped off. "GUUUUM... GUUUUUM..." Luffy's arms began unwinding causing the condor to spin around in the iar as he dropped down towards the ship.

"SCATTER!" Zoro yelled.

"HAAAAAMMMMMEEEEEEERRRRR!" WHAAAM! Luffy came down and slammed the condor down onto the main deck, knocking it out cold.

Krek! It was then that Nami finally came out of the storage room, "Hey Y/N I just finished..." she trailed off when she spotted the giant bird on the deck with Luffy sitting on top of it. Zoro, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Vivi, Carue, Mana, Mr. 5, and Ms. Goldenweek were all scattered around the deck.

"Hey Sanji!" Luffy called out to the cook, "Can we eat this?"

"Uhh... it may take a while to prepare," the cook admitted, "but I think I can prepare it."

"Where's Y/N?" Nami questioned as she stared around the deck for any sign of the first mate.

"I... hate... birds..." Y/N's muffled voice came out from under the unconscious bird.

"Quaaaa..." Carue whimpered.

"I'm sure he didn't mean you," Vivi consoled her duck.

-x-

In Alabasta Kingdom, a commotion was arising in the port city of Nanohana. It mainly had to do with the pirate ship anchored at the shore. The figure head was of a pig and the stern was decorated with a pigs tail. The Jolly Roger had a pig nose and a leaf on top of it. The citizens screamed as the pig-pirates ran amok in the sand-filled desert city.

But the civilians panic died down when they saw Crocodile standing on the top of a tall building surveying the chaotic city.

"It's Crocodile!" a woman exclaimed, "he's here! He's here to save us!"

"Huh?" snorted the fat pig-nosed pirate captain. He had gray hair and beady eyes and wore a purple pirate captain's coat while wielding a sword. "Crocodile... one of the Seven Warlords?"

"Calm down ignorant peasants!" Crocodile called out to the civilians from his perch on top of the tall building. "I only came to your pathetic little town for that pirate's head!"

"He's so brave!" a woman swooned.

"And modest," a man added, "he comes to save us and won't take any of the credit. LET'S HEAR IT FOR CROCODILE!"

"Crocodile the Guardian Angle of Alabasta!"

"Crocodile the King of the Desert!"

"Kuahahahahaha," Crocodile laughed, "you peasants can call me whatever you want. But you... you pirates should have stayed out of this country. Now you're gonna pay."

"Hey! Hey!" one of the pig-pirates protested, "I think you're underestimating us a bit!"

"You can't take us all on!" another pig pirate called out.

"THAT'S RIGHT!" the captain of the pig-pirates exclaimed. "You're just a government dog! Who do you think you are acting like a hero!"

"All those who wish to live, lie down now," Crocodile instructed the citizens before he leapt off of the top of the building his was standing on and came flying down towards the pirates.

"HAAA! WHAT AN IDIOT!" the pirate captain commented, "Perfect for target practice! If we take out this guy every last berri in this town will be ours!"

TMP! Crocodile landed in the middle of the crew of pirates... SHUNK! SHUNK! SHUNK! SHUNK! SHUNK! ...and was immediately stabbed by five different swords.

"HAR HAR HAR!" the Captain laughed, "Now there are only six warlords!"

But despite being stabbed, Crocodile didn't show any pain. He just looked bored with the whole situation as he raised the golden hook that was in place of his left hand up over his head.

SHHHWWWWWWOOOOO! A strong wind picked up and the previously blue sky was suddenly filled with sand as the sand in the streets of the desert city swirled around Crocodile and the pirates. The civilians remained down on the ground as the sand picked up and formed a small tornado around Crocodile and the pig-pirates momentarily hiding them from view. SSSSHHHWWWWOOOOOOOOOO!

When the sand finally settled, Crocodile was left standing tall with his hook still poised over his head. The body of the pig-Captain laid at his feet, the once fat pirate captain was now nothing but a skeleton covered in a waxy layer of skin. The expression on its face was a look of horror.

"I'm a different breed of pirate, swine," Crocodile growled at the unmoving captain and his crew. He gathered up the pig pirates' treasure and headed off into the desert.

The citizens got up and saw that their hero Crocodile had saved them again and began cheering. "CROCODILE! CROCODILE! CROCODILE!" They were still cheering when the King's forces finally arrived.

"Looks like he beat us here again," the captain of the King's forces noted. They had come all the way from the capital city only to find that the pirate threat had already been dealt with.

-x-

The King's forces returned to the Royal Palace in Alubarna the capital city of Alabasta and reported what they had found in Nanahana to the king.

"It seems he's always one step ahead of us," King Nefertari Cobra commented. He had long curly black hair and a black beard like a pharaoh.

"By the time we arrived the pirates had already been taken care of," Chaka, the captain of the King's forces reported. He had dark skin as well as black hair and a wide nose that made him look like a wild dog.

"I see, but as long as the citizens are safe, there is no need to worry," King Cobra resolved, "Crocodile has been a great help."

This was a regular happening in Alabasta Kingdom. Crocodile would eliminated pirate threats before the King's forces could even show up and the people would cheer him for his accomplishments. The people and the King had no idea that their hero was conspiring to take over the country.

-x-

A day later, the Going Merry was continuing its course towards Alabasta. Nami and Vivi stood together outside of the galley. The navigator was holding a map and the Eternal Pose that was leading them to Alabasta Kingdom.

"There's no mistaking it," Nami remarked, "I hope you're ready, Vivi. We've almost made it to Alabasta."

"Father, I'll be there soon," Vivi thought to herself after three long years she was finally coming home to save her country.

"Don't you lie to me Luffy!" Sanji growled from on the main deck as he glared at the captain. "Tell me what you know right now." Sanji knelt down and grabbed Luffy's face, "Don't look away from me, I want you to look me in the eyes right now and tell me the truth."

"No idea what you mean Sanji," Luffy said while waving his hand dismissively and attempting to whistle innocently. "I don't know anything, no clue."

"Then let me ask you," Sanji requested, "how did enough food for twelve which i carefully divided up so it would last all the way until we reached Alabasta suddenly go missing in the middle of the night?" Sanji grabbed Luffy's face as he attempted to look away, "Lying is pointless, so just tell me the truth. You have a terrible poker face."

"That's cause our Captain can't lie to save his life," Y/N pointed out as he sat against the main mast, Zoro was sprawled out on the deck next to him fast asleep.

"You're next on my list, One Eye!" Sanji growled.

"Zoro and I were up late last night trying to learn a new technique," Y/N defended himself, "we didn't eat anything."

"I thought I told you to get some sleep," Nami reminded Y/N.

"Well I normally don't sleep much," Y/N pointed out, "when you knocked me out I got caught up with the days worth of sleep I missed. Now I'm back to my regular light sleep schedule."

"Well, unlike Luffy, you can lie," Sanji reasoned he looked back over at the rubber pirate in question. "Hey Luffy, it looks like you have something around your mouth there."

"GAAAH! LEFTOVERS!" Luffy shrieked.

"I WAS YOU!"Sanji yelled. THWAK! The cook kicked Luffy and sent him flying across the deck, Mr. 5 dove to the side to avoid Luffy as he went crashing into the wall next to the door to the anchor room.

"Jerk," Sanji grumbled before he turned to address Nami, "Miss. Nami, we need to do something. We need a better way of keeping the food safe from Luffy. Can we please buy a refrigerator with a lock?"

"You'll have to ask the Financial Manager about that," Nami replied.

"I'll see about getting us one at the next available opportunity," Y/N told him, he looked over at Usopp, Chopper, and Carue who were fishing over the railing while eating 'leftovers' of their own. "Our lives may depend on it."

"WELL! We really do need to catch something for Sanji," Usopp called out loudly as he swallowed the meat he was eating and adjusted his grip on the newly made fishing poles.

Sanji walked over to the three fishermen, completely ignoring Mana and Ms. Goldenweek who were sitting near the door to the storage room enjoying a snack of their own.

"So how's the fishing going?" Sanji inquired causing the trio to jump in surprise.

"Uh... well..." Usopp stammered while he, Chopper, and Carue attempted to look innocent. The cook reached out and placed on hand on Usopp's head and the other on Carue's head, WHAAAM! Sanji smashed Usopp and Carue's heads together sandwiching Chopper in between them. The three fishermen fell to the deck in a heap.

"Pathetic," Sanji muttered, "I can't take my eyes off of anyone."

"Hey, since we're going to be arriving in Alabasta soon, I think we should probably discuss what's going to be waiting there for us," Y/N reasoned.

"Well, if you're going to have this conversation, I'm not going to be here," Mr. 5 announced, he got up and descended down into the men's quarters.

"We're about to discuss information that could get you killed," Y/N informed Mana and Ms. Goldenweek. "You might want to leave like he did."

"You're welcome to help yourself to the tea in the galley," Sanji offered. Ms. Goldenweek got up and headed up the steps into the galley but Mana stayed seated where she was.

"I'm already on Mr. 0's hit list for failing two high-priority missions," Mana pointed out, "I might as well give him a reason to send people after me."

"Then the first thing you'll need to know is that you're boss' name is Sir Crocodile," Y/N explained, "one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. He's been based in Alabasta for the last few years and is seen as a hero there, gallantly defending the country from pirate attacks."

"That explains why he has anyone who learns his identity executed," Mana realized. "If it got out that he was using a criminal organization to incite a civil war and take over the country, his reputation would be ruined."

"And no one's realized what Crocodile's doing yet," Vivi continued, "not the people, not even my father."

Whap! Luffy got up and punched his open hand, "Right! Then all we have to do is beat up that Crocodile-guy," Luffy resolved.

"Yes, but in order to do that we have to avert the civil war in Alabasta and get Baroque Works out of the picture," Vivi told him.

"Then what is Baroque Works?" Chopper inquired as he, Usopp, and Carue pulled themselves up off of the ground.

"Oh, that's right, you don't know about them yet," Usopp realized, "to be honest, it's kind of confusing with all the codenames and stuff..."

"Actually, our system is quite simple..." Vivi started to say but Mana cut her off.

"If you don't mind Miss. Wednesday, I think I can provide a better description," Mana took over. "At the top of the organization is Mr. 0 the President and Ms. All Sunday the Vice President. Under them are five Officer Agents most of them have a female partner that compliments their abilities. As Officer Agents our job is to complete the most important missions. No one's ever seen Mr. 1 and Ms. Double Finger before but I hear rumors that they both have deadly Devil Fruit Powers. Everyone knows about Mr. 2 Bon Kurei, he's unpredictable and wears make up and a ballet costume so he acts as his own partner. You've already dealt with Mr. 3 and Ms. Goldenweek they were an artistic duo. After them comes Mr. 4 who really slow but really strong. His partner is Ms. Merry Christmas, a grouchy old lady. From what I hear she has a Zoan-type Devil Fruit Power and that their teamwork is unmatched. And finally there was me and my partner, Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine we acted as a demolition team. He uses his bombs to blow stuff up, I crush it with my Kilo Kilo Fruit Powers."

"We can attest to that," Usopp piped up.

"Next come the Frontier Agents," Mana continued, "I think I heard Ms. Goldenweek say that her last mission with Mr. 3 was to eliminate Mr. 6 and Ms. Mother's Day so you don't have to worry about them. After them comes Mr. 7 and Ms. Father's Day and then there's Mr. 8 with Ms. Monday and Mr. 9 with your friend Ms. Wednesday. Mr. 10, Mr. 11, and Mr. 12 are paired with Ms. Tuesday, Ms. Thursday, and Ms. Saturday respectively."

"The Frontier Agents are tasked with collecting funds for the organization," Vivi clarified, "I believe Mr. 10, Mr. 11, Mr. 12 and their partners are all stationed at a similar town to Whisky Peak called Luness. Mr. 6 and Mr. 7 probably had their own town to collect bounties in too."

"That's why I was so surprised to see you on Little Garden, Mr. 10," Mana said to Y/N with a pointed look.

"What about that chicken and the monkey that I fought?" Sanji asked.

"Those are the Unluckies,"Mana said, "Mr. 13 is the otter and Ms. Friday is the vulture their job is to relay communication between the agents and the boss and to punish lower ranking agents for failing missions. But those are just the number agents. Under the Officer Agents are two hundred men called Billions and the Frontier Agents have eighteen hundred agents called Millions. All together, that's the secret criminal organization known as Baroque Works."

"Let's see... two hundred and eighteen hundred..." Usopp mumbled as he tried to do the math.

"THERE ARE TWO THOUSAND OF 'EM?" Chopper shrieked.

"TWO THOUSAND!" Usopp yelped.

"Sorry," Mana apologized sheepishly.

"Alright, I think I understand," Luffy announced, "When are we gonna get to Alabasta so I can beat up Crocodile?"

"I don't think he got it at all," Y/N remarked, "we'll just have to point him at an enemy and tell him to attack."

"If Baroque Works sole objective is to take over Alabasta then I can guess what that must mean," Zoro commented.

"The rest of the Officer Agents and their subordinates... are probably..." Sanji continued.

"On their way to Alabasta as we speak," Nami concluded.

"Yeah," Vivi answered. A dark shadow was looming over Alabasta as the Going Merry continued to get closer to it. But thanks to some inside intel, the Straw Hats finally knew what was awaiting them.

-x-

Okama Way Days:

-x-

Later the same day, Luffy, Usopp, and Ms. Goldenweek fishing, the quiet was disturbed by Luffy's stomach rumbling.

"Awww, the fish aren't biting," Luffy complained. "I'm so hungry." He was starting to regret eating all the food the night before.

"You do realize that this is your fault!" Usopp snapped, "you ate all the bait that we had! The fish aren't ever gonna bite if we don't give them a reason."

"She ate some too," Luffy said as he pointed accusingly at Ms. Goldenweek.

"She only ate what was stuck to the lit!" Usopp defended her.

"How's it going?" Vivi asked as she came down the steps and walked up behind Luffy and Usopp. "Did you catch anything yet?"

"QQUUUAAAACCKK!" Vivi shoved her way in between Luffy and Usopp and saw her faithful duck tied up in all three fishing lines dangling over the water as bait.

"CARUE!" Vivi shrieked in surprise.

"Do you think we could catch a shark?" Luffy wondered.

"Don't know," Usopp replied, "I really wanna catch a Sea King."

"I just hope we catch something," Ms. Goldenweek spoke up.

"STOP FISHING WITH MY DUCK!" Vivi scolded them, then emulating Sanji, she smashed Luffy and Ms. Goldenweek's heads together, sandwiching Usopp's in the middle. WHAM! The new trio of fishermen dropped to the deck while Vivi leaned over the side of the ship to free Carue from the dangling fishing lines.

SPLOOSH! Vivi yelped and jerked back in surprise when a swordfish as big as she was came flying up out of the water. It flew over her head and landed on the deck and didn't move.

SPLA-SPLISH! Y/N and Zoro flew up out of the water and landed on the railing, both of the swordsmen were shirtless and dripping wet, Y/N had Akaikyuuketsuki at his side while Zoro had used Wado Ichimonji.

"Looks like a swordfish was no match for two swordsmen," Y/N casually remarked.

"WHOOOA! COOL!" Luffy exclaimed as he, Usopp, and Ms. Goldenweek pulled themselves up and stared at Y/N and Zoro's catch.

"OI, COOK!" Zoro called out, "WE GOT DINNER!"

Sanji came out of the galley followed by Nami and Mana, the cook eyed the big fish but Nami and Mana appeared to be paying more attention to the two shirtless swordsmen.

"I gotta get me one of those," Mana mumbled, her face was pink as she stared at the wet swordsman, the sun overhead reflected off of the water that was still dripping off of them and made their muscular bodies give off a natural shine. Beside her, Nami's eyes were locked with the bite mark scar on Y/N's right shoulder.

"Let's get it into the galley," Sanji resolved. "I think we can manage to get it through the door."

"I caught the thing, the rest is your job," Zoro stated as he walked passed the fish and laid down on the deck for a nap. Y/N shrugged and he and Sanji hefted the fish up and managed to maneuver it into the galley, Nami and Mana quickly followed after them.

"Let's catch something even bigger then what they did!" Luffy encouraged Usopp and Ms. Goldenweek, the three of them got back on the railing and resumed fishing with Carue as bait.

Vivi, glared at them and stomped over to the trio that was fishing with her duck, looking to stop them one and for all. But she stopped when she suddenly spotted something.

"What's that over there?" Vivi wondered as she stared at what appeared to be a green could floating on the water ahead of them.

"It looks like cotton candy," Luffy commented.

"You wait here, I'll go get Nami," Vivi decided, she ran up the steps and went into the galley. Sanji was cooking the swordfish and was being assisted by Mana. Y/N, Nami, Chopper, and Mr. 5 were all seated at the table. "Nami, there's something wrong! You have to come quickly!"

Nami, Sanji, Chopper, Vivi, and Mana left the galley leaving Y/N and Mr. 5 sitting alone at the table in the galley.

"I know I'm not going because I don't want the swordfish I went through all that trouble of catching to get ruined," Y/N stated, "why're you still here?"

Mr. 5 frowned and replied, "I've learned from my time on this ship that if I don't get here early for my portion, your idiot captain will eat all the food."

-x-

"Oh yeah, I see it," Nami observed as she leaned against the railing of the Merry and stared at the green cloud ahead of them. "That's nothing to worry about, just a little steam."

"You're saying that steam's coming up out of the ocean?" Vivi inquired as she, Sanji, Chopper, and Mana stood around Nami.

"Uh-huh," Nami confirmed, "It's a hotspot, that's all."

"What's a hotspot?" Luffy asked from the railing where he was still fishing with Carue.

"An area of the sea where magma's near," Nami explained, she pointed out at the steam cloud, "below the steam over there is an undersea volcano."

"So you're saying that there are... volcanoes... underneath the sea?" Chopper questioned.

"That's right," Nami answered. "In fact, there are actually more volcanoes under the sea then there are on dry land."

"Oooooo," Usopp cooed as he pictured the undersea volcano in his head.

"So I guess we can't eat it," Luffy realized.

"There'll be a brand new island there thanks to the volcano," Nami informed them, "but the process will take thousands of years."

"OOH NAMI!" Sanji swooned, "You're amazing! Is there anything you don't know!"

"I wonder if I can live that long," Luffy thought out loud.

"I'd plan on dying sometime before that," Usopp replied.

"QQQUUUUUAAAAACK!" Carue shrieked as he continued to dangle over the water as bait.

Ms. Goldenweek abandoned her fishing pole and pulled a canvas out from her backpack and began painting the green steam cloud.

"Sanji! Can we eat that fish now?" Luffy demanded, "I'm hungry!"

"I'll get back to work on it," Sanji resolved.

"I'll help you," Mana offered as she followed him back into the galley. The Going Merry continued its path and sail straight ahead into the green cloud. Everyone started gagging and cough as they sailed through the green cloud.

"Yuck! It's sulfur!" Usopp complained.

"I can't see anything!" Luffy called out, "there steam everywhere!"

"Just bear with it!" Nami instructed, "we should be out of the steam soon."

-x-

Not far from the Going Merry, Mr. 2's ship the Swanda was approaching the same green cloud.

"Excuse me, Mr. 2!" Akumai called out as he and the green haired navigator stood on opposite sides of Mr. 2 and his captain's chair. "There's a bunch of smoke at twelve o' clock!"

"I'M NOT AFRAID OF SOME SMOKE!" Mr. 2 declared, "KEEP GOING! No matter what we've got to take care of Mr. 3 or else the next target is going to be me!"

"YES SIR!" the navigator agreed, "WE'RE GOING IN!" The Swanda stayed its course and sail straight ahead into the green steam cloud. Mr. 2's navigator clearly wasn't as skilled as Nami, everyone screamed as they sailed through the cloud and eventually the Swanda came out the other side unscathed. "WE MADE IT THROUGH!"

But it was then that Akumai and the navigator noticed that Mr. 2's chair WAS EMPTY!

"AAAAAAHHH!" Akumai screamed, "MR. 2 HAS COMPLETELY DISAPPEARED!" They ran off in search of the Officer Agent but he was nowhere to be found on the ship.

-x-

Luffy and Usopp stared in surprise at their 'catch'. Mr. 2 Bon Kurei was clinging to Carue.

"Eep!" Ms. Goldenweek squeaked and dove behind her canvas.

"QUUUUAAACK!" Carue shrieked.

"Oh really, this is getting out of hand!" Mr. 2 exclaimed, "One of these days I need to stop jumping on every random duck I see!" Ms. Goldenweek's pink hat flew out from behind her canvas.

"What is that?" Usopp wondered as he and Luffy stared at the strangely-looking man.

Mr. 2 let go of Carue and fell down into the ocean. SPLASH! "AAAAH! HELP ME PLEASE! GET ME OUT OF HERE! I CAN'T SWIIM!" GLUG! The man disappeared below the surface, Luffy and Usopp shared a brief look before Carue went under after him.

-x-

A couple minutes later, Mr. 2 was dripping and panting on the deck of the Going Merry with Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp and Chopper staring at him. Ms. Goldenweek was hiding behind Usopp, her hat was gone and her wavy reddish-brown hair hung loosely down to her shoulders. It covered most of her face which now featured some freckles made of paint.

"I thought I was a goner there," Mr. 2 gasped, he looked at the Straw Hats and smiled, "HEEY! You saved me! Swan thanks!" Mr. 2 held his hand up in front of his face in a some kind of salute. "I never imagined that my life would be saved by a group of complete strangers! Thanks again, I'll never forget your kindness! Although... could I trouble you for a bowl of soup?"

"NOW WAY!" the Straw Hats all shouted.

"WE'RE STARVING TOO!" Zoro snapped.

Vivi leaned against the railing outside the galley and stared at Mr. 2 and had the strangest feeling that she should know who he was.

"Oh hey," Mr. 2 called out when he noticed Vivi looking down at him. "You are soo cute! I could just eat you up! MWAH!" The strange man blew Vivi a kiss causing her to shudder. Behind the Princess, Y/N was peering through the window of the galley door.

-x-

"Hey, I think there's someone out there," Y/N observed from the door. "It looks like an Okama in a ballet costume."

KREESH! Mana dropped the plate she was holding and rushed over to the door and stared out at the deck, "THAT'S MR. 2!" she shrieked.

"WHAT?" Sanji yelled, "WE'VE GOTTA GO OUT AND HELP! Miss. Nami, Miss. Vivi, and Miss. Goldenweek are out there!"

"NO!" Mana shrieked as she positioned herself in between the two pirates and the door. "Don't go out there! You can't let him see you. Mr. 2 is known for never forgetting a face. If he sees you, he can report you back to Mr. 0. You'll be able to help your friends better from in here."

"Why are you telling them this?"Mr.5 growled, "You're betraying Baroque Works!"

"SCREW BAROQUE WORKS!" Mana snapped. "THEY SAVED MY LIFE! I won't allow him to get them in trouble after all they've done for me! But if you'd like to reveal to an unstable higher-ranked Officer Agent that's looking to kill you that you're on an enemy ship, BE MY GUEST!" Mr. 5 quieted and just glared at his former partner.

"Well... it doesn't look like he's recognized Ms. Goldenweek yet," Y/N noted as he stepped passed Mana and looked out the window.

Sanji came over and stared out the window with Y/N, both pirates were looking through the small circular window with their good eye. "I don't like this," the cook growled.

"Mana's right," Y/N told him, "we can do more for them if he doesn't know we exist. And if he tries anything funny, Luffy and Zoro should be able to handle him."

Mana pulled herself onto Y/N's back and stared passed the two pirates out the window. Her body was conveniently pressed up against Y/N's bare back.

-x-

"So... you really can't swim?" Luffy questioned.

"That's right," Mr. 2 replied. "You see, I ate a Devil Fruit so I can't swim even a little bit."

"What kind of Fruit?" Usopp inquired with the disguised Ms. Goldenweek still hiding behind him, unlike Chopper she knew how to 'peek' properly.

"Well, since I can't go anywhere until my ship picks me up... I guess there's no harm in a little fun," Mr. 2 reasoned. "ALRIGHT! As a thanks for saving my life, I'll show you! PREPARE TO WITNESS MY POWER!" WHAM! Before any of them could react, Mr. 2 slammed his right hand into Luffy's face and sent him flying across the deck.

"WHY YOU!" Zoro growled as he drew his sword and prepared to attack.

"WAIT! WAIT! Hold on a second!" Mr. 2 called out... in LUFFY'S voice! "This is all just a little fun, remember?" Zoro stared in shock, Mr. 2 looked JUST LIKE LUFFY! His face looked like a monkey, his hair was short and messy, he had a scar under his left eye, and his body had become lankier. Mr. 2/Luffy still remained clothed in his odd ballet outfit.

"HEY! THAT'S ME!" Luffy realized as he stared at his strangely dressed double.

"SHISHISHISHISHI!" Mr. 2/Luffy laughed completely matching Luffy's voice, "And if I touch my face with my left hand..." SWISH! Luffy's face was gone and was replaced with Mr. 2's odd make-up covered face and called out in his higher pitched voice, "I'm back to normal! And that is the power of the Clone Clone Fruit that I ate."

"Amazing!" Nami gasped.

"The body and the voice matched perfectly!" Usopp exclaimed. Ms. Goldenweek backed away as Mr. 2 walked over to the others and touched Usopp, Nami, Chopper, and Zoro's faces.

"You see, I didn't really need to hit you," Mr. 2 explained before he touched his face with his right hand. SWISH! Mr. 2 turned into Usopp, complete with the darker skin tone and of course the long nose. He continued in Usopp's voice, "All I have to do..."

SWISH! Mr. 2 turned into Zoro, complete with short green hair and tanned skin, he kept talking in Zoro's deeper voice, "Is touch my right hand to you..."

SWISH! Mr. 2 was now Chopper, complete with brown fur, antlers, hooves, and blue nose. "As you can see, I can mimic anyone," Mr. 2 said in Chopper's even higher pitched voice.

SWISH! Mr. 2 turned into Nami, "That's not all, I can change bodies too..." Swiff! Mr. 2 pulled opened his ballet blouse to reveal that he was all Nami.

"WHOOOA!" Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper exclaimed while Ms. Goldenweek pouted as she stared down at her own much smaller chest.

WHAM! "STOP THAT!" Nami yelled as she hit Mr. 2 on the head for showing them her body.

-x-

"I take that back... Nami can handle him if he tries anything funny," Y/N amended.

"He just showed them Nami's marvelous chest..." Sanji mumbled before he broke out into tears, "AND I DIDN'T GET TO SEE!"

"Quit crying," Y/N ordered, "we're supposed to be scouting for weaknesses."

Sanji's face turned serious, "Right," he agreed, "I'm thinking, I'm thinking."

-x-

"Uh guy, are you okay?" Luffy inquired as he, Usopp, and Chopper knelt down next to Mr. 2 who was still on the ground sporting a big lump on his head where Nami hit him.

"Ugghh..." Mr. 2 groaned as he sat up, he spotted Ms. Goldenweek, "How about you dear?"

"No thanks," Ms. Goldenweek quickly answered.

"Have I seen you somewhere before?" he inquired.

"No," Ms. Goldenweek lied before she hurried over to Nami and Zoro and hid behind the navigator, at the moment she looked like the more vicious of the two.

"If it upsets the women... maybe I shouldn't demonstrate my power anymore," Mr. 2 reasoned.

"NO WAY! PLEASE, DO MORE!" Luffy urged him while beside him Usopp whistled and Chopper cheered.

"Okay, if you absolutely insist I guess I can show a little more," Mr. 2 conceded.

"He's easily persuaded," Nami grumbled as she stood next to Zoro with her arms folded across her chest. She looked behind her at Ms. Goldenweek. "What's with you?"

"Later," Ms. Goldenweek whispered without taking her eyes off of Mr. 2.

"I get the feeling that they all know something we don't," Zoro stated as he looked passed Vivi at the window in the galley door and saw Y/N, Sanji, and Mana looking out of it.

Nami looked where Zoro was looking and her eyes narrowed. Y/N held a finger to his mouth in the universal 'quiet' sign.

"For my next trick, I'll show you my Memory Feature!" Mr. 2 announced. Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper all cheered as Mr. 2 began cycling through faces that he'd previously touched. SWISH! Mr. 2 became a rat-like man with beady eyes, bucked teeth, and two dots on his forehead. SWISH! Next, he was a man with pointy hair, a stubbly beard, and a round nose. SWISH! Next he was a round-faced man with a curly black mustache and black rings around his eyes. SWISH! He had a regal face with long black hair, a pharaoh-like beard.

"AAH!" Vivi gasped as she recognized the face of her father. SWISH! The King of Alabasta's face was replaced by a brown-haired man with a rectangle face and long eyelashes. Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper all cheered. SWISH! Mr. 2 returned to normal and soaked in their praise while doing a pirouette.

"Well, did anyone enjoy my very special secret talent?" Mr. 2 inquired. "It's quite impressive but I almost never show it off!" Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper jumped up and joined arms with Mr. 2 and the four of them danced together. Mr. 2 had shown them incredible things – Nami's chest being one of them – and had won them over.

"Oh whatever," Nami groaned as she looked off the side of the ship and spotted the Swanda. SKISH! Mr. 2 noticed his ship too and leapt from the middle of the deck and landed gracefully on the railing.

"It's time to say goodbye already, what a shame!" Mr. 2 sighed.

"NO, YOU CAN'T LEAV!" Usopp protested. "PLEASE DON'T GO!"

"Try not to be sad," Mr. 2 consoled him, "journeys must always include farewells. And yet, I will never forget you or today. It's been brief... but true friendship isn't determined by time." Mr. 2 flashed them a thumbs-up sign and a toothy smile. "DON'T CRY FRIENDS!" Mr. 2 leapt from the Going Merry onto the Swanda.

"BYYYYEEEEE!" Luffy called out as he, Usopp, and Chopper leaned against the railing.

"QUICKLY, LET'S BE GOING!" Mr. 2 ordered his men.

"Yes sir, Mr. 2, Mr. Bon Kurei sir!" Mr. 2s men chorused as the Swanda sailed off.

"MR. 2?" Usopp repeated.

"That guy... is... Mr. 2?" Vivi questioned.

"Vivi!" Luffy complained, "you mean you didn't recognize him just by looking?"

"I've never met Mr. 2 or Mr. 1 and his partner," Vivi admitted, "I don't know much about any of them. Or what their powers may be. Though I have heard rumors about them all... I've heard about Mr. 2... apparently he's a very tall ballerina who talks like a woman and he always wears a swan coat."

"You didn't know?" Luffy, Zoro, and Usopp chorused, that seemed like a pretty accurate description to them. Vivi just looked worried.

"Is something wrong Vivi?" Luffy asked.

"I saw something in his memory," Vivi answered, "in the faces that he showed us. One of those faces belonged to my father... Cobra Nefertari, my father, the King of Alabasta."

"That's not good," Zoro realized, "if he can mimic the face of a King that easily, Mr. 2 has the potential to cause a lot of trouble."

"Looks like we let a really bad guy get away today, huh," Usopp said.

"So that guy's our enemy?" Usopp questioned.

"Seems so," Nami answered, "AND YOU CAN COME OUT NOW!" Krek! The galley door opened and Y/N, Sanji, and Mana came out.

"WHAT PART OF HE WEARS MAKE UP AND A BALLET COSTUME DID YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?" Mana demanded. "How could you have not recognized him?"

"Well someone did," Zoro pointed out as he eyed Ms. Goldenweek.

"We came with you so we wouldn't be killed by someone like him," Ms. Goldenweek reminded them, "I wasn't going to call attention to someone looking to kill me while he was on the ship."

"Having someone like him on the other side is not a good thing," Nami noted, "if he finds out we're the ones Baroque Works is after he can use his powers to turn into any one of us. We won't even be able to trust our friends."

"Luckily, I spotted a couple of weaknesses," Y/N informed them. "When he transformed, his clothes always stayed the same. And he didn't recognize Ms. Goldenweek in her disguise so that means if someone alters their appearance he won't be able to remember or mimic it." Y/N looked over at Zoro, "Does that give you any ideas?"

"Gimme some time and I'll come up with something," the wary swordsman replied, "It's actually a good thing that we ran into Mr. 2 when we did because now we can prepare a strategy and beat him at his own game."

-x-

On his ship Mr. 2 was doing a pirouette. "Un... Deux...Trios... uh... what's four again?"

"You sure seem to be in a particularly good mood Mr. 2," the navigator pointed out.

"GAAAA HAHAHAHAHA!" Mr. 2 laughed, "I just so happens I made some friends today!"

The Straw Hats have gotten a taste of what awaits them in Alabasta. First was their 'friend' Mr. 2, next was the mysterious Ms. All Sunday, and finally was the 'hero' Mr. 0. But now they were ready to face them.

-x-

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!