Spider's Café

-x-

The desert sun was still in the process of setting as the princess and their pirates neared the end of their long journey to Yuba.

"When did I turn into your camel?" Y/N growled as he led the group with Nami on his back.

"The same time you decided it was a good idea to leave our money in an underground cave!" Nami scolded him. "I told you that you were going to be punished for it, now since you're not carrying the money bag any more, you're carrying me."

"So your idea of punishment is having me carry a petty girl on my back?" Y/N asked dryly. "I think you might be losing your touch cause that's not much of a punishment in my book."

"Of course it isn't," Ollie agreed as she walked behind them glared daggers at Nami's back, "The Pirate Princess will say anything if it keeps her from actually having to walk to Yuba like the rest of us."

Nami looked over her shoulder and glared at the archer, "There's a difference between needing to be carried and wanting to be carried," she retorted. "I could walk to Yuba just fine, but it seems like a waste of my effort when we've got Eyelash and this guy."

"And here comes the bickering again," Y/N muttered loud enough for both of them to hear, "The only thing that would make the rest of this trip even more unpleasant is if it was still blazing hot out."

The others all trailed behind them with Vivi leading the pack, without Nami convincing her to ride Eyelash, the Princess was now walking amongst the pirates. Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Ace, and Han soldiered onward while Chopper managed to keep up with them in his Brain Point form, now that it was getting dark it was getting cooler and the reindeer could handle traveling, besides, they'd lost the sled. As usual, Usopp was at the back of the group looking exhausted.

"Ugghhhh... will someone please carry me too?" Usopp groaned. "C'mon Eyelash..."

"GRUMPH!" the now passengerless camel refused with a shake of his head. "Gruhgrahgrum."

Chopper quickly translated, "He says 'Not happening, no male passengers'."

"You guys!" Vivi called out, "We're close now! Yuba's just passed those rocks up ahead. One last push and I'm sure we'll make it."

Her words were met with a loud cheer, everyone was glad that the long journey was almost over.

"YUBA OR BUST!" Luffy exclaimed as he ran passed Vivi and shot ahead of the group.

"That's Yuba!" Sanji automatically started to correct him as he and Chopper followed Luffy passed Vivi, "Oh wait, he finally got it right."

"Come on Zoro, I'm light!" Usopp pleaded as he staggered after the swordsman passed Vivi.

"Suck it up," Zoro retorted.

"Hey! Carry me too, Zoro!" Luffy added.

"Morons!" Zoro snapped, "The only one carrying anybody is Y/N!"

"Y/N!" Luffy, Usopp, and even Chopper called out, "CARRY US TOO!"

"Hey! Get off!" Y/N complained as he suddenly had to deal with Luffy and Usopp hanging off of his shoulders, Chopper sitting on his left foot, and Nami on his back. "Damn it, I'm already carrying two thousand kilograms in weights, get the hell off! There's a camel right there!"

"Hehehehe," Nami laughed then looked over her shoulder and grinned teasingly at Ollie, "See? These three don't need to be carried, they want to be carried."

Ollie silently glared at her as she, Zoro, and Sanji followed Y/N and his four passengers.

"Damn kids," Zoro muttered as he eyed the four younger pirates hanging off of the First Mate.

"Miss. Nami, you shouldn't have to ride with those numbskulls!" Sanji swooned, "I'll gladly carry you the rest of the way to Yuba."

"That's okay Sanji," Nami reassured him, "Y/N can handle it. And it's more fun this way."

Ace and Han hung back with Vivi and Eyelash at the back of the group, "So now that we're almost there, what do you plan to say to this rebel leader?" Ace questioned the Princess.

"I'm going to tell him that everything that has happened was Crocodile's doing," Vivi answered, "That way I can convince Koza to call off this rebellion before any more lives are lost."

"And you're sure he'll believe you over your resident Warlord?" Han inquired. "You're the King's daughter, do you expect them to treat you like an objective party?"

"Like I said the other day, Koza and I are childhood friends," Vivi reminded him, "I'm certain he'll believe me. The only one here who wants to destroy Alabasta is Crocodile."

-x-

Crocodile sat in a plush couch in a dark room with an enormous crocodile in front of him.

"The Operation will begin at the stroke of noon two days from now," Crocodile announced, he looked over at Ms. All Sunday was standing on the other side of the room staring out a window, "Have you completed the arrangements?"

"Yes, everything's in place," Ms. All Sunday informed him without looking away from the window. "I've called Mr. 2 back here. It appears that he failed utterly in his assignment to capture and kill Mr. 3. The Officer Agents have been instructed to gather tonight at eight o' clock. They're meeting at the Spider's Café."

"Yes, very good," Crocodile commented.

"It's already passed five o' clock," Ms. All Sunday informed him, "I'd imagine that the Officer Agents will begin gathering at the café any minute now."

-x-

Off the western shore of Sandy Island, passed a few rocky crags clusters, in the heart of the badlands of the Sandora desert was a small café with a water tower attached to the side. On the frame over the front door was a sign reading 'Spider's Café' and a second fish-shaped sign swung back and forth from its place beside the green painted door which had a 'closed' sign hanging from the knob. Inside a record player was set on the counter of the bar filling the café with soft music. The café was unoccupied with the exception of a loge figure who sat casually in chair behind the bar.

The bartender was a woman with wavy dark blue hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, she wore black pants, a purple tank top with green designs that clung snugly to her thin curvy frame. A colorful bandana was on top of her head and contained her wavy hair with the exception of the ponytail and a long dark blue lock that went down passed the front of her face to her shoulder. She also wore a pair of square-framed glasses and silently read a book. This was Paula the Proprietor of the Spider's Café.

Krek! Ring-a-ding! A bell rang as the door was pushed opened. "Ho ho! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!" a fast feminine voice called out. The voice belonged to what appeared to be a dumpy middle-aged woman, she had a head of bushy dark red hair and wrinkled skin. She wore a green headband, sunglasses with purple lenses, purple lipstick, a long-sleeved white collared shirt, purple flower-printed pants, and sandals. She wore a woven basket on her back and hanging from the collar of her shirt was a green necktie decorated with red spots, it was shaped like a Christmas Tree which was reference to her codename: Ms. Merry Christmas.

"That was an exhausting trip!" Ms. Merry Christmas barked as she briskly made her way across the café to the bar. "My back is really killing me here! This is your fault Mr. 4! You're so slow! If we'd gotten here quicker my back wouldn't hurt right now!"

"Oooooohhh..." a man drawled from the still open door. He was a large fat man with a large girth that almost entirely filled the doorway, he had a head of blond hair and wore an orange scarf around his neck as well as a bulky long-sleeved light green shirt. The outfit was completed with black pants, white shoes on his big feet, and a baseball bat that was even taller than the man himself that was strapped diagonally across his back and was secured in place by four straps that went diagonally across his chest and met at his stomach in a round clasp. The front of the man's green shirt was divided into quarters by a thick dark green line and the top left quarter was divided in half diagonally causing the design on the man's front to resemble a '4' that represented the man's codename: Mr. 4. "Iiiiii'mmmm... sssooooorrrrr..."

"Yes yes yes yes!" Ms. Merry Christmas quickly interrupted before turning her attention to Paula. "How's business these days Paula? Your place sure is empty today! It's an empty place – Place – empty – place – empty – plempty!" (A/N: Ms. Merry Christmas speaks really fast so in an attempt to accurately transcribe her dialogue I am going to write it without using periods or commas, punctuation marks that symbolize a pause or an intake of breath.)

"Heehee, well it is certainly good to see you again, Ms. Merry Christmas," Paula commented in a smooth feminine voice as she stood up and casually leaned on the bar while Ms. Merry Christmas took a seat on one of the stools. Mr. 4 slowly lumbered his way over to the counter as well. "And you too Mr. 4. You will have the place all to yourselves for a while. I can go ahead and brew some tea for you if you don't mind waiting a few minutes for it to steam. Is it chamomile as usual, Mr. 4?"

"NO!" Ms. Merry Christmas barked impatiently, "I DON'T WANNA WAIT FOR TEA! I want something I can drink right now! Something fast! Right away – right away – no waiting – right now! GOT IT?"

"You seem to be in good spirits," Paula remarked as she went to fetch the drinks, "Is work going well for you right now?"

"In my line of work or you don't do well you die!" Ms. Merry Christmas rapidly replied, "So obviously it's going well you stupid woman! Stupid woman – stupid woman – stuman!" Paula placed a cup of tea down in front of the female agent and her male partner that was finally seated on a stool at the bar.

"How forgetful of me, I'm sorry," Paula apologized. Ms. Merry Christmas wasted no time in downing the tea.

"Un... deux... Ula!" A distant voice called out drawing the attention of Ms. Merry Christmas and causing her to glare at the record player. "Un... deux... Kura!"

"RAAAH! WHAT IS THAT NOISE?" Ms. Merry Christmas demanded, "What kind of crazy singers are you using in this place these days anyhow?"

"Singers?" Paula repeated, "I have a classical sonata playing right now. There are no words, there shouldn't be any singing. Strange."

Strange was right, the source of the singing was revealed to Mr. Bon Kurei as he danced his way towards the Spider's Café. Akumai, the green haired navigator and another of his men followed behind the eccentric Officer Agent and attempted to copy his dance moves.

"Un... Deux..." Mr. 2 counted.

"ULA!" his men all chorused.

"Head in clouds and feet on the ground!" Mr. 2 recited as he balanced on his left foot and pushed himself up onto his toes and did a graceful pirouette with his other leg bent up behind him. "And un...duex..." ULA! "Fly like a fish in a stream!" Mr. 2 instructed he raised his arms up into the air in a movement similar to a swim-stroke and joined his hands together over his head in an 'O' shape. "And un... duex..." KURA! "And spin! Just remember: Spin! Spin!" Mr. 2 pushed himself up onto his toes and tip-toed forward, "Pretty shoes! And mascara! Pretty shoes and mascara!"Mr. 2 turned around and faced the backs of his men and all of them struck a pose where they stood on the tip of their toes with their other leg up behind them and their arms joined together above their head.

"LET'S HEAR YOU BOYS SING IT!" Mr. 2 commanded.

"OKAAAAMAAAA WAAAAAYYYY!" all four of them sang together.

With the dance over, Mr. 2 finally entered the Spider's café and took a deep bow as he greeted those inside, "Hello to all! How deux you do?"

"You're a freak," Paula deadpanned.

"I am not a freak, Paula!" Mr. 2 snapped. "I am merely a talented dancer practicing my craft!" Mr. 2 took a seat on a barstool further down from Mr. 4 and Ms. Merry Christmas and called out, "I'll have an Octopar!"

"Octopar? What's that?" Paula repeated.

"AN OCTOPUS PARFAIT!"" Mr. 2 shouted, "ISN'T IT OBVIOUS? GAAAA HAHAHAHA!"

Mr. 2 looked over at the doorway and saw his men still waiting there, "Oh, you're still here," he noted, "You guys can leave now. And don't forget to practice those new dance moves that we talked about!"

"Right!" Mr. 2's men all agreed before they danced away.

Mr. 2 looked over at one of the tables and saw Ms. Merry Christmas lying on it with Mr. 4 massaging her aching back. "Oh, the fatty and the old hag are here with us," Mr. 2 remarked.

"WHY DON'T YOU JUST SHUT YOUR FAT MOUTH?" Ms. Merry Christmas snapped, "YOU FREAKY OKAMA!"

"WELL!" Mr. 2 gasped before waving his hand dismissively, "Nice to see you." He turned his attention back to Paula, "Did you hear? Even Mr. 1's team is being mobilized for this assignment, I've never actually had the pleasure of meeting him and his partner. I'm really very excited! GAAA HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

None of the officer agents noticed the figure lurking outside the window of the café, the bandages and the hood would have done a good job hiding the man's identity if it wasn't for the black wick-like hair that was styled in the shape of a '3' sticking up into plain view.

-x-

Hours passed and Mr. 2 Bon Kurei, Mr. 4, and Ms. Merry Christmas were still waiting in the Spider's Café for the Mr. 1 Pair to show up. The sun set and the moon rose as eight o' clock drew near.

"Aahhh..." Mr. 2 signed, "Moment by moment the night grows later." A quick glanced at a nearby clock told the gathered Officer Agents that it had just turned 7:59.

As a nearby clock stuck 7:59 a dark figure appeared at the edge of the badland clearing that the Spider's café was situated in. The figure's silhouette was that of a large muscular man who appeared to be dragging something along with him.

"Oh, I'm so bored!" Mr. 2 announced to the other occupants of the café. "TIME TO PRACTICE MY SPINNING!" Mr. 2 quickly stood on the tip of his toes and began spinning around in place. "SPIN! SPIN! SPIN! I'll just spin to pass the time!"

"FWAAAH! FWWAAAAHH! FWWAAAAHHHH!" Mr. 4 laughed and slowly applauded as he leaned against the bar and watched the Okama spin in place.

"QUIT IT!" Ms. Merry Christmas barked, "JUST LOOKING AT YOU HURTS!"

"OOOO! WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM, YOU OLD HAG?" Mr. 2 stopped spinning and demanded, "DO YOU WANNA FIGHT?"

"DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN HANDLE ME?" Ms. Merry Christmas growled while Mr. 4 continued to laughed and clap.

"Come now, why don't you two cut it out?" Paula suggested, "Stop fighting!"

The clock struck 8:00 and the mysterious figure outside stood outside and threw the two bundles he had been dragging at the door of the café.

KER-WHAM! Mr. 2, Mr. 4, Ms. Merry Christmas, and Paula all looked at the door in alarm as Mr. 2's men came flying into the café and landed in a heap on the floor.

"HEY, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?" Mr. 2 demanded as he stared down at Akumai who at least seemed to be conscious, or at least twitching. "WHY ARE YOU LYING THERE ON THE GROUND INSTEAD OF PRACTICING LIKE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING?"

"W-we w-were until h-h-him..." Akumai stammered.

Mr. 2 looked through the hole in the wall where the door had previously been and saw the man standing outside.

"Oh, so these men are acquaintances of yours," came the man's deep and level voice. He had a muscular frame, dark skin and silver hair that was shaved short and gave off a shine as if it were metal. The man had a thin unibrow and a small head in comparison to his long thin limbs and fingers. He wore a white sash around his waist, loose pair of beige pants what were tucked into bandages that were wrapped around his ankles and feet, and a long sleeveless coat that was black with gold lining. The coat was opened and revealed the man's abs of steel and the Japanese symbol for '1' tattooed on his chest. This was the highest ranking Officer Agent under Mr. 0 himself: Mr. 1.

"They looked suspicious out in the desert," Mr. 1 continued as he stared calmly at Mr. 2, "Don't worry, I doubt they'll die. You seem unnecessarily concerned about them. Fostering friendships will only make you weaker."

"THOSE MEN ARE MINE, THEY DON'T BELONG TO YOU!" Mr. 2 hollered as he leapt at Mr. 1and swung his leg around at the man's head. SWISH! Mr. 1 dodged the kick and lashed out for a punch but Mr. 2 spun out of the way and leapt up into the air, "UN... DEUX... GRAH!" Mr. 2 came down and lashed out for another kick but Mr. 1 dodged it. "UN... DEUX... RAAH!" Mr. 2 lashed out his hand then swung his leg around him multiple times for a series of missed kicks. "UN... DEUX..." THWAK! Mr. 2 finally connected and kicked Mr. 1 in the stomach with his strong dancer's legs.

Mr. 1 went flying backwards and crossed his arms across his chest as he crashed through the stone wall behind him, KRASH! An almost perfectly circular hole was left in the wall as the stones clattered to the ground.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Ms. Merry Christmas exclaimed, "HE FLEW STRAIGHT THROUGH THE WALL! HE BARELY SEEMED TO NOTICE IT WAS HAPPENING!"

Mr. 1 kept going and flipped over in midair and landed on his feet outside, SKISH! "Do you want to die that badly?" he growled as he stared through the hole at Mr. 2, he held his long arms out at his sides with his fingers loose when he was stopped by an unlikely source.

"HOLD IT!" Paula ordered as she stood in between Mr. 1 and Mr. 2 in an attempt to keep them from killing each other. "That's enough playing around, Mr. 1."

"I'm not done," Mr. 1 stated, "Move, Ms. Double Finger. I still haven't killed him yet."

"STOP IT!" Mr. 2 shrieked, Mr. 4 had pinned him to the ground to stop him from continuing to attack the higher ranked male agent and the Okama was struggling furiously. "JUST GET OFF ME, FATTY! LEMME AT HIM!"

"Mr. 2," Paula called out to the struggling Okama, "It's time for you to calm down as well. It's eight o' clock. All the agents that should be here are here. Once more, a letter containing our orders has arrived at the Spider's Café."

Paula removed her bandana and her glasses and let dark blue hair fall free from her ponytail. A moment later, she stood there wearing a revealing brown outfit which consisted of a bikini top that was attached to a pair of tight pants by a spider web pattern. Over that she wore a long-sleeved jacket that only went down to the middle of her back and was lined in fur. Paula the Proprietor of the Spider's Café was really Mr. 1's partner: Ms. Double Finger.

"We're instructed to head to Rainbase the City of Dreams," Ms. Double Finger announced to the other Officer Agents. "In that city we'll meet someone... and man we know but whose face we have never seen." Mr. 2, Mr. 4, and Ms. Merry Christmas all stared in surprise while Mr. 1 remained impassive, "We're heading to meet the Boss."

-x-

Yuba the Town of Rebels:

-x-

TOMP! TOMP! TOMP! Bunchi the Turtle, Ms. All Sunday's personal sea transport was stomping through the sand pulling a large carriage behind him. Inside, Mr. 1 and Ms. Double Finger sat on one side while Mr. 2, Mr.4, and Ms. Merry Christmas sat opposite them.

"To think, you've been Ms. Double Finger this whole time Paula," Mr. 2 commented, it was just setting in for the Okama as well as Ms. Merry Christmas that the woman they yelled at and ordered around was actually ranked higher than them. "That's very interesting."

"Hmhm, who knows," Ms. Double Finger lightly chuckled as she sat across from the other three with her arms folded across her chest, "Perhaps I would have told you, but none of you ever asked me about it."

-x-

At Rain Base the City of Dreams one of the northern-most cities in Alabasta Kingdom, the citizens went about their lives and actually seemed happy, and why wouldn't they when they had a Warlord of the Sea living in the same town as them?

Crocodile's now identified hideout was a casino with a statue of one of his signature giant crocodiles decorating the pyramid-shaped roof. The size of the casino was incredible, it was by far the largest building in the entire city and could see by anyone from anywhere in the city. Who knows what terrible atrocity Crocodile committed in order to get all the money to construct such a large building.

Mr. 0 sat on a plush couch in his personal VIP room, two of his enormous pet crocodiles were lurking about as well and Ms. All Sunday was still staring out the window at the city below.

"The Officer Agents should all be on their way here to Rain Base as we speak," she reported, "I sent Bunchi to get them, I expect them to arrive sometime later tonight."

"The Billions that we lost in Nanohana, you were able to find replacements?" Mr. 0 inquired.

"I've made the assignments for the replacements," Ms. All Sunday stated, "And as far as contacting the new Billions, I've dispatched the Lizard Runners to see to that."

"Good to hear," Crocodile commented, "Things are almost ready."

-x-

"LOOK UP AHEAD!" Vivi called out, "I CAN SEE A LIGHT!"

"Does that mean we've made it to Yuba?" Luffy asked, he sprang off of Y/N and darted ahead leaving the first mate still carrying Nami, Usopp, and Chopper. Luffy squinted and stared off in a distance, "I can't see anything."

The Princess and the pirates stood silently and stared ahead of them, those of them with depth perception could make out a town up ahead. But all of them could hear the strong wind that was blowing around it.

"Something here doesn't seem right..." Vivi observed, "There's something wrong down there, I can tell!"

"The wind up ahead is moving surprisingly fast," Nami noted, "Could it be..."

SSSHHHHWWWOOOOO... SHHHHWWWWWWOOOOOO...

The eleven travelers got closer and saw a strong sandy wind blowing through the darkened city of Yuba, "OH NO!" Vivi cried out in alarm, "THE ENTIRE CITY IS BEING STRUCK BY A SANDSTORM!"

"LET'S KICK ITS ASS!" Luffy shouted.

"Right," Zoro and Sanji agreed as they slipped off their weights and charged off towards the sandstorm along with Luffy.

"Everyone off," Y/N ordered as he nudged Chopper off of his foot and tossed Usopp off of his shoulder, Nami quickly got off on her own, lest he decided to physically remove her. Y/N quickly removed his four weight bands then ran after the other three.

"There they go again," Ace commented with an amused grin, "Defying the forces of nature."

"If it even is a force of nature," Han added.

"Y/N!" Luffy yelled out, despite the speed increase that Zoro, Sanji, and Y/N were experiencing due to their lack of weights, Luffy was still keeping ahead of them, "This one's actually in the city, how do we stop it?"

"We'll have to do it in two parts," Y/N reasoned as he brought up the rear of the group and stared passed the others at the huge sandstorm up in front of them. "Let's fan out and blow it backwards out of the city, then once it's away from the buildings we'll cancel it out."

The four pirates split up, "GUUMMM... GUUUMMM... BAAAALLOOOOON!" SHOOM! Luffy inflated and swelled up with air, then twisted his rubber body around and blew out a strong torrent of air from his mouth. SHWWOOOOOO!

To his right, Y/N drew Akakyuuketsuki and used two hands on the handle to spin it around in a circle, creating a strong spiral of wind, WOOOSSSHHH!

On the far right, Zoro drew Kitetsu III and Yubashiri and spun both of the swords around like a pair of propellers, creating two blasts of wind that combined and became even stronger, FWWOOOOM!

On the far left, Sanji swung his leg out in front of him, FWOOOSH! Then kept spinning and swung out his other leg, FWOOOSH! As Sanji kept spinning and kicked he unleashed small bursts of air that blew into the sandstorm.

The four Straw Hats marched forward and when combined their fourth streams of wind gradually blew the sandstorm backwards. They kept at it until they made it out of the city. Zoro drew his final sword then he and Y/N leapt straight into the heart of the spiraling sandstorm. SKISH!

"Red Blade... TORNADO!"

"DRAGON... TWISTER!"

The two swordsman spun clockwise to counteract the counter-clockwise spiral of wind, with the two of them spinning together in the center of the storm, the sand lost its power and eventually fell unmoving to the ground.

"Well, that's one crisis averted," Y/N commented as the four of them headed back into Yuba, and slowly made their way through the sand-filled city. The buildings were coated with sand and the palm trees were withered.

"This place doesn't seem much better than that Erumalu place," Zoro commented.

"HEEEEYYYY!" Luffy hollered, "WHERE IS EVERYBODY?"

The four pirates glanced around them but the only person they could see was an old man staring at them in shock.

"Oi, you there," Sanji called out to the old man, "Where's the Rebel Army?"

"D-don't t-tell me y-you're here to j-join those f-f-fools!" the old man stammered, he'd seen there power when they drove off the latest sandstorm, if monsters like these four joined with the rebels the entire kingdom could fall. The man grabbed a barrel and threw it at Sanji's head, WOOSH! Sanji twisted to the side to avoid it.

"We're not here to join the Rebel Army," Y/N stated, "We just wanted to talk to the leader. We... uh... we've been sent by the World Government to see if we can stop the war that's threatening to break out in your country."

"But Y/N, we're not..." Luffy started to say, WHAP! Zoro interrupted and quickly clamped a hand over his mouth to keep Luffy from being honest.

"We heard that the Rebel Army was based here," Y/N continued, "So, if you'd be so kind as to take us to the leader, we can get our business underway."

"I'd be happy to take you to the Rebel Army," the old man replied as he climbed out of the ditch he'd been digging and approached the four 'government agents', "Anything to stop this war without bloodshed. But um... you see... they're not here."

"...what?" Luffy, Y/N, Zoro, and Sanji all chorused.

"The Rebel Army isn't based here anymore," the old man explained, "Sandstorms like the one you just chased off are a regular occurrence here, those fools moved to Katorea."

"..." the four Straw Hats stared blankly at the old man. They'd traveled for DAYS through a scorching hot desert so Vivi could speak with the leader of the rebel army only to find out that THE REBEL ARMY WASN'T EVEN BASED HERE ANYMORE!

"I see..." Y/N said, he was visibly forcing himself to remain calm, "And where's this Katorea place located? Is it far from here?"

"Katorea is one town over from Nanohana," the old man answered, "It's where the merchants get their perfumes."

So not only were the rebel army no longer here in Yuba but they were currently located RIGHT NEXT TO WHERE THEY HAD STARTED!

"What's going on?" the four Straw Hats turned to find that the others had caught up, it was Vivi who had spoken.

"Oh, everything's fine," Y/N informed her, "Yup, we saved everybody in the city."

"Oh, thank goodness," Vivi sighed in relief. She didn't seem to notice Y/N's obvious attempts to hide his irritation. Nami, Usopp, and Chopper however, quickly dove behind Eyelash for cover from the impending explosion.

"Yup," Y/N agreed, "We saved that guy." Y/N pointed to the old man causing Vivi to stare at him in confusion. "Get this, it's the funniest thing, it turns out the Rebel Army isn't even based here anymore. They relocated to some place called Katorea which, wouldn't you know it, is one village over from Nanohana. It's back where we started. We traveled for four days, through a blazing hot desert, through all that filler, for nothing. Please excuse me, while I go destroy something." Y/N stalked off with his fists clenched leaving Vivi staring in shock.

"It was an honest mistake," Ace reassured her, "I don't think he holds it against you."

"The lazy bum is just upset that you made him do all that extra traveling," Nami guessed, "Don't worry about it."

BOOOM! An explosion rang out from the outskirts of the city where Y/N was obviously venting his frustrations.

"I'll go calm him down," Ollie volunteered, she drew her bow then darted off after Y/N.

"Here are your weights back by the way," Ace spoke up as he pulled two weights off his wrists and handed them back to Sanji. Han pulled off the two weights he'd been wearing and gave them back to Zoro. Chopper, who was in his Heavy Point form, was once again wearing Y/N's four weighted bands.

"You must be exhausted from all the time spent in that heat," the old man commented to the Straw Hats, "Sorry, but this city is a bit dried up. It doesn't have much relief to offer. But still, you're free to rest here for a while."

Vivi pulled up the collar of her cloak to keep the old man from recognizing her as the Princess of the country and took a moment to take in his appearance. The man was old and thin and had a bushy gray mustache. He wore a droopy gray turban on top of his head, and a tattered brown cloak over a worn set of desert robes and around his waist he wore a green sash with purple poke-a-dots.

The old man eyed the 'travelers' and his eyes rested on Vivi for a moment, "Like I said before, three years of no rain has made the land increasingly dry, sandstorms became a regular occurrence here. Little-by-little the oasis that we knew was swallowed up, until the town became what you see now, and dying wasteland. When the flow of supplies to the town ended, the Rebel Army couldn't maintain their drawn out struggle so they packed up and moved on to Katorea."

"Grumphhgraahhhgrrummgraaahhh..." Eyelash spoke up.

"Eyelash says that he used to carry Rebel Army goods to Katorea," Chopper translated.

"YOU DAMN CAMEL!" Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji yelled as they attacked Eyelash and started kicking him. "YOU SHOULDA SAID SOMETHING!"

"Graahhhu," Eyelash grunted.

"'Whatever'," Chopper interpreted.

"YOU MADE US WASTE ALL THAT TIME!" the three Straw Hats shouted as the continued attacking the camel.

"Looks like they're angrier at Eyelash than they are at you," Han remarked to Vivi.

"Well duh," Luffy replied, "Vivi made an honest mistake, the dumb camel knew and just didn't say anything."

"Did you say... Vivi?" the old man repeated, he turned to the Princess and stared at her in shock.

"SHE'S NOT A PRINCESS OR ANYTHING!" Luffy shouted, Y/N was no longer there to cover for him, so Luffy was being loose-lipped as usual.

WHOMP! Zoro clubbed Luffy on the head, then grabbed his mouth and stretched it off of his face, "YOU HAVE THE BIGGEST MOUTH!"

"Vivi... is that really you?" the old man asked as he reached out and placed his hands on the girl's shoulders. "You're alive! I can't believe it! Thank goodness, it's me Vivi, don't you recognize me?" Vivi stared at the old man in front of her, his face was wrinkled and thin, all that stood out was his bushy gray mustache and hair. "I look different... I lost some weight, I suppose..."

"AH!" Vivi gasped in horror when she finally recognized the man. "Toto... is it... really you?" The fat man that her father had named the Mayor of Yuba was now nothing but a living skeleton with a layer of skin over his bones.

Vivi covered her mouth and stared to sob as she remembered what the man had said to her eleven years ago. "So long, my Princess, I won't see you for a while but as soon as Yuba's up and running be sure to stop by."

"Toto? That's this guy?" Luffy questioned, even though he hadn't been listening to Vivi's story.

"For whatever its worth, Vivi dear," Toto told Vivi, "I have faith in you and the King. He's a good man, a true King who would never betray his country. I know it." Tears leaked out of Toto's eyes and he dropped down to his knees and started sobbing. Vivi knelt down in front of the man and attempted to comfort him. The Straw Hats and the two Whitebeards remained silent and let the two speak in peace.

Toto stopped crying and clenched his fists, "THIS REBELLION IS RIDICULOUS!" he shouted, "A BUNCH OF FAITHLESS FOOLS! True, our country hasn't seen so much as a drop of rain in three years, but I still put my trust in the King as I always have. Most of the country still has faith in him actually."

Toto shook his head and continued, "So many times... I tried to stop them so many times. But they won't listen to anything I say. The rebellion isn't stopping. They're strength, supplies, and men have reached the limit however. They're intention is to settle everything once and for all with the next attack. They're backs are against the wall. They're stuck in a corner... prepared for death."

"Ah," Vivi gasped, the rebels were ready to die to fight in the manipulated war, this was exactly what she was trying to prevent.

"Please Vivi!" Toto urged her, "you have to stop these fools from tearing our country apart!"

-x-

A camel-drawn wagon was pulled into Katorea and eventually stopped outside a group of tents. The driver got off and addressed the gathered rebels, "Where's leader?" he asked.

"He's inside," one of the other rebels informed him.

The driver, a round faced man who used to serve under Koza when they were the Sand Sand Band, headed into a nearby tent and once again found the Leader of the Rebel Army once again sitting alone in the dark. "Koza," the driver called out to the leader, "I've notified all of our contacts in the other towns."

Koza got to his feet, "This is it," he stated, "the time to strike has finally arrived."

"It has," the driver agreed, "We aren't nearly as well armed as I'd like us to be though."

"I know," Koza admitted, "but there's no other choice now. We have a duty to protect our country. No one else can do it. Only we can."

-x-

Vivi offered a handkerchief to Toto who'd gone back to crying.

"Toto, old friend," she said to the old man causing him to look up at her. "Please don't be worried."

"Vivi dear..." Toto whispered.

"We'll succeed," Vivi assured him. "I've brought some strong friends back with me. You've seen what they're capable of, and they're willing to help us."

"..." Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Chopper all remained silent as if waiting further orders from the Princess. Only Ace and Han noticed when Y/N and Ollie came back and joined the others in silently watching the Princess comfort the old man.

"We're going to stop the rebellion," Vivi vowed.

"Thank you, Vivi..." Toto replied.

With the moon now high overhead, Vivi's resolve strengthened even further. After witnessing what Crocodile's manipulations had done to her people she was determined to stop the war he'd been manipulating them into. The rebel soldiers might not have been based in Yuba, but that wasn't going to stop her from trying to save as many lives as possible, she'd find another way to stop the rebellion.

-x-

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!