Y/N versus Crocodile:

-x-

At the Royal Palace in the capital city of Alubarna Chaka the Acting Captain of the Royal Guard stood on a balcony overlooking the soldiers of the Royal Army.

"The Rebel Army is fast approaching us men!" Chaka announced his position as Captain of the Royal Guard now made him the leader of the Royal Army and with King Nefertari Cobra nowhere to be found he was the only one around to make a decision concerning the attacking rebels. "WE MUST PROTECT ALABASTA WITH OUR OWN HANDS! DO NOT FEAR DEATH! FIGHT THEM WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT! WE MUST STOP THE REBELS! TAKE UP INTERCEPT POSITIONS!"

"YES SIR!" the Royal Army chorused. They were ready to protect their homeland from being overthrown even if it cost them their lives.

-x-

"ALUBARNA'S GOING DOWN!" one of the rebels shouted as the Rebel Army charged its way from the destroyed Nanohana to Alubarna on camel and horseback.

"YEAAHH!" the massive crowd of rebels cheered. It was time to take back their homeland from their corrupt King. If the man was willing to destroy an entire city to keep his own name clean they weren't going to take any chances concerning what he'd do next.

One of the rebels rode up alongside Koza who was leading the Rebel Army on his black stallion. "Are you alright, Koza?" the rebel asked with concern. "How's your wound?"

It was only a short time ago that the leader of the rebels had been shot by one of the King's guards. His wound was now heavily bandaged but he was still leading the charging army.

"It's nothing!" Koza insisted. "I'm fine! Besides, if we keep riding at this pace we'll reach Albubarna by daybreak. We can't stop for anything just keep riding!"

"Yes sir," the rebel agreed.

"WE ATTACK AT DAWN!" Koza shouted.

-x-

"Um... Han?" Chopper spoke up as he stood in his Brain Point form at the edge of the lake that Rain Dinners was situated in the middle of. "There's one part of Y/N's plan that I don't get..."

"And what's that?" Han inquired as he tied a thick length of rope around Chopper's small body.

"What did he mean when he said that I was going to be 'bait'?" Chopper questioned. "And why did he sound so sorry about it? Is 'bait' a hero?"

"Not quite..." Han told him as he picked up a fishing rod and used it to hoist Chopper up into the air before he cast the reindeer out over the lake. WOING!

"WAIT!" Chopper shrieked as he dangled over the water that was filled with huge bananawani, "I DON'T WANNA BE BAIT ANYMORE!"

"Don't worry little monster just hang there and look tasty," Han instructed. "We're hunting big game today."

"I DON'T WANNA BE EATEN!" Chopper screamed.

"I told you not to worry," Han reminded him, "I've done this a million times before. I won't let them actually eat you. We're just gonna make them think they can. Now... look tasty. Let's try and catch something big."

GULP! "Heeree baanaanaaa-naanaaa-waaniii..." Chopper sang in a low tone as he stared down at the huge dark figures swimming around in the water under him.

-x-

Back in the V.I.P. Room at the Rain Dinners Casino, Y/N and Ollie stood at the top of the steps overlooking Crocodile, Ms. All Sunday, and the traitor Mr. 5. Vivi was on the ground struggling to free her bound wrists while Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Ace, and Smoker were all still tripped in Crocodile's cell which had bars that were lined with Sea Stone and neutralized the Devil Fruit Powers of Luffy, Ace, and Smoker.

"Hey, did any of you guys see that lame trap on the way in here?" Y/N inquired. "A pirate would have to be a total moron to fall for that." Zoro, Nami, and Usopp all sweat-dropped as they recalled the sign which pointed one way for the V.I.P. Lounge and the other for 'Pirates' and how they had followed Luffy in the 'Pirates' direction and ended up trapped in the cell.

"BUT WE ARE PIRATES!" Luffy insisted.

"We were just following Luffy!" Nami defended herself, Usopp, and Zoro. "He's the moron!"

"Then why did you bother to follow him if you knew he was a moron?" Ollie wondered.

"HEY!" Luffy yelped.

"Smokey knocked me onto the trap door," Ace stated as he sat on his seat with his arms folded across his chest, "I never would've fallen for something so stupid."

"Which is why you and Luffy passed out from eating that drugged plate of food Grandpa Garp left us that was labeled 'free food for pirates'," Y/N recalled. "You're just lucky I got you out of there when I did or Grandpa would've kicked your asses."

"I DIDN'T EXPECT HIM TO STOOP LOW ENOUGH TO BOOBYTRAP FOOD!" Ace and Luffy shouted in perfect synchronization.

"It must have been incredibly amusing to be on a ship with pirates like them," Ms. All Sunday remarked to Mr. 5.

"Amusing?" Mr. 5 repeated. "I'm lucky I escaped with my sanity. Ms. Valentine didn't."

"Eh-hem," Crocodile – who was sporting a huge tick mark on his forehead at being ignored – cleared his throat to draw the attention back to him. "One Eye, we're supposed to be fighting."

"Oh, you're still here," Y/N noted. "I hoped that if I ignored you for long enough that you'd just go away. Looks like I'm gonna have to be more assertive about this."

SKISH! Y/N leapt up off of the top of the steps and launched himself up into the air and drew his red sword as he flew down the steps.

SHWOO! Ollie fired off a volley of arrows causing Ms. All Sunday and Mr. 5 to lunge out of the way while Crocodile just allowed the arrows to pass harmlessly through his sandy body and kept staring up at Y/N.

"Red Storm... AVALANCHE!" SLASH! As Y/N descended his slashed his sword and a thin red-tinted blade of air flew off of the curved blade of his sword and sliced Crocodile in half vertically. The two halves of the Warlord's body burst into a cloud of sand and dropped to the ground.

"He figured out how to do it again..." Mr. 5 muttered as Y/N landed safely in front of the pile of sand. TMP! The Bomb Man clearly remembered being the first person Y/N had used that particular technique on... even if it was with the assistance of a giant bird named Bob.

"Red Storm... LIGHTNING STRIKE!" SLISH! Y/N spun around and lunged towards Mr. 3.5 and slashed his sword diagonally a thicker red air blade flew off of his sword and slammed into Mr. 5 and drove the Bomb Man backwards before he had a chance to explode.

"YOU IDIOT!" Smoker shouted from the cell. "You already know he's got Logia Powers! That's not gonna work!"

"You're calling me an idiot?" Y/N questioned. "You're the guy who can turn into smoke but somehow managed to get caught in a cage."

"IT'S LINED WITH SEA STONE!" Smoker yelled.

"Sea Stone?" Y/N repeated to himself as a sly grin appeared on his face.

"He's got a plan," Ace observed as he noted Y/N's grin then glanced over at Smoker. "What're you getting so worked up about?"

"I'm worked up because my survival lies in the hands of his First Mate!" Smoker exclaimed as he motioned to Luffy who was once again slumped limply against the Sea Stone bars.

-x-

"EXPLODING VOLLEY!" Ollie began running down the steps and fired a trio of arrows at Ms. All Sunday who leapt out of the way causing the arrows to hit the spot she had just vacated and explode. KA-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

"I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't point those dangerous toys at me," Ms. All Sunday warned the archer. "Dos Fleurs!" Two arms sprouted out of the step in front of Ollie and grabbed her caught her ankles causing the archer to trip and go tumbling the rest of the way down the flight of stairs. WHUMP-UMP-UMP!

-x-

Crocodile reformed behind Y/N and stared at him with a bored expression, "Is that really all you can do?" he asked. "After all that hype I'm disap—" SLASH! Y/N cut him off as he slashed his sword through Crocodile's body and once again reduced him to a pile of sand. The sand swirled around and quickly reformed, "—pointed. Skill with a sword isn't enough to—" SLISH! Y/N cut him off again when he sliced the Warlord in half causing Crocodile's legs to drop to the ground in a sandy pile. SLASH! Y/N sliced Crocodile's floating top half in half and it dropped down onto the sand from his bottom half then swirled together to reveal Crocodile once again unscathed. "—beat me."

"DAMN IT Y/N!" Nami yelled. "THAT'S CLEARLY NOT WORKING!"

"Yes it is," Y/N replied as he took two steps to the side and lashed out at the partially reformed form of Crocodile again, SLISH! The Warlord was once again reduced to a pile of sand. "He can't attack me..." SLASH! Again Y/N took two steps to the side and lashed out causing Crocodile's sandy body to drop to the ground. "...if he's not..." SWISH! "...solid."

-x-

"I'm not done yet," Ollie growled as she pushed herself up to her feet and slipped two new arrows into her bow.

"I guess you didn't hear me before," Ms. All Sunday noted. "I already told you... to stop pointing those dangerous toys at me! Dos Fleurs!" Two arms sprouted out of the front of Ollie's shoulders and wrenched the bow out of the surprised archer's grasp. Two more arms blossomed out of the back Ollie's shoulders and yanked the metal shaft of the bow back into her neck and all four arms worked together and began to strangle the archer with her own bow.

"GACK!" Ollie dropped to her knees and struggled against the two-to-one advantage Ms. All Sunday's arms had as they wrenched back on her bow.

-x-

"EXPLODING CLOTHESLINE!" Mr. 5 charged Y/N with the left arm of his coat pulled up and swung his bare arm at Y/N's head.

WHUP! Y/N ducked under Mr. 5's arm then lashed his leg out behind him, "JAVELIN KICK!" CRUNCH! The metal bottom of Y/N's boot was driven into Mr. 5's chin and the bomb man was once again sent flying backwards.

WHAP! The distraction by Mr. 5 had proven worthwhile and Crocodile's hand shot out of the cloud of sand and grabbed Y/N by the throat. The rest of Crocodile's body slowly reformed on his arm as he clenched his hand and began choking Y/N.

"That was getting annoying," Crocodile growled.

-x-

SLIK! Ollie caught Ms. All Sunday off guard when she slashed one of Ms. All Sunday's arms with one of the arrows she had strapped to her arm. Ms. All Sunday held her actual right arm while the duplicate bled and dispersed along with the other three in a flurry of flower petals. Ollie pushed herself up to her knees and gingerly held her throat while Ms. All Sunday started massaging her arm.

"What did you do?" Ms. All Sunday asked in irritation.

"I soaked the head of that arrow in venom from a scorpion that I found in the desert on the way here," Ollie explained with a grin. "That one might not be your actual arm but it's still yours and when I slashed it the venom still entered your bloodstream. I'm no scorpion expert... but if I had to guess... you're probably feeling really lightheaded now." Ms. All Sunday's vision became hazy as she staggered backwards and held her head.

-x-

"Were you really a Whitebeard Pirate?" Crocodile asked Y/N as he continued choking him. "I was expecting better."

PTOOII! Y/N spat in Crocodile's face and the Warlord flinched back in surprise. Y/N pulled free from Crocodile's grasp and spun around before he jumped up and drove his foot back into the Warlord's wet face. "Machete...BACK KICK!" THWAK! The kick connected and Y/N had positioned Crocodile perfectly that he went flying backwards and slammed back-first into the Sea Stone bars of the cell.

"Speed Step..." ZZZOOOM! Y/N was instantly in front of Crocodile and drove his knee into the Warlord's stomach. WHAM! With the Sea Stone bars pushing into his back, Crocodile's Devil Fruit Powers were nullified allowing Y/N's attack to connect again.

-x-

"Silly girl," Ms. All Sunday reprimanded Ollie as she pulled a vial out of her coat, "You don't live in a desert country without having an antidote to scorpion venom on hand."

"SMOKEY ARROW!" Shhwoo! While Ms. All Sunday had been fishing for her antidote Ollie had reclaimed her bow and fired a new arrow at her opponent. The arrow embedded in the ground at Ms. All Sunday's feet and obscured the woman in a cloud of thick smoke. FWOOOSSSHH!

"I hardly see the point of this," Ms. All Sunday's voice sounded from within the smoke cloud. "You may have sharp eyes... but you can't see through smoke."

"Yeah," Ollie admitted as she reloaded her bow, "But neither can you." SHWOO! Ollie fired her three arrows into the cloud of smoke,"EXPLODING VOLLEY!" KA-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM! Ms. All Sunday was blown backwards out of the cloud and landed hard on her back.

-x-

"YOU'RE MINE CROCODILE!" Luffy yelled as he shot his arms through the bars of the cell and pull Crocodile's solid body back into them.

"The key to the cell... give it to me..." Y/N ordered Crocodile as he held his sword to the Warlord's throat with one hand and discretely fished into his top left pocket with the other.

"You mean... this?" Crocodile questioned as he pulled a fancy key out of his fur coat and tossed it passed Y/N. "Go get it."

"Luffy has a good hold of you," Y/N pointed out without breaking eye contact with Crocodile. The Warlord never saw him toss something through the bars to Nami. "Maybe I will..."

PTOOII! Mr. 5 pushed himself up off of the ground and spat a bloody wad of spit at Y/N, "BLOODY LOOGIE BOMB!" KA-BOOOOOOM! Mr. 5's attack hit Y/N's back and resulted in a firey explosion that left even the Bomb Man staring in shock.

"Y/N!" Luffy, Nami, Usopp, and Ace screamed as Y/N's charred body fell to the ground.

"Wow..." Mr. 5 gasped, "I didn't know my blood was that combustible..."

-x-

"Y/N!" Ollie exclaimed when she heard the explosion and saw Y/N go down. She turned away from her downed opponent and ran to aid her former Nakama.

"Dos Fleurs..." Two arms sprouted out of the ground and caught Ollie's ankles causing the archer to trip and fall on her face, FWUMP!

"I liked this coat," Ms. All Sunday complained as she sat up and brushed some of the soot from Ollie's exploding arrows off of her white fur coat. She tossed the empty antidote vial to the side and got back up to her feet. "Silly girl... you shouldn't have allowed yourself to get distracted."

-x-

Crocodile took advantage of the distraction and fell forward so he pulled Luffy into the Sea Stone bars causing the Rubber Man's body to go limp. Crocodile pulled himself free and shakily got back up to his feet.

"Well done Mr. 5," Crocodile praised the Bomb Man. "I can see why this one gave you some trouble. You're forgiven. In fact... you can have Mr. 3's vacant position. Congratulations."

"Not that I don't want the promotion... but could my codename be Mr. 3.5?" Mr. 5 requested. He pulled up the right sleeve of his coat to reveal the '5' he had tattooed on his bicep. "It's easier to add to a tattoo than to remove one."

"Very well," Crocodile agreed before he lashed out his leg and kicked Y/N in the side, THWAK! Y/N was sent rolling across the floor and ended up next to the key but Crocodile stomped on his hand to keep him from reaching it. WHOMP! "That was close, a little too close for comfort. Your resourcefulness and quick thinking are no doubt what made you a competent Whitebeard Pirate but now you've been neutralized."

"YOU BASTARD!" Luffy shouted. "GET YOUR DAMN FOOT OFFA HIM!"

"You're a coward Crocodile," Ace stated. "If it wasn't for your lackey, you would've lost. You could never beat Y/N on your own! If you were a real man you'd fight him yourself. And I bet Y/N would beat you even after being blown up."

"I'll second that bet," Nami agreed.

"You're not going to goad me into anything, Fire Fist," Crocodile replied. "I hold all the cards here. You're all my prisoners and One Eye and the other one have been dealt with. I have put too much time and effort into my plans to pander to your desperate challenges. In the end all the matters is that One Eye failed to defeat me and that you all perished as a result."

"Y/N!" Ollie exclaimed as she pushed herself off of the floor and grabbed for her bow.

"Tres Fleurs!" Two arms sprouted out of Ollie's sides and wrenched her arms behind her back while a third bloomed out of her right elbow and grabbed her left wrist to aide in restraining her arms. "Now, now, don't interfere." FWUMP! Ollie's balance was thrown off and she went crashing back down to the ground.

Crocodile removed his hand from on top of Y/N's and stomped down on a nearby tile. TOMP! A trapdoor opened under Y/N and sent him and the key plummeting down into the tank under the V.I.P. Room.

"YOU BASTARD!" Luffy screamed he grabbed the bars and attempted to wrench them apart but eventually drooped to the ground when the effects of the Sea Stone set in on him. He let out a low groan, "I hate trapdoors..."

"Kuahahahaha," Crocodile chuckled as he stared the hole at Y/N, "Its feeding time... and you'll make an appetizing meal for the bananawani." Crocodile smirked as he looked through the window and watched one of the larger bananawani swim passed in the lake towards the entrance to the tank Y/N lay on the floor of.

"HEY! THERE'S A CROCODILE GROWING OUT OF THAT BANANA!" Luffy exclaimed when he saw the bananawani.

"IDIOT!" Usopp scolded him, "It's a crocodile with a banana coming out of its head!"

"Y/N, NO!" Ollie shrieked, she lunged off of the floor and kicked her bow sending it clattering down into the trapdoor. Then with her arms still pinned behind her back by Ms. All Sunday's additional arms she dove THROUGH Crocodile and down into the hole in the floor and joined Y/N down in the tank.

"Hmm... that one seems a little too eager to die," Crocodile commented as the hole Ollie had made in his body reformed.

"Allow me, sir," the newly promoted Mr. 3.5 offered. He swished around the bloody saliva in his mouth as he walked over to the trapdoor then leaned over and spat into it. PTOOI! "BLOODY LOOGIE BOMB!" KA-BOOOOOOOM!

"And that's that," Crocodile resolved as he stomped on a tile next to the trapdoor. TOMP! The door closed sealing Y/N and Ollie inside. "Even if they did manage to survive the explosion, there's no way out and they'll never survive the bananawani."

-x-

"That was close," Ollie muttered as she leaned back against the side of the tank with Y/N propped up against the wall next to her. The tank itself was big enough to house a pair of full sized bananawani so there was plenty of room for her to dodge the explosion. The smoke from the explosion started to clear and she glanced up overhead in time to see the trapdoor slide shut.

"And we're clear," Y/N announced as he promptly got back to his feet. "With the door closed they can't see us anymore."

"Are you okay?" Ollie asked him.

"That explosion was a lot stronger than any of the other ones he's used against me," Y/N admitted, "but I can't afford to let that get in the way of my plan. I'll be alright. Now remember, the most important part of conning people in a card game is sleight of hand. If the opponent is distracted with you and you're quick with your hands they won't notice what you're really doing. We accomplished what we came here to do and now we just need to get out of the tank."

"And how are we going to do that?" Ollie questioned.

"I was hoping this guy would give us a ride," Y/N answered as he turned around and faced the enormous bananawani that had just entered the tank.

Ggggrrrreeeehhhrrr... the bananawani growled at the two pirates.

"You're right on time," Y/N casually commented.

The bananawani's large mouth opened and revealed Han casually standing on its tongue. "All aboard," the Monster Hunter announced. "But be warned kid, Chopper's a little upset that you didn't tell him what bait was. You might wanna have some words with him when this plan of yours is over."

Y/N nodded in agreement as he and Ollie joined Han in the monster's mouth. The bananawani clamped its jaw shut and then slithered back out of the tank and into the lake.

-x-

"JUST WAIT!" Nami exclaimed. "Y/N'S GONNA BE FINE! He's gonna make a purse out of your overgrown lizard!" Nami promptly sat down on the bench beside Ace and folded her arms across the chest. "I'm not worried. But you should be."

"The amount of faith they have in each other is disturbing," Mr. 3.5 commented. "It was the same way on Little Garden. These damn Straw Hats never seem to get when something is over."

"You're right Nami," Ace agreed as he smiled at the girl. He laid back against the wall and tilted his hat down over his eyes, "Wake me up when we're being rescued." Crocodile's hand clenched as the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates fell asleep right there in the cell.

But while Crocodile was distracted by Y/N and his captives Vivi had finally managed to free herself from her bounds and slowly got up to her feet.

"You can quit fooling around now," Crocodile taunted Vivi as he turned to face her. "We were just about to head to Alubarna ourselves, Ms. Wednesday. If you'd like to come with us Princess then please do... or... you can try to save them." Crocodile grinned as he cast a glance at the trapped pirates. "It won't be too long before the rebels and the royal forces begin their battle to the death. Even if you hurry to Alubarna from here... who knows if you'd make it in time? To stop the rebellion you need to leave at once Ms. Wednesday. Will you do that or try and save your friends instead? It's your choice... but if you choose the latter it doesn't help that the key has been eaten by the bananawani along with One Eye."

"Those are some weird bananas!" Luffy exclaimed as he looked through the windows and watched the bananawani swim around in the lake the surrounded the underwater room.

"It looks like we're in some kind of aquarium!" Usopp observed.

"VIVI!" Luffy shouted. "MAKE THAT BANANA SPIT OUT THE KEY!"

"I wouldn't stand a chance!" the Princess protested, "They're Alpha Predators! They're known for preying on Sea Kings! Get near one and they'll devour you whole!"

"Too bad," Crocodile taunted, "You might've had the key Ms. Wednesday... if I hadn't dropped it. They're trained to eat anything I drop down there. So now there's no way of telling which of my pets ate the key."

"Obviously it's in the same one that Y/N and Ollie are in," Nami commented.

"Damn it," Zoro cursed as he gripped one of his swords, "If we could just get out of here I could handle those overgrown reptiles. We could pick and choose until we find the one they're in."

"Geez, you're really dumb Zoro," Luffy scolded the swordsman. "We can't get out cause the key got swallowed."

"I know that, you stupid idiot!" Zoro growled.

"Oh well," Crocodile sighed. SNAP! Crocodile snapped his fingers and a pair of doors across the room from the staircase opened. The doorway led to a glass hallway that no doubt led back up to the casino. "I'm sorry but we must be going. Time is of the essence. Oh, and speaking of time... this room will be destroyed in exactly one hour. It's served me well but it's no longer of any use. Soon the waters of Rain Base's lake will fill this room and unless they're fish or one of my bananawani, anyone left in here won't survive. Well Ms. Wednesday, it's either one million innocent citizens or a mere handful of pirates who have no future. It's time to choose. But to be honest the odds are quite low for both. I hope you like gambling because like they do at the tables upstairs you're going to have to roll the dice... kuahahaha... just like I did with this country... which was simple with all the fools here. People like those juvenile rebels and that old man digging in Yuba."

"HUH? YOU DON'T MEAN THAT DRIED UP OLD GUY, DO YOU?" Luffy demanded.

"Of course," Crocodile replied. "Even though everyone else has abandoned it... that old fool keeps pecking away at an oasis that's long dead. Even as he's plagued by constant sandstorms he still digs away. Kuahahaha..."

"SHUT UP!" Luffy growled.

"You don't know much about sand storms do you, 'Straw Hat' Luffy?" Crocodile questioned. "Ever wonder how one can hit a city perfectly every time?"

"AAH!" Luffy gasped in shock and Crocodile grinned.

"No wait... you mean..." Vivi realized.

Their thoughts went back to Toto who was probably still trying to dig through the sand for water. "The dream of Yuba can't be ruined by a bunch of lousy sand. I'll dig out the sand as many times as it takes."

"IT WAS YOU!" Luffy snarled. "YOU DID IT!"

SHHHWWOOOOO... Crocodile formed a small tornado of sand on his hand effectively demonstrating that he could use his Sand Sand Fruit Powers to create a sandstorm at will. "Kuahahahahahaha..."

"I WILL KILL YOU!" Vivi vowed.

"Kuahahahaha," Crocodile chuckled as he walked through the opened double doors and out of the room into the glass hallway. "Come Ms. All Sunday, Mr. 3.5, we must head to Alubarna to see my plans come into fruition." Ms. All Sunday cast one last glance over her shoulder at Princess and the pirates before following after him.

"Goodbye Straw Hat Pirates," Mr. 3.5 called out before he followed the other two.

CHUNK! SPLOOOSSHH! Almost as soon as the three were out a flap in the floor opened and began flooding the room with water from the lake.

"THE ROOM'S STARTING TO FLOOD!" Usopp screamed. "OH NO! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DROWN IF WE DON'T DO SOMETHING REALLY QUICK! VIVI HELP! GET US OUT OF HERE! I WANNA LIVE A LOT LONGER THAN JUST ONE HOUR!"

"Hey, stop freaking out," Zoro scolded him.

"ARE YOU CRAZY, ZORO?" Usopp shrieked. "HOW CAN I NOT FREAK OUT AT A TIME LIKE THIS? WE'RE ALL GONNNA DROWN LIKE RATS IF WE DON'T GET OUT OF HERE! DON'T YOU GET IT?"

"So it's either my Kingdom or my friends..." Vivi thought to herself as she stood in the middle of the quickly flooding room. Crocodile, Ms. All Sunday, and Mr. 3.5 could all still be seen walking off down the glass hallway. "All you've done is take Crocodile so I know you wouldn't give me either choice. Even if I left for Alubarana... you'd kill me before I even reached it. The only real choice... the only way to end this nightmare IS TO TAKE OUT THE ONE WHO STARED IT!" Vivi glared at Crocodile's retreating back. "Monster... you don't know a thing... about this country's people... its history... our way of life..."

Vivi pulled out her Peacock Slashers and began spinning the sharp jewels around at her sides... but then she remembered how pointless her first attack on Crocodile was and that his Devil Fruit Powers made it so she couldn't do anything to hurt him. Vivi sank down to her knees and started to cry... it seemed like there was no way out of this.

"VIVI!" Luffy called out. "GET US OUT! YOU CAN DO IT! I KNOW YOU CAN!"

"How Luffy?" Vivi questioned.

"Ah, so you're finally starting to beg for your life, eh, Straw Hat Luffy?" Crocodile called back into the room. "There's no shame in that. It's only natural. Everyone is afraid of dying."

"I'M NOT BEGGING!" Luffy shouted at him. "IT'S JUST IF I DIE... WHO ELSE IS GONNA BE ABLE TO KICK YOUR ASS?"

Crocodile stopped in his tracks and couldn't resist one last parting shot, "Don't flatter yourself, you small-fry."

"YOU'RE A SMALL-FRY WHO THINKS HE'S A BIG-SHOT!" Luffy retorted.

SNAP! With a snap of Crocodile's fingers a large panel on the floor of the glass hallway raised up. GRAAAHH! SPLOOSH! Mr. 3.5 flinched back in surprise as a ferocious bananawani climbed out of the hole and stood behind Crocodile and Ms. All Sunday.

"You're right Ms. Wednesday," Crocodile commented. "I would have had you killed if you left for the capital and of course I plan on doing the same here. Kuahahahahaha!"

THOOM! THOOM! The enormous bananawani thundered out of the hallway into the V.I.P room and towered over Vivi who could only stare up at the enormous reptile in horror.

"That thing is so gigantic!" Vivi gasped.

"VIIIIVIIII!" Luffy shouted, "YOU SHOW THAT BANANA!"

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" Usopp exclaimed. "IT'S TOO BIG! VIVI, DON'T LISTEN TO THIS KOOK! GET OUT OF THERE! And uh... get us out too."

"She only has to beat one of them!" Luffy argued.

"LOOK OUT THE WINDOWS!" Nami told him.

The Straw Hats looked passed the one bananawani out the windows of the room and saw that the others were all lined up to enter the room the same way the first one had.

"GAAAAHH!" Usopp shrieked in terror. "THEY'RE ALL WAITING IN LINE TO EAT US?"

"At least we won't drown like rats," Zoro remarked.

"BUT GETTING EATEN BY AN ENORMOUS CROCODILE ISN'T THE WAY I WANNA GO EITHER!" Usopp protested.

Vivi stared up at the bananawani and once again drew her peacock slashers, "Peacock String..." WHAM! Vivi was cut off when the crocodile lunged at her. Vivi managed to dive out of the way and watched in horror as the monster crocodile bit down on the stairs leading out of the room. CHOMP! When the dust settled a huge hole was left in the middle of the large staircase.

"THAT THING IS FAST!" Usopp exclaimed, "STRONG TOO! IT CHOMPED THROUGH THOSE STONE STAIRS AS IF THEY WERE CARDBOARD!"

GGRRR... The bananawani turned around and saw Vivi now standing behind it. WHAM! The crocodile whipped its tail around into Vivi and sent the Princess flying across the room.

"VIVI NOOO!" Luffy screamed.

"CAN YOU HEAR US?" Usopp hollered. "PLEASE! SAY SOMETHING! TELL US... ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

Blood dripped onto the floor from a gash under Vivi's eye as the Princess attempted to push herself up off of the floor. The bananawani loomed over her ready for the final blow.

"VIVI GET UP!" Luffy shouted.

"RUUUNNN!" Nami yelled.

"VIVI GET OUTTA THERE!" Usopp shrieked. "IT'S GONNA EAT YOU!"

GRRAAAAHHHHH! The bananawani opened its mouth and prepared to finish off it's prey but it was interrupted by a low ringing sound. RRRIIIING... RRRIIIINGG... RRRIIIINGG... The bananawani and everyone else's attention was drawn to Ms. All Sunday as she fished the ringing transponder snail out of her coat.

Crocodile and Mr. 3.5 gave Ms. All Sunday irritated glares for interrupting.

"Yes?" Ms. All Sunday said into the transponder snail.

"Hello? Hello? Can you hear me?" spoke a familiar voice.

"Yes, we can hear you," Ms. All Sunday answered. "You're a Million, right?"

"Hey pal, is this thing working alright?" the familiar voice asked someone on the other end. "I've only used a transponder snail once before."

"It's working fine," a second voice clarified. "They can hear you. Just talk into it."

"It's him," Mr. 3.5 realized with a whisper while the Straw Hats shared a glance at the familiar voice on the other end of the transponder snail.

"What do you want?" Ms. All Sunday asked.

"Hurry up and state your business," Crocodile ordered. "What is it?"

"Oh, now I know I've heard that voice before," the familiar voice commented. "Yeah... hello, you've reached the Crap Café."

-x-

Mr. Prince

-x-

"The Crap Café?" Crocodile repeated.

"Does that ring a bell?" the familiar voice inquired. "It should but in case it doesn't... maybe this'll jog your memory... Little Garden."

"Yeah... hello, you've reached the Crap Café. Can I take your order?" The voice that Crocodile had assumed was Mr. 3's greeted him when he had called the Officer Agent at Little Garden.

"You can quit fooling around now, jackass," Crocodile had responded.

"A transponder snail?" Mr. 3 repeated when he had confronted Crocodile during his meeting with the other Officer Agents. "I don't know what you're talking about. I never used a transponder snail once while I was on Little Garden."

"We have four of the Straw Hats trapped in the cell thanks to what Mr. 2 showed us," Crocodile reasoned. "We also caught Fire Fist and One Eye and the female Whitebeard Pirate are in the belly of one of the bananawani. The only one that's left is that pet."

"Sir, it's their cook," Mr. 3.5 informed him. "I recognize his voice."

"Oh, is that you Mr.5?" the familiar voice of Sanji spoke again. "I didn't know you were here."

"That's Mr. 3.5 now," Mr. 3.5 corrected him. "I got a promotion for helping Mr. 0 deal with One Eye and the blonde. Whatever you're trying it won't work."

"SAN—" Luffy was interrupted when Usopp clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Sssshhh!" Usopp hissed, "He's obviously planning something. Don't give anything away! Sanji's our ace in the hole."

"Zzzzzzzzzz..." Ace let out a snore, still confident that they'd be rescued in time. Sanji's call on the transponder snail only added more credence to that belief.

Nami's face lit up in a grin as she connected the dots and finally realized what was going on, "Now I get it..." she whispered to herself.

"Sanji, Tony, and Han didn't get captured," Vivi realized and whispered to the others, "They must still be outside."

"So you're one of the Straw Hats?" Crocodile spoke into the transponder snail.

"That's right," Sanji's voice replied. "But you can call me Mr. Prince."

"Very well Mr. Prince," Crocodile replied, "Mind telling me something else? Like where you are?"

"I'm afraid I can't say," Sanji replied. "You'll just come running and get rid of me. Even though I highly doubt you could get rid of me. I'm not stupid. I never give up information easily. Unlike you just did... Mr. 0."

"MR. PRINCE! HUURRYYYY!" Usopp screamed. "COME ON! IF YOU DON'T HURRY UP WE'RE ALL GONNA END UP AS CROCODILE CHOW!"

"GET THE LEAD OUT MR. PRINCE!" Luffy hollered. "COME RESCUE US!"

"Wahaha," Mr. Prince chuckled, "That's my loudmouth crew alright. Thanks for letting me know they're with you. All I have to do is find you and I—BANG!" A gun shot rang out on the other end. "AAAAAHHHH!"

Luffy and Usopp stopped screamed and stared out into the glass hallway in shock.

"We've got him sir!" a new voice taunted on the transponder snail. "Don't worry. He won't be going anywhere in the condition we've put him in."

"Uugggghhh..." Sanji let out a groan.

"Not Sanji..." Vivi gasped.

"So where are you?" Crocodile asked. "Speak up."

"We're at the front of the casino with the crocodile on top up in Rain Base," the new voice answered, "Rain Dinners."

"Grrrrrr..." Zoro growled, "If he's not dead he's gonna wish he was! Cause I'm gonna kill 'im next time I see 'im!"

"NOOOO! SAAANJIIII!" Luffy screamed, behind him Usopp let out a scream and did a dance of horror.

But while the others panicked, Nami remained seated on the bench and actually smirked as she started fishing into the neck of her cloak.

"Kuahahahaha," Crocodile chuckled. "Stay right there." He looked over at Ms. All Sunday and Mr. 3.5, "Well, we shouldn't leave the man waiting."

"Is this wise?" Ms. All Sunday asked. "The Millions still don't know the actual identity of their boss. Couldn't we just send Mr. 3.5?"

"Aside from the Officer Agents no one knows who you and I truly are," Crocodile replied. "Everyone thinks I'm a local hero who also owns this casino. There's nothing suspicious about a proprietor going to see what happened in front of his building. Our secret will be safe. These Straw Hats have proven to be irritating enough that I want to deal with the last one myself."

It was then that the bananawani spotted Vivi sneaking towards the stairs and lunged at her, CHOMP! Another huge bite was taken out of the stairs but Vivi had managed to reach the stair above the bite.

"VIVI! NOO!" Nami yelled.

"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Luffy shouted at her.

"We still have time before this room fills completely with water," Vivi replied. "I'm going outside to help you-know-who."

"Gotcha!" Usopp exclaimed. "There's no way he kicked the bucket! Now that guy! If you can get him free then I'm sure he can get us free!"

"VIVI! NOO!" Nami yelled again.

SHHWWOOOO! Crocodile blew back into the room as a gust of sand and sent his hook with a column of sand attached to it after Vivi. WHUP!

"AAAAHHH!"Vivi let out a pain screamed as she dragged off of the stairs by Crocodile hook and slammed down onto the floor beside the bananawani. WHAM!

"VIVI!" Luffy cried out in alarm.

"No... why'd you have to go and do something so reckless?" Nami whispered.

"I've had enough of your nonsense," Crocodile growled down at the prone form of Vivi. The floor of the room was now almost completely covered in water as Crocodile quickly made his way back out of the room.

"VIVI WAKE UP!" Usopp shrieked.

"THAT WEIRD BANANA'S GONNA GET YOU!" Luffy hollered.

"Since you care for your friends that much Ms. Wednesday you can just die here with them," Crocodile resolved, "Which thanks to the rising water and my hungry pets outside... should occur very, very soon. Now if you'll excuse me... I'm going to drag Mr. Prince back here to join you. I hope you don't mind corpses. Kuahahahahaha!"

"Grrrrrr..." Luffy growled as the warlord walked out with Ms. All Sunday and Mr. 3.5. "CRRROOOCOOOODIIIILLLEEEEE!"

-x-

Crocodile walked out into the casino flanked by Ms. All Sunday and Mr. 3.5 and was greeted by the flame haired man in the fancy suit.

"Sir Crocodile!" the fancy man exclaimed. "Have you heard what's happening in Nanohana?"

"Hm, yes tragic," Crocodile replied as he tried to sound sympathetic for the destruction that he had orchestrated.

"The whole city... no... the whole country is in an uproar!" the fancy man pressed. "Everyone's talking about it! It appears the Rebel Army and the Royal Army are finally about to clash!"

"Oh well," Crocodile said as he decided to make his publicity statement, "I'm not surprised. The King does allow pirates to attack the cities. I always thought something like this might happen if Cobra kept letting this country suffer."

"Why is this place so quiet?" Ms. All Sunday inquired as she glanced around the casino that was empty except for their lingering employees. "Where is everybody?"

"Oh... well you see," the fancy man attempted to explain. "We don't have any money left after that stranger won seventeen billion berries from us. I had to close the casino or risk someone else winning money that we don't have."

Crocodile growled in irritation as the made his way through the empty casino to the door before leaving he turned to Mr. 3.5. "As soon as we spot this Mr. Prince I want you to head back into the casino and stay there. It would hurt my public reputation to be seen with such a shady character. Don't let anyone other than myself or Ms. All Sunday into the casino. Once I've verified that the Millions have him apprehended, I'll come back and send you to deal with the Millions in my place as Mr. 0."

"Yes sir," Mr. 3.5 agreed.

-x-

"Phew, he's finally gone," Nami sighed as she pulled out the black leather wallet that Y/N had tossed her while he had Crocodile pinned against the bars of the cell. She unfolded it to reveal Y/N's collection of gem crafting tools... and more importantly... his lock-picks. Nami darted over to the cell door and started picking the lock, "HOLD ON VIVI! I'LL HAVE US OUT IN A MINUTE!"

"So that was his plan," Smoker realized, he'd gone mostly unnoticed since he was just sitting on his bench in the back of the cell. "He lost to Crocodile so he could give you those lock-picks then had the other one lure Crocodile out of here knowing that Crocodile would never let us escape while he was still in the room."

"YEAH Y/N!" Usopp cheered.

"Heh heh," Zoro chuckled, "I knew that guy wouldn't go down that easy."

"DON'T WORRY VIVI!" Luffy shouted, "WE'LL BE OUT IN A SECOND THEN I'LL KICKTHE BANANA'S ASS!"

-x-

Mr. 1 glared across the cart as Bunchi continued to carry the three Officer Agents towards the capital city of Alubarna.

"Wipe that gloomy look off of my face," Mr. 1 ordered as he sat on one side of the cart and smirked at... Mr. 1?

"Damn you," the real Mr. 1 growled as he glared at the fake Mr. 1 that was wearing Mr. 2's ballet clothes. "I don't remember you touching my face ever."

"Gaa hahaha," the fake Mr. 1 chuckled before he touched his face with his left hand and turned back into Mr. 2. "I didn't silly! I punched it or have you forgotten? I guess your muscles are bigger than your brain, huh?"

"WHAT?" Mr. 1 yelled as he surged across the cart and grabbed the okama by the collar.

"Oh bring it on!" Mr. 2 goaded him as he held up his hands in a kung-fu pose.

"Knock it off you two," Ms. Double Finger scolded them from her seat next to Mr. 1. "Save your energy for the real battle." Mr. 1 reluctantly released Mr. 2 and returned to his seat.

"Uhhh, you guys are no fun," Mr. 2 sighed as he sat back down. "Why does a fun person like me have to work with you un-fun people?"

"You won't be cooped up with us much longer," Ms. Double Finger reassured him as she glanced through the window behind her at the large city that they were approaching. "That's Alubarna right outside the window."

"WHAT?" Mr. 2 shrieked as he dove across the cart and pushed Mr. 1 and Ms. Double Finger to the side and pressed his face up against the window. "OOH! LET ME SEE! LET ME SEE! AH-HA! So that's Alubarna where this little old drama's gonna unfold? The place where Mr. 0's plan is going to blossom like a flower in the desert!"

-x-

"C'MON NAMI! HURRY UP!" Usopp exclaimed as he, Luffy and Zoro crowded around Nami as she knelt in front of the cell door and tried to pick the lock.

"I'M TRYING!" Nami snapped as she continued to work the two lock-picks. "These lock-picks are made to crack padlocks on treasure chests... not huge expensive cell doors! Crocodile went all-out when he made this thing!"

"LOOK OUT VIVI!" Luffy shouted. "THE BANANA'S GONNA GET YOU!"

"And here comes another one!" Zoro added as a second bananawani slithered up into the flooding room from the panel that Crocodile had left opened.

Vivi rolled over and looked up into the long gaping mouth of the bananawani she'd been fighting. She let out a shriek as the crocodile lunged to finish her off, "EEEK!"

KER-WHAM! The second bananawani slammed into the first and sent it tumbling across the room. Vivi looked up at new bananawani and realized that it was even bigger than the first one.

GRRAAAAHHH! The first bananawani got up and snarled at the bigger one but suddenly a figure leapt out of the bigger bananawani's mouth and flew over the first one's head.

"Bludgeon... STOMP!" WHOMP! Y/N drove his feet down into the bananawani's head and knocked it out cold as it was driven down into the stone floor.

"Y/NY!" Luffy and Usopp cheered while Vivi stared up at him in shock.

Snort! Ace woke up with a start, "Huh? Are we being rescued?" he asked groggily.

"What took you guys so long?" Zoro complained.

The large bananawani's mouth opened to reveal Han and Ollie. "We were waiting for Crocodile to leave," Han explained. "And in the meantime we were keeping the other bananawani from getting in. We're lucky we used great bait cause we caught the biggest one."

Ollie looked over at Nami who was still struggling to set the lock picked, "What's the matter Pirate Princess?" she teased her, "Couldn't get it yet?"

"It's these damn lock-picks!" Nami complained. "They weren't made for this kind of lock! There's no way that key Crocodile showed us earlier was the one for this cage."

"Oh," Y/N said as he pulled the key out from his pocket, "I guess this thing's useless then." He tossed the key to the side and then a sly grin appeared on his face, "Fortunately, we found a perfect substitute."

"Hurry up before they get back!" Smoker ordered.

"That won't happen for a while," Y/N assured him. "I've got people on the outside making sure that Sandy won't be back any time soon."

-x-

"What... the hell... is this?" Crocodile demanded as he, Ms. All Sunday, and Mr. 3.5 stood on the bridge leading out of Rain Dinners. Dozens of unconscious men were left lying on the ground at their feet.

"These were the remaining Millions we had in the city," Ms. All Sunday informed him. "If you include those that Pell the Falcon took down every last one of them has been wiped out."

"Hey who did this?" Crocodile asked one of the Millions as he prodded him with his foot and rolled him onto his back. "Tell me."

"Ugghh... a guy..." the Million gasped, "he was called Mr. Prince..."

"I thought you idiots caught him," Crocodile growled. "So where the hell did he go?"

"Looking for me?" came a voice. Crocodile looked up and spotted Sanji standing across the street from him, idly smoking a cigarette.

"That's him sir," Mr. 3.5 stated, "That's their cook."

"Get back in the casino," Crocodile ordered, "I'll handle this."

"You'll have to catch me first," Sanji replied before he turned and ran off through the city.

"Run then," Crocodile told him, "Run all you want but you can't escape me."

"You could forget him," Ms. All Sunday suggested.

"Oh no," Crocodile refused, "I've always killed those foolish enough to cross me. And that's not a habit I'm quitting any time soon!" SWOOOOSSHHH! Crocodile's legs turned into a cloud of sand and he blew up into the air and flew after Sanji.

Mr. 3.5 went back across the bridge and entered the casino leaving Ms. All Sunday alone. This made her the only one that noticed a small figure with a cannon creeping towards the bridge.

"Han said I had to point it up in the air over the bridge and pull the trigger," Chopper muttered to himself as he held Han's cannon up into the air and shakily lit the fuse. BOOM! The cannon exploded and the round was fired up into the air and came down on the bridge, KA-BOOOOM! The middle of the bridge was left completely destroyed with only the very ends remaining intact.

"YEAH! I DID IT!" Chopper cheered.

"Eh-hem," Ms. All Sunday cleared her throat as she stood behind the small reindeer.

GULP! Chopper slowly looked over his shoulder and saw the tall woman staring down at him with a curious look on her face. "WAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Chopper screamed and dashed off. He quickly transformed into his Walk Point reindeer form and ran away as fast as his four legs could carry him.

"What a strange pet," Ms. All Sunday remarked as she watched the reindeer run away. "Although, considering how strange the crew itself is I shouldn't be surprised."

-x-

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!