"... 100, 101, 102, 103..."
".. And that's when I yelled, 'You big idiot of a bird with a pint sized brain!'" Usopp recounted to Bonney and Chopper, who were completely engrossed and enthralled in his fantastical stories which he was spewing. "Ever since that day, the birds all around the world realized how dumb they are to not use their beaks as chopsticks instead of their feathery arms!"
"... 130, 131, 132, 133..."
"Zoro, stop wasting energy pointlessly!" Nami finally scolded Zoro, who was continuously using his swords as weights and exercising with the help of it.
"Shut up!" Zoro retorted, not stopping in his push ups above the bird, which was fortunately flying at a very high speed.
"And there was another twerp hopping behind them then... It was a chicken!" Usopp excitedly continued his story with full confidence.
"Ohh! So chickens can fly too?!" Chopper questioned with wide, curious eyes to Usopp, who excitedly nodded his head.
"Yes, they can but not a lot because they are dumb." Usopp laughed as he answered Chopper. It was as if he was the one who had personally created chickens to know every nick and knack about them.
"No way! You are lying!" Bonney pointed out, having never seen a chicken fly in the sky in the first place.
"Hey-"
"Even Usopp and the others...?" Nami muttered with a dejected sigh, seeing Usopp, Chopper and Bonney getting into an argument about 'chickens' of all things and wasting their energy. Wasn't Zoro enough for exerting his own energy before the battle, that the others also want to join in it? Nami was worried.
"Just leave them be, Nami." Sanji uttered, seeing the disappointed look on Nami's face. For him, Nami was truly a goddess to worry about the others when they were steadily approaching the war. But Sanji was not going to let Nami fret at how everyone was behaving rather than resting and planning about the upcoming problem. "They need something to keep their minds preoccupied so they can calm down. They are no good at maintaining their calm." Sanji lit his tenth cigarette in a row to take a deep swig of it. The nicotine flowing through his veins was what he needed in this situation, too. "Especially that muscle head. He's feeling insecure because he realized the gap between the 3C's and him." Sanji blurted out the truth, casting a look at Zoro, whose tense and blank look was way too known to him.
"What, exactly, are you implying?" Zoro threw a deadly glare at Sanji with his narrowed eyes. He hated where Sanji was going with, talking about him as if he knew each and everything about Zoro, which Sanji didn't! That idiot cook didn't know how he was feeling to have Luffy taken away by the 3C's when he didn't know how long Luffy could be with them in the first place! That shitty cook didn't know how he was frustrated because the 3C's had taken a freaking teen GOD!
"Fine, I'll spell it out loud." Sanji gritted his teeth, seeing the angry expression on Zoro's face, which was hiding the worries that the dumb mosshead was fretting over. "You're scared for Luffy. You are scared not knowing if the 3C's will truly let him go or not! You're scared 'cause you don't know if Luffy can escape on his own if the 3C's turn hostile to him!"
"Me?! Scared?!" Zoro growled out, standing up in his place to approach the cook and hold him through his fancy suit collar. Zoro was pissed off. "Say that again, shitty brows!"
"Wha?! The hell did you just call me?! You fucking... mosshead?!" Sanji growled out, his leg already lifting from the back of the bird and launching straight to the air, to kick the mosshead in his head.
"What was that?!" Zoro barked out, taking out his katana from their sheaths. "YOU WANNA FIGHT-"
"QUIT IT, DUMBASSESS!" Nami snapped, hitting Zoro and Sanji on their heads angrily with her fists.
The duo who had hit the bird's back, with huge bumps on their heads, were now noticing how quiet everything had gone due to their shouts. There were no Usopp's tales, or Chopper's curious questions or Bonney's replies. It was all pure silence filled with so much tension that it could not even be cut with a blade. The worry about Luffy and the strain about the upcoming war were already enough. Nami didn't really want any more chaos to be added on top of it all.
"It'll be fine, guys. Luffy will be okay." Vivi spoke, but the tremble in her voice was enough to give away Vivi's worries even if one didn't look at her shaking petite figure. "After all he promised us. He promised he would meet up with us at Alubarna."
"Aren't you the one worried the most?!" Usopp pointed out the obvious to the shaking and sweating princess, who clenched her fists helplessly.
"Luffy-ni will be fine." Bonney repeated the phrase for the umpteenth time. She didn't like how it was getting all gloomy and sad. Luffy-ni is there with them and he'll never leave. He had promised her. Nika doesn't break promises. Daddy assured her that! So, what if Luffy-ni went out to have some fun? He was coming back! "Ni-chan is stronger than anyone! Ni-chan won't lose to some dumb Crocodile!"
"That's right. Luffy is strong." Nami repeated the words but she didn't know whom she was assuring. Was it to the crew or herself? "You just stick to worrying about the rebellion, not Luffy or us." Nami lightly bonked the princess's head with her fists to get her words through the thick headed princess's brain.
"Sorry for making you worry needlessly, Vivi-chan." Sanji apologized, chewing the butt of his cigarette. He didn't like how he was one of the people to make the tension well up and worry the girls.
"Well, I can't exactly say anything after that." Zoro let out a sigh, looking in the direction where Luffy could be. He just had to keep faith on Luffy to return back to them. "Anyways, why is Carue down there?" Zoro pointed out to the figure of Carue who was frantically waving his feathery hands at them and running with other ducks towards them.
"WHAT?! CARUE!?" Vivi shouted, looking down from the bird to see Carue and the other super spot billed duck squad, which is the fastest troop in Alabasta. "Chopper, please tell the bird to stop. We need to get down!"
"On it!" Chopper responded as he conveyed the message to the large bird, who instantly began to fly down.
"But isn't this bird faster than those down there?" Bonney pointed out with a confused look on her chibby face. She had heard about the famous duck squad of the Alabastain army but would they be able to reach the war zone in time with them?
"It's true that they might be slow but we can't leave them behind." Vivi tried to keep her point. They might have aerial advantage and get out of the scope of the officer agents undetected but stopping the war was still questionable with the bird.
"We can get them aboard and land near the capital. Can't we, Vivi?" Nami questioned, sensing the worries and problems of the girl, whose eyes instantly glimmered with hope. "We have enough space for them too."
"Yeah, also, 'I can carry these little ducklings too, if they are the young king's friends!' he says." Chopper translated what the large bird squeaked in response to the conversation they were having.
Time left for the war to begin: 1 hour
.
'The Desert King' Crocodile, one of the seven warlords of the sea who was feared across the Grand Line, was certain that he had never felt the rush of panic, which he was feeling currently, ever in his life. Even when he was utterly destroyed and crushed by one of the four yonkos of the sea, Whitebeard, he had never felt his heartbeat surging rapidly with fear. It was a completely new feeling of panic which the Warlord was not accustomed to and hated how it was making him queasy just at the thought of the 3C's who were truly present in Alabasta, in the base of his operations- Rainbase.
'It was supposed to be just a prank played by Strawhat Luffy. So how did they get here?!' Crocodile questioned himself, cursing Mr. 2 for faking the information. There was a chance that the 3C's were present in the island because Strawhat impersonated to be one of them and had incurred the wrath of the 3C's who destroys and kills the ones who dares to do such acts.
But Crocodile wasn't a fool anymore to keep his conscience and common sense in a lock, just to have some pleasant mornings and sweet nights. No, he wasn't that much of an idiot to ignore the feeling in his heart which cursed at him while saying that the 3C's would definitely come after him too. Crocodile knew that no matter how powerful he was combined with all the years of his experience, going up against the 3C's without a solid plan was a suicide. A gamble which would only end up with losses and his death. That's why Crocodile was crushing his pride and was racing through the deserts of Alabasta to reach Alubarna, instead of facing the 3C's head on.
'Just a little more!' Crocodile thought as his body transformed into sand, and let him cross the river which separated him from Alubarna. He needed to reach Alubarna before the 3C's caught him. He needed to get to the ancient weapon, Pluton, before his time ran out.
The ancient weapon was the only salvation in the eternal darkness which Crocodile could feel looming above him. The weapon was said to contain power that rivals the gods and Crocodile was certain that once he had the weapon in his grasp, no one, not even the 3C's or the Yonkos or the World Government could stop him. With the military might of the colossal ancient weapon, Crocodile was going to rule the world and make all the puny, impudent pirates, marines, revolutionaries, mercenaries and civilians kneel down to him.
Purupurupuru
Crocodile cursed the snail which started ringing once again. He didn't want to stop in his run- the word made his stomach churn with disgust- and pick up the call but seeing how far he was already, he decided against it.
"It better be something worth my time!" The warlord snapped at the snail, which was taking the appearance of the manager from the casino. Crocodile wondered if the gadgets from the 3P's were successful in capturing the 3C's.
"S-S-S-S-Sir, the 3C's b-broke o-out." The trembling, shivering and crying voice reached Crocodile, sending jolts of fear and shiver down his spine.
"WHAT!?" Crocodile instantly shouted, before realizing his volume and checking his surroundings. He didn't want the escaped 3C's to find him. Not now. Not when the 3P's were all words and expensive weapons and gadgets but no actions. He cursed that faceless CEO of the company who claimed that their weapons and gadgets were impenetrable and 3C's proof. 'Motherfucker is going down if I get out of this alive!' Crocodile cursed that man. "When did this happen, you idiot?!"
"A-n h-hour and a half a-a-ago, s-s-sir."
Crocodile cursed, disconnecting the snail. He wasn't going to waste a single moment anymore to reach Alubarna. He has a head start of about an hour more than the 3C's, that was the only thing keeping him moving. Even if the 3C's can control waves, winds and storms, they wouldn't be able to reach him, not when the desert is his domain and stronghold.
"I'll not lose. Pluton is mine." Crocodile motivated himself, rushing towards the direction of the city, which he could feel soon approaching. He was going to make it and the 3C's were gonna kneel to him and soon learn what true military power is. Soon, the victory would be his to claim and he would be the one laughing while sitting on a golden throne.
Time left for the war to begun: half an hour
.
At the western gates of Alabasta, Mr. 1, Miss Double finger and Mr. 2 finally reunited with Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas, who were tasked with abducting the king from his royal castle. The officer agents would have rejoiced at their achievements if not for the looming doom which was evidently reaching them.
"What?! The 3C's were there in Nanohana?!" Miss Merry Christmas shouted out, her words coming out as a jumble of words but clearly understandable by her peers who had an expression of fear on their faces at the name of the most infamous and notorious group, the 3C's.
"The plan was almost doomed due to their presence." Miss Double finger replied, as she hugged herself. She would never want to face the constant fear which she was feeling, checking the back of the carriage and the front repeatedly, for any signs of pursuers or rather the 3C's themselves. She couldn't even take a blink of sleep until one of their subordinates called to confirm the presence of the 3C's in Rainbase.
"Will the 3C's chase us to Alubarna too?" Mr. 2 questioned, his flamboyant attitude absent in his words and actions, as he contemplated what was truly happening. There were several questions which were brewing in his mind and each of the obvious answers he was getting were terrifying. But above all those questions, one stood out, showcasing the immense power of the 3C's. The question of how they were able to reach Rainbase from Nanohana in just four hours. That feat was impossible but the 3C's just reminded them that nothing was impossible for them.
"Sir Crocodile will crush them. I trust him to conquer the 3C's." Mr. 1 answered Mr. 2, sending a glare to the man who thought so lowly of their boss. He was sure that a warlord of the sea was enough to handle the 3C's all alone with his cunning mind and powerful devil fruit. "We need to fulfill our mission and leave the impudent pirates to our boss."
"R-Right." Mr. 2 agreed half heartedly with Mr. 1, before he decided to start spinning and dancing to calm his mind and focus on what he can do. If worse comes then he was going to flee in his okama way!
"Still the problem is where to lie in wait for the Strawhats? We can't take them lightly. They've already beaten six of our numbered agents." Miss Merry Christmas voiced out her thoughts, trying to ignore the fact that the 3C's could definitely crush their asses, if they faced them.
"Yes, even if the captain is kidnapped by the 3C's, we have princess Vivi, a former Baroque Work agent, herself with the Strawhats." Mr. 2 spoke, spinning around and dancing on the uneven sandy terrain. A part of him worried about the kid captain whom he had got to know on his way to Alabasta. He had thought that Luffy was Cyra but after knowing the fate of the young pirate captain, he could only offer his condolences to his friend who had foolishly provoked the wrath of the 3C's by impersonating them.
"We can always crush them in one strike if we feel like it." Miss Double finger spoke, taking a swig from her tobacco pipe. She absent mindedly noticed that she was smoking a lot compared to the other days but she really needed the tobacco to fight and not keep checking her back for the 3C's. She hoped that Sir Crocodile, their boss, was capable of holding down the 3C's. She didn't want to test her P.P.P. weapon against the 3C's, only for them to give up and lead to her death. "What should we do?"
"Hold it right there, enough messin' around. Ain't it obvious that we'll take care of the job of stopping them? Right, Mr. 4?" Miss Merry Christmas spoke like a rabid train, cutting Mr. 4's attempt at speaking. "We'll be the ones to take them out! All we have to do is eliminate Vivi, right?!" And not worry about the 3C's. That wasn't her job. In fact, she was going to flee the moment any of the 3C's even made their presence known in Alubarna. She wasn't getting paid enough to march towards her death willingly.
Loud shouts of orders thrown back and forth and the faint rumbling of the rebels were already making their way to them, which was making the agents antsy.
"Are you sure that the pirates and Vivi escaped the 3C's and didn't actually die?" Mr. 2 questioned, hearing the approaching rebel army. Was he going to bury all his new friends? The thought was making him feel sad.
"The informant said that the Strawhat pirates and Princess Vivi were successful in escaping the town and the 3C's." Miss Double finger answered Mr. 2 with a blank look in her eyes. If the Strawhats fell to their doom along with the princess then she would need to mentally thank the 3C's for it and prepare to flee. She will wait until the rebels enter and the war starts before finding a safe place. "But there is a good chance that either they won't make it in time or they get preyed upon by the 3C's."
"Heeeerrrreeeee theeeeyyyy-"
"Oh really?" Miss Merry Christmas questioned, talking above Mr. 4, who was trying to tell them something.
"So if the rebels get here before they do, then what are we supposed to do?" Mr. 2 questioned, making a weird frown on his face and swinging his legs and arms in his swan dance fluidly.
"Nothing." Miss Double finger answered, her mind wandering over the places where she can hide until she is sure that the 3C's won't arrive in this town or until Crocodile reaches the town.
"Once the battle starts, there's nothing anyone can do to stop it." Mr. 1 spoke, leaving the unless part, where everyone knew that if the 3C's entered the war, everything would be crushed- them, the royals, the rebels and the kingdom. But Mr. 1 was going to bet on Sir Crocodile to win his battle against the 3C's.
"Heeeerrreeeee theeeeyyyyy coooommmmeeeee!" Mr. 4 tried speaking once again, which was finally heard and noticed by everyone.
"TELL US SOONER, YOU IDIOT!" Miss Merry Christmas snapped at Mr. 4, while checking through her binoculars to find six birds with people mounted on top of that, hurrying to their directions. "DUCKS?!"
"Duck? What on Earth are you saying, Miss Merry Christmas?" Miss Double finger inquired, wondering if the old woman finally lost her sanity or not.
"And there's more of them than there should be! I see seven of them!" Miss Merry Christmas informed the others with a pensive look on her face. "According to the list, there should only be four pirates and one pet, excluding the captain."
"Don't panic, you idiot." Mr. 1 spoke with a blank look on his face, finally standing up to look at the horizon to see their target approaching them. "No matter how many more pirates there are, our target is Princess Vivi alone."
"So all we gotta do is kill one little girl?" Miss Merry Christmas with a grim expression questioned Mr. 1, having seen the masked faces of the pirates who were making their way towards them steadily. "Why don' cha tell us which one's the princess?!"
"AGHHHH! THEY'RE ALL COVERED WITH THE SAME CLOAK!" Mr. 2 shouted out, his eyes bulging out of his sockets a little at the sight of the cloaked people. He would have thought that the 3C's were among them, if not for the mundane cloaks. "Dammit! Now we can't tell who's who!"
"And those birds are Super Spot-Billed Ducks, Alabasta's fastest animals!" Miss Double finger cursed at their luck.
"Get 'em, Mr. 4!" Miss Merry Christmas commanded the agent, who fired the cannon, which he was carrying on his broad shoulder, resulting in a bomb ball to hit the sand near the ducks.
But that wasn't enough to stop the pirates or the ducks, who instantly dodged it successfully.
"Dammit! Two of them split off and are headed south!" Miss Merry Christmas shouted out, getting a rough view of what the pirates were trying, which was to reach the Southern Gates, where the rebels will strike. That also meant that Vivi had to be among those two! "LEAVE THOSE TWO TO US! LET'S GO, MR. 4!"
"Ooookaaayyy..."
With that, Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas rushed to apprehend the pirates and hopefully Vivi while a 'Certain kill flame star' exploded in the face of Mr. 1 and at the same time, the ducks and their riders rushed past the agents, who were momentarily shocked.
"Mr. 1! Two others also split from their group just now. Vivi might be one of them!" Miss Double finger commented, watching the pirates rushing towards the Western gates. She assumed that Vivi might first try to warn her people, that is the guards.
"Let's go after them!" Mr. 1 growled out, eradicating the flames which were dancing on his arms. He was going to crush the pirate who dared to do that.
At the same time, another duck with its rider trampled over the spinning Mr. 2, heading towards the South Western gates.
"GAHH!"
Out of the five gates present in Alubarna, there were only three gates through which the Strawhat pirates accompanied by Vivi could enter, arriving from the West. That's why it was obvious to the officer agents that the main plan of the pirates was to split off and enter the city from each of those gates.
"I won't let you escape!" Mr. 2 chased after the pirates who dared to hit a beautiful swan like him and make his face bloody.
It only took two to five minutes for the respective officer agents to finally catch onto their opponents but something weird happened just after it. Their preys who were supposed to keep running away from them, stopped and faced them head on.
"Hahaha! You did a good job following us all the way in!"
"Can't believe our plan worked!"
A male overconfident voice and another childish yet excited female voice confronted Mr. 2, who was disappointed as the cloaks were thrown on the ground.
At the same time, in the Western part of the city, Mr. 1 and Miss Double finger finally cornered their opponents too.
"You two have good instincts. You guessed right, I'm Vivi!"
"What the hell ar-! I mean... What are you saying? I'm the real Vivi!"
One female voice and another fabricated female voice, which sounded forced, finally stood their ground before Mr. 1 and his partner, ready to reveal themself.
On the other side, the duo who were responsible for leading the agents, Mr. 4 and his partner, away from the Southern gates, finally skidded to a halt.
"This should be enough."
"Allow me to show you who we really are!"
A fabricated female voice and another male voice finally faced off the agents while throwing their cloaks off.
"Too bad, so sad! Better luck next time!"
Not a single one among the pirates the officer agents were facing was Vivi. It hurt their pride but what hurt more was the smirking, teasing, frowning, and laughing faces of their opponents who stood before them without cowering in fear. They were ready to face them as if their captain wasn't missing or rather dead, or they were just facing little kids instead of the top, powerful numbered agents of the Baroque Works.
.
Far away from the grasps of the officer agents, Vivi finally reached her destination, determined to go through anything to stop the rebels.
"You don't need to stay here, Carue." Vivi softly commented to the shivering and shaking friend of hers, who stood beside her in the outskirts of the Southern Gates of Alubarna, to stop the rebel army. She wasn't going to blame if Carue decided to leave or got scared at the sounds of roars and shouts, or the vibrating ground beneath their feet which was being caused due to the massive army of rebels who were approaching them. Her own fear was bubbling in her heart but as the princess of the kingdom she couldn't afford to give into it. At least not now.
"Q-Quack! Quack! Quack!" Carue determinedly quacked, refusing to leave Vivi's side, even if he was scared of what would happen.
Vivi smiled at her friend, ruffling his feathers softly and grounding her to reality. The roars of the rebel army were scaring her too. The horses who were kicking the sand so furiously that it was forming a thick, swirling wall of sand between them, leading to no clear visibility felt like a tantalizing storm to her.
'This is it.' Vivi thought, balling her fists, trying to control her skyrocketing pulse. Every moment which she had waited for was before her. Every help and opportunity which her friends gave her to stop the war was resting on her shoulders. She had to do it. She has to stop the rebels and the royals from clashing with each other. She has to do it for Alabasta. For her people. For Kouza.
"STICK TOGETHER MEN! WE'LL BREAK THROUGH THE SOUTHERN GATES! ONCE WE'RE IN THE CITY GROUNDS, THE OTHER GATES WILL FALL EASILY."
Vivi recognized the voice of the man who was shouting out orders. It was Kouza, her leader. 'Leader! Please, listen to what I have to say!' Vivi begged the man mentally, as she took a deep breath and shouted out what she needed to say, "STOP! I SAID STOP, REBELS! WE'VE ALL BEEN SET UP!" Vivi shouted out as loud as she could but it was in vain. Her voice was completely getting swallowed by the chaos which was unfolding before her. The orders from the royal army behind her, the orders and responses of the rebel army before her were mixing into a mess and stopping her voice to reach the rebels.
"PLEASE, LISTEN TO WHAT I HAVE TO SAY! PLEASE!" Vivi begged, only for her voice to be cut off by the loud sound of cannon fire which struck the sandy grounds between her and the rebels.
"Hey! Wasn't there a person over there just now?!" Kouza questioned the man beside him. He was sure that he had heard a faint shouting sound coming from a bit far.
"A person?! Are you outta your mind? More importantly, watch out for the cannons! They've begun shooting at us!" The man beside Kouza replied, kicking his horse to keep pace with the rebel army leader.
"No. No, this can't be! The rebels can't see us with all this smoke!" Vivi panicked, sweat trickling down her forehead, seeing the whirling sand blurring everything in its path. She couldn't understand why would the royal army ever strike first when they were supposed to be on defense or when the rebels have yet not breached the city?!
Meanwhile, Chaka was furious at the man who claimed that his hand accidentally slipped to fire the cannon in panic. They were supposed to be on defense not on offense, until the rebels attacked them. Were his orders that hard to understand?!
"CHARGE! DO NOT FALL BACK!" The rebels shouted out loud, tearing through the sand and straight ahead.
"NO, STOP! EVERYONE, PLEASE STOP!" Vivi was shouting with wide eyes and all her strength to the approaching rebel army, whom she couldn't even see anymore due to the sand but could only hear the trotting of the horses and the orders that were being thrown. Beside her, Carue was also quacking with fear and urgency, not wanting to get trampled by the horses.
"FIGHT FOR OUR COUNTRY! DO NOT FORGIVE THE KING!" Vivi recognized the voice of the man who swiftly passed by her in the maze of smoke.
"LEADE-!" Vivi shouted out, reaching out to the man with all her might but she was only met with a foreleg of a horse to her back, which threw her to the sandy grounds to be trampled on by the other horses and their riders, only to feel a sudden, strong grip around her waist, which lifted her off the grounds.
"Got you." A voice murmured from behind her, holding her tight with one hand as the other was busy reigning in the horse.
Vivi blinked the tears away from her eyes to see the person who rescued her from getting trampled and crushed on. The person was clad in a gray cloak, which was obscuring their face but yet she could see the assuring light smile which formed on the man's face.
"You are safe, princess. Both you and your friend." The man informed Vivi, pointing her to look at the other person who was behind him, holding Carue with a tight grip to not drop him in the chaos.
"Wh-Who are you?" Vivi asked, her voice scratchy from all the shouting and inhaling all the sandy smoke.
"..." The man kept quiet for a while, as if he was contemplating what to say. "We are here to stop this war." The man whispered calmly to Vivi, who realized that the man could not be one of the rebels but that begged the question who were these 'we' and why they were marching towards the capital? "Our Chief in staff have asked us to make sure that you survive. We need you if we're going to stop this war, princess."
"The revolutionary army...?" Vivi questioned with wide eyes, finally realizing who the one holding her was and why they rescued her. But that realization was quickly shoved at the back of her mind, giving way to the current situation in which she was. "I have to stop the rebels! I have to stop Kouza before it's too late!" She gasped, her voice giving away her desperation. Even if she had already failed once, she wasn't going to give up. 'If there's anything I learned while on that ship, then it's the foolishness of giving up. I won't give up even if I fail a hundred times!'
"You will, Princess Vivi."