Avengers... Assemble I

The Kingdom of Alabasta, Alubarna.

In this world, one of the most prominent characteristics of every major capital is its elevation above sea level. The capital of Alabasta, Alubarna, was no exception.

One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, arguably one of the most formidable among them, Crocodile, firmly believed that beneath this massive aggregation of rocks, there had to be something hidden, something ancient and powerful—the Pluton, an ancient weapon.

"Bastard, make sure to stay away from here. I don't want any funny business," he growled at Mr. 5, a member of Baroque Works specialized in explosions. After days of excavation, a simple explosion in the wrong place could set them back by weeks.

Deep underground, half of the Baroque Works members had spent the last few days tirelessly digging. Crocodile had acquired considerable experience in digging, having been enslaved for a whole year and tasked with constructing a massive underground complex on Rusukaina Island—an underground laboratory and workshop.

<Sables Cortante!>

Crocodile created a tornado of sharp sand edges, efficiently carving out a tunnel. It was a technique he had been taught, albeit one primarily designed for battle. The tunnel, which he had already created, was illuminated by various light sources, including candles and fires. He refused to allow darkness to prevail, especially as that woman, Nico Robin, continued to interfere with his plans.

He had divided his group into three units: a decoy unit, a defence unit, and a digging unit. Unfortunately for him, Robin had already discerned his strategy.

"Don't leave shadows big enough, make sure the place is properly lit! That woman can transport through darkness; it's her domain. As long as we don't leave large shadows, she can't suddenly appear here out of nowhere like she always does," he instructed, and his followers maintained a well-lit environment to counteract Robin's powers.

'He sure understands how my power works, even though I haven't revealed anything to him. Just by observing me, he knows that much,' Robin thought.

Inside one of the shadows, Robin grimaced at how accurately Crocodile understood her Devil Fruit power. They had become acutely aware of each other's secrets. She, too, had deduced that his fruit's weakness was water.

'Too bad for you; I don't need to use my whole body in this situation, Ali~.'

She extended her hand out from one of the smaller areas of darkness not covered by the light and planted a small bundle of lit TNT. She repeated this process in multiple spots before retreating.

By the time Crocodile detected the unusual scent, it was too late.

"Damn!"

BOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!

BOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!

BOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!

...

Outside the newly excavated underground facility, a girl shielded her face with a towel to protect herself from the sand. She was eating a sandwich with some fruit and had a small portable telescope trained on the entrance of the cave, which was now emitting dust and smoke.

A tent nearby was shrouded in multiple towels, creating an artificial cloud of darkness during the daytime. Robin emerged from the tent, brushing off the sand and coughing lightly. There was a stern expression on her face.

'It might have been for a second, but I think I saw Crocodile's sand break through the rocks. There was something on the other side,' she mumbled.

"Are you okay, sis?" Vivi asked as she helped dust Robin off.

"It's all in a day's work. This will slow down their progress a bit. Any news?"

"My father called me to inform me that Bon Clay and Galdino are causing a commotion. They captured the latter after he impersonated an old woman selling vegetables, but he was selling them at a much higher price than they should be..."

"He was never the brightest. I thought he'd send two more agents, but it doesn't matter. It seems the explosion worked," Robin said as she settled down to eat a sandwich, traversing through the cloud of dust and debris left behind by the collapsed tunnel.

'Now I don't know if anything is really down there, but if there is... it better not fall into Crocodile's hands.'

"Are you sure? This may kill Crocodile."

"He won't die from this alone, but as for his associates, I can't say. He should have known better than to walk into a death trap. Mihawk taught us that a good strategy is worth more than endless strength. It seems he wasn't paying attention. Let's wait for things to calm down; I have a call to make."

Before she could even decide who to contact, her Den Den Mushi began to ring. It caught her off guard because nobody ever called this particular Den Den Mushi, and very few people knew the address.

"Pero pero pero pero~"

It took her a moment to answer the call, leaving Vivi surprised. Robin exhaled deeply before answering.

"Kacha~"

"Robin…?" a voice from the other end spoke, causing her heart to flutter.

"Veyron, it's been a while."

"There are many things I'd like to say to you for disappearing on me."

"I'm sorry... I promised I'd call, but you know how I am," she chuckled self-deprecatingly. In truth, she had wanted to call for a long time, but she didn't know how. Initially, she left for the thrill of adventure, planning to return to Rusukaina on her way back to the New World. However, her expedition to Alabasta had taken much longer than expected, filled with secrets to uncover and unexpected animosity toward her former crewmate, Crocodile.

Even so, it wasn't an excuse for not calling.

Vivi noticed that Robin's carefree and disinterested demeanour had vanished. Her voice now sounded flustered, and she moved to a more private spot to talk.

"I may need your help, Robin. Something big is happening, but I'm in the New World. Where are you?"

"I'm in Alabasta, and..."

"Do you need my help?"

"No, I can manage just fine!" she tried to reassure him, but it was clear he wasn't convinced.

"I'll come and help you anyway. I won't let this happen to me again but not now, there are other matters at hand. First, tell me... do you know who Hancock, Sandersonia, and Marigold are?"

!!!

'This question...!' An unsettling feeling welled up within her. Veyron's question made her realize that Crocodile's ranting wasn't a mere coincidence.

"Of course, I know who they are! They're your wives!"

There was a brief silence on the other end.

"We have two days. Follow my Vivre Card and come to me during the night. This is going to be big."

"Got it! Who's the enemy?"

"The Yonkos Kaido and Big Mom"

"Kacha~."

"..."

It took her a while to process it. 

'Not one Yonko, two!?'

A part of her was expecting the enemy to be... an admiral and a vice admiral. Or a fleet but it seemed Veyron had 'exceeded' himself once again. Instead of being scared, a sense of thrill welled in Robin.

She walked back up to Vivi with a wide smile. 

"Something came up, Vivi... I'm going to be absent for a while".

"Eh?" The girl was surprised by the sudden turn of events, "Can't I go with you?".

Robin sighed, "I can drop you somewhere safe in the meantime but you can't come with me. This is going to be extremely dangerous, even for me".

'Even for you!?' She couldn't conceive what was it that could deter even her who could go toe-to-toe against a powerful warlord like Crocodile. She was yet too innocent. 

"We're going to travel during the night where I'm the fastest..." She took out a piece of paper and sighed in relief when she saw it wasn't burning or anything like that.

"This may be convenient for us as well... where I'm going to leave you is where we're going to get what we need to stop the drought in this country. I only hope Crocodile is going to be quiet for a while after this".

She could only sigh in helplessness, who knows how much this operation is going to take,

'There may be a new King of Alabasta by the time we return, who knows'.