Snow on Sand I

The Grand Line, Alabasta.

Despair shrouded the kingdom of sand. Three days ago, the capital was taken over by a group of insurgents. The royal army was powerless to act amidst the cataclysm of sand. Sitting on the throne was a man smoking tobacco, feeling slightly bored and mostly disappointed.

"You will never gain this kingdom's loyalty!" Screamed the King of Alabasta, Nefertari Cobra, kneeling and shackled alongside his closest retainers and ministers.

Deep within his heart, he still clung to hope, the hope that his daughter had already left. Although she wasn't there to save them, he could find solace in knowing she was with someone dependable.

The members of Baroque Works were spread across Alubarna, with only Mr. 1 standing next to Sir Crocodile. They intended to take over the kingdom, but faced fierce retaliation from citizens unwilling to acknowledge a warlord.

This irritated Crocodile more than his recent findings under the city.

"You're just an abandoned dog, Cobra. Your supporters and even your daughter are all gone. That woman would only help you if there was anything of interest, hmph! She must have gotten tired of you just like she did with me. Tell me what it was and keep your life!"

To continue his discovery, he needed more information, but all the ancient registries of the Nefertari Family had already been taken away by Robin.

Cobra refused to speak further, even as Mr. 1's blade threatened his neck, slicing and drawing blood.

'I would never betray our ancestors!-'

*CHAAAAA!!!*

*BOOOOOMMMM!!*

!!!

The noise was gnashing and threatening to the utmost, even the palace shook a bit, and Crocodile's tobacco fell from his mouth.

"A-A lightning strike!?"

"Impossible, this is the desert and in broad daylight! There is not a single cloud in the sky!"

"W-Wait, there are clouds, dark clouds!"

The army, citizens, and everybody in the vicinity clamoured in surprise and awe while Crocodile clenched his fists as hard as he could.

"Boss..."

"Let's go, damn that woman... I hate her!"

He scattered like sanddust, leaving the conquered palace of Alubarna followed by a jumping Daz Bonez. Cobra and his loyal servants ran after them as fast as they could, with hope brimming like a well in the desert, literally.

Crocodile arrived with the members of Baroque Works at the entrance of Alubarna. There, they saw the incoming silhouette of two ladies, and what felt most amazing was that behind them was a huge agglomeration of dark clouds coming from the horizon. For others, unimpeded doom; for Alabasta, hope against the drought.

"I-Impossible... those are rain clouds!"

"Lady Robin, Princess Vivi! You're back!"

The citizens cried and fell on their knees as a subtle fresh breeze crusaded among them. It felt so wet and good that they almost fainted. How long had it been since they tasted anything different than heat and dryness?

The silhouette of the ladies became clearer. One had the utmost confident gaze, with long black hair, a fresh sleeveless shirt struggling to conceal her bust, jeans, and wherever she stepped, darkness obeyed.

The second lady was all too familiar for the inhabitants of this city, wearing casual attire with a white skirt and jacket, her sky-blue hair let loose. She held what looked like a weapon and unlike the confident Robin, her countenance showed she was ready for anything, but still fearful.

"Lady Robin!"

"Princess Vivi!"

They had taken too long, but it wasn't in vain.

Robin stopped with Vivi following her every step, like a student. In front of them, at the entrance of the city, arrived the members of Baroque Works. Their arrival silenced the clamoring citizens, still afraid for their lives but hopeful.

Mr. 0, Mr. 1, Miss Doublefinger, Mr. 2, Mr. 3, Mr. 5, and Miss Valentine.

The key members of the organization Crocodile and Robin had pulled together for two years, and now they stood across, facing one of their founding members.

"I thought you were gone for good, Miss All Sunday... but you had to go and do it. I'm still angry at you for collapsing my tunnel; we all very much are."

"Hmph, it is just the two of them... what has changed?!" Zala exclaimed. The naive members of Baroque Works looked at both ladies they had already fought before; it wasn't a conclusion they hadn't foreseen. If anything, they were angrier due to Robin's last stunt before leaving, collapsing a tunnel on top of their heads.

"You all, fall back... they're not on their own."

CHAAAAAA!!!!

BOOOOMMMM!!!

A strike of lightning fell from the skies, leaving everyone except for Crocodile breathless. It wasn't just a single strike; it was a barrage of lightning that produced so much light that nearly blinded everyone in the vicinity.

When the lightning finally subsided, that wasn't the end of it.

WHOOOSHH!!

A cold breeze swept through the world, and in front of their raw, stupefied eyes, white motes of 'dust' began falling from the skies. For the first time in their lives, some of them felt what 'cold' was.

"W-What is this white thing!? It is so beautiful!"

An agglomeration of those white motes danced like a ventisca, arriving where the thunderous lightning strike had fallen.

By the time the miracle ended, two people were standing in front of Robin and Vivi, back to back as even the princess looked awed at the skies where snow was falling. The whole atmosphere changed in but a moment, and this no longer looked like a desert.

"Is this okay?"

"This is good, Monet. This is what we call a flashy entrance, every time we appear together, we do it like this."

"Noted, master."

With this display, the fear completely vanished from Vivi's heart while Robin giggled. The citizens looked at the constant agglomeration of snow that seemed to cover the sand like it never existed. Their eyes subtly rested on the sacred green-haired beauty with green eyes who wore a light white sleeveless dress; the cold seemed to emanate not only from her powers but also her whole persona.

'It is a goddess!'

For her part, Monet blushed awkwardly and limited herself to stand next to her master, even taking his sleeve. She felt ashamed to be looked at with a gaze different from either lust or disdain, the only gazes she had received in her life.

'For as long as you're my slave... I'll make sure you understand what the biggest advantage of your power is.'

'What is that? the freezing cold?'

'No, the fact that there is nobody in this world that doesn't think snow is beautiful.'

Thinking about their conversation, she still couldn't believe how much the sight of the despaired citizen had changed the moment that the snow began to fall.

Crocodile's fist clenched as a strong force imbued his fist, and he resisted the urge to charge straight away.

"You were always one for flashy entrances, Veyron... but this is something else."

Crocodile finally spoke, looking around and eventually fixing his gaze on the green-haired woman that he wasn't acquainted with.

"It is snowing in the desert... ridiculous," Mr. 2, Bon Clay, exclaimed in disbelief, just like the rest of Baroque Works couldn't believe what they were watching.

"Be careful with that woman, this power... she must be a logia," Crocodile stated before he began walking forward. Things weren't looking good for him.

'Three logias, and one of them is Veyron... even if this is the desert, I still don't know if I can defeat that bastard... the other two... this is impossible to win.'

He was beginning to consider his retreat.

Before Veyron even stepped forward, Monet stood up in front of him as if protecting him from Crocodile. It still surprised him how 'loyal' Monet had become; he could only assume the pain she went through had been deeply engraved in her mind.

"Is that the enemy, master?"

"Step back, Monet... you, Robin, and Vivi will deal with the rest. Leave Crocodile to me; he's too strong for you."

"I can manage."

"Are you disobeying me?"

Hearing his slightly threatening voice was all it took for her to bite her lips, bow respectfully, and step back.

"All you have to do is keep creating snow and stay beautiful; we will deal with the rest."

"I-I'm not beautiful, master."

With her orders given, Monet took the farthest strategic spot and began creating more and more snow all over the area.

Veyron walked forward and stood up in front of Crocodile so close it was practically a stare-off.

"The Kingdom of Alabasta is about to be free... freed from you and from the drought that assails them. I figured creating something they had never seen before would engrave this in their hearts forever."

"You talk as if you have already defeated me; have you forgotten where we are?"

"The desert?"

"That's right, this is my territory, Veyron... not your Rusukaina. Leave before it gets ugly."

His threat was serious; he didn't want this fight, but at the very least, he thought, didn't want that fight either.

"There was a time you were my slave, Crocodile," The Lightning God mocked, triggering the Warlord.

"That time is over! I'm not the same person I was before, and this is my domain!-"

RUMBLE!!!!

Thunderous Conqueror Haki crashed forth, sending shivers down Crocodile's spine to the point he had to jump back and retreat, afraid a strike of lightning was just going to fall from the skies and penetrate his very skull.

"Who do you think you're talking loud to? Trash..."