All The King's Men And All Dried Up...

Chapter 23 - All the King's Men And All Dried Up...

*Luffy*

Luffy was breathing hard as he stared around him, trying to get a heads up to where Ace would attack from next. They had begun a game of cat and mouse through the Middle Forest for the last hour, both of them attacking and dodging. So far, neither of them had been able to make a real heavy blow against the other.

Ace often gained the upper hand, but Luffy was able to dodge Ace's moves more easily than his big brother had. Finally, by the time that his brother had disappeared, Luffy looked around to see that he had somehow found himself in the Grey Terminal.

Standing up on Trash Mountain, gritting his teeth, he glared around for his brother.

"ACE!" he yelled out, "I KNOW YOU'RE THERE!"

Suddenly, in his mind's eye, he saw a burst of fire flying at him from above and at the last second he moved just as Ace appeared overhead and shot another Fire Fist at him.

"As quick as always," Ace laughed as he landed on the mound of burning garbage and Luffy jumping to the next one, yards away.

"That was dirty!" Luffy called back, but he was smirking, as he wiped his mouth, his heart pounding fast.

Ace merely shrugged. "All's fair in love and war little brother. In the world of pirates, there's no such thing as unfair." He noticed that Luffy was breathing hard before he laughed a little. "Come on, is that all you got?" Ace taunted good-naturedly. "You scared of losing?"

"Not this time!" Luffy cried out as he jumped and the two tried to punch each other at the same time. The moment that their fists clashed against the other, the force behind these punches were so great that anyone else could've felt the shockwave as they were both thrown backwards.

Luffy twisted in midair as he landed on a ship's broken mast and moved out of the way as more fire shots came flying at him.

As he laughed and jumped around, he couldn't help but remember about a year after Ace had left home and he had gotten a shock in the newspaper.

*Flashback*

"MAKINO!" Luffy called out as he went running through the village and straight to her bar, clutching a sheet of paper in his hands, and his face practically glowing with pride.

Makino, who had been cleaning some glasses behind the bar, looked up in surprise to see him there but smiled brightly at him.

"Luffy! How are you doing? What's going on?" she asked as he bounded over to her.

"LOOK!" he cried proudly as he held up the paper. "IT CAME IN THE NEWSPAPER TODAY!"

"Luffy," she said smiling, "You never read the paper."

"Yeah I know! But look!" Luffy cried, showing her the paper. "A wanted poster! Check it out! It's Ace!"

Makino looked at it to see the familiar words 'WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE!' was written underneath with a familiar picture of a young man who was about eighteen or nineteen. He was grinning wildly under his shock of messy black hair, and the splash of freckles across his cheeks. His signature orange hat on his head with his full name printed underneath it.

"Ace did it!" Luffy told her, beaming, "He's officially a real wanted pirate!"

Makino laughed. "You know, most people wouldn't think that their older brother being a wanted criminal would be a good thing."

"But it's great!" Luffy cried out. "He's amazing! Ace is just amazing!"

"Yes, I agree," Makino said, coming out from behind the bar. "You know what we should do? Why don't we hang it on the wall?"

"Really?" Luffy asked excitedly.

"Well, it'd get ruined if we just left it here," she said as she found a nice spot on the wall and hung it proudly and smoothed it out gently after it had been manhandled by Luffy. "I'll get a frame for it later. But now we can look at it any time we want to."

"Yeah! That's great!" Luffy said excitedly before he had an idea. "Hey… Makino?"

"Hmmm?" she asked as she stood back to admire it.

"I'm gonna leave this island in two more years," he said firmly. "And I'm gonna be a pirate to! And then I'm gonna get a bounty! When I do, will you put it up here too?!"

Makino laughed as she looked back at him. "I promise," she said. "And when I get it in the paper, I'll hang it right next to your brother's."

"Really?!" Luffy gasped, his eyes shining. "You promise?!"

"Promise," she smiled and to prove that her words were true, she took hold of his pinky with her own.

*End of Flashback*

"Did she now?" Ace laughed when Luffy told him about that particular memory. "Good old Makino. I'm sure that she must've been real happy for you when you got your first bounty."

"Yeah," Luffy agreed, "I want to visit her again someday and see it."

Ace beamed before Luffy's feet were coated over with Haki and swung out of the way as Ace pointing the index and middle fingers of both hands him like guns, suddenly he began to shoot bullets made of fire from them.

After dodging them Luffy jumped up high. "Gum Gum… GATLING!" and like that he began to kick down hard which caused Ace to hold his hands up and created a 'Flame Mirror' to block it.

"Ace!" Luffy called, suddenly remembering something, "What did you mean before? When you said that I gave you a reason to live?"

Ace just smiled. "Idiot, don't you get it?!" he called back. "First of all, I want you to know that it wasn't your fault! What happened to me that day was my own. Because I let that bastard admiral get to me, I almost ended up costing us both our lives!"

"But I don't blame you!" Luffy yelled as he went back into Second Gear and jumped forward, Ace dodging and punching him in the back and knocking him straight through a concrete slab. "I mean…" Luffy gasped out as he jumped out of the debris unharmed, "If it were me and he was insulting Shanks, I'd probably have gone back!"

"That doesn't matter!" Ace yelled as Luffy dealt a hard punch in the face. "The point is, instead of running to freedom with you, I stayed and wanted to fight someone I had no chance of beating! I let my anger take over and I put you at risk as much as myself! I was cocky and look at what happened! After everything you went through for me, I went and threw it all away!"

Luffy gritted his teeth angrily as he fought back the wave of emotion at the memory, tears were now burning in his eyes, tears that he tried to hide…

But Ace still saw them as his own eyes soften. The two stopped fighting for a moment as they jumped up high enough to land on the towering wall that separated the Grey Terminal and Edge Town.

"You still blame yourself for that don't you?" Ace asked softly. There was some uncomfortable silence for a moment…

"I was weak," Luffy admitted softly, staring at his brother. "I was so weak… I couldn't move. I just sat there frozen…? If I was stronger…?"

Ace sighed, a stab of annoyance on his face. "Weak? WEAK? My little brother is calling himself weak?! Give me a freaking break! I admit that you weren't ready for a stage like Marineford just yet, but what you did was far from weak!"

"I couldn't move!" Luffy yelled angrily at him. "You ended up saving me again!"

Luffy suddenly felt a deep sense of shame for what happened. If he had only enough energy, he could've easily have dodged that attack and they both would've escaped alive! He almost drowned hundreds of times since he was a little kid. Ace had always been there to pull him out of the sea… and here… he ended up dying because he just couldn't move just like he was in the sea.

Ace just looked at him as Luffy dug his nails into his palms tightly as the memories bombarded his mind's eyes.

The phantom pain he felt when he felt his body being torn apart from the inside as he fought of the poison in those twenty hours, the bleeding wounds he got from the battlefield and the exhaustion of his wounded body… all the pain and injuries he suffered during those days…

But all of that paled in comparison to his heart being torn to shreds of seeing his brother use the last of his life to protect him.

"I didn't ask you to…" Luffy whispered.

Ace's face held no emotion as he looked at his little brother. "No," he agreed. "You didn't. But I didn't ask you to save me either. I didn't think… I just acted. I didn't think about what would happen to me… the whole time I thought of only protecting my little brother. And I don't have any other regrets! I told you that I would live my life proudly and I wouldn't change anything I did…"

"But why…?" Luffy asked, suddenly growing angry at Ace. "Why? Why did you fight Blackbeard?! He said that you fought him to protect me! Who asked you to do something so stupid! Why did you want to save me so damn much?!"

Ace just looked at him. "You're my little brother… that's why," he answered simply. But those words seemed to make Luffy even angrier as he charged at him, his fist turning black as he charged ahead. "And maybe…" Ace added softly to himself as he jumped forward to attack as well, "I always knew that you were the stronger of the two of us. Because… you could have still gone on living if I had died."

*Straw Hats*

The Straw Hats were all standing on the hill, almost in stunned disbelief at what they were seeing. Two graves stood there, surrounded on all sides by rusted swords and a large bouquet of flowers lying between them.

The larger of the two bore the name: Edward Newgate. A large coat that would've fit a man of giant proportions and an enormous bisento that no normal human could ever have lifted, were made into a grave marker and a tattered pirate flag that bore the mark of the Whitebeard Pirates hung there. But their attention was drawn to the smaller grave next to it. It bore Ace's name, as well as his trademark hat, necklace, and knife as the grave markers.

Both graves were frayed with age as they stepped forward as if in a daze.

"What? Ace's grave?" Nami gasped shocked, her hands covering her mouth, unable to think of anything else to say.

"Luffy-san's brother…?" Brook whispered as they all ran towards it, just to make sure that it wasn't a dream.

"No way! How is this here?" Chopper cried, switching to his walk point so that he could move faster.

"I remember hearing about it," Robin said hurriedly and they all looked to her. "I remember reading about it in the paper. Apparently, it was Red-Haired Shanks who put an end to the war two years ago and the Marines allowed the remaining Whitebeard Pirates to take Ace and Whitebeard's bodies with them. I guess that this is where they were buried."

"But why here?" Sanji gasped. "Of all places…?"

"If this island really is avoided by even pirates in the New World it would make a good place to ensure that their graves aren't bothered," Robin offered as they drew nearer to it.

No one said a thing as they continued running and no one stopped until they finally reached the foot of the graves.

"Is it… is it really…?" Usopp gasped as Zoro stepped forward, "Real…?"

"Zoro?" Franky warned.

"Someone's been here," he said to them all. And he was right. It looked as if someone had visited this place just recently… a few says at most. There was a bottle of sake and some cups set up on a crate right in front of the grave. But what caught his attention was that there was a newspaper pined to the grave by a knife and the strong smell of the flowers filled his nose.

He bent down and stretched out his hand to touch the cold stone. He could feel it… it was real…

"Zoro?" Chopper asked as he sighed.

"It's no dream," Zoro confirmed. He looked to the article, smoothing the weathered pages so that he could read it and saw that it was an article about the Straw Hat's return. He smiled a little… it appeared that someone came here to let Ace know that his brother was alive and doing well.

Everything seemed so calm, somewhat beautiful as the wind softly blew some of the petals through the air, making them look like they were dancing through the wind.

"I still can't believe it," Nami whispered, still staring at Ace's name as Chopper came over and placed the flower petal at the foot of the grave. "All this time we were running around, watching these memories and we find Ace's grave here?"

"Wow," Usopp whispered. "I knew… I knew that Ace was gone but… but to see it here…?"

Brook suddenly walked over and looked up to it. "Hello, Ace-san," he said. "It truly is an honor to be here. My name is Brook! All-Bones Brook! And I'm the musician on your brother's crew! Yohohoho!"

"Likewise," Robin smiled as she also came forward. "It's a surprise to find you here."

Zoro stood up gazed sadly at the name, remembering the memories that they had seen. "We're sorry…" he said.

The Straw Hats all looked to him in confusion, wondering why he felt the need to apologize.

"We were supposed to keep an eye on Luffy for you," Zoro went on, speaking to Ace. "But instead… we weren't there. I don't know what happened after the war, but I'm sure that it must've been really hard for Luffy. The one time that he needed us there, we weren't."

They all suddenly understood and felt shame wash over them all. Ace put his brother's safety into their hands, and they failed… time and time again probably. Because they were all too weak, they couldn't keep each other safe.

Chopper didn't seem to take it anymore. He ran up to it and cried out, "Please forgive us, Ace! It's all our fault isn't it?! Please don't hate us!"

"Chopper," Nami said softly, unable to think of anything else to say. But to their frustration, the memories started up again and there were several cries from everyone that that, wanting to stay with the grave a little longer. Their gloomy mood didn't disappear even as they spotted their past selves running up from the distance.

They didn't want to leave from where they stood, they wanted to stay and try to work out their feelings but their past selves were coming fast, still running through the mostly deserted streets of Rainbase.

"What do we do?" Usopp asked quickly.

"What other choice is there?" Sanji demanded, practically grinding his teeth at all this. He felt like he was losing his mind here. He wanted to just get Luffy and leave this whole stupid island behind them. But they were forced to just run with the memory Straw Hats—each one feeling sick with themselves here.

"As soon as this mess is over we're coming back!" Franky decided for all them, and none of them were able to disagree. Suddenly past Usopp was yelling at the others. "Hey!" he yelled. "Please tell me you guys aren't thinking of running all the way to Alubarna?!"

"We've got Eyelash!" memory Nami reminded him before she seemed to realize that he was nowhere to be found. "Just where the hell is that stupid camel anyway?"

"We lost track of him after we were chased by the Marines," current Zoro stated. "I have no idea what's been going on since we were stuck in that stupid cage!"

"Don't worry!" Chopper reminded them quickly, who was now fighting the tears as he pictured Ace's name on that cold stone in his mind. "Sanji told me that we were going to need a ride so me and Eyelash were getting one!"

"You mean more camels?" Franky asked.

"Something a little faster," Usopp told him.

"Close I hope!" Luffy yelled back to Nami. "Hey, doesn't this town have stables? Let's get some horses!"

"But the whole town is crawling with marines!" Vivi reminded him.

"Not to worry!" memory Sanji yelled with a smile, "Look up ahead!"

And they saw it. Chopper and Eyelash were on the back of the largest crab any of them had ever seen, big enough for all of them to ride. His face was grinning happily, with rope attached to either side of its mouth as it moved sideways, heading straight towards them.

"Wow, that would make one hell of a crab cake," Franky yelled out, his stomach was roaring with hunger.

"That's Scissors!" current Chopper called joyfully.

"Scissors?" Robin repeated lightly.

"That's the name we gave him," Nami answered smiling. "He helped to get away from this place."

"Hey you guys!" memory Chopper yelled, waving when he saw them. "HOP ON!"

Memory Usopp screamed, his eyes bugging out so that he looked like the crab. "A CRAB?!"

"Chopper!" memory Nami yelled in shock as Vivi gasped in amazement at the 'Moving Crab' she called it. But Luffy was actually drooling when he saw it—obviously thinking one thing until Chopper called out that he was going to give them a ride.

"We get to ride it!?" Luffy cried happily as Chopper explained that Eyelash was born here in Rainbase and had lots of friends.

"So I guess finding that camel wasn't a bad thing after all," Sanji admitted grudgingly, still a part of him wished that he could've cooked that sucker up.

"Yeah, at least here, Nami didn't have to hog the whole ride herself," Usopp added.

"Shut up!" Nami yelled, hitting him over the head.

"I can't believe you found one!" Vivi said as Scissors used his claw to raise them off the ground and onto his back, "Moving crabs are always submerged under the sand so it's nearly impossible to spot one!"

"Yeah, it wasn't easy getting him to come out," Chopper admitted, "But he said that he and Eyelash were friends so he said that he'd help us out!" He didn't tell them that Eyelash also mentioned that there were a couple really hot dancer girls with them and Scissors practically fell over at that.

"Judging by its size, I'm guessing that this guy can move pretty fast," memory Zoro said as he looked at it in interest, his sword over his shoulder.

"Alright!" memory Chopper declared, Luffy hanging onto the crab's eye as he shook out the reins and they started moving off at an incredible speed.

"Wow!" Franky called out, looking out at the entire scene. "This thing can move! You should be at this Alubarna place in no time!"

"Yeah well, we ran into a few troubles as well," Usopp sighed, remember having to swim across the Sandora and almost eaten before the Kung fu dugongs helped them out.

But just as they were gaining speed, really starting to enjoy the ride they heard Vivi screaming in terror behind them. Startled, they all turned around to see, to their horror, that Crocodile's hook had hooked her around the waist and was pulling her backwards, away from them.

"WHERE THE HELL DID THAT COME FROM?!" Franky yelled out in panic.

"IT'S CROCODILE!" Brook screamed at the same time. The memory Straw Hats were as freaked out as they were and past Zoro screamed at Chopper to stop the crab, which he did so suddenly that they were almost flung off.

But as Luffy steadied himself he glared out into the distance. "It's him!" he yelled as he stretched out his arms to grab hold of the hook and rocketed himself to her.

"What's he doing?!" Franky yelled out at once, his eyes wide.

"What he wanted to do from the start," Zoro answered, gritting his own teeth. He did not want to see this. He knew that Luffy lost this first match against Crocodile… but he didn't know how bad it had been. And it was only increasing his feelings of shame after seeing Ace's grave with his own eyes.

Luffy had grabbed hold of Vivi in the meantime, and he then switched places with her. Holding onto the hook, he freed her and threw her back towards the rest of the group. But there wasn't enough time for him to let go as he was dragged back.

"Hey! Luffy!" memory Zoro yelled after he caught Vivi.

"That damn idiot!" past Sanji added furiously.

"Took the words out of my mouth," current Sanji nodded firmly. He still didn't know what that idiot was thinking here.

"Luffy, no!" Vivi screamed in terror as they watched Luffy being pulled back.

But Luffy was grinning back, as if he had this all planned out. Hanging upside down, staring back at them with his arm still hooked, he called, "You guys go on ahead! Don't worry about me!"

"How could we NOT worry about you, you moron?!" present-day Usopp demanded at once as he landed rather anti-climactically near Crocodile's feet. The current Straw Hats jumped down from the crab as well to stay behind.

Luffy was still upside down, on his head with his feet dangling out as he called back to the others, "Make sure you deliver Vivi home safe and sound! You have to promise me!"

"He… he sure doesn't seem worried does he?" Brook asked.

"When does he ever?" Sanji sighed. He looked back to them all and he could see that they all looked how he felt. None of the past Straw Hats looked the least bit happy as they stared at him. He knew that each of them was struggling within themselves to do it. Follow their captain's orders and to leave without him, or to take him with them and risk all getting killed by Crocodile.

"He saved us here," Zoro sighed. "If we stayed, Crocodile would've followed after us for sure and who knows how many of us would've been killed?" He looked back to Luffy's smiling face—and knew that he was just like his brother in this way.

"Good luck you guys," Luffy stated softly, but somehow knew that they could hear him. Past Zoro had a rather rough smile plastered on his face… as if he was fighting hard not to be sick with himself. But he nodded in understanding and acceptance as he ordered Chopper to just keep going to Alubarna.

"Wait! You mean you just left him there?!" Brook called in panic.

"It was captain's orders," Sanji reminded him angrily. "And we all knew that we had to get Vivi home if we wanted to stop this rebellion. We put our trust in him and just hoped for the best."

"So he beat Crocodile here?" Franky asked at once as memory Chopper ordered Scissors to keep going, but looked ready to cry.

"Not quite," Robin answered. Though she claimed to Crocodile that she had left, the truth was that she stayed close enough so that she could watch and see what happened. "Luffy lost this first match against him," she informed them. "He couldn't figure out Crocodile's weakness until the very end. He survived however, and he came back to challenge him."

Usopp and Chopper both gulped as they looked at each other. They remembered when they fought that Mole Woman and Mr. 4… how they claimed that Luffy was dead… they were suddenly terrified of what was about to happen for them to say such a thing.

"So he lost?" Franky said, almost in a daze.

"You can't win every fight all the time," she answered. "But he lived through it, that's what matters. And I can tell you that he became a real thorn in Crocodile's side before the end of it."

"What do you…?" Nami began but the Moving Crab was almost out of their sights, and they could vaguely here some of the Straw Hats arguing with each other. Some of them wanted to go back for Luffy, while others insisted that they should just keep going.

But then, just before they were out of earshot, Vivi's voice called out: "LUFFY! LISTEN! WE'LL BE WAITING FOR YOU! WE'LL BE IN ALUBARNA!"

"And here, she finally decides to trust him," Zoro said softly, wondering if she finally understood what it was that needed to be done here. But he would worry about that later as he turned his attention back to the three who were standing there. Luffy still lay on his head as both Crocodile and Robin stood behind him, watching them leave with unreadable expressions on their faces.

"So he stayed back to fight him by himself?" Franky gulped. "I mean, come on! He can't think that he could fight a Warlord off on his own like this did he?"

"He did underestimate Crocodile here," Robin admitted. "He was lucky that he wasn't killed. But he did scare Crocodile for a moment…"

"He did?" Chopper asked as she nodded. She remembered seeing how Luffy was impaled with that hook and Crocodile had been sure that he had killed him, only for him to see that he was still breathing. She supposed that had been the closest she had seen to him taken back by shock that she could ever remember seeing.

"For just a second though," she finished.

"Well, he got him in the end," Sanji reminded them as the wind blew over the sand and they watched as memory Robin spoke up. "You could say that Princess Vivi slip through our fingers."

But Crocodile didn't seem too upset by it. "No matter," he said causally. "The agents are still scheduled to gather in Alubarna. Contact them at once."

"Yeah, that was a very bad day," Usopp whispered as he rubbed his nose as he remembered all that pain.

"What happened?" Brook asked at once, but Nami shook her head, letting him know that they'll tell them later as Crocodile looked down his nose at Luffy. "Straw Hat, I'd say you've taken this nonsense a little too far."

Luffy, whose face had turned hard and serious, finally flipped himself upright and began to pull off the blue scarf that was wrapped around his head and hat.

"Nonsense?" he repeated softly, "Vivi doesn't see it that way. You see unlike most people, she generally cares about others."

"Yeah, I doubt that you have enough kindness in you to fill up a teaspoon!" Sanji added darkly, "How dare you do all this to a lady? That's an unforgivable sin in my book!"

In the meantime, Crocodile kept looking at Luffy in a bored way as he finished dusting off all the sand from his clothes. "I guess deep down she's an optimist," Luffy went on, "even if it's not too realistic. Take this revolt for example, she believes that nobody needs to die."

"Nobody needs to die?" Crocodile repeated with a smirk, highly amused at that. "The problem with idealist fools like Princess Vivi is they take a stand without any comprehension of what is truly involved in a real fight. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Well, I'll give him that," Robin sighed. "She truly is too tender-hearted for her own good. As well as naïve. It's sad to admit that the real world isn't like that… people get hurt all the time."

"She wants everything, but doesn't want anyone to make any sacrifices for it," Zoro nodded dully. "If she can't accept the fact that there will be sacrifices then she should just give it up saving anything."

"Do you two have to be so depressing?!" Nami snapped at them.

But Luffy seemed to agree with them. "Yep," he answered as he stood up. "But that doesn't change the fact that as long as you're around, Vivi's gonna fight until she either wins or dies trying! So I figure…" his eyes turned dangerous as he stared him down, "I'LL TAKE YOU DOWN RIGHT HERE!"

"You tell him, Luffy!" Usopp cheered.

But Crocodile merely chuckled at that. "Such a foolish boy," he said casually. "Despite what the idealists cry about, there's one constant truth. On the rough battlegrounds of life, you either kill or die. That's why I'm more than happy to shoot a bullet through every bleeding heart I meet."

"The guy's got a heart of gold doesn't he?" Franky asked sarcastically. "Well, Mr. Sunshine here is gonna see his plans go up in smoke right?"

"Ya got that right," Sanji said with a satisfied smirk. "Bastard deserved it."

"It was more than filling to see him get beat," Nami nodded firmly. "Looks like we're finally about to see how that all happened huh?"

Luffy finished dusting himself off as he cracked his knuckles together. "Yeah," he said, "which proves you're the bigger fool."

"He said it now," Robin said, shaking her head with a slight smile on her face. She was right for Crocodile's eyes turned dangerous and he bit down on his cigar so hard that it broke apart. Memory Robin however was chuckling to herself at Luffy's words, holding her fingers up to her mouth as she tried to fight the urge to laugh out loud.

"You know, he sure doesn't have to try hard to tick people off does he?" Nami asked knowingly.

"Nope," Usopp agreed, "One would call it a gift."

Crocodile glared at Robin out of the corner of his eyes, seeing her laughing. "You think something's funny?" he growled at her, as if daring her to answer. "Perhaps you'll like to die as well… Nico Robin?"

"How dare he threat you, Robin-chan!" Sanji yelled, looking reading to attack this time but Robin saved him the time and the energy by holding him back. Letting him know that it was alright.

"He needed me, so he wasn't planning on killing me here," she informed him, being very careful how she worded it. She knew that they weren't going to like it when they find out when he did try to kill her, but she would face up to that when they got there.

"If you wanna try, go right ahead," memory Robin said calmly, as if she couldn't care less with what he said. She turned away, still smiling before she asked as she walked away, "And didn't you promise that you'd never call me by that name?"

"You didn't like your name, Robin?" Chopper asked in surprise as he looked up at her.

"It truly is a beautiful name, Robin-san," Brook added and she smiled at that.

"Maybe…" she said quietly, "But it was safer this way to use a codename. The government had been after me for years, and I was forced to join with Crocodile in the first place because I needed protection. It was just easier this way."

She always tried hard not to get to close to any one during those twenty years—and not using real names helped for her to stay apart from them. Besides, she never liked Crocodile anyway. She just didn't like it when he used her name… she never approved of what he did to Alabasta and she supposed that if he never used her real name, she wouldn't really have been a part of what happened? She shook her head… she just didn't know anymore.

"Where are you going?" Crocodile demanded as they watched her retreating back.

"I headed to Alubarna," she called back without stopping or even looking back at them, "See you there!"

"Wow, you're the only person I know who's been able to stand up to him like that," Nami said impressed.

"The key was to show him that you weren't afraid. That you knew that they were in charge but you were no pushover either," Robin answered. "Not the ideal situation, but it kept me alive this long."

"Damn woman I'll never figure her out," they heard Crocodile mutter to himself as he reached into his coat and pulled out a small hourglass. He threw it to Luffy's feet and the sand inside it began to fall. "I got three minutes to spare," he informed him as they looked to the hourglass. "After that, I'm certain you'll time will have run out as well."

"You mean that he beat Luffy in three minutes?!" Chopper cried out in shock.

"It was actually a little longer than three minutes," Robin confessed, remembering the brutal injury that Crocodile gave him. "But it was because Luffy wasn't paying attention and got too close."

"I'm not even sure I wanna know!" Usopp yelled out, cringing at all the horrible things that might've happened. "He was beaten so bad that they all thought he was dead!"

"What are you talking about?" Nami asked.

"Me and Chopper fought two of Crocodile's agents!" he answered. "Mr. 4 and a Mole woman!"

"Mole…?" Brook repeated, sounding lost.

"Miss Merry Christmas is her name and she had the powers of the Mole Mole Devil Fruit," Robin explained. "So you and Chopper took them out?"

"Just barely," Chopper answered, "But as we were fighting, they both said that Crocodile killed Luffy!"

"Well, like Ace said, Crocodile isn't like some ordinary thug," Zoro said with a sigh. "Beating him was never going to be easy."

"No, but it must've been brutal if Crocodile didn't think he had to worry about him anymore," Brook gulped, not the least bit happy about this.

"This won't be pretty," Franky said softly as they watched. The two faced off, the wind blowing around them so that their clothes rustled a little from the breeze. The air was so tense between the two they could almost feel it in the air around them. At long last, Crocodile spoke.

"Your three minutes are counting down," he informed Luffy. "I don't have any more time to waste on you." After another brief pause, Crocodile seemed to grow bored as he held up his hook and taunted him by saying, "It's your move kid."

"With pleasure," Luffy said as he cracked his fingers. "Gum Gum… PISTOL!"

And with his trademark punch, he stretched out to hit him—but even though he hit him full on, it went right through him when he turned into sand.

"Cowards," Zoro said shaking his head. "Logia's don't like to fight without that stupid ability. They are so annoying to deal with."

"Yes," Robin agreed. "However, despite their powerful abilities, they are far from truly being invincible. Sneak attacks are more likely to work, as the user will not be ready to avoid them. And especially inexperienced Logia users tend to be overconfident, as they are unaccustomed to physically dodging attacks, due to their powers. But Crocodile is far from inexperienced."

They all felt a deep nervousness inside them as they turned back in time to see that Luffy just barely dodge as Crocodile flew at him and tried to stick his hook into his head. Luffy was forced to bend back and do a handstand as he used his foot to try and kick him there. But once again, his attack did no damage as he dissolved into sand.

In frustration, Luffy brought his foot back, and the impact knocking him to the ground and his robe was discarded as he caught his breath.

"Come on Luffy! Get up!" Sanji yelled. "Get your ass back in the fight!"

"Don't know why you're so upset," Zoro said with a smirk, "You'd be dead by this point if it'd been you."

"What did you say Moss-Head?!" Sanji yelled, fire in his eyes. "In that case you'd be dead before the fight even started!"

"You want me to stab you?" he demanded harshly.

"Shut up!" Nami screamed at them.

"By now it should be quite obvious," Crocodile stated just then and his body was pulling back together as Luffy got back up from the ground, "But I'll warn you. You cannot beat me!" Luffy was grinding his teeth together as he glared at him and Crocodile finished, "This is a lesson in futility!"

Naturally, Luffy didn't seem to care as he turned to face him, "Gum Gum… GATLING GUN!"

The attack that had been known to take out dozens of people at once, all went right through Crocodile as if he were made of air.

"Nothing!" Franky yelled in frustration. "Damn this is so stupid!"

"Again, that's not surprising," Robin answered, "Haki really is one of the only few ways to deal with them, but this was long before any of us even heard of it. Which is why we're stuck with finding creative ways to get around it."

Luffy kept attacking until he had run out of breath and struggled for air as Crocodile reformed once again, smiling smugly at him as if he had just proven a point.

"Listen to my warning and take heed," Crocodile said, eyes closed, still smiling, "If you continue with this senseless attack… you will have accomplish nothing."

"God does this guy love hearing himself talk or what?" Usopp whispered scathingly to himself as Luffy charged off once again, stretching his arms out for a Gum Gum Bazooka. Even as he hit him with such a powerful attack, and sand came bursting from Crocodile's back—still unaffected as he merely looked on with a rather blank expression—as if this wasn't worth his time.

Now getting desperate, Luffy sent his foot flying up into the air, ready to use the same attack that once tore up the Baratie and destroyed Arlong Park, and brought it back down to cut Crocodile in half. The dust was so thick that they couldn't see anything for a moment, but they didn't need to know just what was going to happen. When it cleared, there was no signs of Crocodile and Luffy was breathing hard—stomping furiously in the sand as he screamed out, "Damn you, you lousy, old, stupid sand gator!"

"Luffy! Behind you!" Nami couldn't help herself screaming out when Crocodile reformed behind Luffy this time.

"You're wasting your time, boy," he said in that same bored tone and Luffy was becoming more angry with every passing second.

"You bastard!" he cried out, spinning around to face him.

"No matter how hard you fight against the truth, there's no way that a rubber freak like you could even hope to rival me," Crocodile said just as Luffy lost it and punched his mouth, getting rid of part of his face before he yelled out, taking several breaths, "I'm sorry! My fist interrupted you! Now what was that!?"

"He did it now," Robin frowned, knowing that Luffy was about to pay heavily for his insults here.

"But you can't help but admit that he's got a lot of balls for standing up to him like that," Franky laughed and they all snickered a little, despite the fear they all felt in the pits of their stomachs.

"But that alone isn't enough to help him here," Zoro said knowingly as Crocodile's calm expression faded at that. He had been unruffled and collected the whole time they had fought up till now, but now he seemed to be close to losing his patience completely as he held up his gold hook.

"I've had my fill of your pathetic fun and games!" he yelled, no longer playing around, "Let's end this now!"

"Fun and games?" Luffy repeated angrily as he wiped some of the sweat from his face, "Trust me I'm dead serious, jerk!" but then he then added to himself, "Dammit he's right though. He's got an answer for all my attacks. What do I do now?"

"You can do it Luffy!" Chopper yelled out, as if hoping that Luffy could hear him this time.

"Yeah! Knock his block off!" Usopp and Brook cheered on.

"We may both be pirates!" Crocodile yelled as his right hand began to turn into a blade of sand. "But you fall grossly short on skill!" he then brought his hand down and cried out his attack: "Desert SPADA!"

And with from his hand came of fast-moving sand and then stabs it into the ground, extending it along the ground like a torpedo, splitting anything in its path, including the very ground itself. This wave of sand headed right for him, Luffy didn't think of moving until the wave hit a rock that was directly in its pathway and it was split right in half.

"DAMMIT LUFFY DODGE IT!" Zoro yelled.

He silently thanked whatever instincts that caused Luffy to move for he stepped out of the way just in time. But when the dust cleared some of them gasped at the deep ravine that had been formed from that attack.

"That… that was too close," Sanji gulped as he felt a little bit of sweat drop from his forehead. "How did that…?"

"This is the real power of sand," Robin answered softly. "Drying out and erosion… this attack is strong enough to slice a normal man in half."

Nami stared out at the damaged. She never believed that someone could split sand apart like that. And if that hits Luffy…? She had to force the mental image of Luffy being torn right in half out of her mind and shuddered.

Crocodile then surprised them all by giving Luffy a compliment as he turned his hand back to normal. "Nice reflexes, boy. A full on hit from that attack would've killed you."

"You think?!" Usopp yelled as Luffy looked down the chasm that Crocodile created with a shocked expression.

"What the…? That's one deep hole!" he cried as Chopper ran over to look for himself before he screamed.

"I CAN'T EVEN SEE THE BOTTOM!" Chopper yelled freaking out.

"You may have Devil Fruit powers," Crocodile went on as he held up his hand, his fingertips halfway to sand, and was being blown in the wind. "But you lack discipline and training. With that your skills could be as formidable as any! But you're not there yet! Like so many fools you waste time obsessing over your abilities! Gimmicks get only you so far in a fight, without the skillset to back it up!"

Brook gulped at the dark amusement in Crocodile's voice. But he had to admit that he knew that much anyway. Relying too heavily on your Devil Fruit abilities, no matter what they are, is never a good thing. He hated the fact that he agreed with him on something even if it was this.

"You better think fast if you don't wanna die Luffy!" Franky yelled just as Crocodile cried out, "Desert GIRASOLE!"

And here, Crocodile created another lose sand blade from his hand. But this time, when he stabbed it into the ground this time, the area in front of him started to collapse. In its place was a giant pit where the sand was being sucked down like it was going down the drain. Luffy stared at him in confusion before he realized that he was being pulled right into the hole as well.

"What in the…?" Nami began in fear.

"It's quicksand!" Robin yelled out hurriedly. "He needed to get out of there or else he'll be trapped underground!"

Luffy was already running as hard and as fast as he could to get himself out of the pit, but so far it wasn't doing him any good, he wasn't even going anywhere. He was yelling in panic, not getting what was going on as Crocodile watched in pleasure.

"What's wrong? Never heard of quicksand?" Crocodile called as Luffy kept running. Every few steps that he took he was being dragged back, at this rate he'd never get out. "It makes for a convenient desert burial when you need to get rid of someone in a hurry. The sand is drawn down into underground waterways and I have the good fortune of being able to detect exactly where they are! That advantage alone is enough to make me unbeatable when fighting in the desert!"

"If that's true, then how's he supposed to fight him?!" Usopp yelled in panic. He didn't like this memory at all—and since he knew that Luffy was destined to lose, it only made it all that much worse here.

"If you think I'm going to let myself be buried alive in this sand trap you've got another thing coming!" Luffy yelled as his eyes widen with inspiration and he used another Bazooka attack to propel himself right out of the trap.

"Clever!" Sanji said impressed as Luffy shot up into the air and made a beeline straight for the Warlord. "If I can't slug you," he cried as he laced his fingers together, "then maybe I can catch you instead!"

"And how can you catch sand in a net?!" Nami yelled in frustration.

And as his fingers tried to trap him, it was the same as before—Crocodile used a wave of sand to block the net. "Haven't you learned anything, moron?" he demanded, now sounding deeply annoyed, "Predictable…"

"SHUT UP!" Luffy yelled, trying to use a Gum Gum Whip to try and cut him in half, but it was now getting desperate.

"How's he supposed to fight him if he can't even hit him?!" Usopp cried out, gripping his hair frantically.

"That's the problem, he can't!" Sanji yelled. Crocodile said that this was now getting old as he pulled his two halves back together. Suddenly, his powers worked like quicksand once again, and pulled Luffy in towards him.

"Let me go!" Luffy cried as he tried to pull his arm free, "I'm warning you!"

"This is going to hurt," Robin said softly as she recognized the next attack. Crocodile swung his right arm forward while leaving a crescent shaped trail of sand behind it.

"Crescent CUTLASS!" he cried and slashed at Luffy's arm. Luffy then screamed in pain as he grabbed his arm and jumped away so that he landed hard on his back.

"What'd he do?!" Nami cried, half expected to see a blood stump where his arm once was, but what she saw caused her to scream in terror. For his entire right arm to his elbow had been dried up… mummified.

Chopper screamed out in shock as everyone but Robin looked on, just horrified as Luffy screamed and thrashed around. "All the liquid in his arm had been sucked dry," Robin answered softly. "One of his most devastating attack."

"This is bad! If it stays like that it could crumble and he could lose all ability to use his arm!" Chopper cried out. "He needs water!"

Luffy was staring at his shriveled up arm, unable to believe what he was seeing. "What did you do?" he demanded from where he lay, "It's all shriveled up! Like a mummy! You turned my arm into a mummy!"

"Stop whining," Crocodile called to him dully, "This is the price you pay! The sand has absorbed all the moisture from your arm. You're lucky all I decided to attack was your arm. I can do this all day long until you're a pile of dust."

"I don't ever wanna shake that guy's hand!" Franky stated.

"Can he really do that?!" Usopp cried to Robin. "Can he really suck all the liquid from a person?"

"Remember how Mr. 3 looked when he came out of that wax ball?" she asked. "Hadn't you been wondering how he got like that? And even then, Crocodile didn't suck all the moisture from his body. He still had some left in him, and that's how he was able to survive as long as he did inside that Banana Gator until he was saved. But he can go much farther than that… and continue to suck all the liquid from a person until they're nothing but dried up husks."

"So… so even if Luffy's able to touch him, he can still die?" Usopp asked at once. This was sounding more impossible by the second.

Luffy was slowly sitting up as he gasped for more air. "You've got to be kidding me," he said before his eyes lit up as if he had a sudden idea. Before they could ask what he was thinking, he suddenly ran towards the robe that he threw off when he started fighting Crocodile. Throwing it aside, he found what he was looking for… the little water barrel that Toto gave him from Yuba.

"Alright!" Nami called smiling. "Looks like that Yuba water did the trick!"

And like that, once Luffy drank from it, the much needed water flowed into his arm and it was returned to normal. Chopper sighed in relief. "Thank goodness."

"Looks like we owe Toto one for that," Sanji said with a smile.

"Now I'm suddenly glad that Luffy didn't let me drink from it," Usopp whispered as Crocodile still looked bored and let him know that he thought it was all in vain.

"You're wrong, sandy!" Luffy yelled and raised the water up for him to see. "You see that old guy in Yuba gave me this barrel water, he spent all night digging it up just for me! He's not scared and neither am I!" he got back to his feet, having found his second wind. "I'm not about to give in to the sand… without a fight!" and he charged towards Crocodile again. "Gum Gum…"

"This is getting ridiculous," Crocodile asked, slightly annoyed, standing still for another punch or kick… but Luffy did something different.

"MUNCH MUNCH!" Luffy cried as he stretched out his mouth wide enough to actually bite down and ate half of Crocodile's body.

There was silence as they watched.

"You mean to tell me he ate him?" Usopp whispered, his jaw hitting the ground as he stared.

"Whatever works for you I say," Sanji said, shaking his head.

"What an idiot," Zoro said, not sure if he should laugh or not. Robin however was laughing out loud—remembering this as well.

"That's one way to win a fight," she said smiling, "And I was wondering where he came up with such a ridiculous idea."

"Bet he didn't see that coming," Franky cried out, also starting to laugh once the shock wore off. But Luffy was looking a little sick, as if he had swallowed something truly disgusting and then the sand version of Crocodile burst from his mouth.

"Enough! This ends now!" Crocodile screamed in rage and Luffy was thrown back onto the ground, coughing up the sand that he swallowed.

Crocodile was glaring at him, the redness in his eyes standing out—truly looking put out at being humiliated here. "Vermin," he snarled, "It is time to die. Both you and the accuse land of Yuba!"

Luffy was still spitting out sand as Crocodile looked to the hourglass to see that the sand had run its course. Robin stopped laughing as she knew what was about to come.

"Your three minutes are up," he said, "Like I said at the start. I don't have time to fool around with you any longer." And then, it was here that he created another sandstorm with his right hand—one so big that Luffy was forced to cover his face as he tried to force himself to stand tall.

"What's he doing now?" Usopp yelled as the massive tornado of sand was now spinning wildly.

"Nothing good!" Robin answered back over the noise.

Crocodile was standing there with his eyes closed for a moment, as if he was merely enjoying a soft breeze from the ocean. "Ah… the sand's so soothing and dry," he said to himself before he looked to Luffy and asked, "Listen carefully. Can you hear it move? In this land the prevailing wind always blow from north to south! And so, if this infantile sandstorm of mine were to say catch one of these winds, it would grow until it became a monster. And following its path south, were do you think it would strike?"

Nami's eyes widen as she realized what he was saying. "That coward!" she screamed out as Luffy demanded to know where.

"Don't tell me…?" Sanji cried out as Crocodile grinned.

"In Yuba," he answered.

"No!" Brook cried out. "That Toto gentleman didn't do anything! Why is he going after him?!"

"To prove that he can," Robin answered softly. "He's trying to get Luffy to lose his temper and attack recklessly… which is how he was able to win."

"What a dirty trick!" Usopp yelled in outrage.

Luffy's eyes were wide with realization and anger. "NO! NOT THERE!" he screamed over the sandstorm and grabbed him by his coat. "DAMN IT WHY THE HELL ARE YOU DOING THIS? STOP IT!"

"Yeah! Be man enough to fight this thing on your own!" Usopp yelled. But Crocodile ignored Luffy's demands as he looked to the storm with a fondness, as if he were a proud parent. "Look," he said smugly, "it's started. It's headed south."

"I knew that this guy was slime, but that is beyond dirty!" Franky yelled furiously.

"THAT NICE OLD MAN HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS YOU HEAR ME!" Luffy yelled as he let go of him and actually went running to try and stop the storm. "STOP IT OR I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD!"

"How does he intend to stop it?!" Nami cried out. "Unless he can change the wind, then there's nothing he can do about this!" She was proven right as Luffy was thrown backwards, practically spinning through the air and landing back in the sand as the wind picked up speed.

"You cannot alter fate," Crocodile advised as he looked back to the storm. "That sandstorm is gonna pick up strength. And eventually it'll become strong enough, that even I can't stop it."

"I DON'T BELIEVE YOU! LIAR!" Luffy screamed at the Warlord.

"Unfortunately he's right about that," Robin disagreed. "He just started it… but if he wanted to, he could've stopped it before it got out of his control."

"He's being unnecessary cruel!" Chopper cried out worriedly. "I don't think that Yuba could've taken anymore storms!"

"But that's what he does…" Robin answered him, "Cruelty was what he was best at."

"That bastard!" Franky growled.

"Yuba is finished," Crocodile said with a serene smile as he shut his eyes, as if he was enjoying the moment.

In a fit of rage, Luffy charged up to him and grabbed him by the coat again. "IF YOU DON'T END IT, I WILL!" he screamed but then he stopped dead, his threat dying on his mouth as his eyes widen, staring ahead of him as if in shock.

"Luffy?" Usopp croaked, not understanding what happened.

"Luffy-san?" Brook called worriedly. "What's wrong?"

But Luffy still didn't speak as his hands slowly fell to his side… and when they finally looked down they saw why. Luffy was so distracted that he didn't notice that he had gotten too close… Crocodile's hook had struck him in the stomach; the entire hook had gone through his body as if he was made of butter, and was now sticking out of his back.

"LUFFY!" almost all the crew screamed in panic as they stared at what happened. A single trail of blood dripped from Luffy's mouth as he fell forward on Crocodile's arm, limp as a rag doll.

"LUFFY!" Usopp screamed again, grabbing his slingshot and fired a Fire Bird Star—just as Brook had charged forward as well, his sword now aimed for Crocodile's head. But both attacks passed right through him—Brook's blade passed through like air and Usopp's shot went flying off far into the distance since there wasn't anything in their way.

"There's no point you guys!" Sanji yelled, but he too looked ready to charge in.

"This is bad!" Chopper screamed as Nami covered her mouth with her hands, too horrified to say anything. "He could've ripped Luffy's heart right out! And even if he didn't he could've still bled to death!"

"Is this really what happened?!" Zoro called to Robin, who looked at him sadly.

She nodded. "Luffy was so angry about the storm that he didn't even realize what he was doing until it was too late. I thought that he was dead for sure… at first…"

"But then…" Franky began but Chopper was screaming again and they looked up, rage going through them at what they saw.

Crocodile was holding Luffy off the ground so that his full weight was on the hook. He was hanging there limply, blood now flooding from his body and dripping into a pool on the ground. Blood poured from his mouth and nose, dripping all over and Usopp was hugging Brook as they looked away, unable to stand seeing a friend like this.

"Did you really think you were my equal?" Crocodile asked him softly as they listened to the steady dripping of the blood from his hook. "There have been many number of rookies like you who challenged me. And you've all shared a common trait… fatal ineptitude. In the end, the only thing you are truly qualified for… is death."

"LET HIM GO!" Nami cried out almost tearfully, having to scream over the noise of the sandstorm that Crocodile created; which was now spinning much more wildly, and began making its way south.

"This sandstorm will deal Yuba a final destructive blow," Crocodile told Luffy as he held him up a little higher, Luffy's eyes were now completely empty, his mouth wide open and he was no longer breathing. "Adding the flames of anger within the rebel army until an inferno ignites. But in the end, the bleeding hearts which infest this land will be what kills it."

He smiled fondly at his plan as he shook his arm out so that Luffy's limp body was forced to move back so that they could all see his face more clearly and Zoro was gritting his teeth, daring Crocodile to keep talking… just to have another reason for him to kill him someday.

"If only you had purged yourself of such weakness you may have lived a little longer," Crocodile said almost sympathetically. But despite all the bragging, he almost failed to notice the destroyed water barrel that his hook also pierced when he rammed his hook into Luffy's body.

"Water?" Crocodile questioned absent-mindedly before he smirked. "I assume that you don't feel so indebted to this water now?"

"LET GO OF HIM!" Chopper screamed, looking ready to charge, no longer caring if this was a memory or not. But then Crocodile received the shock of his life as Luffy's hand suddenly flew up and grabbed hold of his arm. Crocodile took a step backwards at that and suddenly he yelled out. Most of the Straw Hats thought that this was shock, but Robin knew better… it was from pain. The water from Luffy's wet hand was allowing him to touch his arm…

Perhaps Luffy realized this as well, for suddenly he was starting to move again, struggling for air as he tried to breathe—choking and coughing up even more blood.

"How the hell can he still be alive from that?!" Franky yelled as Usopp howled in pain from just watching it all.

"Oh, it hurts just looking at it!" Brook cringed in pain, hugging his body tightly.

Crocodile was staring at him in complete shock, maybe even a little fear. "What's this? You're still alive!?" he cried out before he angrily threw him from his hook into the quicksand so that he rolled down to near the bottom.

"Luffy!" Chopper cried, running down to him as well, tears in his eyes as he looked over the wound. Luffy suddenly turned over and was now screaming in anguish as he held onto the bleeding hole and blood was bubbling up, seeping everywhere…

"Is it bad!?" Usopp cried down at them as he also followed.

"Is it bad?!" Chopper yelled up at him. "It's more than bad! It's a miracle that he wasn't killed! If Crocodile was just a little more to the left, he could've hit Luffy's heart! He's in Circulatory Shock!"

"Shock what?" Franky demanded.

"Just shock!" Chopper yelled in frustration. "It can be life-threatening! Circulatory shock is a life-threatening medical emergency and one of the most common causes of death for critically ill people."

"Wait! You mean that it could kill him?!" Usopp yelled, never understanding any of Chopper's Doctor Language.

"Once it starts, it usually gets worse!" Chopper yelled, "And the patient needs to be treated at once! What it means it that Luffy's not getting enough oxygen!"

"But he's breathing!" Sanji yelled.

"Just because he's breathing doesn't mean that his body is getting the oxygen that it needs in the right body parts!" Chopper yelled angrily, "And if that's not going to kill him, blood loss will!"

Luffy was struggling for breath as he writhed around in pain, the sand now starting to cause him to sink—and with no way to pull himself out of it this time.

"That looks like it hurts," Crocodile observed smugly. "But you'll be out of your misery soon enough."

"You shut up!" Nami shrieked up at him as Luffy must've comprehended that he was sinking and was trying to thrash around to get out. The memory around them all was fading in and out, sometimes blurry and others clearer… but it was steadily growing darker by the second and Luffy just couldn't seem to will himself to move.

As they looked up they could still make out Crocodile's form standing there—Luffy raised his hand, as if he was trying to reach for one last attack on Crocodile as he turned and disappeared as the rays of sun stared going down.

"Goodbye," they heard his slimy voice say as Luffy tried one last time to give chase, but it was no use. The sand was drawing him in very slowly…

"Luffy! You gotta dig yourself out!" Usopp yelled, but he wanted to pull his hair out when he remembered that he couldn't do anything to help him.

"I can see why they all thought that Crocodile killed him," Nami whispered as the sound of the sandstorm slowly faded away as it headed south, and the sunlight disappeared as the darkness set in. Luffy's breathing was now a deep rasping gasp and his vision was so bad that they could only just make out shapes and shadows around them as he continued sinking deeper.

"This is your fault!" Sanji suddenly yelled at Zoro, "Who told you to take the rest of us and order us to go on?! You're not the captain!"

"Shut up! You think that I wanted to leave him behind?!" Zoro yelled at him, furious that he would blame this on him. "He gave the order to go on ahead without him! What else could we do?!"

"He could've died here!" Sanji screamed back at him. "And if he had, there was no way that I was going to follow you as a captain!"

"Who said I wanted to be!?" Zoro demanded, turning back to glare at him as two of his swords were out and the two were facing each other, looking ready to kill here.

"That's enough!" Nami yelled, standing between them. "Luffy's not dead and that's all that matters!"

"He recovered from this so it really wasn't that serious, was it Chopper-san?" Brook asked as the others tried to break Zoro and Sanji apart.

Chopper was now going crazy that he couldn't even touch his captain to help him as he looked him over. "He's lost so much blood! Some of the shock has lessened and that's good… but he needs medical care and he needs it now!"

The sun had set completely by the time that they were finally able to pull the two apart, both of them still glaring daggers at the other, as if they wished for nothing but a very painful death for the other. But then, only Luffy's head was still above the sand and he was still struggling to pull himself out.

"Even at full strength he'd have a problem getting out of that!" Nami whispered fearfully, "How in the world did he get out of this?!"

Just then, Luffy spoke… with his last breath, he called out at the top of his lungs just before his head disappeared beneath the sand…

"MMMMMMMEEEEEEEAAAAAAATTTTTTT!"

"Really Luffy?!" Franky yelled, some of them actually falling over at that.

"He's knocking at death's door here and all he can think about is meat?!" Usopp cried out, not getting that idiot. But of course… those would be his last words wouldn't they? But then the sand piled on top of him and the memory faded out almost completely.

"LUFFY!" the three 'Weakling Trio' cried out in horror, not able to think of any way that Luffy could get out. He as the only one here aside from Crocodile who knew what happened. It'd be hours until the sun rose and someone would even be out to see what the commotion was.

Usopp was vainly trying to try and dig through the sand, but his hands kept passing right through everything he touched. He just couldn't take it.

But just as they were starting to give up on anyone else coming, they could hear the sounds of crunching sand… someone was here. And then the next second, they were back in the open air, Luffy was being lifted out of the sand by arms.

"Robin?!" Zoro stated in shock, so distracted that he forgot about killing the cook.

"I thought you left?!" Brook called out loudly.

"I stayed out of the way so that I could watch," she said softly. "I made it back to Alubarna in time so that Crocodile wasn't suspicious."

"So you saved him!" Chopper called happily.

She shook her head. "Hardly," she said. "I dug him out of that trap yes, but I wasn't the one who took care of him."

"But then…?" Nami asked in confusion as memory Robin looked down at Luffy's bleeding form with curiosity. Luffy was a real mess… he was still breathing hard and he was now drenched in his own blood.

"My god," Franky said, feeling a little green as he looked over him and Chopper was by his side, trying desperately to apply pressure to stop the bleeding, but he was yelling in frustration. Nevertheless, Luffy opened his bloodshot eyes and turned his head painfully towards Robin and croaked out, "Th… thank… you…"

This Robin didn't say anything for a moment before she finally asked, "Why do you fight?"

Everyone was surprised by the question, probably Luffy most of all as he gave her a look of confusion. She must've understood the unasked question because she added, "Those of you with the name of D?"

"D?" Usopp repeated, not understanding what Robin was going on about.

"I remember you once asked Rayleigh about that," Nami spoke up. "I didn't understand, but is there something special about Luffy because he has a D in his name?"

"I'm not sure," Robin confessed. "But… I noticed that those who have this initial, there's something special about them. Gol D. Roger, Portgas D. Ace, Monkey D. Dragon… Monkey D. Luffy…?" she trailed off here. She didn't know but it was something that she had always thought about since she met Saul. Those who have the D, are people who seemed to possess wills that defy common sense. She supposed that she hoped that Luffy would tell her what it all meant, but she know now that she probably knew more about the matter than Luffy did.

"Maybe it's a coincidence?" Usopp offered and Robin nodded absent-mindedly. She didn't say anything else on the matter, but she knew that it was far more than chance. There was something big here, she was willing to bet her life on it.

"D?" Luffy repeated with a choke, clearly not understanding what she was talking about. She didn't seem surprised at that as she continued looking at him… merely dissatisfied as she sighed.

"Apparently you don't have a clue what I'm talking about," she said, the disappointment in her voice clear as she looked away were another of her hands had appeared, pulling out the straw hat and threw it towards her like a Frisbee, which she caught.

But as she looked at it, an angry voice called out behind them, "I've found you!"

All of them turned in time to see a pale-looking man using a sword as a crutch for him to walk. He was a rather tall man with purple lines under each eye that ran down the sides of his face, making him look a little like a falcon. He was dressed in a long, white robe with star-like motifs. He looked to be almost a big a mess as Luffy was… like he just fought for his life out of a heavy battle… he barely seemed able to walk.

"Pell!" Sanji said in surprise.

"Who is that?" Brook asked them.

"He was one of Vivi's friends!" Chopper said.

"Pell the Falcon," Robin answered, "He is one of the two head guards in Alabasta that served under Igaram and one of the strongest fighters in the entire kingdom."

"What happened to him?" Franky asked, looking at him as he leaned heavily on the sword, blood dripping from his mouth. "He looks like he was beaten to within an inch of his life."

"Where is Vivi!?" Pell demanded, glaring at Robin.

"He was," Robin answered as her past self, politely fanned herself with the straw hat and asked, "My, awake already?"

"I'm guessing that you might've had something to do with the state he's in?" Zoro asked Robin.

"How dare you accuse Robin of something like that you bastard!" Sanji yelled at him furiously.

"Actually, that's about right," she answered. "After I was told to get Vivi, I had to fight him to get her to come with me."

"Oww…" Usopp winced, knowing of the kind of brutality that she was capable of.

"Well," Sanji said firmly, "He deserved it if he tried to attack a lady."

"Dumbass, did you already forget what he did for us?" Zoro snapped at him.

"What'd he…?" Brook began before Pell called out, "Now that I've studied your ability, this won't turn out like last time!" he looked ready to draw his sword and fight her right then and there. But she didn't seem concerned as she causally tossed Luffy's hat so that it fluttered on top of his chest.

"Be careful Pell," she warned, "You don't want to push yourself."

"His spine was almost broken in half," current Robin stated. "I really was surprised he came back as soon as he did."

Pell still tried to make his way towards her, wanting to fight, but Chopper bit his lower lip in worry. He was in bad shape and shouldn't even had been walking, let alone fighting. Robin turned away and they were startled to see a strange alligator in the sand waiting for her. They were all suddenly reminded of when she left the Merry the first time on the back of that giant turtle.

As she headed to it, she called back causally, "Perfect timing. Why don't you can save the boy before he dies?"

"Cold way to put it, but he's the one who took care of him then?" Franky asked.

"I guess so," Nami answered as Pell looked over to spot Luffy laying there, his blood now soaking the sand around him.

"After all, he is the brave knight who brought your precious princess back alive," past Robin informed him.

"What was that?" Sanji demanded of her loudly. "What do you mean brave knight?!"

"Well, if you're Mr. Prince…?" she offered and he stopped to think about that as she smiled. The rest of them all shook their heads in exasperation at Sanji's expression as he nodded in firm understanding.

Pell was looking at Luffy in surprise as memory Robin went on, "It must please you to know Vivi's safe. That even as we speak she's on her way towards Alubarna." She stepped onto the ladder to the desert croc as she finished, "Though it's a long trip and anything could happen. Guess the situation is what it is."

Pell was growling furiously as she took her seat and the gator let at an amazing speed, just as fast as the Moving Crab had moved as Pell fell to his knees, unable to stand up any longer. They could all tell that even a short walk was painful for him in the shape he was in. But Luffy suddenly dragged himself over to him, with Chopper crying at him to stop moving, but Luffy ignored his own injury as he grabbed Pell's sleeve, who looked back in surprise.

As he tried to pull his arm free, Luffy looked up and gasped out, "Meat!"

"Luffy! Now is not the time to be worrying about your stomach!" Chopper screamed out as Luffy kept coughing up blood, and Pell realizing the full extent of his injuries.

"Hey, kid," he asked in concern, "Are you alright?"

"Need meat," was all he answered him, "Meat…"

"Meat?" Pell repeated in bafflement.

"You get used to it, Pell," Franky stated.

"You don't need food now!" Pell went on, "That's the least of your worries!" he got back up and staggered a few feet away in the direction of the city, "Hang on… I'll get a doctor for you."

"Thank you!" Chopper gasped, glad that Luffy was finally going to get some real medical care. But Luffy hadn't let go of his sleeve and it wasn't until Pell was a good ten feet away before he realized it. He looked back and seemed startled at his stretched out arm, as Luffy spoke into the sand, "I'm gonna make sure that Crocodile pays for this!"

"Oh, he sure did," Zoro said, remember with great satisfaction of seeing Crocodile falling through the sky, and landing right smack-dab in the middle of the square where all the fighting was. Yeah, Crocodile sure got his due here.

Pell stared at him, his eyes widening at Crocodile's name as Luffy croaked out, "He insulted… Vivi… and that old man with the shovel who gave me water!" he gave a shuddering gasp, "He's definitely gonna pay!"

Pell seemed at a loss for words before he slowly limped back to him as Luffy still muttered about meat.

It was at that moment that the memory around them faded and Nami hugged Robin and she blushed a little in embarrassment as Zoro asked, "Not that it matters, nor am I complaining about it, but why? Weren't we all enemies? Why did you save him?"

Robin only smiled sadly to herself. "Because he reminded me of a dear friend I once had. He died a long time ago when I was still a child. But this person will always hold a special place in my heart. Luffy reminds me a lot of him. So I just couldn't let him die here. I didn't know if he actually stood a chance against Crocodile… but I wanted to help at least a little."

"Who was your friend?" Chopper asked softly.

"A man by the name of Saul," she answered and she shut her eyes. "I don't like to be reminded of the past… but he's someone I owe so much to. Including my life. That's all I have to say on the matter."

"If you think that highly of him, he must've been a good man," Sanji said in deep respect. If this guy was someone that Robin remembered after all these years, then he was a true man who deserves nothing but reverence.

Robin smiled sadly. "He was… I am certain that you all would've liked him a great deal. Luffy especially."

"I'm sorry, Robin," Nami said softly as Robin shook her head, no longer understanding why she came out and told them about Saul. Maybe a part of her had thought that helping another man with the name of 'D', it would be like finally paying Saul back for all he did for her. She sighed, not sure she knew anything anymore.

The next memory finally appeared and they were in the air…

"What the hell?!" Franky yelled as some of them jumped in shock. "What's going on here?!"

"WE'RE—WE'RE FLYING!" Usopp screamed in shock as he and Chopper held onto each other. "HOW ARE WE DOING IT THIS TIME?!"

"Because of Pell," Robin said, looking around, and sure enough she could see them coming towards them. "Pell the Falcon… he ate the falcon model of the Bird Bird Fruit and that gave him the power of flight."

"Oh, awesome!" Franky yelled excitedly.

"That's right," Chopper gasped, quickly calming down. "I remember now! He could fly couldn't he?"

"Correct," Robin answered. "After I left them back in Rainbase, I guess that Pell did take care of him and flew them back here once they recovered enough to move."

"Man, after such bad injuries to…?" Usopp whispered incredulously. Once they were close enough, they were all relieved to see that Luffy looked ten times better than before. Though still a mess and had a thick bandage wrapped around the wound, he was looking like he was ready to go another round with anybody.

He was tying a large barrel and hose around him so that he was able to carry it on his back and apparently having a long talk with Pell.

"So what is your connection to that woman?" Pell asked.

"What woman? You mean the one who dug me out of the sand?" Luffy asked him.

"Yes," Pell said, his eyes looking back at him. "She is in Baroque Works isn't she? But she helped you didn't she? So how do you know her?"

"I don't," Luffy answered truthfully. "Well, after we met Vivi she was on our ship and tried to tell us where to go but I wouldn't listen!"

"Again, I suppose I should've known better," Robin said in amusement.

"That dope never listens even when he should," Nami smiled. "What a pain."

"But Vivi said that she was Crocodile's partner," Luffy finished.

"I see," Pell said softly. "I suppose then that I should've be surprised that she dealt with me so easily, though it is hard to accept."

"Defeat always is," Zoro nodded firmly, his fingers going back to the scar on his chest and feeling how the pain of defeat hurt more than the injury he received.

"But, it's only through defeat do you truly learn so much more than you thought possible," Brook added softly.

"Very poetic, Brook," Robin smiled.

"I hear ya," Luffy nodded, his hand over the spot where Crocodile's hook impaled him and his eyes hardened. "But I'm going to take that croc out the next time I see him! We have to hurry to Alubarna!"

"Finally, Luffy's acting serious here," Usopp said firmly. "Alright! Now Crocodile's going out as soon as they find him."

"And you truly are the one who brought Vivi back here to this country?" Pell went on, asking with a deep worry in his eyes.

"Yeah, of course!" Luffy called.

"And that itself had been one heck of a wild ride," Nami sighed as she felt a little bit of

"In that case I owe you a deep thank you for protecting her for us while we were unable to," Pell said, and they could hear the gratitude in his tone. "Where is she now?"

"My crew took her to Alubarna while I stayed back to fight Crocodile," Luffy said. "They should be there already!"

"You sure about that?" Pell asked worriedly.

"Don't worry!" Luffy said brightly, thumping his chest before wincing in pain as he went on without any doubt in his mind, "My crew'll get her there no problem! They can handle anything!"

"Awww…" Franky said, blushing as some of the others were deeply touched by Luffy's confidence in them as several of the more emotional members were gapping at him with wide eyes.

"Damn it, how does he do that?" Sanji hissed. "He's too trusting for his own good."

"Is it bad that he trusts us?" Chopper asked in surprise.

"It's sometimes a bad thing to get your hopes up too high," Nami sighed.

"Besides," Luffy went on as they continued on and could make out a city in the distance. "I figured out Crocodile's weakness this time!"

"His weakness?" Usopp repeated in surprise.

"To keep Crocodile from turning to sand," Robin answered him. "It's really quite simple and obvious if you think about it."

"What is it?!" Franky called at once. "Because I don't see how…?"

"Beware of Crocodile," Pell suddenly warned Luffy. "For the last three years he had gotten rid of the pirates who had come here. It is how he had earned the trust of the people here. Each and every pirate was taken care of. Even if you're right about his weakness, that won't be enough to guarantee a victory. However, there is a saying here in the Grand Line… Logia Devil Fruit Users who think they're invincible often die young."

They all looked at each other, Ace's grave flashing in their eyes and they all felt a strong sickness inside them as Pell finished, "Even if that's true, Crocodile surely didn't become a Warlord because of his powers alone."

"Don't worry," Luffy said firmly. "I'm going to kick Crocodile's ass this time for sure!"

Pell must've understood the determination in his voice for he nodded his head. "Alright then. We're almost to Alubarna now."

Onwards they flew over the great city… though at the moment it was almost impossible to see anything. There was a thick fog of sand and dust clouding their vision so it was almost impossible to see anything on the ground.

"What's going on down there?!" Brook cried out, trying to make out where all the noise was coming from. There were screams of pain and they could make out the sounds of thousands of people fighting. As they flew a little lower, they were finally able to get a good look at what was going on. Rebels and Royals were battling out in the square and streets, attacking anyone they thought was the enemy…