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"What exactly is this thing?" Nami asked as she played with the piece of paper in her hands.

"I dunno," Luffy replied, "Ace told me to hold onto it, though."

"Why?"

"I just said, I don't know." Nami made a face at this, trying to find any sort of hidden message in the paper. She found none, and sighed as she went to work sewing into the inside of Luffy's hat. She didn't have a clue what it was for, but clearly it had some time of value. And so, into the hat it went. That made it easy for Luffy to keep his hands on it.

Giving the hat back to her Captain, Nami surveyed the desert around them. The group consisting of their crew, Captain Smoker, Tashigi and some of his marines had been walking through the desert for some time now on their way to Yuba. They'd already passed through a dried up village, where Vivi told them about how the rebellion started.

Nami thought back to the story about the Dance Powder, and what it meant for Alabasta. It made sense when you thought about it. Using the powder, Crocodile was sowing distrust amongst the populace that the King was keeping it raining wherever he was and letting them dry out and die. When confronted with such ideas, most people would agree a rebellion was in order. And here they were.

"Thank God we have these camels," Usopp said off to her side, "Otherwise we'd have been walking for hours, and I'd probably die."

"That's a bit dramatic, don't you think?" Nojiko asked him. Usopp shook his head.

"No, look at Chopper! He's already dying!" As if to prove his point, Usopp lifted up the panting reindeer and presented him to the crew.

"It's cause he's furry, you moron," Sanji said pointedly as he walked alongside them. The poor guy hadn't gotten a camel, and had been forced to walk alongside the marines.

"These camels were a good idea though," Vivi said as she smiled it Smoker's direction. "Excellent thinking, Captain Smoker."

"It's more like poor thinking on your part, Princess," Smoker replied with a look over his shoulder. Traversing the Alabastian desert with no transportation? That's pure insanity."

"I can tell!" Luffy said, "Vivi, were we seriously gonna do this with no camels?!" Vivi just laughed weakly.

"I mean, we didn't really have the money..."

"Nami has money!" Luffy replied, Nami smacking him on the back of his head.

"No I don't!" She shouted.

"Yes, you do," Nojiko said flatly.

"Nojiko!"

"It's the truth, little sister." Nami fumed irritably at being called out for having secret funds, but otherwise the trip grew quiet again. She did have to admit, though, the idea of doing this on her own two feet was horrific. At least Smoker had thought ahead.

"Rocks up ahead," Tashigi said as the crew looked up. "We can rest out of the sun for a few minutes and then keep going."

"Thank the Gods," Chopper wheezed in Usopp's lap.

"I'm going to have a tan all around my eyes," Johnny complained loudly as he adjusted his sunglasses.

"I've never even seen you without your sunglasses, Johnny," Usopp said, raising an eyebrow. "Take them off, we don't even know what your eyes look like."

"I'll keep them where they are, thank you!" Johnny replied. "I don't want to expose my eyes to this sun!"

"Pansy," Yosaku muttered from behind his friend.

"Coming from Captain Mirror Forehead," Johnny shot back as he flicked Yosaku's bald head. "Without my sunglasses I wouldn't even be able to look right at you!"

"Both of you shut up," Nojiko said irritably.

"Yes Big Sis!" They both said, quieting up. A rest would be good for them at this rate. Everyone was getting crabby from the sun, even with the change of clothes that protected them from it. Nami pulled the hood closer to her face as they got closer to the rocks, the camels coming to a stop.

"What the hell is this?" Luffy asked.

"What?" Nami asked, leaning to look past him. Up above, in the spaces between the rocks, were birds. All of them dead, lying on the ground.

"Holy shit," Sanji remarked. "What happened here?"

"Nothing," Vivi replied, "Nojiko-san, fire off a shot please."

"Why?" Nojiko asked. Vivi just gestured for her to do it, so the woman sighed and reached for her gun and fired a shot. As the gunshot sounded, the birds squawked in terror and got up from the ground, flying away in fright.

"What just happened?" Zoro asked in confusion.

"Thieves," Vivi answered. "Those birds are notorious for pulling that trick on travellers. Had he tried to help we'd have been robbed blind of our supplies."

"What would we do without you, Vivi?" Luffy asked with a laugh.

"Get robbed, probably," Nami answered as she flicked the back of Luffy's head. "Your dumb ass probably would have tried to rescue the birds."

"No I wouldn't!" Luffy replied. Nami ignored him as everyone dismounted and ran for the shade that the rocks provided, the heat being abated by the darkness.

"Oh that feels so nice..." Chopper whispered weakly as he lay on his back on the sand. One of the camels made a noise next to him. "You're made for the heat, don't make fun of me." Nami smiled weakly at the scene, the reindeer conversing with the reindeer. It was cute beyond belief. Honestly, she had no way of knowing if Chopper could really understand animals, but from Karoo's excitement, it seemed to be real.

Speaking of Karoo, where was he?

"Hey Vivi," Nami spoke up as she drank some water. "Where is Karoo?"

"I sent him ahead of us," Vivi answered back. "I gave him a letter meant for my father to deliver. It's about the civil war and who's behind it."

"Will he be okay?" Nojiko asked as she took the canteen from Nami.

"He's fast and knows the land," Vivi replied, "I'm sure he'll be fine." Nami hoped so. The last thing they needed was for the duck to get captured. Or killed. Or eaten. Really any bad thing happening to him.

As the group began to repack everything to keep going, the ground beneath them shuddered. At first they shrugged it off but, when it happened again, they knew something was happening. Turning, Nami watched as the sand in front of them exploded outwards. From within in emerged a creature she never in her wildest dreams expected to see in the desert.

"Is that a giant crocodile?!" Johnny shouted in terror as they watched the beast mull around.

"It is," Vivi said, "It's a Bananawani. We should probably steer clear of it."

"How do we manage that, exactly?" Smoker asked. "It's massive and right in our way."

"I got it!" Luffy shouted as he ran ahead. "Zoro, Sanji, help me out!"

"Wait, you moron!" Nami shouted, being ignored by all three. At first some part of her was worried for some reason, but as she watched the gator get sliced to pieces she quickly reminded herself who she was with.

"Suppose they had some energy to burn, huh?" Nojiko asked as the three men returned to them.

"Let's go!" Luffy shouted as he remounted the camel he'd been sharing with Nami. "We've got to make it to Yuba! Hiyah!" Nami made a face, then shrieked and grabbed onto Luffy for dear life as he kicked the camel in the sides, spurring it into a sprint.

"Give me a warning next time, you jackass!" She shouted, nearly knocking him off the camel as it ran.

"Who knew camels could go so fast?!" Luffy marvelled as he hung from the side, sand hitting him in the face.

The sun was beginning to set when the group finally made it to Yuba.

Or rather, what was left of it.

"What happened here?!" Vivi cried out as she threw herself off her camel and ran for the city. Nami had to wonder the same thing. Yuba looked just as dry and barren as the rest of the desert behind them, save for the buildings all around them.

"If I had to guess," Yosaku said as he rubbed his chin, "The water disappeared."

"Didn't realise we had a scientist on the crew," Sanji muttered under his breath as Vivi ran into the town. Everyone followed after her, looking around at the dried out oasis. This was clearly very, very wrong.

"This is horrible..." Vivi whispered, "The sands made the ground rise up. The oasis is drying up."

"And I don't see rebels," Smoker said flatly. He was right about that. Yuba was barren in more than one way.

"Ain't nobody left in our dried up town, travellers," A new voice said. Nami looked over to see a man standing off in a hole, repeating driving a shovel into the ground as he dug.

"We can see that," Zoro replied.

"Hey, old guy!" Luffy said, "we heard there was a rebellion here, but I don't see anyone!" The mans grip on the shovel tightened at this.

"You're here for the rebels?" He asked angrily, glaring at them now. "What, to join them?!" With this, Nami flinched as the man turned and hurled his shovel at Luffy, who dodged it in a panic.

"What the hell!" Luffy shouted angrily.

"They're not here," The old man said as he walked over to pick the shovel back up. "They left."

"I can't imagine why," Sanji muttered. The old man laughed.

"Neither can I," he replied, "Why wouldn't anyone want to stay in this dried up hellhole that gets attacked by sandstorms all day?"

"Is that what happened here?" Tashigi asked. The man nodded.

"Rebels cant rebel without a circulation of goods," he said, "And with the oasis disappearing, no one comes here anymore. So they moved to Katorea."

"Kato-!" Vivi started in surprise.

"Is that close?" Nojiko asked with a hand on her hip. Vivi paled.

"It's the oasis next to Nanohana," she whispered.

The crew was silent for a good few seconds before they collectively lost their minds.

"Nanohana?!" Luffy shouted.

"That's where we just were!" Johnny cried.

"We have to backtrack?!" Chopper shouted, already sweating.

Damn it!" Smoker cursed, turning to his men. "Let's get going, all of you. Princess Vivi, we have to go!"

"Vivi?!" The old man asked. "Did you just say Princess Vivi?"

"He definitely didn't!" Yosaku shouted as he put himself between the old man and Vivi. The man tossed the swordsman aside.

"Vivi, it's me!" He shouted as he grabbed her hands. "Don't you recognise me?! Uh, I suppose I've lost some weight since back then..." Vivi looked lost, but soon her eyes widened.

"M-Mr. Toto?!" She asked. The man gave a teary nod, and Vivi hugged him tightly at this. Everyone else just stood around awkwardly as the pair reunited, not sure what to say.

"A friend of yours?" Nojiko finally asked to break the silence. Vivi sniffled and nodded, pulling away from Toto.

"He's the Dad of one of my old friends," she answered. "I knew you'd come here many years ago, but..."

"And what?" Toto asked, "you thought I'd leave all I had managed to build? Not in a million years! I know your Dad is innocent, Vivi. He's not the type of man who would do this to his country!" Vivi smiled at this.

"Thank you, Mr. Toto." She said. "Please don't worry, we aren't here to join the rebellion, we came to stop it!" Toto laughed at this.

"Can't do much after a long day in the desert!" He said, "please, stay here for the night! You can leave first thing in the morning."

"That sounds good to me," Zoro said, "I've been riding a camel for hours..."

"Shouldn't we move as fast as possible to stop the rebels?" Smoker demanded.

"We can take one night, Smokey!" Luffy replied. "Alright crew, here's an order from your Captain. Find us the best hotel in this town, ASAP!"

It would have been weird if the Straw Hats managed to sort out the sleeping arrangements without complete mayhem.

"Why the hell do you get so many pillows, Usopp?!" Zoro demanded.

"Because I have a bad back!" Usopp replied, lying through his teeth as per usual.

"Who cares?! Share!"

"No!"

"Johnny, Yosaku!" On the order from Zoro, both swordsmen leapt on the liar and dragged away many of the pillows, much to his distress.

"You people are insane," Marianne muttered. Johnny replied by clocking her in the face with a pillow. "Ow! Don't throw pillows at me!"

"Couldn't hear ya, Little Sis!" Johnny replied innocently as he pushed the pillow back into her face, which made her fall back on her bed.

"Get out of my bed, Sanji," Nojiko ordered.

"I can't bear the thought of you sleeping alone, Nojiko-swan!" Sanji sang innocently.

Nojiko's response was to click the hammer back on her revolver.

Vivi watched the carnage as the crew tried to sort everything out, making her laugh as she did so. How such a dysfunctional group of pirates had managed to get this far, she would never know.

"You're free to find another room, Vivi," Nami said from her side. Vivi just laughed at this.

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else," she replied. As she looked around at the chaos, she noticed that the leader of the chaos, Luffy, was not present. Where had he disappeared too? Getting up, she wandered out of the hotel and into Yuba, walking among the abandoned buildings. As she reached the center of town, she saw Luffy ahead of her with Toto.

"What are you you doing?" She asked as she reached them, Luffy turning to her.

"You're friend's digging for water," Luffy replied, "Can't seem to find any."

"There is water here!" Toto insisted. "I know there is! It's just deep down here!" Vivi frowned at this as she stared down at the man, who looked so weak and ragged, digging as deep down into the hole as he could, Luffy was also watching him, looking rather irritated.

"Move," he finally said.

"What?" Toto asked. Luffy didn't say anything more, jumping down into the hole, Using his elastic arms, he dug his hands into the ground and began to throw handfuls of dirt into the air at astounding speeds. Toto got out of the hole to prevent getting some in his face, both of them now watching curiously as Luffy worked.

"He's sure full of energy for a man who just traversed a desert," he noted.

"He's usually like this," Vivi replied. Luffy must have only worked for a little bit but, soon he cried out in joy.

"Found it!" He shouted. Vivi looked down to find the hole damp at the bottom, the sand turning dark brown as the water seeped out.

"There you go, boy!" Toto exclaimed happily. "I told you there was water down there! You're unlike others these days. No patience. Believing what you see the second you see it. This place is dry, the King being behind the drought...It's all ridiculous!" Vivi decided telling Toto that Luffy was the direct opposite of patient, simply smiling as the Captain pulled himself out of the hole.

"Don't worry old man," Luffy said, dirt smudged on his face. "Vivi, the crew, and I are gonna stop the guy behind this. We'll make sure of it. Right Vivi?" Vivi noted to reaffirm this.

"I hope," she said, "if we don't, then..." She didn't want to finish that thought. She couldn't bear the thought of failing. She'd honestly rather die than fail her country.

"Don't look so down, Vivi!" Toto replied, "if you're here, than the rebellion will surely stop! After all, who else could talk Koza down but you?"

The silence that followed was deafening. Vivi stared wide-eyed at Toto, who seemed to realise that she hadn't known about Koza. Luffy just looked confused.

"What's a Koza?" He asked, scratching the back of his head. Vivi barely responded to him.

"H-He's a friend..." She said, "I had no idea, but I should have assumed..."

"Prone to jumping to conclusions, that one," Toto remarked sadly, "but it'll be okay Vivi, I promise. Koza will listen to you. I know he will!"

Vivi didn't know about that. Koza had always been a handful, even when they'd been kids. Even worse, he'd been stubborn. Would he listen? Or had years of presuming her father was behind this too much for her to dissuade? God, she hoped he was smarter than he used to be.

"You should go and rest, Vivi," Luffy said, noticing her discomfort.

"What about you?" She asked. The Captain simply gestured backwards.

"I'll help the old guy dig for water," he said. "He needs more than a mouthful."

"I'll be fine, son," Toto said, but Luffy was having none of it. He jumped back into the hole and began to dig with his hands, much to Vivi's dismay as the dirt he flung nearly hit her half a dozen times. Moving away, a small smile graced her face as she went back to the hotel, and the chaos inside.

Maybe they could do this.

Wow, two weeks in a row?! I'm a madman. I hope you enjoyed!