Part 2; Pirate Graveyard

Chapter 4/4; Interesting choice

Of all the things she was told, Vivi only understood one thing; these pirates wanted a reward. That's not what surprised her. It was that Nami wanted Vivi to hire them and take her all the way back to her home.

"You have my gratitude for saving me, but I must refuse your offer."

"Why? You're a princess. A billion beli should be a cheap price for someone like you. And you can't make it away alone."

Captain Rayla returned from washing the blood off in the river, but she still looked pale and appeared skittish. When Vivi and the rest of the agents residing on this island had fought the swordsman, Vivi had thought the wanted poster was a mistake; that it wasn't this girl who had a bounty on her head. Now she didn't know what to believe. Not even when Rayla sat on the crate by the swordsman and allowed him to wrap an arm around her calf. Was that a show of affection?

She shook her head and focused on Nami. "Do you know of the kingdom Alabasta?"

"Never heard of it," Nami said with a shrug.

As expected of newcomers. But after the ride they had from Twin Peak, Vivi at least new Nami was a competent navigator, no matter how unexperienced.

"It's one of Grand Line's civilized countries. It used to be a peaceful kingdom."

The navigator tilted her head. "Used to be?"

"That's why you're not at home?" Rayla asked. Vivi hadn't spent quality time with the girl, but she hadn't seen Ruffy's face this tense and pinched before.

"It is," Vivi answered her question with a tired nod. "To make a long story somewhat short; we started seeing radical Alabastan revolutionaries that turned the country into a state of chaos. Our spies managed to pick up the existence of a certain organization that was the root of the problem; Baroque Works. But other than the fact that they instigated the unrest, we weren't able to find out anything about them. Who they were, what they wanted, who their leader was."

Vivi rubbed her forehead. She should stop talking, but she did owe these people, however strange and roundabout their method of saving her life had been. But she couldn't deny how relieving it was to speak the truth, to not hide, to open up and breathe.

"I made a request to Igaram; my head of guard who's taken care of me since I was a child."

"That's the fool who got you drunk, Ruffy," the swordsman explained with an irritated frown on his brow.

"At least it tasted good this time around," the girl laughed, a strained, unnatural sound. "And I don't feel sick either."

"You're drunk?" Vivi gave her one strange look before she shook her head. "Anyway. Since we spent weeks and months investigating and still couldn't come up with anything other than these rumours about Baroque Works and were unable to capture anyone because we had no proof at all. I asked Igaram to help me infiltrate the organization. It was the only way to gather information and to spread light amongst the shadows that had been cast over Alabasta."

"Oh? Aren't you brave," Zoro said, and it sounded more like a statement than a compliment.

"I spoke to your head of guards," Nami said. "He said the goal of Baroque Works is the 'creation of an ideal nation'. What does that mean?"

Vivi was about to open her mouth, but the navigator's eyes had already widened in realization.

"Wait, don't tell me they…?"

"Yes, it's exactly like that. The boss has said on occasion that Baroque Works are creating an ideal nation. But the true objective is to take over the kingdom of Alabasta! Igaram and I were about to return, but Mr 9 drew the short stick and I had to come along to go whale-hunting. I've wasted too much time here already. If I don't hurry back and stop the revolutionaries, everything will fall into the boss's hands."

Nami was sighing, pouting even over the fact Vivi really wouldn't be able to reward her. The princess was happy to see Nami backing out of the deal, like a true pirate, when Ruffy opened her mouth.

"And who is this boss you're fighting?"

Vivi jumped up, eyes wide. "I CAN'T SAY! PLEASE DON'T ASK! YOU'RE BETTER OFF NOT KNOWING!" She took a deep breath, willing her heart to not beat so hard. "If I told you boss's identity, the whole organization will hunt you down!"

Nami laughed and covered Ruffy's mouth with her fingers. "You're right. We really don't want to be involved. I mean, someone who's in the middle of taking out an entire country sounds like too dangerous a person for us."

"He really is," Vivi nodded with emphasis, happy they understood. "That man is Crocodile, a member of the Ouka Shichibukai."

Ruffy perked up with the first honestly bright smile since they landed on the island. "Oh! A Shichibukai! Sounds exciting."

"Not bad," Zoro agreed.

Vivi slapped both hands over her mouth in horror. How could she have said that!? Just how could that have slipped out just like that?!

Nami was gaping too, colour draining from her face.

A rustle of feathers pulled everyone's attention to a rooftop. Vivi's heart and stomach plummeted at the sight of the unluckies; the organization's messengers Mr 13 the otter and his vulture partner Miss Friday.

After exchanging a look, Mr 13 jumped onto Miss Friday's back and they flew off.

Nami grabbed Vivi and started furiously shaking her.

"WHAT WAS THAT BIRD AND OTTER JUST NOW!? ARE THEY GOING TO REPORT US?! WHAT'LL HAPPEN TO US NOW?!"

Vivi was very happy when the navigator let her go, not only because she'd bit her tongue trying to apologize. She was too dizzy to catch what the pirates said, but Mr Bushido and Ruffy seemed unconcerned.

"Hey Nami, where are you going?" Ruffy called after the other girl who was purposefully striding away.

"They don't know my face, so I'm bailing. I like you guys, but no. Just no."

Vivi's world stopped spinning in time to see Mr 13 standing with a drawing pad before Nami. Maybe Vivi should have explained that the otter was a spy and skilled in portrait, but it felt like the wrong thing to say when Mr 13 showed his drawings of the tree pirates.

Nami looked decidedly unhappy when she rounded back. "So I can't run away, they mean?!"

"What a funny otter," Ruffy said, following the unluckies with her eyes.

"And just where and on what were you planning to run?" Mr Bushido asked Nami with a grin that said he wasn't feeling bad for mocking her. In fact he looked pleased. "Isn't this just as well? All three of us are on the Baroque Works' hit list. Saves us the time to look for them, am I right?"

The navigator fell into a heap of despair, making Vivi feel even worse.

"I… I have five hundred thousand in savings. You can have that…"

It was a meek offer of comfort, but Vivi was at a loss. She'd faced several situations as an undercover agent, but never one where she was the one responsible for the situation turning out the way it had. Mr Bushido and Ruffy laughing didn't make it better.

"Fear not!"

Vivi jumped up, overjoyed to hear Igaram's voice, only for her heart to sink again, and it had nothing to do with the blood and dirt on him. Igaram was dressed up as her, carrying three dummies under his arms. It could only mean one thing; he must have seen and heard everything.

"I have a plan. Phears…" Igaram cleared and tuned his voice. "Please listen closely. Once Baroque Works' network learns of this and how much you all know, they'll send pursuers right away. If you defeated Mr 5 and his partner, you can expect even lower number agents. I will warn you, pirates. Boss might not have a bounty now that he's working for the government, but he used to be worth eighty million beli."

Ruffy tilted her head and stood. "Thanks for the warning? Was it me who hurt you?"

"Your hand has not grazed me. I need also apologize for the drinking game. I'm glad to see you survived."

"Some of that is my fault," Mr Bushido admitted, waving at Igaram's wounds as he too stood, and Vivi hated the lack of guilt in his voice.

"Considering the situation we found ourselves in, I gracefully admit defeat and wish to express my gratitude for you saving Princess Vivi. Have you decided to escort her home as well?"

Ruffy sighed, sounding a bit annoyed. "That's what Nami told you? We might as well."

"I did not!" Nami shrieked. "Eighty million is four times more than Arlong! Turn them down!"

Vivi felt for the other. She really did, but Igaram, based on his clothes, wasn't planning on travelling with her, and if he didn't, Vivi would be on her own if these pirates couldn't let her board their ship, and she wasn't strong enough to sail alone.

She really was a bother now, wasn't she?

"Now then, princess," Igaram turned to her, and his calm voice made Vivi want to cry, hold on to him, beg him not to do this. "Please give me Alabasta's eternal pose."

Behind her, Nami stopped crying for a second. "Eternal pose? What's that?"

Ruffy raised a hand. "A log pose that doesn't move!"

Igaram studied them all, taking in Nami's confusion, Mr Bushido's indifference and Ruffy's proud face. "Yes, simply put," he nodded. "A log pose records magnetic fields and takes you from island to island, but an eternal pose only ever records one island's field and will forever point to it."

"It looks like this," Vivi said and showed the eternal pose she always kept with her. The one that pointed her home. One that anyone coming after them would most likely also have.

"I shall take this and set forth to Alabasta, masquerading as you, my princess. It will buy you some time to travel the normal route," Igaram explained and turned to the pirates. "Luckily, there are only two or three island between this island and Alabasta. I have never traversed that way myself though, so I can't tell you how long you'll need to stay on each island."

Vivi didn't like it, but Igaram was strong. He hadn't inherited his title as head of the royal guard. She had to believe Mr 5 had taken him down because Igaram had already been worn down by Mr Bushido.

"My princess," Igaram said with calm confidence. "We shall meet again in the fatherland."

The carnage had stopped. The monster had left only a handful of people alive. It had even seemed to sense Miss All-Sunday's spying eyes and ears, so she hadn't gotten a good look at what exactly it was. It had moved too fast and stayed out of the moonlight.

Not that she had needed to see it. Miss All-Sunday was good at guessing, and it appeared the monster wasn't gone, but rather had fallen back asleep, or the one who was the monster was back to conscious thought. It would not have been the first time she saw someone lose their mind just to have the devil come out and play.

Miss All-Sunday waited patiently, all eyes and ears on the island and the group of people with Alabasta's princess in their midst.

"We shall meet again in the fatherland."

All-Sunday opened her eyes, back to herself, and stared at the island.

"Bunch, take me ashore. There's a ship I want to prepare for fireworks."

The turtle obeyed without a sound.

They didn't have to look. The location of escape ships were known to all members involved with Whiskey Peak. Going by the sizes of the three ships docked in the hidden bay, All-Sunday boarded the smallest one. It wasn't much, and would normally take three men to handle. But those Alabastans had always been inventive. You also don't get promoted to the top ten agents on strength only. What the ship lacked in appearance however, it made up for with its storages of explosives. She could add some from the other ships as well, so All-Sunday set to work. Her orders were to clean up were Mr 5 to fail. She had to make it look like that's exactly what she was doing. Like always. Light-shows and trickery, creating cracks for mice to run or enter.

The mist was coming in.

All-Sunday slipped off the ship and onto Bunch's back just as she heard voices approach. The thrill was mild, barely enough to get her heart started, but it was better than the boredom that she'd suffered through tailing Mr 5.

Then it was back to waiting. Waiting to see the princess. A little bit of teasing as a reward to herself. Even though Miss All-Sunday was a lot more curious about the sleeping monster.

Ruffy couldn't say anything, still too rattled by her last nightmare, but there was a big turtle smoking a cigarette and wearing a cowboy hat floating on the waves. On his shell was a chair with a woman looking their way. Ruffy couldn't say anything because the woman was too far away for her to hear any heartbeat, and her friends were busy waving off Curly-ossan. He had a good tailwind, and Ruffy had to wonder if he really could sail Grand Line like that alone.

"We should hurry to get Usopp and Sanji-kun and set sail," Nami said.

Ruffy nodded, and was about to ask her if she could see the turtle and woman. It's just that the ship with Curly-ossan exploded in a show of flames that covered her entire vision.

"Now!" Nami yelled.

"Roger! I'll go rise the anchor!" Zoro called back and ran off.

"Okay, Ruffy, you get those two idiots!"

The captain started walking backwards. The initial blaze of the explosion had already subsided, and she thought was able to spot the dummies that were supposed to be her, Zoro and Nami. But that was it.

She would have to go through Vivi's heart later, to see the state of the bond. For now she had to get Usopp and Sanji.

Nami's thoughts were racing a mile a minute. One billion beli was at stake, there were more agents coming, Ruffy had killed everyone on the island, they would get one billion beli! Had Zoro found Merry or gotten himself lost again?

Behind her, Vivi bit her pinkie and let out a sharp whistle.

She was strong. Nami had to admit that, even if she'd brought them a mess that most possibly could get them all killed. But she couldn't think like that. Not when it was exactly the same thing she'd thought when Ruffy faced off against Buggy, against Kuro and his crew. It's what she'd thought when Ruffy had taken down Arlong.

Nami still had to ask someone what had happened after she left them all at Baratie.

Vivi whistled again. "Why isn't he answering?"

"What?" Nami asked as they rounded the last building and Merry was in front of them.

Nami tried not to think about the fact she jumped over the halves of a body. Every street, there was so much blood. The navigator still couldn't comprehend that this was Ruffy's doing. The monster that had done this couldn't be the same girl that had been starving, standing under the stairs of Baratie like an abandoned dog.

"Carue, my giant duck! He always comes when I whistle. I don't understand what happened."

They both stopped, Nami watched Ruffy approach them from the shoreline pulling Sanji-kun and Usopp behind her.

"We can't go back and look for him! Your head of guard was… just now!"

"But I can't just leave him behind!"

"What's holding you! Get on! I already raised the anchor!" Zoro called from the ship while he caught Usopp that Ruffy threw at him.

"But Carue!" Vivi cried desperately.

"What?" Zoro saw Sanji coming and promptly stepped aside instead of catching him.

"Oi, Zoro! That was mean!" Ruffy huffed while she too climbed aboard.

"Not sorry. What's this about a carol?"

"Her giant duck," Nami explained.

Zoro looked behind him before focusing on the girls again. "This guy?"

"Quack!"

Ruffy almost lost her grip on the railing in surprise. She hadn't expected there to be a bird on her ship.

"What's this duck?"

"No clue. He was here before me."

The problem solved by itself, Nami and Vivi both climbed aboard without further arguing.

"Turn the ship around and head upstream," Vivi instructed. "There's a connecting river that will take us out on the other side of the island."

"Perfect, that will bring us straight on the right course," Nami said after glancing at the log pose.

The morning mist embraced them long before the light did. Vivi had said not to trust the sun, but she still wanted to say the lightened sky was east. That's now nature worked, but she's already learnt the bitter lesson that Grand Line was Mother Nature's wayward son who never abided to her rules.

Either way; it was morning, they were all alive and leaving the hornet's nest protected by the mist. It had taken the log pose roughly seven hours to record the magnetic field, give or take, so hopefully they had at least that much time before pursuers could pick up the chase.

Just as the river was broadening and the sea opened up before them, Usopp woke up, rubbing his face.

"Hey? What? Merry? Wait, what! Are we leaving already?! Why?!"

Sanji was also coming around, and hastily jumped into protesting along with the younger boy.

Nami had enough patience left to offer two words as explanation; Drop Dead.

Zoro looked down at the two them, hoping this wasn't going to be his life from now on. Usopp wasn't much of a fighter, but Zoro did prefer him awake and aware of his surroundings., no matter how much of a nuisance his paranoia was. The cook though looked confused but happy to have received Nami's smiling wrath, even though it had knocked him out cold. For the second time in the same night. Or maybe even the third? Ruffy had been pulling him by the leg after all.

"Will they be okay?" the princess asked.

"They've survived worse," the swordsman offered as consolation.

Ruffy was distracted by a new heartbeat. Since she woke up, she hadn't head a single one beside the people in her direct surroundings. She hated the silence. No heartbeats meant no life. No life meant everything was dead. It would take weeks before anyone could coax her to sleep again.

But here it was; a new heartbeat, and it didn't sound hostile at all.

She stared at the tall woman in revealing clothes as she strolled around the galley, smiling charmingly as she sat on the railing outside the kitchen.

"Be mindful of the rocks around here. Congratulations on escaping."

All around her, the hearts of her crew and the princess jumped. But the woman kept smiling at Ruffy.

"What a nice ship."

The captain nodded, accepting the compliment for what it was, before the new woman aimed a far more teasing smile and greeting at Vivi.

"Miss Wednesday, I just met with Mr 8."

The princess filled with so much emotion Ruffy would have been surprised she couldn't react to all that hatred, if it wasn't for the fact the new arrival's heartbeat was louder. It was a jaded sound, hurt too many times to care about other people's feelings.

"What are you doing here Miss All-Sunday?!" Vivi cried, anger distorting her voice.

"What's this? Who is she? Where's her partner?!" Nami fired questions like a barking dog.

"Mr 0's. The boss's partner. The only one who knows who he is."

Whatever that meant, Ruffy wasn't sure. Couldn't say she cared either. There was something about this woman. Her teasing and honest words clearly rubbed the princess the wrong way.

"What exactly do you want?!" Vivi hollered. Ruffy couldn't understand how she could be so angry and still not act. Did she really think her screaming was intimidating?

"Now, now, no need to get so riled up," the woman said in that same calm tone. "You worked so hard I wanted to reward you. The little princess who went up against Baroque Works to save her kingdom was so cute. And so naïve it was funny."

Ruffy tilted her head, the situation triggering a distant memory. Her mother had loved teasing others to the point of hurting them. When it came to that she would sit down and let her victim curse her and cry until everything was forgiven.

"Emotions aren't there to be locked up inside, Rayla. Makino is always calm no matter what happens because she has to be. I rile her so that she gets angry and hurt and cries, then she can keep calm when the circumstances calls for it."

"I don't get it," little Ruffy had said at the time.

"It's like this; you tease others either because you like them, or…"

"Because you're bored," Ruffy said out loud, unknowingly hindering the eruption of Vivi's fury that had reached its peak.

"OH! A BEAUTIFUL LADY!"

Sounded like Sanji was back.

"Please read the atmosphere!" Nami wailed, but at least this time she was too far away to knock the cook out again.

"Uh? Zoro? What are you waiting for? Charge! I'll cover you!"

Usopp was up too. Good.

"You're right," the strange woman agreed after studying Ruffy curiously. "I'm bored. I had my orders, and I have seen them through, so I have no reason to fight with you. But you have the princess, so I had to check in."

Ruffy blinked slowly. She truly hated half-lies. Too much truth for her to detect exactly what the lie was.

But then there was suddenly a sense of being touched, and the contact made her aware of two things. The woman had eaten a devil fruit, and her heart wasn't just jaded.

She had the heart of a hunted animal.

The straw hat suddenly left Ruffy's head and flew over to the woman, distracting the pirate.

"MY HAT!"

"So you are the captain of the Mugiwara pirates, Monkey D. Ruffy."

The pirates all readied their weapons, even Sanji, though he froze when he realized. Luckily for him Ruffy beat them all to the punch.

"Give that back! It's not mine! I promised Sun I would return it!"

"Sun?" the woman repeated with surprise and recognition. "Crimson Sun?" She fanned herself with the straw-hat as comprehension crossed her features. The curiosity made her prettier as it brought more life to her eyes. "I see. Interesting. And here you are, a small-time pirate, not enough manpower to be a proper crew, picking up a princess targeted by all of Baroque Works. You really don't plan to go into hiding."

"Of course not! Sun and everyone else who died all wanted me to live!"

All-Sunday went stiff. Ruffy blinked. Her words had touched something very soft in the woman's heart. Something painful hidden very far down and under many layers of defence.

But the crack was quickly healed, the emotion sealed away. This was not the time or place or company. Instead, she smiled with her mouth.

"You're a funny girl, senshou-san," she said and flicked the hat off her hand. Ruffy caught it easily, settling it back on her head. "And so are you, princess, poor dear forced to entrust your life to a handful of criminals you know nothing about," the woman continued. "And on top of that is the island you're headed to."

"What about it!?" Vivi hissed hatefully.

"The island your log pose points you to is called Little Garden. That means we won't need to bother with you, since you will never reach Alabasta."

Ruffy's eyes narrowed. It was the truth but the woman was teasing them. And there was something else in her heart. Something that wasn't bored, but this woman didn't like them either. Ruffy would need to get closer to really hear it, but it sounded familiar.

"What are you trying to say?" Vivi hissed, still angry, still shaking and still rooted on the spot.

"Rushing in without looking is the act of fools."

Ruffy was the captain of Going Merry. The one she had entrusted to take her across the ocean as a navigator was Nami. So when she saw this woman throw an eternal pose to Vivi, she might as well have thrown Ruffy's pride out with the garbage.

"With this you will avoid Little Garden, landing you on the Empty Island near Alabasta. Baroque Works don't know the route either, so you'll avoid pursuers," she said and Ruffy didn't care. Not one bit. Not when this mocking stranger thought Vivi would be the one making the decision.

In a fit of indignant fury, Ruffy snatched the eternal pose and crushed it in her hand.

"The only one to decide where this ship is headed is me," she snarled, her eyes burning gold.

The woman's heart was saddened. "I see. How unfortunate."

"RUFFY!" Nami shrieked and stopped herself from beating the other girl's head in. "Why would you do that?! What if she really wants to help?!"

"It's not helping to lead us off the course!" Ruffy argued, fuming. "And besides! You're supposed to be my navigator and take us anywhere I ask you to because you're the best one on all the seas!"

While Nami blushed prettily and preened after the praise, Miss All-Sunday was now even more interested in the straw-hat captain. All-Sunday was good with mind-games and deceit, whether she liked it or not, but this was the first time anyone had blatantly bulldozed through the traps, and that without apparently understanding that's what she'd done.

"I don't dislike bold people. Let's meet again, would you survive," she said and tipped her hat. The captain had earned that much respect from her.

The Baroque Worker left, on a giant turtle with a cowboy hat and smoking cigarettes, and Vivi dropped into an unworthy heap. "That woman! What does she want?! I don't understand! What's she planning?!"

Usopp and Sanji were still clueless, but at least now they were not crying about going back to Whiskey Peak, so Nami, again, took it upon herself to explain, with a little help from Zoro.

"The island was a nest of bounty hunters. I fought them after you fell asleep."

Or a lot of help, at least in saving time, but who cares.

Miss All-Sunday relaxed, absorbing the first rays of the sun. Those were the most healthy, according to myth. She felt like she needed them, but couldn't tell anyone why. For some reason she felt tired, and brown eyes were staring back at her whenever she closed her eyes. Not hostile, not suspicious, just watching.

All-Sunday was used to people watching her every move, she was even used to the feeling of someone staring into her soul. So why were those shifting eyes of a pirate making her feel seen for the first time?

Still.

"Little Garden."

She had hurt the pirate girl's feelings, All-Sunday wasn't blind. Yet, maybe it was her fault for making assumptions.

For her inner eye, brown eyes watched, flecked with gold, trying to see. Not that it mattered. That girl had chosen to walk straight forward and head for Little Garden, the island of the giants.

"Interesting choice."

AN; This is the end of this part. (sorry!) For those of you who was hoping for an instant connection between Robin and Ruffy, I'm sorry, this is the best I could do that would be at least somewhat satisfactory (I hope) to all readers.

You know, this quarantine has given me a lot of time to think. Because I do want to write an original work and have something published, I have come to realize exactly where my big weakness is; storytelling. I'm good at characters and relationships, and I like to think I have a firm grasp on world building. But stories? I just have to keep working on that. At the same time, even though this monster is quite daunting to write, it's also rather relaxing. Because it's so long, I can take my time, not having to rush development because the story have to/is about to end.

Anyway; next part is "Little Garden", and I want to have that entire arc in one part. Which unfortunately means you'll have to wait for a long time before the next update ;_;

Until then, wash your hands, call your friends and family often, stay safe and healthy. I love you all!
/Mjus