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Fandom {We Are!! One Piece 1x1}

Cynil turned her head, coughing into the back of her hand to keep from laughing at the crew. They, once again, proved they were quite a lively and eccentric bunch. It seemed she just traded in one handful of interesting individuals for another. Alas, she probably wouldn't be around anywhere near as long as she was with the last. Before she could continue down that train of thought, her attention was called away. She blinked down at the cook, silent a moment.

"Uh, sure," She said, though was anything but. She leaned down, reaching out and hesitantly grasping his wrist. She had to push down her internal cringe and continue on. It wasn't that she was disgusted with the idea of touching someone or vice versa, it was more she was unused to it outside of her manipulating someone, that not even her false bravado could contain how downright awkward she felt. She had broken those barriers with a very few people, and often avoided such encounters to save herself the embarrassment. She was forced to use her other hand, knowing damn well she wouldn't be able to help him to his feet with only one. She wasn't freakishly strong like half the people she knew.

A good few feet away, Zoro was more red-faced than he had possibly ever been in his life. His entire body went rigid, ready to back away as Julia started...sinking? However, before he could make his escape, she had clung to him for support. His hands were pulled back slightly, not entirely sure what to do with them.

"Wha - Let me go!" He demanded, doing his best to not sound so flustered. And he failed. Horribly. "Go grab someone else!" Even if he were the only one close enough, and that his logic was downright foolish in that regard, he had wished he had been absent a few moments longer. His head was lifted, staring straight up. It felt wrong to just stare down at her while she was in her state - lecherous, almost. Like something that stupid chef would do; that alone meant he wasn't going to.

Vivi was quick to come to Julia's rescue once she noticed Zoro's lack of action. It was like the swordsman - normally so quick to act - turned to stone in this very moment. She darted up to them, giving Zoro a scolding look. "Don't just stand there!" She said, grabbing Julia's upper arm to keep her from sinking any further.

"What am I supposed to do?!" He retorted, and the incredulous look he received was scathing. "I can't pick her up, her jacket isn't long enough." If he were, then it'd be raised along with her. Then their embarrassment now would be nothing compared to then.


All while this was happening, Luffy continued to chase after the reindeer boy. Chopper ran for what felt like ages before he managed to duck into a room and the bizarre pirate ran right by him. He "hid" behind the door, looking down both sides of the hall before giving a sigh of relief. He was nowhere to be found - or heard, for that matter. And, after dealing with Wapol and getting their friend healed, they'd have no reason to stay - he wouldn't have to deal with this another day because they're be gone!

Gone.

For some reason, he didn't feel the relief he should. He sighed, looking down as he started making his way down the hall. Time to find Doctor Kureha - he was certain she'd have a task for him to do since that weird pirate's friends got pretty banged up during their time here. The girl with the fire powers - she seemed to be relatively healed. He wasn't entirely certain how her being an "oni" worked, but she definitely seemed better before he had to make his getaway. The other girl had taken an arrow to her hand, so she'd probably need to get that checked out or else she may never be able to use that hand again. Though, judging from her utter lack of a reaction to it, something seemed off by that whole deal. And then there was the blonde one - he was probably the worst off right now.

And then there was Luffy. After getting a few injuries to his hands and feet from the climbing, he was doing surprisingly well. Normally people would be off their feet for awhile due to pain, but him? It was like he didn't feel a thing!

They definitely were a weird bunch of people.

"There you are, Chopper." The voice cut through his thoughts, and he lifted his eyes to meet Doctorene's. She sat in the main hall, watching over bustling militiamen who she had been ordering around. She shook her head at him. "Such a useless brat." She took a swig of her alcohol. Chopper blinked. He was used to Kureha's "tough love" but this was more biting than he was used to. What changed?

"You've had every chance to stand up to that boy, and all you did was run away." Her lip curled up in disgust. "You've always been a coward - why you'd never make it as a pirate."

And, in that instant, it was like the voice of Hiriluk was right next to him. "See the world on my own?" He murmured quietly. But Kureha was quick to pick up on it. Her eyes became sharp and critical, sitting straighter than before.

"You're not thinking of taking that brat up on his offer, are you?" She asked, eyes narrowing. Chopper fidgeted, giving a small "uuh" before remembering Hiriluk's words once more. That filled him with the strength he needed to take a breath and return the stern expression right back to Doctor Kureha.

"I am." He said, and he was proud. His voice didn't waver, and, in it, was the resolve he felt inside.

"Like hell you are!" And, just like that, his pride wavered and crumbled. His eyes widened at Kureha's sudden outburst, the older woman shooting to her feet. "You're just some kid - a kid who'll never become a man!"

Chopper had ran more in this one day than he had in ages. He let out a shriek, turning and darting. Not from Luffy, but from Kureha herself. Every insult she yelled only seemed to fuel his fire, though every inch she got closer gave him the strength he needed to go just a little bit faster. But, instead of running aimlessly, he had one destination in mind. They'd probably be heading out by now! He could catch them and they could get the hell out of here before Kureha skinned him!
 
Sanji looked up to study Cynil's face as she turned to the side to cough, and he immediately began to fret. "Cy-Cynil, dear, are you alright? I hope you aren't catching a cold!" As that thought set in, he only began to worry more. "Oh no, I knew my coat wasn't going to be enough! And you were so chivalrous to give your own coat to Julia...! This must be remedied, take my shirt if need be!" Though his words seemed to fall upon deaf ears as Luffy chased the little reindeer--now known as Tony Tony Chopper--around and into the castle, asking him to join up as their crew's doctor.

When Cynil hesitantly took his wrist, Sanji offered her a genuine smile--something that most women he happened to be infatuated with rarely actually saw. He could be cool--when he wasn't thinking about women. Which was rare. Unfortunately. As Sanji was pulled to his feet, Usopp finally decided to become usefully and appeared on the other side of the blonde haired cook, shooting Cynil a grin as he carefully hooked Sanji's arm over his shoulders, supporting him enough to where Sanji could at least walk. "Don't worry Cynil, I can carry Sanji for ya!"

The cook himself sighed at his misfortune of being pulled from the black-haired beauty's embrace, but upon further thought, considered just this once that letting someone closer to his height help him would be more beneficial. After all, it wouldn't have been too good for his back if he had to bend over the entire walk back to the Merry, even if it did mean he was closer to Cynil. And at this rate, he was glad it was Usopp and not that stupid mossball-headed swordsman. "Thanks," Sanji greeted his friend with a nod, before looking back to Cynil. "Is your hand really okay?" He tilted his head slightly, not even concerned about his back over Cynil's injuries. After all, it was feeling better (had that crazy old hag really helped him by nearly kicking his ass out of commission earlier? Only time would tell, he supposed). Besides, he was willing to put his own injuries aside for any one of the female members of their crew--and he felt the need to even more so for the young woman in front of him, even if he couldn't fully explain (to anyone else, much less to himself) why. That... might have to be a mystery for another time.

As Zoro went stiff on her, Julia whined, trying not to get more embarrassed (but that was clearly impossible) and sink further into the layer of snow underneath their feet. As Zoro seemed extremely not helpful in the matter of saving Julia from her icy fate, she felt Vivi grab her by the bicep, and she cried tears of happiness in a comical style. "Vivi... thank you...!" between her blubbering and Zoro's flustered complaining, not too much was done. Once the blue haired princess had given Julia enough of a yank to send her toward Vivi, and then when trying not to push over Vivi, she stumbled backwards (mindful of the hole through layers of ice and snow that her feet had melted through) she fell into Zoro, not being able to push him over, but his rigid, static arms somehow caught her as she flailed, and the brunette glared up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Thanks, no, really. Vivi and I got it," she quickly jumped away from him, shaking herself off as she made her way towards the sleigh that the Doctorene had seemingly prepared for them when they were too busy arguing or doing stupid things to notice. "No, seriously! It's fine, I just almost died in the woods earlier searching for you after thinking you'd gotten washed away from the Merry. But I don't need your help! Thanks, but no thanks!" She continued to taunt, turning around to smirk and stick her tongue out at the swordsman childishly.

Next time he wanted her help with keeping Nami in-debting him for life, she would certainly think long and hard about it. Getting into the sleigh was a bit of a challenge, but luckily Vivi covered for her--literally--so Julia could get inside and snag one of the blankets packed, tying it around her waist like a skirt, sighing in contentment at the feel of the warm fabric.

"Come on everyone! Let's go!" Luffy grinned, ushering all of the Strawhat Pirates towards the sleigh, eager to get back to the sea, despite how much fun he seemed to be having in the snow.

"Nami, it's good to see you're doing alright!" Sanji called happily, sitting down next to Cynil as Usopp helped him down.

As they all settled in, they sat Luffy in the very front alongside Nami, Sanji and Cynil with Usopp, and Julia, Zoro, and Vivi in the back. "Wait for me!!!" A voice called, and they all turned to see Chopper in his reindeer form dashing towards the sleigh. "Where did you think you were going without me?" He made a good point--what were they going to do with a sleigh when they had no one to pull it?

'Luffy would have done it,' Julia couldn't help but softly snicker to herself as Chopper get himself ready and began to pull the Strawhats back to their ship.
 
Cynil flexed her fingers, staring down at her palm. A large bruise had formed on both sides, especially after having to get the arrow out. It hurt to move her fingers, but it wasn't anything unbearable. She waved dismissively with the other, preferring not to flaunt the nasty, purple stain on her hand. She'd forget soon forget about the pain in it as nothing more than a nuisance - she'd grown used to this sort of thing, after all.

"It's fine." She answered, chuckling at his switch in attitude. She trailed after them, especially since she had little else to do. Plus she assumed that they were getting out of here, and she'd take just about any other locale than this. The sooner they were out of here, the better.

Zoro shook his head, confused. "What?!" She called after her, taken aback. "I didn't ask you to come looking for me!" He grumbled under his breath, following her towards the sleigh. There was a moment of relief - at first, he had genuinely thought she was pissed at him. Wasn't entirely sure why that concept would bother him so much - probably because he was waiting for her to call in a favor or something later. Yeah, that was probably it. Didn't want her to give him some ridiculous task or something like that. Made sense. Not really, but that was what he went with

It was as everyone was seated (Cynil was lost as why they just sort of accepted this), the tiny reindeer boy was jumping right into action. It was a surprisingly smooth ride to boot. The exhaustion from the day's events finally seemed to be catching up, however. After all, out of everyone in the group that took the long way to that damn castle, she was the one who stayed awake throughout it all. Climbing up a cliff with no break tended to take the wind out of you, not to mention then having to deal with a would-be incursion from the ex-ruler. Cynil propped her head up on her hand, ready to pass out there. It was starting to get dark out now, so she wouldn't be screwing up her sleep schedule any more than it already was. Hell, she was just going to skip everything else and head straight to sleep. And then she'd awkwardly deal with things when she was the only person awake.

Zoro, on the other hand, crossed his arm and allowed his head to lower. He wasted no time in catching every minute of shut-eye he could - even one that'd be so short. Vivi shook her head at him. "He's already asleep?" She asked, not bothering to lower her voice out of courtesy. She had learned that the swordsman could sleep through just about anything - literally. "You'd think he'd at least wait until we were back on the ship."

"It's Zoro," Usopp replied, his elbow against the back of the front seats to allow him to turn and face her. "He'll just wake up like nothing happened, and then go right back to sleep on the Merry."

It was true. One of his strangest talents was how quickly he could shrug off the effects of just waking up - almost to the point that it was like he was still fully alert while sleeping. That, or he just seemed to be faking it the entire time just to mess with everyone. But that seemed way too convoluted of a plan for him to use; he tended to prefer to keep things cut and dry, opting for overly complex schemes when required.

Or when dealing with Sanji. (But that required even less)


It didn't take awfully long to reach the ship. With how Chopper was tearing through, like hell itself was on his heels, made for a speedy trip down. Zoro, as predicted, was up and making his way towards the Going Merry without needing a moment to gather himself. A trait one picked up when they slept in the worst of situations, truly. The blue nosed reindeer was hesitant to board the ship, pausing a moment as everyone else did so. He hurried along after giving one last glance towards the castle in realization that his bag had been packed and it wasn't done by him.

Only one person could ever truly make the prediction he'd want to leave with these people.

"Something wrong?" He looked up, meeting to tired gaze of the purple-eyed woman.

"Nope!" He was quick to deny anything, and she only raised her eyebrows and gave a slow nod. "So, I guess we're a part of the same crew now, huh?" Smooth, Chopper, smooth.

"No."

Wait, what?

"I'm not a member of any pirate crew," Cynil shrugged, explaining further before he could question. "Just a wanderer, see - never know when I'm gonna wander off again." She flashed a smile, albeit a still tired one.

Zoro had hit the floor of the Merry, back against the railing as he readied himself for sleep once more. Another few moments, surely (they'd need to get the ship moving very soon), but he'd take it nonetheless. Before he could actually doze off, Nami was quick to snap at him to get back up. "Let's get goin'." He yawned openly, stretching his arms over his head. It was like he already had forgotten the events of before. Then again, nothing too eventful happened to him. Aside from getting himself a nice new winter coat, that is.
 
Sanji wasn't entirely convinced that Cynil was okay, but he could clearly tell that she was a little uncomfortable, so the last thing he wanted to do was make it any worse by being overbearing. Take that, Mosshead! Sanji, of course, was a true gentleman. Letting Usopp help him into the sleigh, the blonde haired cook was very glad to see that Chopper would indeed be joining them in their adventures. The little... big... guy would be very helpful, especially since he was not only strong, but also a doctor. It made sense that they would be taking him with them, too. Especially considering everything that they had been together. They were friends, weren't they? Of course he should come on board!

Julia nearly fell asleep on the ride back to the Going Merry, her eyes drooping as she kept the blanket tied around her waist--she was mainly grateful to be going back to their ship for a change of clothes, and, well... a chance to escape the cold as well. Luckily Alabasta seemed to be the literal opposite of Drum Island--a desert for miles and miles with the occasional spring, and even if it did get really cold at night, she was at least grateful that she could survive at least one half of its climate, unlike here where her whole body literally sank into the snow. Zoro fell asleep beside her, and she listened briefly to Vivi and Usopp's conversation--it was true, the swordsman could literally fall asleep just about anywhere. For that, she was a little bit envious.

When they arrived back on the ship, Julia was quick to retreat into the cabin, returning outside in a different outfit and new blankets to wrap herself in. Even after sleeping/existing in a blazing inferno for a day or so, she was still cold, and still exhausted. At least her spine seemed fine--now that unfortunate mess had been passed on to their Love Cook. As everyone celebrated getting a doctor, and Vivi and Nami laughed with Luffy and Usopp's idiocies as they declared how they were going to fight for Alabasta, the brunette moved to sit by Zoro, snuggling into her blankets a bit more once situated, and she looked to him with a tired expression. "Just so you know... you are an idiot..." she mumbled, looking about ready to doze off just as quickly as he had on the way here. "But..." she retreated further into her blanket burrito, her words nearly not loud enough to be heard. "I'm... glad you're not dead."

As Nami yelled at them to get going, the brunette whine as she stood, obviously too tired to complain, but making the noise for the sake of being difficult. Sighing, she knew she had a job to do in order to get them moving, and so she did what she did best and shed her comforting blankets in favor of quickly scaling the shrouds, to the main mast, unfurling the Merry's main sail before effortlessly jumping to the thin jib that was on the bottom of her foresail, tying down that one as well. She grinned as the others pulled the anchor up and the ship started to pull away from the snowy peaks of Drum Island, and if she was being honest, she could hardly feel the chill, leaning on a rope up by the sails, performing her job as the Master Rigger. Besides... she had the best view, in her opinion.

"Chopper, look!" Luffy called, waving his arms around to the tiny reindeer as they began to pull away from the island. None of the others (save for Nami) really knew the significance of the rose-colored explosions in the sky, but to the rest of them, it looked like the bizarre peaks of the island had transformed into Sakura Trees. Chopper, his nose running and bawling his out, cried out his thanks for the two people that had raised him, while up on top of the mountain, the Doctorene herself could just barely make out the little caravel setting off into the sea, her own tears glistening on her cheeks as she thought of her 'stupid son.'

After that, of course the ship erupted into a party. The Mugiwara crew was more than ready to set off for Alabasta, new doctor in tow. As Chopper began laughing along with the rest of the crew's partying, he noticed Cynil still not partaking in the festivities, and he wandered back to her, liking her calm aura for a change of pace from the rest of the rowdy nature of the others. "I know you said you were a wanderer, but... it's still nice to travel to new places with your friends!" He offered her a smile, and no one could deny that Chopper was indeed, one of the most adorable creatures the different seas had to offer.

After the excitement of the Cherry-Blossom explosions, Julia felt the cold seep back in to her skin and she shivered, her teeth chattering as she jumped down from the jib, returning to wrap herself up in her blanket burrito. A steaming drink was soon offered in front of her, and the brunette blinked in surprise as Sanji's curly eyebrow-ed face appeared from behind the steaming mug. "Nami-san said that we need to keep going into the night in order to make sure that we don't get off course from the Eternal Pose, so I whipped up some espresso-infused hot chocolate to keep us awake. It should also help warm up your internal body temperature~!"

"Thank you, Sanji," Julia took the steaming cup gratefully, and he beamed at her as he served drinks to all of the women first, having already taken care of Nami and Jules, and then moving on to Vivi and finally Cynil.

He nearly twirled as he arrived next to her and Chopper, offering the female another steaming mug. "Espresso and hot chocolate, as well as homemade whipped cream and marshmallows for the lady," he presented it to her with a smile, waiting for Cynil to take it, before offering Chopper a mug as well.

"Thank you Sanji!" The reindeer grinned, taking a sip, and his eyes nearly popped out as he stared at the drink. "IT'S SO GOOD!!" He paused, looking about--only a few of them were holding steaming hot mugs, Luffy trying to sneakily get a sip from Nami's only for her to smack his stupid stretchy hands away. "Um, but what about the others?"

"I'll make up another batch! I just wanted to make sure I served the ladies and our new recruit first." Turning to the black haired female expectantly, he lit his cigarette, extra smoke rising from the stick as he blew it out thanks to the temperature change. Vivi and Nami had said that it should start getting hotter by mid morning the next day. "So, Cynil, what do you think?" As she held the cup, Sanji noted how her hand looked bruised, but also seemed to be healing nicely--Chopper had probably seen it to, and if he hadn't said anything, then that would mean it was nothing serious. She... certainly was something else. 'A real bombshell...!' of course his mind always wandered way too far.
 
Cynil chuckled, smiling down at the small reindeer boy. She had to resist the urge to just hug him there, and did so for the sake of not humiliating him in front of everyone. That, and her own awkwardness when it came down to initiating physical contact with most people. Her attention was pulled away by the arrival of the cook, blinking up at him as she turned to him.

"Hmm?" She questioned before realizing. "Oh, thank you," She smiled, accepting the cup. After spending her time on the ship with the others, she had quickly learned that he was possibly the best at preparing food than anyone she had ever met - and it wasn't an exaggeration. So, when she took a sip, expecting above average quality, it still managed to surpass her expectations. Frankly, it was one of the reasons that made her linger longer than she had intended. She was already in the Grand Line - now she was with them for the sake of not being stuck with total strangers. That, and leaving without knowing how this whole Baroque Works deal would resolve, especially when there was a target on her back along with theirs, would resolve.

"It's wonderful." She smiled up at him. The warm cup against her bruised hand caused it to have a dull sting; oddly enough, it was far more tolerable than before - she had hardly noticed it.

Zoro had dragged himself over to the corner of the ship, flopping over and leaning up against the wall. With his hands behind his head, he leaned back and prepared for sleep once more. However, he knew that it'd be cut short when he was pulled into helping prepare to depart. Before he could truly start to nod off, he heard movement next to him.

Peeking an eye open, he spied Julia taking a place next to him. He turned his head, about to ask what she needed before letting out a long yawn. "Mhmm," He agreed, though had only heard the first few words from her. Her slurred speech and his lack of total awareness caused the last half to be lost to the wind as he tried to stay awake. Just as he had started to doze off into unconsciousness, he heard the loud, obnoxious voice of his captain.

"Alright!" He could hear the grin in his voice. "We're setting sail to Alabasta!" He pointed off into the distance as he said that.

That was his que. With a sigh, Zoro forced himself to his feet. He had been about to get Julia's attention, but, when he turned to look, she was gone. Had she...? Was he actually asleep? Did he fall asleep and not even realize it? Shaking his head, he continued on. He probably did that more than he realized.

"Uh..." Chopper looked back and forth from Cynil's side, watching the others busy themselves. "What should I do?" He asked, though the question wasn't directed to anyone in particular.

Usopp stopped, grinning over at the small reindeer. "Just do what you can - can't do anything more than that!"

"He's just saying that cause he hardly does anything." Zoro casually replied, walking by him.

"Wha - Hey!" The long-nosed sniper snapped, glaring over at the swordsman.
 
Chopper, once he had joined in the other festivities of the Strawhats, felt right at home. They were all so kind to him, and honestly, it was an amazing feeling to finally have friends. He had never imagined that one day... he would be able to rely on anyone else other than Dr. Kureha after Hiryluk. That being said, the little reindeer hadn't the foggiest idea of what ese he could be doing with his life--he wanted to create cures for all the diseases in the world, right? Then of course he should be traveling the whole Grand Line, and all of the oceans! And what better way to accomplish that than when doing so with friends? That word somehow managed to put a big ol smile on his face that he couldn't just get rid of.

Sanji nearly melted at Cynil's smile, her thanks barely reaching his ears in his moment of love sickness. "Ah, Cynil-samaaaaa you're far too nice to me, I can't believe I would get such an amazing smile from you, thank you!!!" As he 'mellorin'd into oblivion, Chopper laughed at the crazy antics of their cook.

Leaning over to Cynil, the little reindeer smiled brightly up at her. "I didn't think Sanji would get into the festivities... but there he is, celebrating like just about everyone else!" He paused thinking hard about something for a moment. Chopper looked up at Cynil with another smile, though this one was a little bit more timid. "But it's fun to travel... with friends, right?"

Julia had moved rather quickly to her perch up on the jib, tying off ropes and making sure the sales were all ready to go. As they sailed away from the winter island, she knew she'd do a lot better in the heat of the desert. The cold had not been good at all, though she wasn't too excited about the desert regardless, but she'd definitely do something about Vivi's situation. The girl was in need of their help something desperate. The brunette was never going to let anyone down who was in need of help--much less that much help.

Once she had finished and her job was complete, Julia returned to the deck, yawning largely, obviously tired after today's events, and even the espresso/hot chocolate that Sanji had served hadn't been enough to keep the edge of tiredness from sending fuzzy black dots at the edge of her vision. Stumbling on her feet, she straightened up when Nami walked by, blinking furiously as she tried to look awake. She was still shivering slightly as they were still in relatively cold waters.

"Alright everyone, just stay on this course until Alabasta, and we should be there by mid afternoon sometime tomorrow," Vivi said, a small smile playing upon her lips. She couldn't describe how relieved she felt that they were now heading toward her war-torn home. However, she was glad that Nami was feeling alright now. It would have been bad luck to have lost their navigator.
 
With their destination in mind (and so close), everyone had doubled their efforts. They were making damn good time, and, even with a few particular occurrences giving them pause (namely a face-changing one), they were dead on Vivi's prediction. The temperature rose, a stark contrast to what it had been on the previous island. In the far distance, they could make out land. Vivi, while attempting to keep her composure, couldn't contain her joy to see her home again, a smile etched onto her face. Despite knowing her goal was going to be a difficult one, she still allowed herself the simple happiness of being home.

"Is that it?" Luffy asked, pointing off to the blot in the horizon.

"Yeah, it is!" Vivi grinned, eyes still glued in the direction of his finger.

The others, after making sure they wouldn't sway off course, joined them. "Alright, we're going to dock at the port town of Nanohara -" Vivi began. "-we can stock up on provisions there, and, while we shouldn't draw too much attention, we should still be careful." She glanced back to Alabasta, now growing in size as they neared. "We can't stay there, though. Baroque Works would find out eventually, so it'd be best if we got what we needed and left."

"Wait, so what do we do with the ship if it's too dangerous to leave at a port?" Usopp spoke up, an eyebrow arched.

Vivi tapped her chin, giving a low hum in thought. After a moment of deliberation, she spoke. "Sandora River." She said. "It's Alabasta's biggest - we can leave it there. However, we'll have to travel on foot from there, but it should be out of the way."

"Alright, it's settled!" Luffy declared. "That's what we're doing!" He grinned widely.

"Did you even understand any of that?" Nami spoke up, frowning at him. He gave a hearty "Nope" which caused the navigator to sigh. She glanced over at their "guest" and nodded. "You coming along with us?"

Cynil, having been quietly listening, shrugged in response. "Sure," She answered. "Beats sitting around for days on end, though I'm not really used to traveling long distances on foot." She leaned back against a crate. She wasn't sure if she was on that Baroque Work's list or not, but, to be safe, she'd rather not end up separated from everyone.


As time passed, they had finally reached Nanohara. Well, almost - they hadn't stopped at the docks, but elected to keep a safe distance from civilization for fear of being identified. With everyone in agreement on what to do, they prepared to set out. However, it didn't last long when they realized their captain was missing.

"That idiot." Nami grumbled under her breath, shaking her head. Of course he'd be the one to screw it up! As they neared the port city itself, the crew positioned themselves behind what was once probably a building or wall of some sort, but now a crumbled mess. It was a poorly disguised place of hiding, and, if you looked from the side, you'd see them. It was the best they had, though, that much was certain. "Sanji, Chopper, and Cynil - you three go on ahead and get what we need, and we'll wait here."
 
The sea churned by steadily, and Julia readily welcomed the warmer weather that came along with getting closer and closer to the kingdom of Alabasta. After all, it seemed as though they were getting closer and closer as the sun began to beat down on them more, until Luffy finally called out the mass of land ahead of them. Vivi confirmed his words and the crew began to look forward to the prospect of finally docking once more.

"I'm just glad that we're going to a summer climate island rather than a winter one!" Julia grinned, some of her vigor returning with her recently-healed body. "No offense, Chopper."

"None taken," the little reindeer grinned as he held onto the railing, looking out excitedly at the land before them. "I've never been off my home island, so anywhere sounds good to me!" The brunette looked to him with a smile. He was definitely their youngest member now, and she couldn't help but feel some sort of natural instinct come over her--Chopper was precious and needed to be protected at all times.

Sanji was also feeling antsy to be back on land again. Not that they had been out at sea for a particularly long time, but something about helping Vivi and the urgency that came along with everything they needed to do just seemed to... make him that much more likely to want to get off of the Merry. "She'll be just fine waiting at the river for us," he patted the mast as if to reassure the ship herself that they would be back for her, before turning to watch two of his favorite people converse. When the black haired beauty mentioned that she wasn't used to walking on foot for long distances, the cook couldn't help but spin over to her, dramatically bowing as Nami and Vivi laughed. "If you ever get tired, Cynil, I would be more than willing to carry you!"

"Let's get moving," Julia grinned, hopping off the ship as soon as they had put down anchor and set the gangplank down. Thankfully (although they had somehow lost Luffy in the desert) the walk to Nanohana wasn't as long as it could have been.

As they stopped behind a wall and doled out their duties, Chopper looked around with a worried expression on his face. "Shouldn't we wait for Luffy to get here?! What if he can't find us? What if he gets lost in the desert?! What if--!!"

Thankfully, Nami was quick to cut him off before he could continue to freak himself out more. "Luffy is capable of taking care of himself, surprisingly enough. Once he gets hungry enough he'll just follow the smell of food to Nanohana," the navigator stated matter-of-factly, one finger raised in the air as if to add to her credibility. "Besides, we can't clean up after every single one of his mistakes. This one's on him for getting separated from us out in the open like that."

After it was decided that Sanji, Chopper, and Cynil were to go out and do their shopping for them, Julia groaned. "I got off the ship in hopes to walk about, not sit in one place. What's the deal, Nami? Why can't Zoro and I go walk about?" As soon as those words left her mouth, the demoness was silenced by a distinct glare from their resident redhead.

"Because, both you and Zoro would be noticed for your bounties without disguises to help you blend in, and we both know that if we let Zoro wander off, we'd never see him again."

Looking to the green haired marimo, Julia couldn't help but raise a hand to snicker as she responded, "Yeah, I suppose you're right." However, her mirth didn't last very long as she felt Nami's fist come in contact with her head. "Hurk!"

"Besides, you were just injured, so you should be careful! Geez, why do I have to mother everyone?" Nami's sigh was followed by a fearful murmur from Usopp.

"If you were so worried about her previous injuries, then why did you hit her...?" The long nosed sniper, of course, was too chicken to speak any louder than a whisper, so it went completely unnoticed by Nami.

"Please... hurry back..." Julia whimpered, already feeling the boredom seep into her bones as Vivi smiled, albeit a bit exasperatedly.

"Of course! Come on Cynil, let's go exp-I mean, shop in the marketplace!" Sanji was quick to offer the blackette his arm, leaving Chopper to jog in his reindeer form, hurrying to catch up.

They explored a few shops, mostly getting food for their trip and their voyage, although it wasn't until they passed a clothing shop that Sanji pointed it out to his companions. "Hey Cyn, Chopper, take a look at these clothes. These would for 'blending in', right?" His grin widened as he saw that the store also had Alabastian dancing girl outfits in the back. "Ooh! Cynil, do you mind picking out from the back of the store for the girls, and I'll find the guys some disguises? I'll meet you back at the front of the store so I can pay using the money Nami gave me!" He was far too eager about those dancing outfits, but... Cynil was a dancer, right? So surely it would be right up her alley to pick for the other women in their group. Of course, Sanji probably could have picked out everything for everyone, the right sizes and all, but he felt that this was a job for his beautiful companion. "Also, did you see where Chopper went?" He was so excited to do something so domestically romantic like go shopping with Cynil that he hadn't noticed that the reindeer was no longer with them. "I suppose he's probably waiting outside..."
 
Zoro gave a noise, frowning at Julia's demand to know why she and himself couldn't go out. He crossed his arms over his chest, falling onto the floor with his back against the flimsy stonework they hid behind.

"Not interested - " He said, stretching his legs out. "I'm taking a nap." Like a switch was being flipped, his head was down and he was out. It was something of a wonder how he could just will himself to sleep in an instant; a feat that very few actually shared with him. However, it wasn't very long when their little rest was cut short. Another figure strode up, tipping his hat to them as he approached. While Zoro remained unperturbed by the new arrival (as he was currently having a wonderful little dream), the others tensed.

The main lifted his head, green eyes no longer obscured by the shade from the wide brim of his hat. A cigarette hung loosely from his lips that were pulled into a smirk. "Don't mean to intrude, but I happened to see a little lady on her way out," He leaned against the rubble of the wall, cocking his head to the side. "And she was talking to the walls - though, I reckon it was you lot," He flicked his hat up, raising a brow. "Wasn't it?"

"What do you want?" Nami snapped, immediately suspicious of this stranger. Then again, she had every right to be - they were currently being hunted and all.

The man raised his hands up in front of him, "Woah there, girlie - don't like to be causin' you lot be up in arms," He said. "Y'see, that little lady's a friend o' mine - worked with her n' all. Here, let's start this over, shall we?" He stood tall, giving a flourishing bow. "Name's Allen; worked with Cynil before she ran off."

With the revelation made, the tension began evaporating in the air it once permeated. Nami smiled sheepishly. "Oh! Oh, ah, right - sorry about that, then." She gave a small laugh.

"Wait," Usopp interjected, staring at the ground in thought. "If you worked with Cynil..." He lifted his head, giving an odd look. "Does that mean you're some kinda dancer too?"

Allen gave a small burst of laughter, waving a hand at the thought. "No, no - I do my own kind of performances, though," Reaching into his jacket pocket, he produced a single playing card. The eight of diamonds card remained firmly grasped between his two fingers before he flipped it between his middle and ring finger - at which it became a queen of hearts. Taking the same card, he held it flat in the palm of his hand. He dropped it down to his other, waiting hand below it. Despite being the one, fifty-one similar playing cards quickly trailed down after until he was left with a complete deck sitting in his hand.

"Wha- how did you do that?!" Usopp stared at him in awe.

"Now, I don't mean to pry, but I gotta know," Allen, once more flipping the card, seemingly produced it back down to a single eight of diamonds and tucking it back into his pocket, said. "What are all of you people doin' so far out of the way?"

"People are after us -"

"Usopp!" Nami cut him off, though it was too late. Allen let out a low whistle, brows raised in surprise.

"Sounds like a right mess you folk're in. Doesn't shock me one bit Cynil's in it, too - girl's got a knack for causin' trouble," He chuckled. "Here, how 'bout this? You can come with me back to the others. No one'll look for you in a group like us - I reckon it'd be a better cover than sittin' for the rest of the time."

Vivi looked at him, surprised. "Really? You'd just let us come with you - even if you don't know who's after us?" She asked, incredulous.

Allen, turning, looked over his shoulder. "Now, little miss, this ain't our first rodeo." He gave a wink and a grin before motioning them to follow. "Best be quick - they were expectin' me to show up fifteen minutes ago." He said. "Ha! Can't wait to see their faces when you lot show up with me!"

Nami and Vivi looked between each other, though the latter also tried to gauge the other's reactions as well. "Alright." Nami stated. "We're following him - he's right, staying out in the open like this isn't safe for us." She decided. "Someone wake Zoro up." She demanded over her shoulder as she took to trailing after Allen.

"Huh, time already?" He asked, scratching the back of his head as he started rising to his feet. "No, we're moving somewhere else, c'mon we don't want them to leave us behind!" Despite the snarky tone in the beginning, Usopp's voice regressed into a panicked call at the realization the two others were making their way without them. "Wait for us!" He called, waving his hand and running after them.


Cynil had taken Sanji's arm, allowing herself to be led about with him. She, frankly, wasn't entirely sure what to get, and defaulted to his judgement. In fact, she had started to stare off in a daze, idly wondering about other things than her current predicament. It wasn't until she was brought into a clothing store, and sent towards the back did she partially regain her awareness for the present. "Alright." She agreed, and off she went.

It was a relatively easy task - everything looked, overall, not that bad. However, she hardly bothered to really look over what it was she was actually buying; they were clothes, and she knew the sizes she needed of the other girls. Nami had requested adjustments on a few of the clothes she had owned, and Cynil had taken to giving the same treatment to the other two of her own volition. Might as well if she were doing it for one of them, after all. It was only fair. This also left her rather intricately aware of each of their individual body shapes and sizing needs; far more than most would know. It was the...perks...? The "perks" of being someone's personal seamstress.

After making her various selections, she trailed on to find her companion and wait for him. It was as she was staring down at the bundles of clothes in her arms did she start really examining them. They looked nice, but, it wasn't until the full realization of what they were, did she have to bite back a snort of a laugh. Oops. She had defaulted back to her time working for Serogi and searching for some costume at an event. It wasn't her fault that it became second nature to her at this point.

As she waited near the front, she idly examined various other items. However, her attention was momentarily broken by the sound of the door opening - though, she didn't bother really looking. It wasn't until she heard a familiar man's voice speaking did she whip around with wide eyes.

"Have you seen a man about this high?" He questioned, adding in details that fit Krenn to a T. Cynil looked back to see the tall, dirty blonde, messy haired man. "Because there is one such individual that I'm looking for, and, when I do find him, I'm going to promptly make him regret wasting my time in this foolish hunt for him." The woman manning the counter had been flipping through a book, hardly paying attention to who now stood before her.

"Oh, no, but if you look around the -" When she finally looked up to see his face, she went pale. Horrified embarrassment filled her face as a hand came up to cover her mouth. "-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean - it's just that." Now that was something Cynil couldn't suppress a small snicker at. And a small snicker was all it took for Ryker's head to perk up, though his head remained staring in front of him.

"Cynil?" He questioned, though it was more of a statement than anything. "And here I thought it'd be months before you repaid me the money you owe me."

And, in that moment, Cynil forgot about it all. The pirates, the assassins, the fact she was out buying "disguises" with someone. It was back to when she was still a part of Serogi's little group of travelling misfits and wonders, waiting for her next little scheme to promptly ruin the day of someone. That someone probably being Krenn. The tension of the past few weeks left, and she finally felt the same relaxed, welcoming air from before she stepped aboard the Going Merry. "I told you before I was just as right as you," She stated, a smugness creeping into her voice and a punch-able smirk crossing her face. "They were screaming in that cave."

"Yes, but they weren't running out, also as you said they would. So, I believe I won our little wager." He said. He still didn't face her.

Cynil rolled her eyes. "The one time I don't pay attention to the details, and you keep jumping my ass for it." She muttered, knowing full well he heard every word of it despite her quiet tone. Ryker's blindness seemed to have increased his hearing at least. Good for him.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, finally giving the slightest turn of his head. His face remained obscured.

"'What if I told you I was job hunting?" She grinned.

"Then I'd say that's the worst lie I've ever heard you tell, and you should be ashamed because you and I both know you'd come up with something more creative than that."

Cynil mouth an 'oof' though chuckled. "Ouch. Hurt, Ryker, really did - right here -"

"If you are indicating your heart, then I'd also have to tell you that you'd need one for it to hurt." He finally turned, corner of his mouth twitching upwards, his tone a tad bit less monotone than before. The acid burns along his eyes, as well as their overall cloudiness, gave way to the assumption that he was blind. And they'd be right; Ryker was.

"You are just in a mood, aren't you?" She grinned wider. Ryker was nothing if not a snarky bastard who only partially frightened her. But, to be fair, he had that effect on the others as well, so she wasn't alone. "Then again, you're looking for Krenn." Cynil nodded silently. She stared down, a few moments passing between them without a word before she broke it. "Krenn's a bastard."
 
The brunette glared at the green haired swordsman, raising an eyebrow at his actions. After all, she was the one trying to get them a free pass into exploring Nanohana! Besides, he also still owed her a few favors... she rolled her eyes. "Whatever, your loss!" Not that Nami would actually let her go explore, but she could dream, couldn't she? Sliding down to sit on her haunches, she nearly scared Usopp shitless by breathing out a small trail of fire--she didn't have any control over it in human form, but it was funny to see one of the Weakling Trio so terrified.

Julia looked up in surprise as a man appeared, cigarette in his lips, and Julia stood, watching as her crew mates tensed (save for Zoro who was already out like a light). Julia herself didn't allow her posture to slip into a tensed state, but that didn't mean that she wasn't prepared to fight if it was necessary. That being said, she didn't think she had to despite Nami's harsh words. The orangette had every right to be suspicious, but Julia could tell he was probably talking about and was familiar with a certain undying blackette from their crew. "I see... you're a friend of Cyn's," the woman muttered under her breath. She tried to hold in her laughter as Usopp asked if he was also a dancer--clearly not, she had heard Cynil mention being a part of a circus, not a dance group.

"Magic," Julia grinned, watching his little card trick. She didn't care about the petty squabbles of telling this man or not telling this man what and who was after them. She shrugged--she was impartial about following them. At least this way she wouldn't have to be stuck in one place--she'd take what little freedom she could get for the time being. "Beats sticking around here. Come on, slowpokes!" As she walked, she noted how no one had asked for the stranger's name. Speeding up to walk alongside him, she offered him a grin. "Hey, name's Julia. Might I know the name of the man aiding us? A friend of Cynil's is a friend of mine, of course." The brunette had taken quite the liking to her dancing companion--she was spunky, and had more balls than Usopp, that was for certain.

_____________________________________________​

Sanji made minor observations as he settled up with the shop owner after Cynil brought him the outfits. He noted how they were dancer costumes, and his heart nearly leaped out of his chest. To see all of his favorite women in Cynil's choices were going to be perfect! He couldn't wait to see how everyone had turned out... it was so excited to shop for clothes for women! He was... admittedly a bit of a pervert, but he promised that his intentions were pure this time around! Especially considering he wasn't the one who had picked out the outfits...! No one could argue with him then. He smiled at the shop owner, happy to be paying her using the money that Nami gave him (gave, rather than loaned, was the keyword in that sentence) and he was excited to see what else Nanohana had to offer. After all, it wasn't every day that they were in a new place like this! Exploring was going to be fun, and the others could stand to wait for a bit.

When someone came in to talk to the shop owner as Sanji was helping the woman bag up their items, he barely heeded the man any mind. It wasn't his business, and especially since it was a man, he wasn't going to be nosy. He made a quick observation of his supposed blindness, that being confirmed with, out of all things, him recognizing Cynil by her voice (a laugh, no less!) alone. Sanji turned to look, watching the man with a suspicious eye as he and Cynil began to catch up, talking like old friends. The blonde haired cook could only imagine that they were a part of the same traveling group with which he had originally found Cynil through. He blinked in mild surprise, and took the bags with a quiet 'thank you' to the shop owner, who returned his sentiments. He was a patient man, and although he felt jealousy bubbling up within his chest at their familiarity with each other and easy way of speaking, he knew that this was a conversation he really didn't have business in. The now-identified 'Ryker' seemed to know the black haired female well, and Sanji stood patiently at her side, grinning slightly at their funny comments. It wasn't hard to see the friend dynamics.

"Cynil, will you introduce me?" he finally asked at a lull in the conversation. "I'm Sanji, it's nice to meet you. I'd offer you my hand to shake, but mine are currently full." It was true, he was carrying the bags of clothes for the others--hopefully the disguises (or lack thereof, in some of the women's cases) would help them blend in more with the locals. He was eager to see. He was also excited to try the fabrics of Alabasta, Vivi's home. Looking around, Sanji's eyebrow furrowed. "Hey, Cynil, do you remember when we last saw or had Chopper with us?" At some point the poor reindeer must have gotten lost in the crowd. Sighing, Sanji shook his head. "I'm sure he'll be able to sniff us out when he needs us. Or he can just listen to the eventual loud noises and clamor that Luffy will inevitably end up making."
 
It took a moment for things to fully be processed. Sure, Zoro had been called to his feet and sent walking, but he was expecting them to be ready to leave (he wasn't asleep that long, was he?), but he noticed that they were tailing after some mysterious man in a hat. Despite raising a brow at the situation - couldn't this man be some guy from the Baroque Works? - he kept his mouth shut. The others seemed fine with it, but he sometimes questioned their intelligence levels despite the hypocrisy of it.

"Hm?" Allen looked over his shoulder at the woman, flashing a grin. He gave a nod, "Name's Allen, little miss - a pleasure to meet you." There was something in the way he spoke those words that made Zoro's eye twitch. He seemed annoying - yeah, definitely annoying. Something about his voice? Probably. Rather than speak up, he kept his mouth shut and focused on walking. It was probably because he was just waking up or something like that.

Usopp jogged closed before slowing, giving this Allen a critical eye. "So, how far out is it? Because we really shouldn't be walking around out in the open like this."

"Not far at all." Allen answered with a shrug.

"What do you mean 'not far'?" Usopp gave a frustrated sigh, shaking his head as if their newfound friend was being difficult.

"I mean -" Allen spoke, stopping to face the long-nosed sniper. With a gesture of his hand towards the building behind them, he continued "- we're here." With that, he turned and walked right up to the front door and threw it open. "C'mon, best get inside. As you said," He smirked over his shoulder. "Best not have you folk wanderin' around in the open." And, with those words said, he disappeared into the house.

Zoro stared up at it. It was decently sized - actually, leaning on the rather large side of things. There were two floors, and he could occasionally see figures pass by the windows scattered about the walls. "I'm sure it's fine," Nami said, answering the unspoken question. "This guy knew Cynil, right?" To prove how sure she was, she marched to the front door that had been left open. She leaned in before entering, the others following in behind her.

Plenty of voices could be heard, Allen's among them. Nami led the charge as she turned into a large, spacious room with couches. On those couches sat a rather large...fishwoman? Another woman with vibrant red hair and a burn scar on the left side of her face, stretching over her eye. Leaned against her side was a little girl with similar hair, but cut short - her daughter, one would imagine. Allen stood in front of them, glancing over his shoulder as they awkwardly shuffled into the room. The red head wore a frown, and the look in her eye showed she was far from pleased. Her eyes darted face-to-face among them before resting back on Allen.

"I don't see her with them." Her words had a sharp edge, eyes narrowing further. Allen's confident smile remained in place as he waved a hand dismissively.

"Saw her waltz off with some other guy -"

"-some blond guy?" Another voice from the hall they just left. Another man, orange hair tied back in a low ponytail. As he passed them, he gave a friendly smile.

"Yeah, that's the one - she left with him. Was gonna stop them, but decided to see what they were talkin' to behind the wall." He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder and towards their group. "Found em' there." Allen then turned to them with a grin. "That's Millicent - don't suggest pissing her off, or else. Cynil's got a whole lot'a stories 'bout that," His finger moved to the little girl - looked about eight? - kicking her feet as she looked back with a bored expression. "Little one's Keris." his finger then transitioned towards the large fishwoman. "That one's Shri. Say hi, Shri," The woman's head had been resting on her fist, face angled away. There was a slight stirring at her name which gave way to the fact that she was asleep. "Good. And he's -" Allen nodded to the man next to him. "-Teret. Probably the best to actually get things done without making hell."

"There are a few others, but they're about the town," Teret spoke up. "Markeer is the only other one who's here - but he's probably sleeping somewhere like he usually does." He shrugged, head turning to Allen. "Find Ryker?"

Allen let out a low whistle as he shook his head. "Found him, all right - he's not found Krenn, though, but when he does..." His voice trailed off, grimacing. Teret's expression mirrored his as they sat there a moment in silence.

"Uh...where's your guy's boss?" Vivi spoke up, stepping forward. "Are you sure it's fine if we stay here?"

"As long as you don't blow the place up," Millicent spoke, standing up. Keris fell onto her side, blinking up in surprise. "We're renting it, but plan on leaving soon - don't want unnecessary fees that'll get Lucius throwing a fit." She pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing. "But, if Cynil's going to be here, then things are bound to break."

"...what?" Nami asked, surprised. Cynil? Break things? The image just didn't fit. Cynil had been so gentle and well-mannered that the image didn't make sense. Sure, she had moments where she reminisced about some things, but, with how she was, they didn't seem real.

Allen had flopped onto one of the couches, tossing his hat onto the coffee table. "Cyn's a hell raiser s'what she's sayin'." He grinned, hands behind his head. "Girl love's nothin' more than pissin' everyone off, that's for damn sure."

Zoro found another couch, deciding that now would be a great time to catch up on his sleep. He sat, though managed to stay awake. Might as well - wasn't every day that they'd meet people who knew Cynil personally. As time passed in relative silence, however, a thought finally descended upon them. Well, on Usopp.

"Hey, guys," He said. "I think we just ditched Sanji, Chopper, and Cynil..."


*~*~*~*


Cynil blinked up as the present day came rushing back to her. Oh. Oh. She straightened a bit, nodding to Ryker, even if the gesture was in vain. His head turned a fraction towards the sound of Sanji's voice, giving a hum. "I'll take your word for it." He said, voice going back to it's monotone. "I'm Ryker." Short and to the point.

Wait, Chopper? She stared blankly at the floor, trying to think back. It had all been a blur, to be frank; she had allowed herself to be dragged about as she daydreamed their time away. "Ah, I don't..." She looked towards the door. Well, shit.

"I see you're just as productive as ever." Ryker spun on his heel, making his way out. "But I need to find Krenn. He's either dead, or not - if the latter..." Ryker's mouth twitched downwards, his face falling into the expression that sent chills down the spine of all around him. "He'll wish he was." His voice was a dangerous low as he walked out. It was generally rule one - don't make Ryker wait. It wasn't that he was an impatient person, but more he wanted efficiency over all else; the minute he spent waiting could've been a minute spent on something useful. And, when those minutes started adding up, the worse his mood got.

She could only imagine how long Krenn left him waiting to actually cause the blind genius to go on a manhunt for him.

Cynil turned to the blond. "Where are we going now?" She asked. She wasn't sure if their shopping list continued on after this, or if they were going straight back to the others. She'd rather not go back if they were missing things; Nami seemed to be rather quick to anger. While she had remained blissfully untouched, she could imagine that special treatment wouldn't last forever. Better to preserve it for as long as possible, though; she didn't need another Millicent in her life. One was far more than enough.

Her eyes glanced downwards towards the bags briefly. "You know, I can help with those." She suggested. It seemed like a lot to carry, and there was a twinge of guilt inside her for him having to carry it all. She hardly did anything useful on the ship, so might as well help with the menial things, right? Prove she was good for something.
 
Julia followed after the mysterious male with intruigue shining in her eyes--after all, it wasn't every day that a mysterious stranger appeared and offered you a safe hiding place from the law. And lord knew, with how crazy their crew was, it wouldn't surprise the brunette if it happened again. Sans captain, they walked after the man, and she grinned widely as he turned to introduce himself and give her an alluring smirk. Man, that was one of those smiles that if she didn't have ties and important business to handle, she might just give up everything and follow after him... maybe. She was beginning to wonder if this was how Sanji felt around beautiful women--it was bewitching, to be sure. "Allen, huh? Committing that to memory..." she mumbled to herself, smirking lightly. Walking alongside him, she crossed her arms under her chest, tilting her head as she did so. (I'm sorry/not sorry I've just made an executive decision to make Jules super thirsty for Allen)

Julia didn't even hear Usopp walk up to question him, she was too busy admiring his strong profile. "Yeah, a few of us have some decent bounties, and the government would love to get their grubby little hands on getting rid of that kind of influence. As she followed Allen in behind Nami, Julia admired the building and the people that dwelled within. It certainly seemed like Cynil knew a lot of really interesting people...

As they walked in, Julia nodded along with everyone's introductions, making note of everyone's names although she doubted that she would remember everything. She did better remembering faces than names anyway. Turning back toward Allen, Julia grinned. If she stayed in the compound, she wasn't exactly leaving. That being said, she was excited to have found some sort of cure for her boredom. Once more sidling up alongside Allen the brunette grinned. "Not gonna lie, I'm not surprised Cyn is so rowdy. The quitest of us are the ones you have to keep an eye out for," the female nodded. "That being said, I'd like to think that I can raise some hell myself--along with the demons themselves." It was no mystery that Oni were called demons or devils due to their demonic appearance when transformed. "Would you mind too terribly showing me around? Cynil's talked about all of you, but I'd like to see it for myself, and I'd need a guide to keep me out of trouble..." or get her into more trouble.

She was far too preoccupied with Allen to hear Usopp's revelation, and Nami sighed, smacking her forehead with her hand. "It's too dangerous to split ourselves up more than we already have... I hope that one of Allen's friends that he mentioned was out and about can find them and bring them here without them worrying too much about where we've ended up." Nami's words seemed logical--it's not like they could send Zoro out, both due to his bounty and his tendencies to lose himself at the drop of a hat. And sending out Vivi would be bad due to her royal status. Baroque works supposedly didn't have Usopp's picture yet, but after Little Garden they were all supposed to be dead. It was just too risky to blow their cover just yet. They were just going to have to stay put for now. And also somehow track down their idiot captain--what a mess!

_____________________________​

Sanji, after having deemed Ryker "safe" to be around, considering he knew Cynil and didn't seem to harbor her any ill-will, Sanji bit his lip and focused his attention on the fact that they had both lost Chopper. It seemed as though they had just walked into the store, turned around, and their poor furry friend was gone. Sanji sighed, dragging a hand through his hair as he felt his fingers instinctively clutch for a smoke, though he refrained from practicing his worst habit while they were still inside an establishment. "Looks like we're both looking for someone," Sanji stated calmly, looking to the blind male as he placed his hands on his hips. The cook rose an eyebrow at Ryker's ominous words towards his missing comrade, but the threat didn't seem too incredibly dire to him--of course, Sanji only felt that way about it because he knew what reigning in Luffy or looking for Zoro whenever either dumbass decided to go and get themselves lost felt like.

When Cynil turned to address him, Sanji blinked in surprise, tilting his head slightly. "Are you sure you don't want to go after your friend? He might lead us to your friends--that dance troupe that you were a part of, right?" Sanji vaguely remembered the group that he had originally found the black haired beauty with: he nearly blushed at the memory. He had acted like such an idiot in front of someone so cool and composed, but most importantly, Cynil was incredibly down to earth and understanding. He'd been trying to reign himself in whenever he could around her, but sometimes he just couldn't help it. Like at this current moment, when she stated that she could help him carry the bags of clothes that they had.

"OH CYNIL, YOU'RE SO PURE!" He cried out, nearly breaking something as he did an excited spin. "Don't worry, my dear! This is nothing, with the power your of love I can carry any weight or burden~! Though it does touch me that you would like to aid me in this way. Trust me, this is the least I can handle." As he spoke, Sanji led the way outside of the store, finally leaving the poor store owner in peace. "Besides, you might be able to help Ryker look for your friend faster. Nami is lovely and also scary when she's angry, so I'm really hoping that while helping your friend look for his, we'll find Chopper out and about. Surely it can't be that hard to find a reindeer in a desert, right?" That was wishful thinking, but Sanji was definitely a dreamer.
 
Allen gave a low hum in thought, staring off at the ceiling. With a shrug, he pushed himself up, and allowed his feet to hit the floor with a thud. "Sure," he said, retrieving his hat and placing it atop his head. He turned to Julia, confident grin in place. "I don't see why I couldn't do that - anyone one else wanna tag along?" He arched a brow, glancing over to the others. Might as well offer it to the others as well; though, there wasn't quite all that much to show.

"No, Vivi and I should start figuring out our plans," Nami sent an accusing stare Julia's way, but, in all honesty, hadn't expected her to contribute all that much. The only one who really could was Vivi, since she knew about Alabasta, and, because of this, was letting Julia gallivant off with this newfound ally of theirs to her heart's content (so long as they didn't draw unnecessary attention their way) with only giving her a bit of a hard time. Besides, she seemed head over heels for this guy, might as well let her spend what little time she had with him while she could. She seriously doubted it'd be all that soon for them to run into them again like this.

"I'm going to sleep." Zoro declared, finding a chair. While, yes, he didn't really like the idea of Julia running off with this guy - they barely even knew him, and just accepted that he knew Cynil? If that was the case, it still didn't mean much; what did they know about her? Who knew what the people she used to mix with were like. But, with all that in mind, he knew that these people would be gone eventually, and they'd be on their merry way to wherever Vivi decided they needed to go first. And he had a nap he desperately wanted to return to. Usopp took a moment, before giving a dismissive wave and joined Nami and Vivi.

"Love to, but I'd rather not get killed by those guys without everyone else knowing." He said, seating himself with the girls. Teret and Allen both cast each other an odd look. Millicent had been too busy dealing with something her daughter had called to her attention to catch the wording, and Shri was still blissfully unaware in her sleep.

Allen shrugged it off, turning on his heels. "Alright, let's get goin'." He nodded. "Not all that much to show - this is a temporary place for us. Just gettin' our things together before settin' out to go town-to-town." He turned to venture further down the hall they first entered from. While most doors were ajar or wide open, only one remained firmly shut with a sign over it. Allen pointed to it, "That there is the kitchen - no one's allowed in there less Ryker say's so. He keeps all his stuff in a real specific order, and anyone messin' with it could really botch everythin' up."

The paper across the door read simply, "By entering into this room, you hereby agree that you are at fault for any loss of senses or appendages that may occur out of retaliation for annoying the ever loving hell out of the one demoted to a the meager position of keeping all of you worthless wastes of air alive."

Allen clicked his tongue, staring the offensive thing down. "Yeah, Ryker's a nice enough guy when he wants'ta be." He started walking once more. "And it's not like he's easy to make mad - just that there's a few specific things that'll piss him off and you'll hardly get a warning. Not even Cyn would push 'im too far." He paused a moment. "Pro'lly cause we're all about ninety percent sure he's a serial killer, and it's only a matter'a time before he snaps and we're all dead."

*~*~*~*

Cynil jumped at his outburst. Damn, he had gone so long without one - progress for him, she supposed. But she mulled over his previous statement; catch up with Ryker? She glanced over, and at the door. She held her grimace back, and nodded. "Sure, yeah, might as well." Maybe she could find a way for him to spare Krenn's miserable life in the process. Or watch him get his ass handed to him by a blind guy (and that blind guy had a win-count that almost matched what Sol's used to be). She pushed the door open, murmuring an "if you say so," as she looked back and forth to spot her old companion.

It wasn't all that hard. He didn't walk particularly fast, even if he had an oddly accurate spatial awareness about him. In fact, if you didn't know him, you'd think he was just another, average person meandering about their day. Holding a hand up to cup her mouth, she called out. "Hey, Ryker!"

His body stopped. He stood a moment, head turning a fraction so she could see the corner of his mouth. That corner she saw was tugged downwards. "What?" He spoke the word with the tinge of venom to it - the calm and friendly Ryker of before had receded back into the pit of his being. He never did like when people stopped him in the middle of what he was doing; didn't like wasting any time for unnecessary things. Efficiency was everything to him, after all.

Noticing that her window of time to actually say anything before further earning his ire was minuscule at best, Cynil spoke quickly. "We can help you," She said, and, when he turned further, eyebrows narrowed and frown deepening, she continued. "We're looking for someone too - this kid, but first I think we should, uh," She glanced back over her shoulder to the bags in Sanji's hands. She doubted he'd want to carry those around everywhere, and he didn't seem to be giving them to her any time soon. Ryker's remained in place, and, despite his lack of vision, she swore he was staring right through her. He said nothing, except beginning to walk in her direction.

"Look, if you've finally decided to go all mass-murder on everyone, leave me out of it? I lost that job, so I'm out - not around to bother you anymore."

"And yet you're still the biggest bother of them all." He said, breezing right by her. "Now, I can take you to the others, but make it quick - I'm not wasting any more time waiting on you." She rolled her eyes. Ryker wasn't the easiest guy to get along with. Mainly because he really didn't see the point in getting along with anyone else; made it a wonder how he landed a job that usually put him in crowds. To him, putting up false pretenses of niceties would only drag things out an infuriating amount; far too much for him to even care to try.
 
Julia hadn't quite expected Zoro's slight... was that attitude? Could she consider that attitude? She was going to. Sighing and shaking her head, she ignored the green haired swordsman and turned to follow after Allen. The 'magic man' as she had mentally dubbed him, had a smile that could charm the socks off of just about anyone who was lucky enough to catch it, and she actually liked the way he called her 'little lady'. Julia was neither little, nor particularly ladylike, but that being said, she didn't mind it when he said it. She trailed after him, crossing her arms under her chest.

"I can only assume you guys get a decent amount of business--" she commented in between explanations as Allen showed her around. "After all, on my home island we were kind of secluded, so I'd never heard of a circus troupe like yours until after leaving." As she walked, she grinned. "Seems like one could get in a lot of trouble in there..." she murmured when they arrived at the kitchen, reading Ryker's note pretty extensively. She wasn't about to push her luck with this people, considering they had just met and were basing this off of the conjecture that they all knew Cynil and were still on good terms with the black haired female. Julia couldn't exactly vouch for Cynil, but that being said... she'd heard about most of them. "A serial killer, huh...? At least you're never bored! There's something to always be on your toes about." Leave it to the brunette to find such a positive statement out of a negative comment.

Eyeing the male carefully, she couldn't help but let another grin play upon her lips. Damn, he was attractive~! "Y'know, Cynil mentioned her troupe to me a few times while traveling," she started, letting him lead her around as they walked. She hung off of his words. What? Let her have her fun! She hadn't gotten to thirst after Dalton as much back on Drum Island because she was too busy being useless and wounded. "I remember very distinctly her mentioned someone good at magic tricks with a silver tongue to match, that wouldn't happen to be you, would it?" She figured already, but couldn't assume, that smirk playing upon her lips the entire time. "Well, it's rare I meet someone so attractive so forgive me if you catch me staring." She could be bold when she wanted to be--it wasn't like they were going to be traveling with their troupe for very long, and flirting, as Julia was finding out very quickly, was very fun.


________________________________________________________________________​

Sanji hadn't even noticed how he had started Cynil with his random outburst, as his mind dwindled away into 'Mellorine' hell. As they stepped out of the clothing shop, he watched and waited for her to call out to her old friend, moving to follow after Cynil as they chased Ryker down the street in order to catch up with him. He was leading them to their troupe and that was definitely good--they'd have to go collect the others and hide with them for the time being so they could avoid being spotted by the marines and members of Baroque Works.

On their way back, someone eerily familiar caught his gaze and Sanji nearly choked on his cigarette, ducking his head as they passed the large, ripped man who never wore a shirt under his big coat (wasn't he hot, out in the Alabastan sun?!) with two cigars in his mouth. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that was Marine Captain Smoker that just walked by," Sanji mumbled to Cynil as they walked. "What the hell is he doing here on the Grand Line?!" He knew Cynil could answer that just about as easily as he could, but he couldn't help but to voice his thoughts out loud (even if quietly).

Thankfully they weren't recognized by anyone as they walked towards the troupe's temporary base of operations. Upon opening the door and seeing not only some of the people he recognized from when he first met Cynil, Sanji nearly dropped the bags of clothes on the floor, an excited grin upon his face. "NAMI SWAAAAAN~! VIVI CHWAAAAAAAAN~!!" Of course, his eyes darted around, ignoring Usopp and Zoro, "Oi... bastard marimo, where'd Julia go, wasn't she with you guys?"

"Where's Chopper?" Nami asked, looking up at them from the map of Alabasta that Vivi had given her, a few "strategic" plans being written on a separate document. "We've just decided that it would be smart to take the Merry further up the river in order to get to a better place to travel to Rainbase, Crocodile's headquarters, in order to attack head on."

Vivi nodded in confirmation, Carue at her side saluting. "I'm also going to send a letter on Carue to warn my father of everything that we've discovered, and... of Igaram's sacrifice..." she bit her lip, her fist clenching. Sanji nodded solemnly, a seriously look overtaking his features as he did so.

Turning back towards Cynil, the cook of the Mugiwara crew smiled as he offered her the Alabastan styled article of clothing that she'd picked out for herself. "Here, so you can feel free to go change. Also, I understand you probably want to catch up with your friends. Don't let any of us stop you!' He could be really thoughtful--there was definitely something to be said about Sanji's inherited gentlemanly qualities. They were definitely a blessing when they needed to be.
 
Allen's eyebrows shot up, smirk widening at the compliment. "Why, then I suppose I can't tell you to stop --" He placed a hand to his chest, leaning over. "--stare all you like, but only if you don't mind if I return the favor." Another wink followed by a chuckle. "But trouble's died down only a bit since Cynil left," He said. "She got everyone roped into messes just to see if she could get outta it. Got to the point where Cyn, myself, Krenn, and Markeer aren't allowed to be by ourselves in a room. We were The Usual Suspects, see." He shook his head. "Didn't mean we were exempt from Cyn's antics, though I have the lowest number of attempts at fuckery of us. Pro'lly cause she has me help her out the most."

They scaled a staircase, reaching to the upper floor rooms. These were primarily where the bedrooms were, though many doors were left open and without care. There was one that held a few books and couches - like it was some kind of study room. Sprawled across said couch inside was a familiar figure. Allen lifted a hand, motioning to him. "That one's Markeer. Right genius, he is, pro'lly as much as Ryker," He nodded, approaching the sleeping floor of his coworker. "Also a right lazy bastard." Using his foot, he kicked at the couch, causing it to shake. It did nothing to stir him. "Hey, hey! Markeer, weren't you supposed to be workin' on somethin'? Serogi's gonna be back any minute now, and Millicent ain't in the mood for shit." He raised his voice. He only earned a stir in expression as Markeer promptly rolled over to lie face down.

"'S fine." Came a muffled reply. "Death's fine." His mumbled answer only caused Allen to roll his eyes, reaching out and grasping his ankle. With a yank, he managed to pull Markeer off the couch and onto the floor with a heavy 'thud', though he still remained still and blissfully asleep. Another yank caused him to drag him across the carpeted floor, probably rubbing against his cheek as he laid there. Still nothing.

Allen looked over to Julia, giving a shrug as if to say "I tried" and turned on his heel. "That's about all there is to it, though. Nothin' too fancy around, 'specially right now. We got here a few days ago, so we're still settin' up and gettin' everything planned out." He paused, looking down at her, a smirk playing at his mouth. "Though, when the show's startin', I'd be happy to give you a free pass right on in." He grinned, hands pushing into his pockets.

The sound of shattering glass caught his attention, as well as the distant cursing. Allen snorted. "Sounds like Krenn's back. Wonder if Ryker got to him." He mused aloud, as if Julia was in on the dynamic of the troupe. "Be a miracle if he got out of it unscathed."

As he began leading Julia back the way they came, he swore he saw the green haired man from before walk by the staircase and further into the house. His gaze followed him a moment, curious as to what he could need, but ultimately shrugged it off. Probably only find the rooms where they jammed all the props into while they got the caravans in order.

*~*~*~*~*

Cynil had done her best not to stare outright at the Marine captain. She had barely seen him before, though vaguely recognized him (and the name) from her stay at Loguetown awhile back. Though, from what she could tell, it was pretty bad that he went from staying there most of his time, to suddenly showing up in Alabasta. Especially considering that apparently their own captain had pissed him off? She hadn't been present, so she couldn't quite tell.

As they arrived at where the troupe was staying, she was surprised to see the rest of the crew. Glancing over to a few of the others, they only answered with a shrug and mouth "Allen" and she understood. Either he saw her with them, or he was feeling particularly good natured in that moment. Which, really, wasn't all that surprising.

"Hmm?" Cynil had only been partially paying attention, her gaze already locked on Where Teret sat and Shri slept. Said sleeping fishwoman was finally beginning to stir after being elbowed by the former; she rubbed her neck, eyes cracking open. Her expression immediately changed to one of confusion as she took in all the new faces. Mumbling out a "What the hell?" she squinted at each of them until she finally saw Cynil. A nod and she sat back, propping her head on her fist to watch the scene.

Zoro barely even looked over at the cook as he was pulled from his almost-sleep. "Went off with some guy." Was all the answer he gave, and he couldn't figure out for the life of him why that left such a bad taste in his mouth. It was odd, though he couldn't be bothered to really figure it out. Probably because he just didn't like this Allen - too shady. Magicians were just really successful con artists, right?

Before any other real discussion could be held, the front door was, once more, promptly thrown open. The sound of glass shattering could be heard, followed by a, "God dammit, Krenn!" and a loud thwack. Distant bickering grew louder as they neared the opening, and in the doorway stepped the messy brown haired, ever scowling man himself. Krenn froze as he rubbed the back of his head, a bewildered stare overtaking his frustration. Cynil noted that his shirt, once a dark blue, had a large, darker spot over his left shoulder and spreading onto his chest. There was also a small, almost perfectly circular, hole at the center of said stain.

He got shot.

Krenn's expression soured once more as he noticed Cynil. "They get sick of you already?" He questioned. "Too bad, we don't want you here - out." He made a shooing motion as he stepped into the room. Throwing himself onto a unoccupied chair, he kicked his feet onto the coffee table.

"So, the hell happened to you?" She asked, flicking the back of his head. He swatted at her hands, flashing an annoyed sneer - though it was mostly for show, and no true anger filled it.

Krenn elbowed Cynil as she leaned against the chair he was on, giving her a suspicious look. "Pissed Ryker off." He answered.

"Yeah, ran into him earlier. Didn't seem too pleased with you - who in their right mind gave him a gun?"

"Nah, I thought if I got shot or somethin' I could use it as an excuse for why I was late."

"...Did it work?"

"No, I may be suffering from internal bleeding as well as external." Krenn paused a moment, eyes squinting in thought. The expression dropped with a shrug as he looked up at her. "Serogi's here, by the way. Just outside, talking with someone, but he'll be in soon."

Cynil gave a nod. It didn't take long until the man himself walked by the doorway, not bothering to stop by. Though, she saw his shadow stop. It stood stock still for a few moments before beginning to take a few steps back until Serogi was standing in the doorway once again. He was the oldest member - around late thirties, early forties - with wavy, shoulder length black hair tied back. A mustache and goatee adorned his sharp features. His eyes shot about the room, critical though able to easily hide it behind a mask of jovial cheer.

"To what do I owe this unexpected surprise?" He spoke in a boisterous, broadway voice as he stepped in. He arched a brow at her in question.

Teret jabbed a thumb to the stairs. "It was Allen - fire him, not us."

"Now, that makes it sound like we don't welcome new people around here," His eyes flickered over to Vivi, a knowing look in them. "Especially the company of royalty! Though, if you don't mind me saying, you seem to be travelling a little less than luxuriously than I'd expect from a princess. I imagine it has something to do with how you've all got Baroque Works up in a tizzy."

Alarmed eyes stared back at him, both from his own motley crew and theirs. However, for different reasons.

"H-how did you-" Vivi stuttered out, unable to fully form the words. Cynil coughed to hide a chuckle - that was Serogi for you; always liked to keep things dramatic and flashy, especially when revealing his vast knowledge.

Zoro stood, getting a feeling that things were about to get moving soon. At least, in the general information department. While he really couldn't be bothered to keep up with it all - he just needed to be pointed towards who to fight - he imagined Julia would find it frustrating not having the full picture. "I'll go get Julia." He grumbled out, stepping out into the hall. He turned, walking down the hall. When he found himself in a room that most certainly wasn't on the second floor, he scratched his cheek in confusion. He swore he got it right this time, but he guessed not.

Damn. Time to try again.
 
"Don't mind if I do~"Julia all but purred, easily dragged along by Allen's smooth talking and his flirtatious attitude. A girl could dream, couldn't she? As Allen spoke more about Cynil, the more fascinated Julia became. After all, it seemed like there was more to her than any of them even knew. Most of the time on the ship she had been obsessed with that book of hers, reading it up and down and sideways all over. She didn't know its contents, but she simply figured that it was important to her with how she kept it about. She never pried, and it wasn't like Julia could read it if she wanted to, so it didn't particularly have anything to do with her.

Following the card-slinger up the stairs, Julia waved to the now-dubbed Markeer, and she snorted at his attitude towards getting up. "Heh, he reminds me of another lazy bum I know," she smirked, shaking her head before walking up to him, the devil's own grin plastered on her face. "You'd give lil ol' me a free pass?" She winked at him. "Color a girl impressed, now the only thing that would seal the deal is the promise of dinner and a show...~" Of course. Wow--she was honestly surprising even herself.

Julia's head shot towards the sound of shattering glass, and at Allen's explanation, she rose an eyebrow in question, but she figured if she followed along all would be explained eventually. There wasn't much she could do about any of it, and she liked to favor herself a more 'go with the flow' kind of person.

It was at that moment that a man that Julia hadn't seen before stepped through the door, and she blinked, tilting her head to the side as she observed him silently. He was very calculating, from what she gathered by the way he inspected everything about him. That being said, he did a good job of hiding it, however, and she met his gaze with a grin, not at all fazed by his recognition of VIvi. After all, it made sense to her, mentally, that if they wanted to turn a good profit they'd have to know the king of course, and his daughter. Well, not KNOW them but at least know OF them--if you got favor from a king or his daughter, you'd see bigger crowds, that was for sure. And maybe that wasn't even the reason, and Julia was just overthinking (or under-thinking, depending on how you looked at it) but she didn't dwell on it, just how she didn't dwell on most things.

"Oh, Cynil!" Julia grinned, her fangs glinting in the lighting at seeing the familiar head of black hair. "You have very flattering friends." The brunette was definitely enjoying her position at Allen's side at the moment, but she knew that they would definitely have to get going soon. Unfortunately, it didn't seem that their work was going to get any easier just because they had arrived on Alabasta. No, instead it seemed as though Vivi's troubles were only getting worse the more they learned about the current state of the country. Riots and insurrection seeped through every town from what little information they had already gathered at Nanohana.

The brunette hadn't noticed Nami slide up behind her until she was smacked in the head. "Ow!"

"Tell someone before you go waltzing off somewhere!"

"I was with someone, it was fine!" She whined, nursing her head (though it didn't hurt in particular) but Nami ignored her and walked over to Sanji, who was watching the whole thing with relative calmness. When the navigator approached him, however, he grinned happily handing her the outfit that Cynil had found for her.

"Here you are Nami-chan~!! Handpicked by Cynil-swan~!" He happily spun around her to hand Julia her outfit as well. "And there's one for you too~!"

"Oi, Sanji! What about me and Luffy! Whenever Luffy gets here, of course," Usopp spoke up, a bead of sweat falling from his brow in exasperation. Rather than getting a verbal response, the poor long-nosed sniper instead had a wad of clothes thrown in his face. Sanji was already changed, and so was Cynil(??? Didn't she change there? I'm sorry it's been a hot second).

"Well, thank you Serogi-san..." Vivi bowed slightly, looking up at the man. "I wish that Alabasta could be more welcoming to your troupe--my father loves the circus! However, as you seem to be well aware, our country is in grave danger. That's why my friends and I are here, to save this land." Her firm statement shone in her eyes as much as it did in her tone.

"Well, as you guys figure out what we're going to do, I'm gonna change--" Julia turned and shot Nami a look as if to say 'see! I'm tell you where I'm going!' Before she waved to Allen and was off to find an empty room with a sashay of her hips. After changing, she was just folding her previous cloak (it wasn't necessarily long enough to protect all of her now-exposed skin from the harsh sandy winds of Alabasta) when the door opened. Her eyes widened, and she was glad she had finished changing as she turned to see Zoro in the doorway.

"Um... did you think of knocking?" she asked after a beat of silence, tilting her head and blinking. The outfit that Cynil had picked out for her was gorgeous--a soft pastel green skirt with a slit up the side, gold threads and chains fastened around the waist, they jingled as she moved. The bust was tied underneath her breasts, more gold embelleshiment shining brightly against her toned stomach. She held the neck piece in her hand, still debating whether or not to put it on as she looked at Zoro. "What can I do for ya, Zoro?"

Considering how Sanji had watched the interactions between their newest crew mate and her former troupe, the cook was sure that she was glad to see them, even if she didn't necessarily show it on the outside. It was the little understated things--like how she spoke so calmly with Ryker back in the shop, or how she just seemed to fit in so perfectly with their family dynamic, that he knew that even if she didn't admit it to herself, she missed all of this people and their little ticks, quirks, and nuances. Turning to face her, the blonde couldn't help but smile. Seeing her happy was all he ever wanted--and he hadn't known her for that long, but being as he was, Sanji was certain that he'd do whatever it took to keep a pleased look about her. "Cynil-swan, I understand if you want to catch up with your troupe, don't worry about us!" Pulling out a new cigarette, Sanji lit it, stepping to the outside of their little circle as he tried to think of a place where they might reconvene with Chopper.

Speaking of the devil, a little voice behind him startled him. "You sure this is where they are? It's not where I remember leaving them!" Turning around, Chopper himself walked in, followed by a camel, and Sanji couldn't help but blink in surprise at the outcome. The camel seemingly told him goodbye before leaving the tent. "Sanji!!" Chopper's eyes got watery as he stumbled up and clung to his legs. "H-How could you leave me?!"

"Oi oi," Sanji sighed, turning his head to blow out smoke before crouching and patting his hat as the reindeer child sniffed. "I'm sorry we left you behind. We noticed a little too late and by that time we didn't even know when we got separated. I'll keep a close eye on you this time, okay?" Sanji's smile was soft and genuine. He did feel bad for him, and he meant what he said. Turning back to the others, he guided Chopper into the room. The little reindeer waddled toward Cynil, waving up at her to show her that he was back.

He really was adorable!
 
A laugh, loud and flamboyant, erupted from Serogi. He tapped the cane to the floor, eyebrows raised as he regarded the princess. "Saving a land with only a handful of people?" He chuckled once more. "Plausible. I've seen more reckless attempts at revolution." He gave a nod, thoughtfully tapping his chin. A slow smile began to creep onto his face, index finger raised. "Now, what you need is to stem the flow of growing insurrection among the...simpler folk," Serogi leaned his weight against his cane, expression no longer hiding his calculating nature, "you see, I used to be in the business of...helping kings and queens - also helped a few people topple some of them, sometimes for the worse. I'm real familiar with how kingdoms run, and I know damn well that, if the people want someone to burn, well, someone's going to burn."

Vivi blinked, bewildered by his change in disposition. Once a jolly, almost fatherly figure who morphed into some sort of conniving thief. Cynil's expression remained impassive, regarding her nails with more interest - it was her lack of a reaction (as with the others in the troupe) that revealed this was common. Cynil gave a dismissive wave, speaking over her shoulder, "I'm gonna go find Markeer, get me when this is done." She said as she left the room. As she walked by Chopper, she flashed a smile, returning his wave with a small one of her own.

"...What do you mean?" Nami's own expression became critical, suspicion evident.

"I'm saying that I'm happy to help keep the people distracted from their troubles, but I don't run a charity," Serogi smiled coolly, eyes closed. "Of course, I'll keep things reasonable, but it's not every day that royalty needs help from people like us," an eye cracked open, "and you need all the help that you can get. You can't live off of good will alone, and I'd be a fool to pass off a chance at getting a deal with a kingdom." Serogi grinned widely. "It also means that I've gotta make sure you win."

Usopp's eyes were wide, a finger jabbing in his direction. "This isn't fair! You're totally taking advantage of us!"

Shri snorted from her place on the couch, laughing. "You enter a house of liars and thieves and expect things to be fair?"

"He's not wrong," Vivi seemed relatively unperturbed once given time to process. "It would give us more time, and help keep things calm for longer." She gave a hum in thought, eyes narrowed as she stared the floor down. When her gaze lifted once more, she gave a firm nod and extended her hand. "Alright, on behalf of Alabasta, I accept."

Serogi grinned, clasping her hand with his own. "Great! We'll need to go over a few minor details, but we'll get to work immediately," He motioned for her to sit as he took a seat opposite to her, "and we'll need Cynil back."

"Wait, why?" Chopper stared up at him.

"Because, she was one of our best! Having her with us would greatly improve our standing," He explained, "Though, I'll be sure she goes back - she won't get what she wants staying with us, after all." He chuckled, turning his attention back to Vivi.


After managing to get turned around more times than he'd like, Zoro could only say that - ha! - his sense of direction finally lead him to who he had been looking for. However, it was in a less than ideal time, that much he could tell immediately. Thankfully, she was dressed, but it was still the thought.

"Hurry it up." Was all he could really say, turning heel and walking out. He did pretty damn well at keeping his tone normal, something that had surprised even himself. Before he could get himself lost once more, he noticed Cynil leaving a room. Easy enough to guess which door he needed to go in after that.

Re entering, he had just enough time to catch Nami saying, "You guys aren't anywhere near as nice as you act." with a frown and a glare. He also caught the muttering of Usopp of "You'd fit right in here..." that, luckily for him, went unnoticed by the navigator.

Serogi stood, smoothing his jacket out. It seemed business had been concluded. "Acting nice is a part of the business - no one says we gotta stay in character all the time." He grinned. "Now, I believe we should be parting soon before Baroque Works catches wind of our scheme, or you lot run out of time."

"Guess we'll be going to find Luffy." Nami said, motioning for the others to follow her to the door. "He's probably gotten himself caught up in some mess by now - Julia! Come on, we're gonna need your help!" She called.

Chopper looked down the empty hallway, trying to catch sight of someone. "What about Cynil? Shouldn't we tell her we're going?" He asked, looking back up at the others.

"We'll be back, it's not like we're gonna get run out of town." She replied while walking out the front door.


Time passed quickly, and it seemed that getting run out of town was exactly what would happen. Luffy was staring down Smoker, and there was a similar looking man at his side, though with a bit longer, black hair and sharper, more mature features. Zoro recognized the tattoo on his back immediately. With the Marines right behind them in the most literal of words, they were quick to haul their captain off with them. As expected, he didn't fully grasp the situation, and laughed loudly as he ran along side them. However, in the process, they managed to become separated - more accurately, Chopper managed to get separated.

Once finally back on the ship, the realization had set in for a few.

"Wait, since when did you have a brother?!" Nami asked, eyes wide.

"It's not like we've ever asked..." Vivi said, smiling sheepishly.

"Wait, where's Chopper?" Usopp asked.

Zoro snorted in a small laugh, "Doesn't seem like Luffy at all."

"Oh, wait, there he his."

"You guys left me!" He cried out, pointing an accusing...hoof at the group. "Again!"

When gazes turned to him, the looming figure next to him turned. It was a man - a tall one at that - covered head to toe in black clothes, a hood and a mask covering his mouth and nose hiding his features. Black hair fell out from the hood. Chopper was quick to grab onto the fabric of his coat that fell to his calf, giving it a tug that stopped all motion. His head turned, and a single, piercing eye could be made out from the shadows covering his face.

"He said that there's some really bad assassin-guy after Vivi," He said. "He-"

Usopp promptly cut off the small reindeer, "Why'd you bring him here, then!?"

"It's not him!" Chopper was quick to defend the new arrival. "I would've been left behind by you guys without him! But he's looking for this assassin."

"What's this about an assassin? I thought Baroque Works had a lot of assassins? What makes this one any different?" Nami asked, crossing her arms.

"Don't bother yourself with it." The mysterious figure spoke up. His voice was deep, and, while it would've been pleasant to hear, there was this dead-ness to it that took away from it. "Either I will find him before he finds you, or after."

"Wait, if you're looking for him, then wouldn't it be more logical to stay with us?" Vivi spoke up, which promptly got incredulous non-whisper-yells at her to not ask the hooded probably-assassin-himself to stay. "If you were with Baroque Works, you would've tried to kill me yourself, so...if you stay, then you'll find this guy, right?"

The figure stopped. He turned fully to face the princess, and you could make out a slow blink from underneath the hood. "You want me to stay?" There was a break in his monotonous tone - just barely. It held incredulous surprise.

"No!" Nami was quick to speak up, stepping up. "Luffy! C'mere! Tell this guy to get off the ship!" She called to the captain, who had been caught up in conversation with his brother - who had been revealed to be a man named Ace. Said captain turned, looking owlishly at the scene. The confusion didn't last long as a wide smile took over.

"Woooaah!" He exclaimed, making his way over in seconds. He found himself only a few feet from the hooded man, reaching out to poke him shoulder. "He looks coooool!" His head whipped around, pointing at him. His finger managed to fall under the hood, the tip hovering just over his cheek as the man stepped away. "Doesn't he?! He looks cool, right?!"
 
Julia wasn't all too familiar with Smoker, aside from that brief time that she had seen him in Logue Town, but she knew that he meant serious business. Lucky enough for them, Luffy's brother showed up at just the right time to save them from leaving a member behind, although Nami had to pull the demoness away from the fight due to how much she was drooling over the fact that Luffy's older brother was THE Fire Fist Ace, First Division Commander of the White Beard Pirates.

"Pick your jaw off the floor, wipe the drool from your chin, and let's go!!" Had been Nami's exact words, and the brunette glared at her slightly but otherwise obliged without complaint.

Julia wasn't drooling... just salivating at the thought of eating some of his fire. That had to be it. Yeah. FOod.

That being said, when they arrived back at the ship, the only one who wasn't freaking out about Luffy's brother was a certain love-sick cook. Sanji sighed heavily, leaning over the side of the ship that looked back towards Nanohana in the distance. He sighed heavily, not having been the same time they had left Cynil behind. He was decidedly depressed, and no amount of Julia or Nami could cheer him up long enough to keep him out of this funk.

When Chopper reappeared with the mysterious individual, Julia perked up, her eyes watching the individual closely. She was generally a good judge of character, but it was hard to get a read on this guy. That, and she had some underlying trust issues that she was very slowly getting over. Biting her lip, she crossed her arms under her chest, silently enjoying the freedom and the flow-y movement of the outfit that Cynil had picked out for her. It definitely was dancer-like, what with all its bits of gold-colored metalworking and jangling bits (it was probably good they put a metaphorical bell on the brunette, as she was surprisingly light on her feet and often spooked those she managed to sneak up on). She would miss Cynil, but according to Serogi it was just for their stay in Alabasta, so hopefully they'd be done with this and meet up again rather quickly afterward.

"Luffy, what would be the purpose of bringing him with?" The brunette asked her captain, tilting her head slightly to one side.

"Uh, his cool looks, duh!" Luffy blinked at her blankly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Nami sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose out of frustration. Vivi only smiled as Usopp looked on in worry.

"Listen, he's nice, right! He helped me get back to the ship, as well as helped me escape from those marines!" Chopper looked on the verge of tears. "He may seem kinda scary, I thought he was too at first... but he's not!" A smile quickly blossomed on the reindeer's face. "He's a good guy!"

"Oh Chopper..." Julia sighed, offering the child a pitying look. After all, she once had such childlike blind-trust. That had been stripped from her being. Instead of focusing on her thoughts, Julia let her hands fall to her sides, and she stepped towards the individual, her eyes narrowed in distrust. "So, do you have a name, or am I just going to have to keep referring to you as 'Mystery Man' like I've been doing in my head this whole time?"

Sanji would have participated but he was simply too bummed out. A whimper left his lips as he thought of Cynil's beautiful, silky black hair, her pouty lips when they pulled upward for the rare smile, and her shining purple eyes...! A sob left his lips and he rolled around on the deck. It wasn't fair!!!

"Sanji, we've been parted for not even an hour..." Usopp rose an eyebrow at him.

"AN HOUR! I don't think I'll live an hour more without her...! I'm going to die!" Sanji moaned, rolling on the deck once more.
 
It took a moment to fully process what he had been hearing. Listening to the small child...boy? He wasn't sure what to classify him as. Hearing him defend his "good"ness felt like something sharp had pierced and twisted itself into his gut. His face dropped back to its impassive stone-y expression.

"I left any name behind long ago." He said. "If you must call me something, I've a number of titles and names others have given: The Phantom Wanderer seems to be the most common. Call me whatever you like, I have no preference."

Nami's shoulders slumped dejectedly, a palm pressed to the side of her head. She gave a weary sigh, shaking her head. "So this means he's sticking with us?" She grimaced. Pulling herself together, she placed a hand at her hip and pointed at him with a stern expression. "Alright, listen up! You know there are people after Vivi, so I guess this means you're helping us-"

"I am not."

She blinked owlishly at the interruption, looking to Chopper with surprise. "What - but you said you were..." Her voice trailed off, eyebrows narrowing.

"I hunt the one who hunts her," He said. "After this, I will be leaving. Until then I will assist you."

There was a nod of understanding from the navigator, though her eyes narrowed and a frown pulled at her lips. She gave a side glance to the other members of the crew. Before she could continue speaking, another voice injected itself into their conversation.

"Kinda the same reason I'm around," A small chuckle followed. "I'm looking for someone, too - heard that he'd spent time around here." Ace leaned against the railing overhead, mouth curled up into a smile.

Zoro, who had taken to viewing the scene silently, looking over the stranger. Phantom Wanderer? He knew that name -- gained a lot of traction in a short amount of time. "Doubt he'll do anything," He said, leaning against the railing as he folded his arms over his chest. "Don't care if he stays."

"Wha- Zoro, you're not helping!" Nami hissed, though kept her voice low to not be heard by their second guest. She was given no indication that he'd actually heard her as he stared on.

Luffy grinned from ear to ear. "Well, that settles it!" He declared. "You're a part of the crew." With that, Luffy darted off, shouting about something. It seemed the others involved in the matter were too dumbfounded to speak as silence descended upon them. They, as well as the "New Guy" stared at where Luffy once stood, no one speaking up as they all took the time to process his words. Rather than a loud outburst, the crew gave a weary sigh.

They'd grown used to this.

As they gathered themselves and set to getting the ship ready to sail, Zoro watched as their newfound companion began making his way inside. Before he could get too far, he called after him. "Hey, where you going?" He asked, walking towards him with an arched brow.

"Inside. While I can tolerate it, I would prefer to remain out of the sun, if given the opportunity." He answered. "It has no effect on my efficiency on my abilities, it is merely a preference."

Zoro gave a slow nod, stepping back to let him go on his way. He turned, eyeing the rest of the crew. He'd tell him what he knew, but that would have to come later.
 
The desert was vast and cruel, and unfortunately the crew found that out the hard way, considering there was birds that had stolen most of their supplies after pretending to be injured (bless Luffy's pure heart, he was legitimately concerned about them), and the big monsters--not to mention the sweltering heat. Each step seemed grueling for most of the crew, although Julia seemed to be quite comfortable despite the sweltering heat. She even took charge of dragging the stuff for a moment, and then after Luffy let those birds take everything, there was no more luggage left to take with them. Water was rationed and they continued onward, but not before parting ways with Ace a little bit into the desert, considering he was currently hunting down Blackbeard.

Their newest addition was by far the most curious straggler they'd ever seen. Usopp certainly kept his distance--he was far too concerned about the assassin murdering him in his sleep or something, but that was also because Usopp was just naturally paranoid of everything and everyone. Nami didn't seem to have too many issues with him, as long as Luffy and Zoro were unconcerned. She was eager to keep moving, and now that she and Vivi were riding on top of their found-camel, Eyelash (Billie who?), they were making some good progress. "Alright, everyone should take a drink of water if they haven't in a while!" Sanji called out to the group, motioning to everyone's little mini barrel water cups. They should be fine, but the last thing he wanted was to carry someone (mainly Luffy or Usopp) because they forgot to hydrate. Out in the desert, heat-stroke was a very real and dangerous thing to have to worry about.

Julia was staring at the Phantom as they rested for a moment, the sun beating down on them. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked to him. "So, I suppose, Phantom... you never really told us about who you were going after," the air became a little tense at her question as Usopp shot her an 'I can't believe you just asked that!!!' kind of way. The female chose to ignore him and shrug in her answer, a smirk playing upon her lip. "Well, if there's supposedly this really deadly assassin on Vivi's tail, wouldn't you rather know who it was so you can at least mentally prepare. I don't know about you, but most of us are ready to lay down our lives for Vivi and her cause," the blue haired woman seemed particularly troubled by that statement, but she didn't speak up on it. "Captain's orders."

"Hell yeah!" Luffy cheered after taking maybe too big a gulp of water. "We're gonna do everything we can in order to protect Vivi and save her country!"

"You guys..." Vivi's eyes were misty, biting her lip as they began to walk again.

"I'm all for it, I'm just..." Chopper whimpered weakly, nearly passed out on the sled that Zoro was using to drag the reindeer behind him. "I feel like I'm melting."

"Aw, cheer up, Chopper! I'm sure we're nearly there," Julia grinned, looking up to where Vivi and Nami were aboard Eyelash. "Right?"

"Yep," Vivi answered simply, taking the map from Nami as she showed anyone who was looking where they were headed. So far, it had been about a two-day's travel on foot through the desert's harshest sands, and she showed them their trajectory. "If we continue traveling at this pace, we should be able to reach Yuba by nightfall!" Everything seemed to be falling into place. Now they could only hope that they could put a stop to this rebellion and unite the kingdom against its true enemy--Crocodile. "So..." Vivi gulped slightly, trying to hide her fear at the thought. "Who is coming after me, Mr. Phantom?"
 
The days had passed by relatively uneventfully. He had taken to observing the band of odd individuals from a distance, and remaining relatively out of sight as best he could. The one that wore the straw hat -- the one they referred to as Captain -- had taken some strange fascination to him. Thankfully, he was far too scatter brained to focus too long and would eventually leave him after continued silence.

And then came the question of assassin.

Zoro noted how the figure in black paused, his head turning. "Siddel."

After a moment of silence and their enigmatic tag along, it was obvious he wouldn't continue without prodding. "Wha -- and?" Nami exclaimed, huffing in frustration. Phantom merely looked on, his silence an indicator for her to elaborate. "What about this guy? What can he do, who even is he?!" She gestured wildly as she spoke.

Phantom stared a moment longer before turning to face forward. Before she raised her voice at him, he spoke. "Siddel Belistaire, ex-agent and squad leader of Nox Acies, currently working as a hit man for high profile targets." He spoke aloud. "Skilled in various fields and able to adapt, he primarily works from a distance." There was a pause, Nami grimacing as she listened. The air that settled around them was uneasy, and either Phantom was oblivious to it or didn't care. He continued. "Able to create and execute plans with extreme efficiency." He lifted his head up to examine their surroundings. "Likely has been monitoring your movements before you set foot on land, and has already worked several ways to end your life and you'd never see him."

"H-h-how do you know so much about him?" Usopp asked, visibly shaken by the information intake. Namely the whole "He's probably watching you right now" that their newfound "friend" was implying. "You've probably had to really do your research to find all of that out, right?" He gave a sheepish chuckle, trying to find something to alleviate the suffocatingly intense aura that surrounded Phantom. Even without seeing his eyes, Usopp swore he was the type of guy that never blinked. Ever. Just staring, and waiting to end them all.

This time, he wasted no time in answering. "Of course." He said, and, in that, Usopp found some fraction of relief -- "I've worked with him a number of times in the past." -- and that relief was blown away in an instant. "And Siddel knows well that slowly -- gently -- that is how a life is taken."

"Wait! Waitwaitwaitwaitwait -- you've worked with the guy that's trying to kill Vivi?!" He yelped it out, physically stumbling backwards to put even more distance between him and, what he imagined, would be their future killer.

"Yes." Phantom never once looked back. "It seems that you've all chosen to forget that he and I share the same occupation." Finally, his head turned, and, for once, they were offered a glimpse beneath the hood; a single piercing eye, shrouded in shadow, stared right into his very soul and he swore to the heavens above it was glowing like a fiend straight from the depths of hell. "If things had been different, it may have been me that hounded your every movement."

That certainly wasn't a calming thought.

"That's not happening!" Luffy declared, a fist raised. "Because we're not gonna let him! Yeah! I'll fight that guy myself if I gotta!"

Phantom seemed utterly unimpressed with the notion, turning to walk on. "You seem to have confused things." He said. "He's an assassin, not a warrior or soldier. He doesn't fight. He kills." He said. "Siddel doesn't care for any of you, and he wouldn't waste the time or energy on a fight. His whole purpose for being here is to end her life." Another silence descended. "Does it help?" He asked. "Knowing that death waits for your slightest loss in focus?"
 
Julia’s brow furrowed at the mention of the name Siddel. It sounded vaguely familiar but that could mean absolutely anything. She merely waited in silence as the Phantom character began to elaborate on their would-be assassin. In terms of the assassins of Baroque Works that they had run into so far, the brunette was fairly certain that those idiots were the kiddy leagues and this guy was the real deal. It was no surprise that Usopp was terrified, and she rolled her eyes at Phantom’s words, turning and walking toward him. Staring silently up at the man under the dark hood for a breath, Usopp looked ready to cry, begging her to step back. She refused, however, and silently met his gaze for what seemed like a full minute before she smirked.

”Bold of you to assume that I’m just going to roll over and die to some weirdo,” she stated calmly and confidently before taking a finger and poking his chest. “Besides, you can’t be all ‘doom and gloom’ all the time. If he really wanted to kill us, specifically Vivi, he would have done so when we first docked—we were sitting ducks long enough for him to have easily killed us all in Nanohana. That is… if what you’re saying about him is even true.” She shrugged, stepping back to avoid poking the bear any further. “All I’m saying is if he wants to kill us he’d better do so soon. Since we’re going to reach Crocodile any day now, and he might lose his opportunity.”

”You’re making it sound as if we’ve only got two choices, die to Crocodile, or die to this “Siddel Belistaire” guy!” Usopp cried, hiding behind Sanji for protection as the blonde haired cook took a long drag from his cigarette. Slow, gentle death, huh? That certainly seemed odd to him.

”Well, like Julia dear and Luffy said, we’re glad to lay down our lives for Vivi, no matter the cost. I’ll make sure nothing happens to her! Crocodile, deadly assassins, revolutionaries, you name it!” He gave her a proud grin, jabbing his thumb at his chest. “Just you wait, Vivi, we’ll make sure to save Alabasta!”

”Yeah!!!” Luffy cheered, a wide grin on his face as he threw a stretchy arm around the brunette’s neck, and she grinned at him widely. “Aw man, I’m really ready to fight Crocodile now…!! Or this Siddel guy, I don’t care which is first!” He seemingly blew steam from his nose, like a bull ready to charge. “I… am gonna kick their asses!! No matter what!” His glare said everything, and Nami sighed, shaking her head as Julia nodded.

”Well, you heard the captain,” she shrugged, offering Vivi an encouraging smile as the group picked up walking once more. “Regardless of the danger in front or behind, once he makes up his mind about something, he’s going to do it no matter what. Pretty stupid, if you ask me.” Vivi sniffled but didn’t say anything as Nami steered Eyelash in the direction of the town of Yuba.

Julia, managing to untangle herself from Luffy’s rubbery noodle arms, slid in line to walk next to Zoro, taking a look out of him at the corner of her eye. “Is the heat bothering you? I can pull Chopper for a bit if you’d like? This heat doesn’t affect me.” She doubted he’d let her, his pride was too great to admit that. Hell, this was the man who had tried to cut through his own ankles to free himself and prove a point (no, she was never going to let Zoro live that incident down).
 
There was something almost endearing about their earnest dedication towards their friend and their can-do outlook. In fact, he doubted that any companion he'd ever had held such a view -- even before it all, everyone he worked with understood what they were doing too much to be overly positive. It was times like this, seeing these people -- these pirates -- decide that their course was set to save a land rather than pilfer it, that made it feel like everything he'd believed before had been worthless.

He arched a brow at the reaction, giving a low noise. None of them thought like assassins. "Belistaire will not kill you. He will seek to kill her." He said. "I intend for him to be dead before then."

He supposed he couldn't fault them for not fully grasping the situation, or understanding Belistaire's intent; in fact, their view on assassins had been muddled and twisted if they thought that all of them operated as Baroque Work's did. While they did well enough to keep themselves hidden, they were some of the most ridiculous assassins he knew of, going so far as to challenge their targets to combat in broad daylight.

Zoro made a small "Hmm?" when Julia approached. "The heat?" He questioned, giving a look before shrugging. "Nope." While it certainly was hotter than anything he'd dealt with before, it wasn't anything too troubling. In fact, after a couple of hours out in it, he'd grown pretty accustomed to it. He took a moment of silence, looking on to the rest of their group. His eyes lingered on the hooded figure a moment before flicking back over to Julia. Standing further in the back, he was able to lower his voice as to not be heard by the others.

"What do you think of him?" He questioned, his voice hushed. While Chopper did vouch for the guy, he certainly hadn't been helping his own case with how his behavior was. Normally he wasn't one to care if someone tried to be approachable and friendly -- frankly, he often found he preferred the people that were rougher to get along with due to an understanding that they, at the very least, weren't just trying to get something from him. This guy, though? Definitely hard to read. In fact, he'd go so far as to say this guy was more machine than person with how he carried out what was essentially a death march with practiced ease. He hardly ate or drank, and he couldn't recall ever seeing him sleep.

He was either extremely disciplined or so far gone that he hardly noticed any strain he endured. At the moment, he couldn't tell which -- and until he did anything, it wasn't worth wasting the energy getting worked up over it; might as well let him hunt this guy down and save them the trouble.


-----

The sun hung low in the sky, the chill already beginning to pick up. They had resolved to make it towards the massive rock formations in the distance. It was as they walked in did Zoro notice their newfound companion pause in his step. After a split second, he resumed the trek. So far there were no openings good enough for them to make camp, so they were forced to venture deeper in. The further they went, the more it appeared that they had entered nature's own labyrinth due to all the twists, turns, and splitting paths it held.

"I know what you've been thinking," The voice of Phantom cut through the silence, drawing their heads to him. It was a louder tone than he normally spoke with, preferring a low voice, but it soon dawned on them that his words weren't meant for them, "But you're not safe within the shadows."

Phantom's movements were quick -- so quick that, perhaps it was just that it was hard to see what with it being so dark, Zoro swore he teleported rather than moved. In an instant, he was at Vivi's side, hand on her arm and tearing her down from the camel's back. Just as soon as he did, the explosive cracking of a whip sounded; a familiar noise that meant that a bullet had left the barrel of a gun. It was a noise that meant it was time to actually pay attention.

Zoro straightened, head lifted to figure out just where the noise had come from but was met with nothing but rock and sand to stare at. "Hey!" He snapped. "Where the hell --" He cut himself off, seeing Vivi but Phantom was gone. He stood there a moment before shaking it off "Aw, what the hell -- let's just get moving!"

This was an awful place to be, especially when you had an assassin (and a skilled one at that) dogging your heels. Phantom was missing, probably off confronting Vivi's would-be killer, though it was up in the air how long that would last or whether he would win. He wasn't about to risk sitting around and waiting to see the outcome; best to keep moving. Besides, that Phantom seemed good enough that, if he wanted, he'd be able to catch up.

"Hey, Luffy, figure out which way we gotta go, will ya?!" Usopp yelled as they bolted. There was the occasional sound in the distance -- sometimes the echo of steel upon steel, another gunshot, or just a general, abrupt dose of carnage before it fell into eerie silence once again. What made it even more off putting was the fact that it never did fade off no matter of far off they ran; no, it was like the source of the noise kept perfect pace with them. Earlier Luffy had ran off to go join the fray, shouting about "kicking his ass" but eventually turned up again later, scratching his head as he looked around.

With a cheery "Alright!" their captain used his arms to slingshot himself into the air. With a hand keeping his hat in place, he gazed down; at the peak of his jump he surveyed the ground beneath him. Except they were at the center of this maze, and the paths to take were far to winding to remember, especially in the few moments before gravity dictated he fall back to the ground below.

"Uh..." As they looked to their captain, expectant (though some more expectant in his inability to recall), he pointed down a random diverging path. "That way --"

A body was flung down from a cliff, shrouded in dark. It rolled into a crouch, a blade in hand preparing to lunge back up at his assaulter. "Hey, Phantom!" Luffy waved a hand, making his way over. Except, the more Zoro looked, the more his eyes adjusted to the figure in the dark. He was built like him, and, from how he was low to the ground, it was hard to tell whether or not his height matched his.

It was the hood that set off his alarm -- rather, the lack thereof.

"Wait, Luffy, that's not --"

The man's -- no doubt Siddel's -- head whipped to the side so quickly that it felt like he'd always been looking at them. Vivi had found herself the object of his attention, and found herself frozen in place under that stare. There was something so unsettling, so horrible about it that chilled her to the core. Despite every aspect of rationality screaming to run, primal fear had left her body unresponsive; if anything, he expected to tumble over than actually walk. It was his eyes, the only part visible of him. There was no hate. No sneering glee, no joy, no disdain, just nothing. It was the very embodiment of "Nothing personal," that she'd heard uttered over and over despite it, in fact, being personal every time.


Not with him. In his eyes, he truly held her in no regard, positive nor negative.

The second bit was that his gaze never once strayed from her. Not to look at her companions, each recovering from their own shock and preparing their own defense -- to call it arrogance would be wrong because some instinctual part of her knew that he didn't need to look; not truly. It was as Phantom said before: Belistaire was here to kill her and her alone.

It was his speed that Zoro first took note of. Only able to draw two of his swords in the time Belistaire took to push off the ground and make an all out sprint in Vivi's direction, moving to be yet another obstacle in his path after Luffy. Their captain, looking to stop him in his tracks, reeled back for a punch; it was met with air as Belistaire leaped over him, landing a few feet shy of Zoro. Not once losing speed, he himself had hardly the time to fully pull back a swing, and, the strike he did send out, was dodged by the man sliding beneath the blades entirely. As he passed, Zoro was able to note that there was a second blade on him -- well, rather in him. The hilt protruded out of his right shoulder, through the back and the what little steel was visible through the blood and fabric glinted in the moonlight.

It was Nami who saw out it would inevitably turn out. He really didn't care about fighting. She grasped Vivi's arm, physically dragging her out of her stupor. "C'mon!" She hissed it out, her voice shrill and her grip iron.

They got all of three steps in before Vivi had that horrid feeling that his hand was seconds away from closing around her; she didn't dare look back, fear attempting to make her body move faster than it possibly could. Even then, she doubted that she'd be fast enough. No, this guy wasn't someone to be trifled with, especially with the ease he managed to escape the grasps of the others. Just before she swore he was about to catch her, she felt something slam into her back and send her stumbling to the floor. Dread weighed in, her body falling into a roll. Except, rather than one figure clad in black, a second stood in front of her.

There was a moment of calm, the two staring each other down. It ended when they both collided into each other, the chaos of their fight bouncing across the walls. Hell, she wasn't sure she'd even call it a fight -- not like the ones she'd seen her friends get into. This was nothing more than a cold-blooded attempt to murder the other; cruel and sickening to watch. Nami, having never once released the princess's hand, gave a tug to remind her that leaving was still on the agenda.

And yet, as Phantom blocked the way and Belistaire attempted to pass, there was a shift. Vivi no longer felt that cold, cold stare on her. In fact, when she looked back, she found herself slowing to a stop and watching the two instead.

Belistaire stood still, arms having fallen to his side and he looked at Phantom who stood an arms length away. At first, she believed that Phantom had lost his blade, but, upon closer inspection, the realization was far more harrowing.

He lost his arm.

The left one. Guilt pulled at her, almost on the verge of tears that she had caused this to him. "Y-you're arm!" The words broke the silence that hung heavy in the air. However, that guilt was replaced with a growing unease as she watched some shadowy substance begin billowing out from the stub of an elbow; the hand that laid three feet away also found itself wrapped in a black cloud. Eventually, the arm, after the dark smoke all but obscured his left side, dissipated had found itself back onto him. Vivi's eyes widened in alarm, her voice raising in a mix of surprise and apprehension. "Your arm?!" She repeated.

Belistaire remained fixated on Phantom. Neither made a move. It was like some unspoken conversation was going on between them. Eventually Belistaire looked from Phantom, to Vivi, and then up at the sky. He turned, and slowly walked to a rock. His feet dragged in the sand, as if something heavy weighed him down, and he seated himself upon said rock. He propped his elbows on his knees, eyes fixated on the ground.

"W-w-what's going on?!" Usopp demanded, a shaking finger pointed at the two of them. Phantom remained in place, staring at the vacant place Belistaire once stood. There was a looming dread in the air despite how everything had calmed down.

Zoro, too, joined in with a confused scowl. "Weren't you sent here to kill her?" He pointed to Vivi with one of his swords. "I don't mind a change of heart, but there better be a damn good reason."

"I know you." The words cut off any other interjection, Belistaire still staring at the sand beneath him. His voice was gruff, but there was something so sad about it. "Watched you die. Took a bullet right to the head, even had people come in and make sure you were down." A hand reached over his shoulder, pulling out the blade that had been embedded there. He made no noise that he had even felt it. "You were dead." There was a bitter laugh, but there was no humor behind it. "Makes sense that you'd come back as a damn revenant -- you had enough hate and fire in you that not even death would keep you from clawing out our throats."

Phantom didn't speak a word, merely listening as he, too, dragged himself to an adjacent rock to Belistaire's to seat himself. In a way, looking at them was reminiscent of two old, tired friends who had only now met again. There was no malice between them -- no hate or resentment. Just something of a sad resignation and a hint of camaraderie that could only be forged in the fires of shared trauma.

Belistaire lifted his head, glancing to the pirates who all appeared confused. "I'm not after the girl anymore." He said.

"What?! But you -- didn't you -- why not?!"
 
Julia walked in line with Zoro, the only thing she wasn't particularly fond of being the whole... sand dragging you down with each step you took. In that way, it reminded her a lot of the snow in Drum Kingdom, but she wasn't about to melt this sand into glass--that would only make traveling worse. She hummed at his words, her gaze sliding over to Phantom. She didn't bother with subtetly, it wasn't exactly her forte, and she would bet her savings that even if she was sneaky about it, their traveling companion would know he was being observed by her. "I suppose I haven't quite reached an opinion yet..." she shrugged. "He's cute--in an "I'm okay with dying" kinda way." She knew that's not what Zoro was looking for, but for some reason her dumb mouth just kind of let the sentence vomit from her mouth and so she continued on as if it hadn't. "He's definitely not someone to take lightly. he seems to know what he's talking about... and I just get this feeling... like he's incredibly strong." She couldn't help but speak in this cryptic manner, unable to explain her words even to herself. She looked between Phantom and her green haired companion, before offering Zoro a smile. "In that way, he kinda reminds me of you!"

---------------


"Clearly we just need to keep going--to Yuba!" Julia shouted, sprinting as she bothered to pick up a good portion of the supplies they had left. "Usopp, you must be even stupider than me if you think Luffy is going to know the right direction to go even if he does spring up high enough to see!" But she watched as their captain did so anyway, surprised that he could even come up with a way to go. "You heard him, get moving!" She started to speak, though the body rolling down the cliff halted the entire group in their tracks. Julia tended to pride herself on her natural instincts, and in this instance... everything in her body was screaming at her to run as fast as she could.

"Siddel...!" she gasped, her best guess lost on the wind as she shivered in fear. Phantom was right--maybe they were being a bit naive in regard to this incredibly assassin. Biting her lip, she felt the urge to shift and take to the skies burn through her being, but she resisted, her heart dropping into her stomach as the assassin made the move towards Vivi. "No!!" All of them watched in shock as in the last moment, Phantom appeared, effectively rescuing Vivi and stopping Bellestaire in his tracks. Not without his fair share of wounds, however, and Julia's gaze narrowed at the two as she took a step forward, ready to rush for Vivi should the need arise. However, the situation dissolved quickly and she blinked in surprise. The others were just as in shock at Siddel's sudden change in heart, but they were more vocal about it than the brunette, her eyes widening slightly as the feeling of immenent death dispersed like a wave of fog had been lifted from the group. She hadn't realized that the feeling of immense bloodlust was what had kept her frozen in place until it was gone, and she sighed in relief, closing her eyes as she let out a relieved sigh.

"He's speaking the truth," Julia nodded, ignoring the deepset glare of everyone around her. "Trust me when I say my instincts are usually spot on, and that bloodlust that I was getting from earlier is completely gone now."

"How can you be so sure?! He could be leading us into a false sense of security! So that he can assassinate Vivi just as we let our guard down!" Nami glared, her hands currently occupied with two of the pieces of her Climatact--a new weapon that Usopp had given her.

"I trust Phantom... or at least his capabilities to keep this guy off of our trail," she giggled lightly, smiling at the mysterious stranger who had, sort of, joined their crew temporarily.

Meanwhile, Sanji was having a difficult time getting over something that Siddel had mentioned about Phantom. "Taking a bullet to the head, huh...?" He couldn't help but be drawn back to thoughts of Cynil, and he sighed wontonly. "Man... that reminds my of my sweet, fair lady..." he pouted, a state of depression taking his attention off of the matters at hand. Rather than be fearful for Vivi's life any more, considering the current state of things, Sanji sighed again, louder than last time.

"We get it, we get it..." Usopp growled, before shaking the blonde haired cook by the fabric of his desert-wear. "BUT SHOULDN'T WE BE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON?! LIKE THE REASON WHY WE ALMOST DIED SITTING DOWN JUST OVER THERE?!" He frantically pointed in Phantom and Siddel's direction, tears falling frantically from his eyes.

"W-we don't have time to be grateful or confused...!" Vivi finally shook herself out of her stupor. "I'm grateful that you saved me, Phantom-san. And I'm grateful that Siddel has decided to stop persuing me, for however long that lasts... because... I refuse to die until I save this kingdom and the people of Alabasta from Crocodile!"

"Shishishishi... well said!" Luffy grinned, giving the princess a thumbs-up. "Then we need to keep moving--Yuba is just across the desert once we get out of these rocks, right? I saw it when I jumped!! Now... which way was it again?"
 
"I can lead you out."

It was another shock to hear from Siddel. He heaved a sigh as he stood, passing the bloodied blade to Phantom and trudging ahead. "Besides," He continued. "I've had the path out marked with traps." His form began disappearing down one of said paths, not stopping to see if they were following him. Phantom was the first to trail after.

"W-we aren't gonna follow that guy, right?" Usopp asked, looking to the others.

"I don't see why not." Zoro was quick to catch up. "Beats getting lost out here."

Much to the sniper's dismay, the others were soon to follow as well. Chopper stared at the wound on their guide's back, a frown on his face. "Do you want me to patch that up?" He asked, though his voice was quiet. Uncertain. Siddel paused a moment, glancing back at the small reindeer-creature.

"Not much of a reason to," He said. "Would be a waste of time. He --" he gestured to Phantom. "-- ain't gonna let me out of here alive." And with that, he continued on leading.

"What did you do to --" Vivi found the right wording a challenge, and so she allowed her question to trail off. It was obvious what she wanted to know. Siddel didn't look back, and soon a silence fell over them. It was uncomfortable and stifling before he spoke again.

"Three years ago, he and I worked together, both under the employ of Argent Acies." It was plain to tell that he, too, found the wording of his little story a difficult feat. "Small job on a insular, small island. Roughly a hundred and fifty of us." Another pause. "I watched him die that day," Another gesture to Phantom. "Just like I watched every man, woman, and child die. Just like I watched every person who tried to help them die. I didn't lift a finger."

The growing attachment to Siddel seemed to have been severed, the uncomfortable silence growing. "Of the hundred and fifty that were there, only four made it off the island -- well, I suppose the number's now five after your little miracle?" He gave a small laugh, though there was no humor or joy in it. It still seemed so sad. "You'd think that all the screaming would be the worst part, the part that follows you out, but no. It's the silence. I left the Acies after that. Couldn't do it anymore, but hurting people's all I'm good at," His eyes flickered back over to Phantom. "It's the only thing that any of us were really good for."

"How many people were there?" It was all she could think to ask after processing his words.

"The number doesn't matter," Siddel gave a low grunt of a noise. "I couldn't keep count."

The ending of their labyrinth came into sight, Siddel and Phantom both stopping fifteen feet away from it. He watched as they each left, each in their hurry to help the girl he had been sent to kill. He supposed there were still good things in the world.

"Hey," Siddel never looked back at Sol, instead staring up at the sky. "When you get out of here, I've only got one favor to ask before we do this..." He gave a small pause before his eyes fell back to the sands and then lifted to meet the barrel of a gun "Could you see how my daughter's doing?"



It was the echo of a gunshot that caused Zoro to whip his head around, and to give a quick once-over around them. He supposed either Siddel or Phantom were dead now; only time would tell them which it'd be. It was definitely getting late at this point, and he was feeling far more exhausted than before. After they found Yuba, he supposed things would be -- hopefully -- done with. Though, in reality, he doubted anything could go so easily. He may not have stopped all that many wars (in fact, none), but he seriously doubted that talking to one person would end it. Not to mention that Crocodile would probably be pretty adamant about keeping it going.

Not to mention that, knowing their (more specifically his) luck, they were going to learn that this rebel leader had left a day ago.

And a part of him definitely grimaced when they came upon the town. Vivi's talk of an oasis fell short as they stared at the sand covered buildings and land that was void of life. "Didn't you say this was an oasis, Vivi?" He asked. He squinted through the dark, trying to see if he could make out any people.
 
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