Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

To say the last twenty-four hours had been a whirlwind would be an immense understatement. Just yesterday she’d been playing her Ms. Wednesday role, hoping to find a way to stop Crocodile. Now she was back where she started, no one but a runaway princess trying to save her home.

Igaram was gone. After all he had done for her throughout her whole life, all she could do was watch as he ended up sacrificing himself for her. Even Mr. 9 and Ms. Monday chose to protect her over their loyalty to Baroque Works. Vivi still didn’t understand why. She’d gritted her teeth and worked with them reluctantly for the past two years, and she never realized they had come to consider her an actual friend. She supposed that in the end, they earned her gratitude.

All she had now was Karoo…and the strange crew of pirates in front of her. The princess had just been their enemy, but now they were her only real hope of making it back to Alabasta. She expected a much colder reception, since it was kind of her fault they were in this mess. But after their escape from Whiskey Peak, the group seemed to take her in right away.

Nami had just about adopted her as a sister, which was quite the turnaround from the extortion attempt their first conversation had been. Vivi could appreciate the admiration that Sanji immediately had for her, even if he was a bit too passionate in showing it. Ussop had spun a few tales that she had a feeling were very exaggerated, but she could respect his earnestness. The swordsman, who she permanently dubbed Mr. Bushido in her head, still slightly terrified her. He cut down a hundred agents like it was nothing, almost including her. But he was also the first member of the crew that defended her, which she couldn’t ignore.

They were an odd bunch, but none fascinated Vivi more than their captain. If she didn’t know any better, she’d assume he was another overconfident upstart pirate who wouldn’t make it a week in the Grand Line. She’d seen plenty of them come and go while masquerading as a bounty hunter. They were all talk, only to crumple at the first danger the sea threw at them. But not Luffy. The princess had witnessed him defeat high-ranking Baroque Works agents like they were just common fodder. But despite all of that, he was just so…goofy. That was the word she thought fit best. He was nothing if not a strange dichotomy, but she couldn’t deny it was endearing.

Vivi’s musings came to an end when she heard the clatter of glasses that Sanji brought out.

“Hey guys! Want to try a special drink I made?!”

“YEAH!” The rest of the crew cried out.

“How are they so relaxed?! Should they really be doing this right now?!” Vivi asked Nami, who seemed just as unbothered as the others.

Nami shrugged nonchalantly. “Meh, it’s fine. If something does happen, they’ll be ready to help.” She extended out a glass. “C’mon, have a drink!”

Proper etiquette meant it would be rude to refuse. “Okay…but I still don’t like it.” It took Vivi by surprise at how good it was after a reluctant sip. For a moment it did push out all the built-up anxiety she carried, letting her take in everything around her.

The sea was calm with a gentle breeze. A pair of seagulls flew by while belting out their calls. She heard the boys in front of her engaged in casual banter, as if they weren’t in a Warlord of the Sea’s crosshairs. Nami looked over at her with a cheerful grin. “Doesn’t it just melt your worries away?”

It was all so peaceful; she’d forgotten what that felt like over these past two years. “Yeah…it is pretty relaxing…”

Vivi felt like she could finally take a moment to breathe. To let her shoulders drop and have a small moment of respite—

No. She couldn’t.

Her father was in danger.

All of her people were suffering.

Everyone she knew and cherished were about to destroy each other because of one madman’s manipulations.

How could she even think of relaxing? It’s not like she could control the sea to make this ship go faster, but surely there was something she could do? Something that would—

A loud snap took her attention away for a moment. Luffy had just stretched an arm and propelled himself to where Vivi and Nami were standing. He already had a D-shaped grin plastered on his face. “Hey Vivi!” He started with. “I forgot to say this earlier: welcome aboard the Merry!” He then clinked his glass against hers.

Vivi‘s eyes met his gaze. He had kept looking at her all while going for a long slurp from his straw. She got the sense he was analyzing her, but for some reason it wasn’t off-putting. After a satisfied sigh from him, he continued. “Don’t worry! Whatever that Croco-guy throws at us, we’ll deal with it. We’ll get you home safe and sound!”

It was like he could tell what was going on inside her just by looking. That only intrigued Vivi even more. He was suddenly so perceptive after she believed he was as dense as a rock. Maybe he was both, somehow.

Out of everything around her, his goofy grin and confident reassurances finally made her relax. There was plenty of turmoil behind it, but she couldn’t help but let out a soft smile. “Thank you, Luffy.”

If there was anything she understood about him, it was that he could back up his words. That flicker of hope she'd been maintaining for so long started to burn just a little bit brighter.

Chapter Text

Luffy couldn’t have imagined a better place to land. Sure, they were trying to get Vivi home, but they’d have to wait for the log pose thingy to reset anyway. Why wait around on the Merry when there was a perfect location for adventure all around them? He always imagined the kind of places he’d find when he made it out to sea, and this place felt ripped right out of his imagination. A massive jungle could have all kinds of things, like volcanoes, caves, or even beetles, if he was lucky. The rubbery captain was shaking with excitement, ready to spring into the jungle the second Sanji finished packing his lunch. 

”Luffy, where do you think you’re going?!” Nami asked him.

“On an adventure! This place is begging for us to explore it! Wanna come?!”

Nami all but ran away wordlessly. Oh well, it was her loss.

“Hey Sanji! Is it ready?!”

“Almost, keep your hat on!” Sanji chided. 

While Luffy tried to contain his impatience, he heard someone else chime in. “Could I come too?”

He looked back to see Vivi facing him earnestly. The captain found her pretty interesting; she wasn’t like any princess he had ever heard of. Granted, that was a very short list. Luffy didn’t think about her much when he threw her into the ocean, but once her hair fell down, she suddenly became a lot nicer. Her hair also looked better when it was down.

… Huh, that was weird? He’d never thought about anyone’s hair like that before…

Regardless, the princess needed their help, and he didn’t see why they couldn’t get her home while they sailed ahead on the Grand Line. There were a bunch of bad guys that knew about them all now, but that just made things way more exciting.

“Yeah, sure!” He exclaimed while bouncing up and down excitedly. Maybe that would help her. What better cheer-up was there than an adventure!

Nami seemed horrified by the notion. “Not you too, Vivi?!”

“I’ll just be moping around if I sit here all day. It’ll keep me busy until the log pose resets. Karoo will be with me; it’ll be fine!” Vivi assured her new friend. 

Though it seemed the loyal duck wasn’t as brave as his princess was. “Quack?!”

“You ready?” Luffy asked once all their preparations were ready.

Vivi had saddled onto Karoo and looked out to the horizon, then to Luffy. “Lead the way!”

The group leaped from the merry and off towards adventure.

“Yeah! Let's go!”

“See you when we see you!”

As the two went off into their escapades, the rookie captain found himself being surprised on multiple fronts. There were the obvious surprises of all the interesting sights of the island, but his biggest discovery was how adventurous the princess actually was. Luffy’s only real knowledge about nobility, royalty, or any other fancy people came from hearing his lost brother rant about them way back when. 

“All they care about is their wealth and prestige! They do nothing for themselves! It's suffocating just being around them!”

But so far, Vivi wasn’t anything like that. If anything, she was the exact opposite. 

“Look over there!” Vivi pointed to a large cave off in the distance. “Karoo and I will race you!”

“You’re on!” Luffy said. He stretched out and started swinging across the trees like his family’s namesake while Vivi sped forward on her steed. 

They were neck and neck at first, but despite Luffy not wanting to lose such a challenge, he found himself distracted. Something about Vivi just drew his attention, but not like anyone else he had ever known. Maybe it was the determination he saw on her face, a quality he always appreciated in someone. Or maybe it一

His brief rumination ended upon hitting the ground.

Spending a moment actually thinking for once ended up throwing him off, and a stray branch ended up meeting him face-first.

Vivi noticed his faceplant and quickly turned Karoo back. “Luffy! Are you okay?!”

He sprung back up like it was nothing and dusted himself off. Yet another benefit of being rubber. “I’m fine!”

Luffy looked around at where they stopped. They had ended up next to a small river, and something within the water quickly caught Luffy’s eye. He saw a wriggly creature in a shell, something he’d never seen before, so of course he had to grab it. “Hey, look at this! It’s some kinda armored squid.”

Vivi got close up to observe. “Huh, I think that’s an ammonite.”

“That means ‘armored squid,’ right?”

“They’re…similar. It is strange though; ammonites are from a very long time ago. A lot of things we’ve seen so far are…” She mused.

“You sure know a lot of stuff, Vivi!” Luffy complimented, even if he didn’t really pay attention to much of it.

“I had to study many subjects back home, and there was a lot of history to learn.” Vivi looked up at the massive swath of trees above them that seemed to never end. “This place is like if we stepped back into that history. It’s like nowhere I’ve ever been before.”

“It’s cool, right?! There are all these crazy places out there, and I’ve got to explore them all!” Luffy exclaimed.

He saw the princess look back at him curiously. “Is that what brought you to sea?”

“Pretty much.” Luffy started with. Instinctively, he reached for his hat’s brim. “I’m going to be King of the Pirates someday, so I’ll have to go to a bunch of places and have all kinds of adventures!”

Vivi only looked even more intrigued. “That’s an ambitious goal.”

Luffy couldn’t help but grin. “The best kinds of dreams are! What about you? What’s your dream?”

Vivi thought for a moment. “I don’t know if I’ve ever had a dream like that. I’ve already known my whole life that I’ll be the queen of Alabasta someday. All I’ve ever wanted is to do what’s best for my country. Right now, that means stopping Crocodile.”

Sounded right to him. “If that’s what you want, then that sounds like a dream to me!”

Vivi smiled at his enthusiasm for a moment, but it quickly faded. “If it is, I’m sorry mine is getting in the way of yours…”

Luffy tilted his head in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“You’re all caught up in my mess because of me. I didn’t want to involve anyone else in this. I must have completely derailed your plans…”

He wasn’t sure what the problem was. Why was she upset about it? “I don't mind.” He said. “A journey would be boring if everything happened how I thought it would. And if we didn’t meet, then we couldn’t be friends now, so I’m happy you said the guy’s name!”

“We’re…friends?” Vivi asked. She didn’t seem upset by his claim, more surprised than anything.

“Of course we are! We’re helping you out now, and that's what friends do!”

“But…” Vivi stopped herself before she continued. A few different emotions graced her face before she settled on a small chuckle. “...You’re a very interesting pirate, Luffy. I-In a good way!” She stressed.

Luffy took that in stride. “Thanks! I think you’re a really weird princess!”

Somehow, Vivi could tell that was his version of a compliment, which earned a slight smile.

When Luffy saw that, something finally clicked in his mind. Her mouth may have morphed into the shape of a smile, but nothing else changed. He realized how clear it was that she was hiding so much stress and fear inside of her. He couldn’t really blame her. Having some bad guy trying to take over your home probably really sucked. He’d be plenty worried about Makino or Dadan if he were in her shoes. But to Luffy, there was a pretty simple solution here. He just had to beat this Crocodile guy up, and boom, problem solved.

If he did that, maybe she’d be able to smile for real. It would probably look really nice…he kinda wanted to see it.

But that was enough thinking for now. Adventure was still calling. Maybe it would still take her mind off of things. “C’mon! Let’s go back and see what else is out there!”

But before they could continue, a loud sound broke through the jungle

THOOM

“What’s that?” Vivi asked as the ground shook beneath them.

THOOM

Luffy, Vivi, and Karoo then looked up to see a massive, long-necked dinosaur above them, stretching far beyond the tree line.

Luffy looked up in amazement. “There are neptunians here!?”

Vivi looked up in shock. “That’s not it…it’s a—”

“Dinosaur?!” Both exclaimed.

Shortly they would discover that this was far from the biggest inhabitant of the island.

Chapter Text

As if this day couldn’t have gotten any wilder. The dinosaurs turned out to be the least of their concerns, at least at first. The giant warrior, Dorry, felled it with a single slice of his sword before then turning to the adventuring pair. Vivi was terrified at first, never having seen a giant with her own eyes before. But they ended up being invited to lunch of all things with the warrior, and it was way more pleasant than Vivi thought it would be. Although that eventually was cut off by the eruption of the volcano in the center of the island, which rang the bell of combat between Dorry and his fellow giant Brogy.

The pair watched on as the two massive warriors clashed their blades, which seemed to shake the entire island with each blow. Vivi watched with a level of awe but also confusion. Meanwhile, Luffy flopped onto the ground with a dazed look.

“Luffy! What’s wrong!?” Vivi asked with concern.

“It’s too much!” He said in a haze. “Too big!”

She couldn’t really disagree with him. It was an incredible sight, but one she still didn’t entirely get. “I just don’t understand. Why fight over and over again for a hundred years? Can they really not just talk it out?”

Brogy swung his axe down hard onto Dorry’s head. But the leaner giant’s helmet absorbed most of the blow, and Dorry swung his sword out again.

“It’s about honor!” Luffy answered once he was out of his stupor. “I dunno what happened, but I bet it was important if they’ve been fighting over it all this time.”

The two duelists' weapons clashed again, with the metallic clang ringing across the entire jungle.

“But is it worth killing each other? Look at how hard they’re fighting…” 

Dorry barely avoided the axe Brogy threw straight at his neck. Dorry tried to run his sword straight through Brogy’s head, but it ended up implanted deep into one of the surrounding trees. Being disarmed didn’t stop either, as they just kept going with their shields and fists.

“Sometimes you just have to fight, like if someone hurts your friends or takes your meat! But I don’t think they actually want to kill each other.” Luffy said as if it was obvious. “Look at them; they’re having a ton of fun!”

Both giants went forth with their shields and bashed them into each other’s faces. There was so much force with each blow that both massive warriors ended up falling to the ground. It was a tie, it seemed, but both didn’t mind as their laughs rang out.

Vivi didn’t really have a response to her new friend’s beliefs. Why fight when you can try and find peace through diplomacy? No one should have to get hurt or die…

With the moment’s duel now settled, Dorry made his way back to his home. He was gleefully chugging down a barrel of ale from the Merry as he sat back down in front of his tiny guests. It seemed like Nami and Ussop ended up finding some adventure after all, but Vivi was more curious about something the giant had mentioned earlier.

“Mr. Dorry, you said that it would take a year for the log pose to reset on this island…is that true?” She asked while trying to hide her worry.

“That’s right, small one!” He answered. “All the skulls around are what’s left of the other little people who ended up here. Some were eaten by the dinosaurs, and others died from the heat. The true fools were the ones who would try and attack us, but all the small ones die eventually. No puny human could survive a year in this place.”

It was Vivi’s worst nightmare. A year? Alabasta was in danger right now! In a week’s time there may not be a kingdom left to save. What was she supposed to do?

Luffy saw as Vivi clutched her head in despair and asked what she could even do now. He really didn’t enjoy seeing her like this. They were adventuring after all; it was supposed to be a fun time. As cool as this place was, Luffy really didn’t want to be stuck here for a year either. He promised that he would help her get home, and he always kept his promises. That and being trapped here for long would get really boring, even with the dinosaurs.

“Are you sure there isn’t a faster way, old man?” Luffy asked. “We have places to be!”

“There is the eternal pose we have, but it’s set to our home, Elbaph.” Dorry explained. “But we’re fighting over it, so you’ll have to try and beat us for it!”

That wouldn’t do, Luffy thought. Not the fighting part, fighting a giant sounded awesome, but Elbaph was probably pretty far from Alabasta. “Nah, I don’t wanna go to Elbaph. But maybe some other time.” Luffy turned over to Vivi again. “We just need to get to the next island, right!?”

“Yeah…” Vivi murmured, her voice filled with trepidation. “We could end up anywhere if we stray too far…”

“Ho ho ho ho!” Dorry laughed. “Maybe you could try your luck and see where you end up!”

It wasn’t the most helpful statement, but it seemed like they were out of options. Luffy figured maybe the big guy had a point. “Yeah, maybe we’ll make it!”

Both started laughing up a storm together. Not to the princess’ amusement.

Vivi didn’t see what was so funny. So many people were in danger, and these two were just having a ball. She sighed but tried not to hold it against them. Luffy and his crew were her only chance at making it home, and Dorry had shown them nothing but hospitality. But her people needed her, and the thoughts of all the suffering that her country was going through were weighing her down even further. The stress was just so overwhelming…it was like—

BOOM!

The giant’s laughs were replaced by a fireball of blood and gunpowder. Vivi, Luffy, and Karoo all looked up in horror at the painful sight. “The ale blew up!”

Dorry collapsed as smoke began bellowing from his mouth. 

“Mr. Giant!”

“Mr. Dorry!”

Both the adventurers got up close to try and check up on him, but what could they do? That had to have been unimaginably painful.

Luffy got up on top of him. “Wasn’t that ale from the ship?! Why’d it blow up?!”

There was only one answer that seemed possible to Vivi. “Was it the other giant? It blew up in his stomach…it’s so cruel…”

Luffy hopped down and faced Vivi with fiery passion. Vivi recoiled a bit at how incredulous he looked. “No way! You don’t fight a guy for a hundred years just to pull some cheap trick. They’re all about honor, so there's no way he’d do it!”

He did have a point. As much as Vivi didn’t understand why they would fight so hard and for so long, it seemed strange to pull something like this out of nowhere. 

But she was really surprised by how passionate Luffy was in the giants’ defense. He immediately had an understanding of their culture from just a couple conversations. It was like he could understand anyone just by looking at them…like how he seemed to have had her clocked right away too. For such a goofy pirate, he apparently understood the core of diplomacy extremely well, even if he had a unique way of expressing it. Maybe she could learn a thing or two by being around him more…he sure was fascinating.

Vivi had been so caught up in her thoughts that she didn’t realize Dorry had risen up.

“Then who…has deceived me…?” The warrior sneered in between grunts of agony. His jovial warmth from before was now replaced by the rage of betrayal.

Luffy had been too occupied to notice either, but he sure did now.

“Brogy would never be such a coward…” Dorry proclaimed. “We are proud warriors of Elbaph…so it must have been you…” 

The giant's sword was raised and ready to strike. Luffy stepped in front of Vivi right away. 

The princess looked ready to bolt out of there. “Luffy! We can’t argue with him! We need to run!"

Luffy knew what he needed to do. “Running’s useless.” 

He took his prized hat off, and without thinking about it for even a second, he placed it into Vivi’s hands. It was his most precious possession, but he just knew he could trust her with it. He didn’t want to risk it being damaged, and he wasn't going to risk this guy hurting her either. “Watch this for me, and stay safe.”

“Are you crazy! There’s no way you can take on a giant!” Vivi said. The concern for him in her voice was clear, and Luffy found himself appreciating that. But it was like he said, sometimes you have to fight. Luffy did his stretches and then was ready in his fighting stance. He didn’t want to hurt Dorry too bad, but right now he needed him down and out. 

“Alright, big guy, I’m going to shut you up!”

Chapter Text

Vivi was amazed by what she was seeing. She knew Luffy was strong, but here he was going toe-to-toe with a giant. An injured giant maybe, but a powerful warrior nonetheless. Just how strong was he?

She was terrified when she saw Dorry parry Luffy into the ground with his shield, but Luffy just sprang back up like it was nothing and re-entered the fray. Then again, he was rubber, so she shouldn’t be that surprised by now. Every blow each combatant threw at each other weighed heavily on her heart. She didn’t want Luffy to get hurt, especially for her sake, but she hoped he wasn’t hurting Dorry too hard. As scary as the giant was in his enraged state, she just wanted him to get some rest and try to recover from his injuries. Even then, there was still the matter of who did this to him.

Her stress led to her gripping the hat Luffy handed to her hard. She looked down at it, trying to distract herself with anything other than the fight before her. She didn’t know any of its true significance to Luffy, just that he didn’t want it to be damaged. It looked like that had already happened recently. There was some recent stitching on top to fix three tears. She imagined he had it repaired pretty quickly, so it must mean a lot to him…

When she looked back up, she watched Luffy stretch out and zip away as Dorry tried to bring his massive sword down on top of him. Using that momentum, he stretched out as far as he could while anchored to a tree and ripped back at the giant.

“Gum-Gum Rocket!!” Luffy cried out. He shot back and sped headfirst into Dorry’s gut. The giant clutched his chest while crying out in pain. Luffy tried to bounce away, but Dorry used the last of his senses to catch the pirate under his foot and stomp him into the ground.

Vivi’s eyes widened. “Luffy!”

Dorry stumbled back. “Devil Fruit powers…I’ve underestimated you!” He fell to his knees as another gush of blood was spat out, and then he finally went down for the count. He fell face first but moved enough to reveal the Luffy-shaped crater in the ground that was under his boot.

Vivi ignored her lingering fear and ran out to check on her new friend. When she got close, it looked like he wasn’t moving. Her heart dropped. “Luffy!”

The pirate captain jolted up with a deep breath. He was dirty, but otherwise he didn’t look too worse for wear. “I’m up!”

Vivi got up close to check on him. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” She asked while brushing him off a little. After a few seconds she ended up backing away after realizing she maybe got a bit too close.

Luffy didn’t seem to really mind. “Nah, I’m good! How’s the giant?”

Dorry’s breathing could still easily be heard. “He seems okay. This is probably the only way to get him to rest…hopefully he will.” When she clutched his hat again, Vivi realized she still had it. “Oh, here!”

Luffy nodded in appreciation as he took his hat back. But as he slapped it back on his head, he looked deeply upset. "Now I'm mad!" Luffy scooted over to look out at the jungle. “Someone definitely spiked that ale! It wasn’t the other giant, and there’s no way my crew would do that!”

Vivi looked out too. The realization was also dawning on her. “But that would mean…”

“Someone else is on the island.” Luffy declared.

In her heart Vivi figured it had to be Baroque Works. Her time there showed her the appalling lengths they would go to for their goals. The more she thought about it, the more weight would form on her shoulders. Dorry was just the next entry in a list of people who were hurt because of her, a list that had been growing much longer in the last few days…

The pair hardly had the time to consider their next move. The central volcano erupted yet again, signaling another bout between giants. As it turned out, Dorry still wasn’t unconscious because he immediately struggled to try and pick himself up off of the ground. Vivi just couldn’t believe it. Surely he wasn’t serious? “Mr. Dorry, please don’t! If you go and fight, you’ll die!”

“Wait! Mr. Giant, you can’t go!” Luffy cried.

Dorry struggled to even get back up on his feet, but he was still sporting that dedicated grin. “I…am a warrior…I will not…disgrace Elbaph…” Despite all of his injuries, the giant was still strong enough to hoist the gigantic skull he lived in up and then drop it down on top of Luffy. 

He was completely pinned down, but it wasn’t stopping him from thrashing about and trying to free himself. “Hey! Get your house off of me!”

The giant pointed his sword at the two small humans, but he wasn’t threatening them this time. “I must do battle. After a hundred years of fighting, I cannot tarnish myself now by hiding away. If I lose my reputation as a warrior, then I shall lose my very self…” Dorry turned away and began making his way into the jungle. “Forgive me for suspecting you, small ones. This is only Elbaph’s judgement. I simply was not favored today…”

All Vivi could do was watch Dorry march along towards his almost certain death. There was no way she could stop him. But she saw that Luffy was still trying to free himself despite the futility. He squirmed and yelled out, but Dorry was resolute in his beliefs.

It stunned Vivi. Two years of her life were spent around ruthless scoundrels who didn’t bat an eye at depriving her people of their basic right to water. Being surrounded by all that depravity was suffocating, and seeing this kind of care almost felt foreign to her after all that time. On paper, Vivi’s situation shouldn’t be any different. She only went from a cabal of bounty hunters to a crew of pirates, but she’d learned quickly that they weren’t just some gang of criminals. Luffy certainly didn’t act like a high-bounty pirate captain; all Vivi could see was a goofball who dreamed big and didn’t want his friends to be hurt. They had only just met Dorry, but Luffy was desperately trying to claw his way out so he could stop him. A part of her still wondered why he cared so much, but was this scenario any different from hers? She and he only just met too, but Luffy was willing to go up against Crocodile of all people just for her sake. After having to wade through so much darkness to get here…it felt like a light was starting to shine through.

Luffy was flailing and pounding his fists into the dirt. “Who did this! Who’s out there?!” He looked at Vivi, who had been standing still for a while. “Vivi, c’mon! We have to do something!”

That snapped Vivi out of her musings. But coming back into the present moment had her suddenly feeling a wave of heat flush through her. She felt so flustered out of nowhere, and it wasn’t just because of the jungle climate…

“R-Right, sorry!” Vivi let out. She wanted to free him, but she knew there wasn't anything she could do on her own. Her only idea was to find the others. Maybe Mr. Bushido or Sanji could get Luffy out from here. She had to get onto Karoo and…wait?

She scanned her surroundings, but her steed was nowhere in sight. “Hey…where’s Karoo?”

Vivi knew her duck. Karoo would never abandon her like that no matter how scared he may be. A chill went down her spine…something was seriously wrong. 

A few screams suddenly rang out through the jungle. But all of those sounds, and even the noise of the giant's current duel, were drowned out by Ussop’s cries of fear. He came sprinting into the clearing the pair was in…and then collided face-first into a rock.

Clearly their problems were only just beginning.

Chapter Text

Luffy was getting really tired of being stuck here. Things had escalated quickly after Ussop’s arrival. Everyone was filled in on what was going on around the island, but they were quickly interrupted by two Baroque Works agents and a roughed-up Karoo, who they threw out in front like trash. “Here, have him back.”

Vivi ran over by her steed's side, not even caring about the agents just a few feet away. He was still breathing thankfully, but those jerks had done a serious number on him. “Why!? Karoo did nothing to you!?”

Luffy didn’t know the bird very well, but he didn’t like seeing Vivi upset like that. Nor was he a fan of people who would beat up an animal like that. Those guys needed to be taught a lesson. But all Luffy could do right now was watch what unfolded.

The agents’ taunting had Ussop pulling back his slingshot and Vivi unleashing her strings. Ussop landed a direct Exploding Star at Mr. 5’s face, but it didn’t faze the exploding man. “Nez…Palm.”

An explosion was thrown at Ussop’s way, which completely engulfed him.

“Ussop!” Luffy cried out. He was scrambling to go help his friends, but he was still stuck under this stupid skull.

The crew’s sniper was charred and dazed, and Luffy was helpless to watch as Miss Valentine crushed Ussop into the earth.

Luffy was trapped, but he could still stretch. He tried to throw a punch out at Mr. 5, but the agent just flicked another explosion his way. The blast blew Vivi off of her feet, and she ended up with Mr. 5 gripping her by her neck.

“Vivi!” Even after eating a blast like that, Luffy was still up, but there was nothing he could do. He hated seeing that creep clutch her like that.

“Let’s settle down a little. We’re not here to kill you, just capture you. You can thank Mr. 3 for that…”

“Mr. 3?!” Vivi choked out. “The wax-wax man?”

“The human candle himself…” Mr. 5 answered as he handed Vivi off to Miss Valentine.

The female agent smirked at the state of Luffy. “Heh, wasn’t he supposed to be worth thirty million? He’s a loser like the rest of them!”

“Serves him right after Whiskey Peak.” Mr. 5 sneered. He then went and stomped his boot onto Luffy’s head.

“Stop that!” Vivi cried out.

Miss Valentine’s grip tightened, and Luffy heard the princess yelp in pain. “Quiet, you!”

“We already got the swordsman and the other girl. You pirates should have stayed out of our business.”

“You got Zoro…you guys are in for it now…” Luffy huffed. Still as defiant as he could be even though he was seeing stars at this point.

“So you can still talk, huh?”

Luffy reeled back and spit on his shoe. “Drop dead!”

“…”

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Mr. 5 unleashed a savage flurry of explosive kicks on Luffy, who could only sit and take it. “Die!”

“Luffy!” Vivi shrieked. By the time Mr. 5 was done, she couldn’t bear to look at Luffy’s beaten state.

“What a fool.” Mr. 5 spat out. “Let’s go, Miss Valentine.”

While slowly drifting out of consciousness, Luffy used the last bit of his strength to look up and see Vivi being hauled away. He wanted to stop them…but his strength was gone.

“…Vivi…” He said hoarsely before he finally passed out.

There were a good amount of things Luffy could say he hated. Above all…well it was probably sharing his meat, but a close second was helplessness.

He was the captain, which to him didn’t mean bossing everyone around. It meant that he was responsible for his crew’s safety, but he messed up. Ussop was hurt pretty badly, and they got Zoro and Nami too. All that happened while he was stuck and unable to help anyone, including Vivi. He made a promise to get her home, which also meant protecting her. But he failed, and they took her…

It brought Luffy back to a day he didn’t like remembering. When he and Ace learned that their brother was dead and that it was too late to do anything for him. He was helpless back then, but now it was a different story. He wasn’t sure how long he was out, but it couldn’t have been too long. Vivi and his friends still had to be around somewhere, and they needed his help right now. She needed him… Luffy was still breathing, so he had endless chances to make this right and to keep his promise. That determination was what had him waking himself back up. He wasn’t going to let himself feel like that again, not this time.

Luffy’s hand twitched, and then his eyes forced themselves open. He was charred, in pain, and pinned under a giant skull, but he was still alive and kicking. He struggled to even lift his head back up, but he got it up enough to be able to see the surroundings. There was no sign of those Baroque Works guys…and no sign of Vivi.

What he could see around him was Ussop buried all the way up to his neck, and Karoo was still bruised and beaten. But they were both hanging in there too, which meant it wasn’t too late just yet.

“Ussop…” Luffy called out.

“…Yeah, Luffy?” Ussop croaked out.

“You’re mad, right?”

“Furious…” 

“Me too…” Luffy coughed. 

Karoo managed to stagger up despite his injuries. He waddled over to Luffy and began furiously pecking the ground in front of him.

Luffy liked his spirit. “You mad too, Duck?” 

Karoo let out an impassioned quack. He wanted to save his princess just as much as Luffy did. The pirate captain was fired up now. Luffy planted his hands in the ground and got himself up. He looked back out at the jungle with a determined grin. They were gonna get their crew back, get Vivi back, and show those Baroque guys what happens when you mess with his friends. “Then let’s go clobber them!”