The Going Merry was sailing as it usually does, and now the food supplies have run low, oh boy...
Luffy was crouched down on his knees waving away whatever accusation was thrown at him.
"No, I'm serious. I don't know what you're talkin' about." Luffy couldn't look Sanji in the eye, yet he was sweating bullets. Zoro was on the ground like a star fish, sleeping as always. Faythe was on the rails with her wrapped up in bandages, it had healed enough that she didn't need the holder anymore. It should be fine after a couple of days.
"What's with your shifty-eyes then? Look me straight in the eyes. Now let me ask you one thing." Sanji took out his cigar and took a breather, his face turned annoyed. He kinda looked like a mafia guy, "I Probably divided our food supplies so that they'd last enough for 9 people to reach Alabasta. If you're not responsible, then why's the food disappearing every night?"
He then squatted down and squished his face with his hand, making Luffy burp, "Don't even try to make any excuses. You're a terrible liar."
After a moment, Sanji's expression went to a oblivious one, "Hey, is that so leftovers I see stuck to your mouth?"
"CRAP! IT'S STILL THERE!" Luffy instantly clamped his mouth with his hands, trying to cover the evidence.
"SO IT WAS YOU!" Sanji upper kicked luffy in the face, sending him crashing far into the rails.
Faythe was sitting on the rails as Nami came out of the Cabin door. Faythe tapped Nami on the shoulder and motioned her attention towards three little accomplices on the side fishing. But Faythe could hear them stuffing their faces.
"Hm?" Nami caught on what Faythe was telling her.
"Nami, Faythe, Did you see? Just look at what this bafoon did! Won't you buy me a refrigerator with a lock on it?" Sanji gushed at the two ladies.
"Hmm, I'll think about it. After all, it is a matter of life and death..." Nami trailed off looking at Usopp, Chopper, and Carue.
Accomplices.
"Gulp... Guess we should really catch something, for Sanji's sake at least..." Usopp said nervously.
"Quack!"
A whack on the head sent all three of them into a pile on the wall.
"Hero? Crocodile is Alabasta's Hero?" Nami dusted her hands off, turning to Vivi who mentioned it.
"To be a 'Royal Shichibukai,' means that you're a pirate employed by the World Government itself. So whether it's a Shichibukai who gets rid of the raiding pirates, or the marines who do it for justice, the end result is the same. The people are thankful to whoever kept them safe." Vivi laced her fingers over eachother.
The crew gathered around in a circle, Zoro was in the middle, like a sacrificial gift to the gods.
"Well I guess that's to be expected... But to think the so-called Hero of Alabasta, would be secretly planning on taking over the country... I don't think anybody would've imagined that even in their dreams." Sanji summed up.
"Either way, all I have to do, is kick that guy's ass, right!?" Luffy stated, punching the air in front of him.
"Yes... If we can put a stop to the civil unrest first, and chase away Baroque Works, then Alabasta will be saved..."
"Oh about that. Exactly how is this B.W Organization set up again? And what's with the 'Mr.' and 'Miss' business?" Usopp waved his hands around. Zoro had woken up for this.
"Married or something?" Faythe muttered.
"It's quite simple, really. At the tp, you have Crocodile, who goes by the codename Mr. 0... Then you have 12 people and 1 animal who are his 'Agents' that receive their orders directly from Mr. 0. These 13 agents are all named Mr. followed by a number signifying their rank. And each of these Agents is paired with a female agent. Who's similar to them in terms of strength. Mr. 13 and his partner Miss Friday are a special case since they serve as the executioners that punish those who fail their missions."
Faythe leaned on the mast, relishing all this new information. She felt like she was being taught by a teacher all over again.
"And among the agents. those who are either rank 5 or above are collectively called "Officer Agents." Most of these Officer Agents are devil fruit users, and they only carry out the most important missions. Below them in rank are the Frontier Agents. They act as the leaders of unranked followers called, 'Millions', to collect reward money for hunting down pirates at the entrance of Grand Line. This is the basic rundown of the Baroque Works Organization."
"OH, I GET IT! SO ALL I GOTTA DO, IS KICK CROCODILE'S ASS, RIGHT!?" Luffy went back to punching the air.
"You didn't understand a thing did ya?" Sanji frowned.
"So The guy I fought on Little Garden or whatever is an Officer Agent..? Since his name is Mr. 5." Faythe wondered for a moment.
"Y-Yes! He was a Officer Agent." Vivi confirmed.
"Cool! I FUCKED HIM UP!" Faythe held a fist to the sky, in victory.
"Calm down Faythe, you were also screwed over by him, because of his explosions.." Nami patted the girl's shoulder.
"I was still the last to stand" Faythe grinned, which made Nami let out a soft smile.
"So assuming that, taking over Alabasta is B.W's final objective... Then those ones you call, 'Officer Agents'... Should all..." Nami trailed off, already putting the pieces together.
"Yes..." Vivi nodded.
"Be Gathering in One Place."
/;/~***~/;/
It had now been five days since they left Drum Island, now the crew is facing a small problem.
"Luffy, Usopp! Have you caught anything y-" Vivi paused to realize what's happening in front of her. Luffy and Usopp both had Carue tied to their fishing rods, as bait. Faythe was in her Parrot form, sitting on Luffy's hat.
"CARUEEEE!!!"
"QUACK!"
"Think we can catch a shark with this?" Luffy muttered to Usopp.
"Gonna catch me a Sea King..." Usopp muttered back.
"WHAT'RE YOU TWO DOING TO CARUE!?" Vivi beat the boys to a pulp, their screams resonated through the ship.
Faythe fluttered down after she dodged Vivi beating the boys up, her feathers now retracting back into her skin or falling off. She stood next to Vivi looking at the same thing.
"Huh?"
"What's that?" Vivi mumbled, in front of the ship stood a large mass of green fog or smoke.
"SMOKE!?"
"The heck?" Usopp squinted his eyes to get a good look.
"Maybe it's cotton candy?" Luffy wondered, his tongue rolling out of his mouth.
"Only you would think that, Luffy." Faythe smiled.
Vivi ran inside the Cabin to get Nami, "Nami, COME QUICK! THERE'S SOMETHING AHEAD!"
/;/~***~/;/
"Oh, don't worry. It's nothing but steam." Nami smiled calmly.
"Steam? From the Ocean!?"
"Yes, there's a hot spot here."
"What's a hotspot?"
"Is it one of those volcanos under water thing?"
"It's what we call a place that spews magma. Underneath here is an underwater volcano." Nami explained.
"A volcano can exist underwater?" Chopper was now getting more curious.
"Yes. In fact, there are more volcanoes underwater than there are on land." Nami smiled.
"Ooooooohhhhhh..." Usopp was genuinely interested in this fact.
"Who cares, it's not like we can eat it." Unlike Luffy.
"In some thousands or ten thousands of years from now, the underwater volcano here will give birth to a new island."
"Oh Nami you're soooo intelligent!" Sanji was fawning like he always does.
"Nami, I feel like you gave a cute version of how the birds and bees works." Faythe called over to her laughing. Nami mused at the statement.
"In some ten thousands of years, huh... Wonder if I'll be alive then?" Luffy wondered out loud.
"Dunno, maybe there's a devil fruit somewhere that let's you live for a long time." Faythe shrugged.
"Not a chance. That is IF you're human." Usopp hummed to himself.
"Mhm.. but when have you ever met a normal person on the Grand Line?" Faythe smirked, making Usopp grumble to himself.
Just as She had laughed, they entered the large green steam thing. Erupts of complaints filled the ship.
"AGHHH!"
"COUGH! COUGH!"
"IT STINKS OF SULPHUR!"
"WHAT THE FUCK IS SULPHUR!"
"I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING WITH ALL THIS STEAM!"
"BEAR WITH IT, WE'LL SAIL PAST IT SOON ENOUGH."
/;/~***~/;/
Faythe, Luffy, and Usopp were staring at a guy that was hanging off Carue, just as they left the steam.
"Huh?" Faythe made a questionable face.
"WE CAUGHT AN OKAMAAA!" Usopp and Luffy yelled at the same time.
"Oh my! Hugging onto the first duck that quacks along my way. Whatever am I thinking!?" The strange man let go of Carue and fell right into the sea.
"Ah." The three crewmates then watched as he couldn't swim, and looked towards the rest of them.
"I'll get him..." Usopp muttered annoyed, seeing as most of them were devil fruit eaters.
/;/~***~/;/
"Please forgive this foolish little swan, for wandering onto your boat." The man was on his knees doing a quick apology. He had a long face with a lanky body to go with it. The most distinct features on him were the giant swan heads that mounted his shoulders, with a pair of wings on his back. His face was covered in clown like makeup. His bangs cut short, like a bob. Faythe couldn't tell if he was even a man in the first place.
"To be rescued by pirates I've never met nor heard of... I shall never forget the debt I owe you! Now then I am a little peckish and a hot bowl of soup right about now would be smashing if you please."
"Oh HELL NO!"
"WE'RE STARVING AS IT IS!"
"Sorry..."
Vivi had just came out of the kitchen and that caught the strange man's attention.
"Oh My! Such a cute little thing you are, and just my type too! I could just eat you up!" He winked at Vivi, sending chills down the girl's spine.
"Ugh.."
"So you can't swim, huh?" Luffy changed the subject.
"Yes. For you see, I've eaten a devil fruit." He answered.
"Really? Which one?" Usopp scooted closer curiously.
"Hm? Well, since I do have some time to kill until my crew comes looking for me, allow me to treat you daises to a show." The man grinned happily, "Behold my ability!"
He raised his palm up and struck Luffy in the face, knocking him back into a pile of barrels.
"Luffy!"
Faythe was instantly on her feet, her long wing just inches to the man's neck until she froze. The man in front of her was... Luffy..?"
"Hold your horses! Didn't I say I'd treat you to a show?" The Luffy in front of her was waving his hands around.
This was just nerving to her.
"So STOOOP JOOOKING AROUND!" He made a goofy grin, thought it looked kinda messed up in a way. It just didn't feel like Luffy at all...
"Wha!? It's me!" A voice behind her startled her, making her turn to see the real Luffy putting his hat back on. Her feathers relaxed a bit, seeing at he wasn't hurt whatsoever.
"He's Identical!"
"Surprised? Surprised? GAAAAHAHAHAHA!" The luffy with the stranger's clothing was just the guy from before. It took her a whole moment to realize he transformed his look to be identical and that was his Devil fruit.
"And if I touch my face with my left hand..-" He smacked himself in the face with his left hand and Luffy's face was no more but his clown face, "Tada! Back to normal! This is the power of the 'Copy Copy Fruit' I ate!"
"His voice..." Nami was amazed to say the least.
"Even his body shape was identical...!" Usopp gaped.
"Now, how would you know that~, sir?" Faythe popped out of no where.
"Why you little...!" Usopp gripped Faythe's face out of anger and squished her cheeks. Faythe could only laugh awkwardly in her situation.
"That's- SOOOO COOOOOL!" Luffy shouted envious of his Devil Fruit.
"Of course, there really was no need for me to hit you." The swan guy came around and touched everyone's face except for Faythe because she dodged his touch. Which the man frowned at.
"If I take my right hand,-" His face changed to Usopp's.
"-And touch someone's face,-" Now Zoro's.
"-then as you can see,-" Chopper's.
"-I can copy their faces,-" And then Nami's, "-As well as their bodies!" The man opened up his shirt to showcase Nami's womanly pride. Which made the boys of the crew to straighten up in shock and surprise, earning the swan man a smack in the head by none other than Nami herself. Which as she should.
"QUIT IT!" Nami held her fist up threatening.
"Yes, ma'am..." The swan man muttered sadly.
"I'm afraid this is all that I can risk showing you right n-" He was interrupted by the boys shouting out compliments.
"YOU'RE AMAZING!"
"SHOW US SOME MORE!"
"FOR MY NEXT ACT!" The swan man started doing ballet poses, his grin widening ever so happily.
"Well he's easily convinced." Nami stated, watching the whole fiasco.
Faythe went and sat down next to Zoro who was watching from a distance.
"What's wrong." He huffed, seeing her serious look locked onto the swan man.
"My gut feeling is acting up again.." Faythe said quietly.
"Well it's always right, so we should be cautious.." Zoro mumbled, keeping his eyes on his crewmates,
She watched as the swan man kept changing faces of different people, all ugly of course.
"Whatever..." Zoro sighed.
"HOW WAS IT? My hidden talents!?" The swan man twirled around like a dancer, "This isn't something I ordinarily show to others, you know!"
"BRAVO! BRAVO!"
At that the swan man along with Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper were now dancing together like they were long friends. All singing their hearts out.
"STOOOP JOOOKING AROUND! STOOOP JOOOKING AROUND!"
"Yeah... You guys just keep doing whatever the hell you want." Nami let out a tired sigh, but her eyes caught sight of a ship sailing full speed towards them in panic, "Hey! There's a ship coming this way. Could that be your ship?" She pointed to the swan decorated ship.
"Oh phooie, time to part ways already? What a pity..." The man stood on the railings like a mighty hero or something, his pink cape blowing in the wind bhind him.
"WHAAAAAAAT!?" The boys cried out in grief and shock, already missing him.
"Don't cry, my silly billies. Farewells are inevitable thing if you sail the seas! But remeber this!" The man turned his head, a smile on his face and a single tear falling as he gave them a thumbs up.
"The length of time spent together, has no bearing on true friendship!"
At this the boys shouted out in cheers and farewells.
"LETS MEET AGAIN SOMEDAY!"
The swan man jumped onto the ship and posed in ballet.
"LET US BE OFF!" The man laughed.
One of his men shouted back his reply, "YES SIR, MR. 2 BON KUREI!!" The ship already sailing too fast.
The going merry went quiet for a moment before they realized what the man said.
"MR. 2!?"
"THAT WAS... MR. 2 BON KUREI!" Vivi paled at what she had just heard.
"VIVI! YOU WERE'NT AWARE OF HOW HE LOOKED LIKE!?" Luffy exclaimed surprised.
"I'm afraid not... I've never met Mr. 2 or Mr. 1 and his partner... I also don't know their abilities..." Vivi was now getting gloomy and dark, "But I have heard rumor's about Mr. 2... That he looks and talks like an extremely flamboyant Okama, and wears a swan coat that reads, 'Okama Way' on the back..." She looked like she was tearing up.
Zoro, Usopp, Faythe, and Luffy said this at the same time, "You really, really, really should've realized it sooner."
"When he was showing off the faces he memorized, I noticed that one of the people was my father...! Just what on earth has he been using my father's face for...!?" Vivi placed a hand on her face in despair.
"...If a guy like him could transform into the King of Alabasta, then there's a whole lot a damage he could do... Seems that gut feeling was right, Faythe." Zoro smirked.
"Seems we let a dangerous one slip past our fingers." Usopp frowned and crossed his arms.
"He was an enemy..?" Chopper asked nervously.
"Yes... He's quite a troublesome enemy to face... If he realizes we were his enemies... Then with that memory skill, he'll be able to change into any one of us... Making us unable to trust eachother anymore." Nami summed up a whole battle stratigey.
"Really?" Luffy asked flatly.
"Huh?"
"Don't you realize how serious this is, Luffy?" Nami scolded.
"Hold on just a sec. Even though our Captain probably doesn't have any real reason for thinking this way. I don't think he's wrong either. There's no reason to panic already. We should consider ourselves lucky for having met him just now. Because now we can set up a counter-measure." Zoro smirked, already having the clogs on his head work together.