Having Vivi in Faythe's tight embrace, made it very secure for her as she and all the crew watched their Captain get yanked towards the sand man.
"GUYS! MAKE SURE TO GET TO GET HER SAFE!" Luffy yelled as loud as he could, "GET VIVI TO THE PALACE!"
"LUFFY WATCH OUT!"
"THERE'S 2 OF 'EM!"
Faythe kept her gaze forward as she searched Luffy's face of any hesitance or fear. Her lips unconsciously lifted as she only saw the large smile on his face as he sent them on their way. She glanced at Zoro who also couldn't help but grin.
"You heard Cap, Zoro! Your in charge! What are we gonna do!" Faythe lifted one of her wings and patted his shoulder. He glanced down at her and nodded full of determination as he turned towards the crew, giving out orders.
"CHOPPER! KEEP THIS CRAB HEADING FOR ALUBARNA!"
"G-GOT IT!" Chopper squeaked nervously.
"Wait, what!? You're just gonna leave him behind!?" Usopp freaked out for a bit.
"LUFFY!" Vivi shouted again worried for Luffy. Faythe kept her grip on the Princess firm so she doesn't get any Ideas of jumping off and be naïve.
"Vivi! It's fine! Just focus on getting to Alubarna!" Faythe wrapped her wings around the girl protectively.
"If anything, we should feel sorry for Crocodile!" Nami added with a smirk, "There hasn't been a single person to piss off Luffy and get away with it!"
"You can say that again!" Faythe laughed out.
"Listen up, Vivi." Zoro sat beside Vivi as he called her, "Luffy will hold down Crocodile here. When the rebels decided to march on to the capital, the time limit for this country's lifespan was set. This country will fall once the rebels clash with the royalists! If you're the only hope there is of stopping all that... Then you have to survive no matter what! So no matter what happens to any of us here... YOU HAVE TO CONTINUE ON!"
"But..." Vivi stilled looked reluctant as she gazed back seeing Luffy land awkwardly in the sand.
"Vivi... This is a fight that you set up..." Sanji spoke up and got up from his seat, "You left your country for several years, to go up against an organization you new almost nothing about..." Sanji couldn't help but chuckle, "But... Don't you think that you're fighting alone anymore..." He finished as he walked back her and sat up in the front.
"V-V-V-V-Vivi! D-D-D-D-D-Don't... Don't you... Don't you worry! I'll..." Usopp was trying his best trying to make an amazing speech like the other two but was shoved away by Faythe as she gave a hug from behind to Vivi.
"This whole thing will end today... Don't worry... I'll be there to protect you." Faythe placed her chin comfortably on the Princess' shoulder, "I always keep my promises."
Vivi face parted for a moment before leaning forward on the crab towards Luffy's direction, "LUFFY!!"
"WE'LL BE WAITING FOR YOU, AT ALUBARNA!"
Luffy's face was hard to see but with Faythe's vision, she could make out the wide grin form on his face.
"ALRIGHT!" He screamed back.
/;/~***~/;/
While the crew got a good distance from Rainbase they noticed that a large sandstorm brewed in the city. They knew instantly it was Crocodile.
But they knew they couldn't worry about that right now, they had bigger problems.
And right now they were all trying to calm themselves from the future battles awaiting them.
"Nrgh!" Lifting up the perverted camel at the end of his sword, Zoro was training like always.
Usopp was telling stories to Chopper, trying to distract the Princess as well, "And that's when I yelled... 'YOU BOW-LEGGED FREAK!' And ever since then, all crabs around the world have realized just how bow-legged they were..." Usopp grinned proudly at his story.
"OHHH! SO THAT'S WHY THEY WALK SIDEWAYS!" Chopper glowed excitedly.
"Zoro, stop wasting energy pointlessly." Nami frowned at the swordsmen.
"SHUT UP!" Was his only reply.
"And there was another twerp hopping behind him then... It was a shrimp!" Usopp continued.
"Ohh! So shrimps are crabs?" Chopper was definitely shocked by this newfound information.
"Yup, they're crabs."
Faythe couldn't help but snort at the little reindeer's reaction.
"Just leave him and the others be, Nami..." Sanji sighed, relighting a new cigarette, "They need something to keep their minds preoccupied so they can calm down. They're no good at maintaining composure... Especially that muscle-head."
"Sanji... Don't you dare start this right now..." Faythe glanced at the blonde. But he continued anyways, wanting to get a reaction out of the First-Mate.
"He's feeling insecure because he's realized the gap between him and a Shichibukai."
Zoro turned his head slowly, a glare fashioning his face ever so darkly, "What're you implying, exactly? Out with it!"
Sanji took the cigar out of his mouth and gently tapped the ends, before speaking again, "Fine, I'll say it. You're scared that Luffy might lose."
"Me...? Scared...!? Say that again pretty-brows!"
"The hell did you just call me!? You little... Marimo-Head!"
"WHAT WAS THAT!?"
Faythe sighed as she noticed Nami clench her fist annoyed.
"YOU WANNA FIGHT!" They both said at the same time before getting clobbered by Nami herself.
"Quit it, you dumbasses!" Her brows furrowed at the stress was building in her head.
"It'll be fine guys! Luffy won't lose!" Vivi spoke up. But upon closer inspection, the crew could tell she was sweating the most nervously, "After all, he promised us! He promised he'd meet up with us at Alubarna!"
"HAHAHA! Vivi that's becoming a main look for you!" Faythe started cackling, but was quickly smacked by Usopp.
"Aren't you the one worried the most!?"
Nami gently punched Vivi's forehead, "You just stick to worrying about the rebellion, not us!"
"Oww!" She whined.
"...Sorry for making you worry needlessly, Vivi." Sanji frowned while apologizing.
"Well, I can't exactly say anything after that, can I know...?" Zoro huffed, avoiding eye contact.
"Alright then... Off to Alubarna we go!" Nami pumped up, "COME ON, SCISSORS!"
"What the hell?" Faythe looked her friend weirdly.
"Uhh... What was that?"
"Scissors. It's the crab's name."
"A crab named scissors... Seriously now?"
"No offense Nami, but your naming skills suck ass." Faythe stated bluntly.
/;/~***~/;/
4 hours remain.
"WHAAAT!? THIS CRAB CAN'T CROSS RIVERS!?" Usopp shouted.
"Linerant crabs are desert creatures, so it's only natural they can't swim!" Vivi explained.
"B-BUT IT'S A CRAB FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! A FREAKING CRAB!" Usopp pulled out the map Vivi had stowed away in her bag, and pointed out where the river is that separated Alubarna and the Rainbase, "IT'LL TAKE FORVER IF WE TRY TO SWIM ACROSS THIS HUGE RIVER! NOT ONLY THAT, WE STILL HAVE SEVERAL TENS OF KILOMETERS TO GO EVEN AFTER CROSSING THE RIVER! IF THIS CRAB CAN'T CROSS THE RIVER, THEN THAT MEANS... WE'LL HAVE TO GO BY FOOT!"
"FAYTHE CAN'T YOU CARRY ALL OF US IN YOUR BIRD FORM AND FLY US OVER!?"
"Excuse me!? I can't carry 7 to 8 people and fly across the thing! It'll drain my energy way too quickly! By the the time we get over there, I won't be able to defend Vivi from enemies!" Faythe smacked Usopp on the head, "IM NOT A MULE THAT CAN DO HEAVY LABOR!"
"True, we do need your fighting skills saved.." Sanji thought out loud.
"Please do something, Scissors!" Nami said in a sickening sweet tone.
"THAT'S IT! SCISSORS LOVES DANCING GIRLS!" Chopper yelled quickly.
Nami hurriedly took off her desert robe and presented her outfit that Sanji bought for them, "Will this do?"
The crab's eye fricken did a 180 turn to gaze up and down at Nami's body.
"Ew." Faythe cringed back in disgust. But she quickly felt the crab go to max overdrive in speed as she felt her hair fly to the direction they left.
"WHOA, WARP SPEED!"
"NAAMIIII!"
"You accidentally broke 2 other animals here..."
"SEX APPEAL POWER!"
"...HOW'S THIS GONNA HELP OUR SITUATION AT ALL, CHOPPER!?"
The crew quickly gained speed as the river closed in and then, they saw the unexpected.
"Huh!? Holy moly... This crab is phenomenal!"
"I can't believe it!"
"OHHH!"
"IT'S A MIRACLE!"
"IT'S RUNNING ON TOP OF THE WATER!"
Faythe was the first to notice the crab quickly descending into the water, she picked herself up and grabbed Chopper from behind. To his surprise, she leaped off the crab instantly, twirling around, transforming into her parrot form.
"Huh..!? Faythe what are you doing!?" Usopp yelled out confused but also soon noticed the crab was sinking, "AGHHHH!"
Faythe threw the reindeer in the air and caught him so he could land on her back as they flew.
"SO COOL! IS THIS HOW IT FEELS TO FLY!?" Chopper's excited squeals made the girl snort in amusement.
"Glad your having fun up there."
The crew were all in the water making they're way forward.
"We don't have time to complain. Keep going, guys!" Zoro ordered.
"W-w-wait! Isn't there at least a boat? How far away's the other side anyways!?"
"Around 50km."
"YOU THINK I CAN SWIM THAT FAR!?" Usopp shouted.
Feeling a shadow loom over her, she slowly turned her feathred head to see a large cat fish staring down at them with it's jagged teeth all open to see.
"Shit."
"AGHHHHHHHHHH!"
"IT'S A SANDORA RARECAT FISH! IT'S EXTREMELY RARE TO SEE ONE!"
"NOT THE TIME VIVI! ALL I KNOW IS, IT'S GOT TEETH AND IT CAN EAT US!"
"SAVE THE LIVING PLANET NARRATION FOR LATER!"
As soon as the crew were swimming away as fast as they could, Vivi thought it would be a good time to finish her animal narration, just as the catfish was closing in on them.
"AND IT LOVES TO EAT HUMANS!"
"AND MENTION THAT FIRST!"
A sudden large wave rolled past the crew, noticing the looming shadow behind them disappeared. Faythe started laughing at the sight of the beaten up catfish.
"KUNG-FU DUGONGS!"
The crew climbed atop the knocked out catfish and let the Kung-Fu Dugongs full the fish by it's whiskers.
"'We can't abandon our fellow disciples,' is what they said." Chopper said as he hopped off Faythe's back, allowing her to transform back.
"We're not exactly Luffy's disciples though..."
"In any case, I'm glad we're saved!"
/;/~***~/;/
Thanks to the help of Alabasta's numerous animals. The crew managed to cross the river.
Time left, 3 hours.
Vivi was waving back at the Dugongs as they continued their way across the desert.
"We've made pretty good time so far but can we still make it in time?" Zoro huffed.
"It'll be hard, even with eyelashes here..." Vivi sighed.
"No kidding, since he can only carry 2 people at a time! And we have to deal with B.W. agents from hereon!" Usopp glared at the camel.
"Isn't there a way we can get there as a group!?" Nami suggested, glancing around the crew. Faythe was paying no mind to their worrying as she was gazing off into the desert, seeing sand and dust get kicked up in the air.
"What the hell is that.." Faythe gave shelter to her eyes with her palm, trying to get a better view. Zoro walked up beside her, looking at the direction she was confused.
"What do you see?" He raised a brow at the weird expression she was making.
"Something's coming in our direction..! Fast." Faythe stated, keeping her eyes on the sand flying. She watched it as it came closer to to her surprise, it was a very familiar duck.
"WAIT, LOOK OVER THERE!" Nami called out now noticing the approaching figures.
"W-WHAT IS IT!? DID THE ENEMIES ALREADY TRACK US DOWN!?" Usopp shrieked in terror at the prospect.
"NO! THOSE ARE...!" Vivi's sentence was caught in her throat as she saw her companion run closer with even more of his kind in a line.
"CARUE!" The crew shouted.
"ITS THE SUPER SPOT-BILLED DUCK SQUAD!" Vivi announced unnecessarily.
"They have a squad..?" Faythe snorted, "They look like they got more drip than Usopp...!"
"HEY! I HEARD THAT!" Usopp hollered from beside Nami.
/:/~***~/:/
(Word Count: 2040)