The Princess and The Swordsman (ZoroxOC)

Chapter 84

Crocodile walked away, "Oh, well. I'm sorry, but we must be going. Time is of the essence. Oh and speaking of time, this room will be destroyed in excatly one hour. It served me well, but it's no longer of any use. Soon, the waters of Rainbase's lake will fill this room, and unless there are fish for my gators, anyone left in here won't survive. Well, it's either one million innocent lives, or a mere four pirates who have no future. It's time for you both to choose. But to be honest, the odds are quite low for both. I hope you ladies like gambling, because like they do at the tables upstairs, you're both going to have to roll the dice." Crocodile explained and chuckled.

"Just like I did with this country, which was simple thanks to all the fools here. People like those juvenile rebels, and that old man digging in Yuba." he remarked. Shae gasped, "You don't mean..." Shae trailed off, horror on her face. Luffy glared at Crocodile, "Of course. Even though everyone else has abandoned it, that old fool keeps pecking away everyday at an oasis thats long dead. Even as he's plagued by constant sandstorms, he still digs away." Crocodile chuckled.

"Shut up!" Luffy snapped as tears ran down Shae's face, "You don't know much about sandstorms, do you, Straw Hat Luffy? Ever wonder how one can hit a town perfectly every time?" Crocodile asked. Shae and Luffy gasped as Crocodile smirked, "No, wait. You mean..." I trailed off as I stared at Crocodile in horror, "It was you! You did it!" Luffy shouted in anger. Crocodile laughed as he made a tiny sandstorm in the palm of his hand, confirming Luffy's words. Vivi and I glared at Crocodile, "I will kill you!" Vivi shouted.

Crocodile just laughed off my twin's threat as he walked away, " Son, let's go. I have a job for you." Crocodile said as Willow withdrew and followed his father. The trap door suddenly shot open and water began pouring in, "The room is starting to flood! Oh,no!" Usopp shouted as more trap doors sprung open, filling the room with water, "We're all gonna drown if we don't do something really quick! Vivi! Evie! Help! Get us outta here! I wanna live a lot longer than just one hour!" Usopp panicked. 

Zoro looked at him, "Hey, stop freakin' out." Zoro said and Usopp glared at him, "Are you crazy, Zoro?! How can I not freak out at a time like this? We're all gonna drown like rats if we don't get out of here! Don't you get it?!" Usopp was shouting at Zoro as I sheathed my sword. I held my broken hand against my chest as I walked over beside my twin and placed my good hand on her shoulder, "Vivi, come on. We don't have time to sit here." I urged her.

"It's either our kingdom or our friends. All you've done is take Crocodile, so I know you wouldn't give us either choice! Even if we left right now, you'd kill us before we ever reached Alubarna! The only real choice...The only way to end this nightmare is to take out the one who started it!" she shouted and stood up. She sent her weapon at Crocodile, but it was blocked by Willow, and sent in another direction. Willow sheathed his sword and turned away silently as he began following his father again, leaving Vivi a crying mess.