Chapter 20: The Nanohana Cantina

"Hmm...everything seems normal," Master Chief Petty Officer Tashigi said as she scanned the streets of Nanohana with hawklike perception.

The young, bespectacled, dark haired Marine Officer had joined her superior, Captain Smoker, to the Grand Line to pursue the Straw Hat crew from their post at Logue Town. However, after picking up some interesting chatter on their Den Den Mushi (specifically information pertaining to an organization called "Baroque Works" and a repeated mention of the country of Alabasta), the pair started to realize something big was going on. Capturing a man calling himself Mr. 11 only confirmed Smoker's suspicions, thus diverting their path to the desert kingdom.

As of this moment, this side of the large city had been relatively normal. The captain had gone to investigate a report of a man who died while eating at a local restaurant, so she decided to cover more ground while he worked. While she was here, it was her job to maintain the peace and be the public face for the Marines (and search for rare swords if they made themselves known in her travels). So imagine Tashigi's surprise when she came across a boy seemingly no older than twelve and wearing a salmon pink shirt with a star on it. It appeared that he was frantically looking around the area and growing more and more anxious.

"Hey! Where are you? Anyone? Are you there?" he was calling out. That confirmed Tashigi's suspicion: he was lost.

"Excuse me! Little boy!" she called to him. He stopped and looked around. He then pointed to himself, as if he were confused. 'That's adorable.'

"M...me?"

"Yes, you!" Tashigi walked over to him. "Are you okay? You look lost."

"Well," he said as he shifted around awkwardly. "I really am...in many ways."

"Really now?" Tashigi said, bemused. "Why don't you tell me about it while I help you look for your family?"

The boy suddenly adopted a distant and sad look. "My family isn't here."

The Marine raised an eyebrow as she picked up on the boy's sudden tonal shift. "Are you homesick? What brings you to Alabasta?"

Then he did the strangest thing: he chuckled. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me," she put on a reassuring smile. Sometimes it was the little changes in demeanor, but Tashigi believed firmly that the Marines were there for everyone no matter what. If that is what she needed to do to help this child, it is what she would do.

"I...I can't," he looked away. "You might be that ballerina. I don't know if I can trust you!"

'Ballerina?' "What's your name?"

He paused before talking again, like he were debating with himself. "Steven."

"Steven, do you know who I work for?" He shook his head. "I'm a Marine!"

Steven merely blinked and continued to look confused and on guard. "...you do know what a Marine is, right?"

"Uh...not really?"

'That's a first,' the bespectacled young woman told herself. "Well, how do I put this? Marines patrol the seas and put the bad guys away to jail!"

"Oh! You are sea cops! Awesome!" he said excitedly. "This is great! Maybe you can help after all! I..."

He had tried to continue on, but his stomach grumbled. "That's right, I wanted to get food..." Then his eyes widened. "Oh no, I didn't grab any money! Gah! I need some of those berry-things!"

It took Tashigi a few moments to catch on to what he was saying when she decide to take matters into her own hands. Seeing one of the men under her nearby, she waved him over. "Officer!"

"Yes, Master Chief Petty Officer Tashigi?" he called as he saluted to her.

"If you see any suspicious activity, let me know. I'm gonna treat my new friend Steven to some lunch," she smiled at the boy, whose eyes were so wide that she thought she could see stars in them.

"Yes, ma'am! Enjoy you lunch!" He returned to his post.

"Come on, Steven. Why don't we have some lunch and you can tell me just why you are in Alabasta?" Tashigi offered him her hand and pointed to a small cantina nearby. "What do you say?"

"Well...my dad always told me not to go with strangers, but also to trust the police! Since you're a sea cop, I guess that'd be okay!" Steven accepted her hand and followed her lead into the small hole in the wall.

*AGITR*

Steven was wary at first about this woman, but there was something about her that he found comforting. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he could somehow sense the goodness in her.

Plus buying lunch for a starving boy was a great way to win one's heart.

"So, Steven, do you like your sandwich?" she asked gently.

"Yes, I do! Thank you so much!" Steven replied enthusiastically. "I've barely eaten in days!"

"That's terrible!" Tashigi looked shocked. "Well, don't worry. When I get you back to wherever you are trying to go, I'll have a word about keeping young bodies full!"

"To be fair, we all were starving. Usopp raided our fridge and Sanji was so mad!" Steven tried explaining, before realizing that she would have no way of knowing who they are.

"'Usopp?' 'Sanji?' Who are they?"

"New friends I made after I ended up here. Again, if I tell you this, you have to promise to believe me."

She let out a single laugh. "I promise. Trust me; as a Marine, I have seen a lot of strange things."

"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you," Steven took another bite and tried to think how to start the story. "So...I'm not from around here."

"I gathered that. Where are you from?"

"Beach City."

"Never heard of it. What sea is it on?"

'Here it goes: the moment of truth.' "It's...it's not on any sea here. It's on the Atlantic Ocean back in my home dimension."

She nodded. "Ah, that makes sense. It explains why I haven't heard of it." Not even a minute later, her eyes widened as she gave him an incredulous look. "Did you just say 'dimension?'"

The half-Gem sighed. "I knew this was going to happen. Look, I know this sounds strange and weird, but I'm actually a half-human, half-magical alien boy from another dimension."

"...okay, Steven," Tashigi said after a moment. "That's funny, but why don't you tell me the truth? You can't honestly expect me to believe such a...a fairy tale!"

"I knew it!" Steven started to tear up. "I knew you wouldn't believe me! It's just like what Nami and Vivi said. Nobody is going to be able to help us stop that Crocodile-guy because everyone thinks he's a good guy!"

It was then that Steven noticed a shift in Tashigi's attitude. In a matter of seconds, she went from kind to skeptical to utterly blown away. The woman fell out of her chair, scaring the young boy. "Ah! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! Did...did you just say 'Vivi?' As in Nefertari Vivi: the princess of this land?!" Tashigi asked incredulously.

"Oh! You know her too?" Steven asked, very much relieved.

"No...I...how do YOU know her?!"

"I've been sailing with her in our pirate ship for the past two weeks!"

"What?!"

*AGITR*

Tashigi was beside herself.

This boy had not only innocently admitted to being a pirate to a Marine, but that he had been traveling with Princess Nefertari Vivi for over a week! This is not even counting the mention of Crocodile, a man that she knew Smoker distrusted. The amount of questions that were racing through Tashigi's mind was enough to make her dizzy.

This boy...why would he tell a Marine that he was a pirate? Could...could he be telling the truth about being from another dimension? It sounded ridiculous...but it was important that Tashigi found out right away.

"Steven, can you please tell me everything that you know...from the beginning?" Tashigi pleaded.

The boy nodded and took another bite of his sandwich "Okay, but it's kind of a long story."

"I've got time," she countered. "So, you claim to be an alien...from another dimension?"

"Half-alien! See, I'm actually half-Gem. When I was born, my mother gave up her physical form so I could live. All that's left of her is her gem," the boy explained as he pulled up his shirt, revealing a pink crystal where his belly button should be. "I can also summon her shield and bubble. Petrea and Genevieve thought they were Devil Fruit powers, but they aren't. I can still swim just fine!"

To demonstrate, the boy created a pink shield. Typically, this would be enough to confirm his story. However, traveling with Smoker made her more aware of the type of things that actually existed in the world.

"As, um, 'cool' as that might be, that doesn't explain why you are here in 'this dimension,'" Tashigi stated, using air quotes for the last two words.

"Well, I went on a mission with the Crystal Gems to find this Rifting Stone, but it opened some kind of rift to this dimension! I fell onto a ship owned by these two bounty hunters that were part of this bad group called Baroque Works who were trying to get Vivi and take over the country. But they were actually good guys that didn't know who they were working for and just wanted to follow their dreams! Um..." Steven paused after rushing through his story, trying to find his place. "Where was I?"

"Baroque Works," Tashigi answered, now utterly engrossed in the tale. Regardless if the boy was from another dimension, this was yet another mention of the mysterious "Baroque Works."

"That's right! The misinformed bounty hunters brought me to Little Garden where we met up with the princess and her friends, the Straw Hats...are you okay?" Steven stopped to help Tashigi, who had choked momentarily on her own spit.

"Did...did you say 'STRAW HATS?!'" she finally spat out. "THAT'S who you are traveling with?!"

He nodded. "Yeah! They are great! Petrea, Damian, Genevieve, and I kinda got accepted into their crew and we are here now to stop Crocodile (who's the secret head of Baroque Works) from causing a war with the rebel alliance...I think. It's really kind of confusing when you think about it," he admitted.

Tashigi tried taking in everything he said at once. This boy had no way of knowing why Tashigi was in this country, yet everything lined up. The mere mention of the Straw Hats made her blood boil. If they were here, that meant Zoro was as well, including his Meito swords.

"Steven, how sure are you of this?"

"Very," Steven looked serious. "The ballerina I mentioned, Mr. 2, told us where they were meeting and we are going to stop them...but I need to get some of those snail-things to make it work."

"'Snail'...do you mean Den Den Mushis?" Tashigi exclaimed. "Why do you need them?"

"I want to record what they are saying so we have proof that Crocodile was behind it all! That way, the rebels won't think Vivi's dad is using Crocodile as a fall guy for...well, whatever his evil plan is. I don't really know exactly, but it makes Vivi sad."

The Marine was impressed and worried at the same time. This boy, regardless if he were from this dimension or not, was divulging very sensitive material to a complete stranger. Thankfully, Tashigi was a good person, but if Crocodile was planning a widespread eradication of the country, his spies could be (and probably were) everywhere.

Tashigi had two options that she could choose from. The first was to arrest Steven on the spot for being a suspected pirate and force him to cooperate. The alternative was to let him go and use him to capture Crocodile, effectively working with pirates.

In order to enforce proper Justice, there was only one possible choice for Tashigi.

The officer rummaged through her coat and pulled out two small wristbands. She could tell that boy had no idea what they were so she explained it to him. "These are two Black Den Den Mushis. They are used for eavesdropping for the Marines. You typically would never find them in a country like this, but I'll make an exception for you." She flipped up the decorative piece on the top of the wristband to reveal a small black snail. "Give one of these to 'Straw Hat' and give the other to whomever is going to the actual meeting."

"THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR!" Steven jumped up in excitement. "THANK YOU!" He took a breath and calmed himself down. "How can I thank you for this?"

Tashigi knew that by giving "Straw Hat" the Black Den Den Mushis, they could actually spy on his plans as well, giving Captain Smoker the perfect opportunity to capture him. However, it turned out that Steven knew more than Tashigi realized.

"All I ask you is to pass any information to the Marines that could help out in anyway."

"Well, I know that they are meeting at Spiders Cafe in a day and a half at eight at night," he explained after a few seconds of thought. "Oh! Crocodile owns that Rain Dinners restaurant, so we think that the meeting might get moved there! Do you think that will help?"

"I know it will, Steven. Now..." she started before suddenly finding the boy funny for no apparent reason. "Hahahahaha why...why is this...hahahahaha!"

The boy jumped back in shock. "Are you okay? I didn't even tell any jokes!"

"But that's why it's funny!" Tashigi roared into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.

Steven was clearly confused, but nevertheless joined in the laughter until Tashigi noticed a young girl wearing a hat and pigtails move closer to them. It was apparent Steven knew who she was.

"Steven, what are you doing?!" she cried. "We've been worried sick!"

"But she's..." Steven started to protest.

"A Marine, Steven! Marines hunt pirates! Come on, we've got to get out of here! Apparently Luffy is on a wild chase with a bunch of Marines on the other side of town. I don't know what's going on, but it is too big to even think about!"

"Is she okay?!" Steven pointed to the laughing Tashigi. "Did you hurt her?!"

"No, it's just a 'Colors Trap'...'Laughter Yellow,' to be precise. All she needs to do is rub the paint off and she'll be okay," the painter frowned. "Can we talk later? We really need to get back to the ship!"

The girl grabbed the boy's wrist and pulled him away from the Marine. He waved to her as he moved out of sight. "I'm sorry for this! Thank you again for lunch and for the help! I still think you are nice!"

Through a cloud of laughter, Tashigi notes that she normally would have thought the boy was mocking her. However, she knew deep down that he was being sincere. He might not be as bad as Zoro, but Tashigi now believed that it was her responsibility to get him away from the Straw Hats.

But first, she needed a good laugh. The whole situation was just so hilarious to her.

*AGITR*

"And where the hell were you?!" a muscular, light blue-green-haired man in an open Marine jacket asked Tashigi.

After laughing for a good fifteen minutes, one of the other Marines that didn't rush after "Straw Hat" Luffy and his crew heard the laughter of his superior and wiped the painter's paint off of her back. After being filled in about Captain Smoker's fight with the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, the woman made her way to her Captain as fast as she could. As usual, he was seen chomping on a pair of lit cigars.

"I was incapacitated by a Straw Hat pirate I have never encountered before!" Tashigi reported. "I heard you were attacked by Portgas D. Ace. Do we know why he is here?!"

"Looking for 'Straw Hat,' apparently," Smoker groaned. "Pull yourself together; you look terrible."

She adjusted herself and tried catching her breath. "You have to excuse me, sir. I've been laughing for a very long time and..."

"Save it. We have bigger problems. The Straw Hats are apparently traveling with a 'Vivi.' Sound familiar to you?"

"I have an idea of what is actually happening, captain," Tashigi explained before relaying everything she just went through to him.

The man frowned and crossed his arms. "Dimensional traveling? A princess with pirates? A pirate willingly working with a Marine? Why is it that the only thing that makes sense is that Crocodile is involved with this?"

"Sir? You believe the boy?" Tashigi was clearly surprised by that revelation. "You really think he might be an alien from another dimension?"

"I don't know or care about that! What I do care about is that we are now privy to information about this 'Baroque Works' including where and when to catch them. We don't have much time to plan this out but now we've got some leverage on our Mr. 11."

He took a large drag from his cigar and cracked his knuckles. "I do know one thing for certain: 'Straw Hat' Luffy will not be the one to topple Crocodile's criminal empire. I will personally bring that traitorous bastard to Impel Down myself if I need to!"