Chapter 14: The fruit

Dialogue "sample"

Thoughts 'sample'

Author notes -sample-

Disclaimer: One piece and all of its characters belong to Eiichiro Oda.

Chapter 14: The fruit

"What kind of devil fruit is this? there is no sign in the box." Asked Vivi with curiosity.

"I don't know. I'm sure Ingram would not have bought something like this without informing me." Said the King while looking at the fruit.

Her instincts were telling her that this was the reason for coming here.

'This fruit must be the culprit for all those dreams. Someone or something was guiding me here.'

"You are not really considering eating that one, right? We have no idea what kind of effect will have." Said her father.

She hesitated for a moment, considering that this could be related to the being that took control of her body and use it to kill Crocodile. But she didn't have any better alternatives at the moment to grow stronger.

"I am." Said Vivi, not taking her eyes off the fruit.

"At least give me some time to do some research, maybe we can find which effect it has." Requested her father.

"There is no time, Father. Luffy and the others are going to leave in around two hours and I will need over an hour just to get where they are. I need to do this now. Besides, something tells me that this fruit holds great power." Vivi took the fruit in her hands and against her father's protests, took a big bite.

"ugg. It does taste as bad as they say…." She complained but finished eating the fruit.

Once it was done, she examined herself for any changes but found none.

"Notice anything different?" He asked.

She shook her head.

"For the moment, no. I'm sure ill find out later."

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The King, Ingram, Terracota, and Pell were at the entrance of the palace to say their goodbyes.

"Are you sure about this, Princess.?" Asked Ingram with concern.

"Yes, I will not change my mind, this is what I want." Said Vivi with conviction in her eyes.

"Take care you yourself out there, Vivi." Terracotta gave her a hug with tears in her eyes.

"Princess, be careful with other pirates, and the Marines." Pell gave her a bow.

She turned towards her father.

"Thank you for everything, Father. But is time for me to go."

"I understand my daughter. Please be safe, and remember that you can come back to visit any time you want." Her father gave her a long hug.

"Goodbye, everyone!." Vivi waved at them and walked down the stairs where Karoo was waiting for her.

"Alright, buddy. Let's go!"

"Quack!"

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Going Merry

"Bad news, the Marines caught up with us!" Said Usopp.

"How many?" Asked Zoro

"We can't wait any longer. We need to set sail." Said Nami.

"No!, let's wait a bit longer. She is coming. I'm sure." Said Luffy while looking at the desert.

"Luffy…look, I wanted her to come too, but she probably hasn't woken up yet. And-" Sanji was interrupted.

"Wait!!, I see someone approaching from the desert!...its Vivi!" Said Usoop who was using a spyglass.

"Nami, get closer to the coast!." Demande Luffy.

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'Whoa, we barely made it on time. And the Marines are closing by.'

Thought Vivi while looking at the situation.

"Karoo, go over there!" She pointed out and the giant duck sprinted away.

As soon as they hit the coast they stopped and she got off. She could not get in the water anymore.

"Karoo. I need you to go back to the palace. I cannot take you with me." She gave a sad smile.

"Quack?" He looked a bit confused since they had always traveled together.

"I'm sorry. But the ocean is not a good place for you. And there are many dangers out there. I need you to take care of everyone at the palace, can you do that? I know you understand me."

"Quack!" He said with determination.

"Good boy, now go!." She patted him and He started to run away.

"Vivi!!" She heard Luffy and the others screaming from the approaching Ship.

"Oi!!!" She waved at them.

"Are you going to pick me up or what!"

She didn't need to ask twice as a rubber arm wrapped around her waist and she went flying towards the Going Merry.

As soon as she landed, Vivi was welcomed by the smiling faces of her friends.

She turned to Luffy.

"Captain. Permission to join the crew." She requested.

Luffy seemed a bit surprised by the formal request but then started laughing.

"Shishishi, of course. Welcome aboard!"

"Lady Vivi!, you are staying with me? I now have two beauties on board! im so happy!" Tears of happiness were pouring from Sanji's eyes.

"Let's leave the welcome party for later, we have a Marine ship to lose!." Said Nami in a commanding voice.

"Zoro, Luffy, stay on the back and intercept any artillery coming our way. I'm going to the cannons." Said Usopp.

Vivi went to look at the Marine ship chasing them. It looked like a regular ship.

'Captain Hina was supposed to be here, but guess she is busy arresting Mr2.'

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It didn't take long to lose them and didn't even fire a single cannon at them. Apparently, the Going Merry was quite a fast ship compared to the average Marine one.

"They are not chasing us anymore." Said Usopp while looking in the distance.

"It seems like we lost them." Nami breathed in relief.

"Sanji, start preparing a feast!, Tonight we celebrate!" Said Luffy with enthusiasm.

"Yes, Captain" Said Sanji, already expecting the request.

"Ah, at last. We are out to sea." The door opened to reveal the figure of Robin coming outside.