Demons, Swords, And Other Things That Nearly Killed Me

Mood At The Moment: Mischievous

   You were still hiding underneath the table as you watched everything go down. A lot of things happened in a really short span of time. Crocodile was spouting off about how Alabasta's fall was imminent, which was true in some ways– since his reign of terror would be ending shortly, and you would be sailing away within the next few days.

Aito and Anzu were very keen on keeping you hidden. Like they had suggested– you stayed near them. Close on their side, so there wouldn't be the risk of Crocodile's shoes touching you by mistake if he sat back down. You knew that this was a serious situation, and these were dire times. You totally didn't have music playing in your mind as you leaned your head against Aito's leg, waiting for the exciting stuff™ to happen.

By exciting stuff, you meant Crocodile threatening lives with a fucking bomb. (You also informed Aito– who already knew. Crooner really kept his men on top of things, didn't he?)

"..."Cupid", again?"

Oh please, I taught you the song and you like it too.

"I'm not bothered, but you've been singing that inside of your head for a while. It's actually impressive how I can hear the tune now."

You watched closely as Crocodile walked around– but completely tuned out everyone else's screaming at his (admittedly) insane declarations and plans. Whenever he got too close to the table again, Aito's leg would shift to try and push you away from where Crocodile was.

Why are they doing what I say? I feel mean for just ordering them around.

"It's because you're their boss's child, mostly. Also, they think your motivation and dedication to your friends is cute."

Your eyes went beady. How much do you know about these guys?

"Enough."

Scary. You shifted silently as Aito stretched his leg forward a bit, so that it blocked you from the edge of the table. The heel of his dress shoe rested against the ground, the toe of it pointed up. You leaned back into his other leg with your own tucked beneath you. They're nice, though. Really fun to have around for dinner, since Crocodile just gave me food and left.

They ate lunch and dinner with you yesterday, so you didn't have to eat alone. During that time, Aito told you he knew how to neck chop someone and demonstrated by using Anzu, the human dummy.

You snapped out of it when you heard an extremely faint yelling. Shouting? Screaming? Whatever it was– it was so quiet that you were straining to hear it.

Crocodile hummed, satisfied. He eventually started to laugh. The action made Aito and Anzu visibly shift in their seats.

"Kuhahahahahaha! Hahahahahahaha!"

Zoro simply stared at Crocodile, his arms folded across his chest. There wasn't much he could do. "So it begins..."

Crocodile continued to laugh

"What an evil plan...!"

"What do you think, Miss Wednesday?" The Shichibukai taunted, holding his arms out and walking a short pace around the room. "The plan that you helped us set up is blooming. If you listen carefully, you can hear the shouting all over Alabasta. And what do you think they believe? That we'll protect them?"

Vivi clutched her head in hands. "Stop– Stop it! How could you be so cruel!?"

"Hahaha! Isn't that a tearjerker? Love for one's country? That'll be what destroys it in the end."