Second Wind

27

"Stooop joooking around!" Mr. 2 yelled as he stood up in annoyance. "How long are they gonna make us wait!? They could at least give us some food in the meantime! I need horderves. Horderves!"

"Mr. 2, could you please sit down and wait quietly?" Miss Doublefinger asked in a tone of false politeness.

"No way! I'm gonna spin until they get here!"

"Quit yer yappin Two! Yer makin' my hips ache!" Miss Merry Christmas snapped. Mr. 4 started to say something as well, but it was slow to the point of being incoherent, so no one paid him any mind. Mr. 1 simply at the corner of the table, ignoring them all. But as Mr. 2 kept spinning, he grew increasingly annoyed.

"You'd best sit down before I disembowel you," he said quietly.

Mr. 2 turned toward him. "This guy again! Was that a threat!?"

"Didn't it sound like one? I thought I was pretty clear," Mr. 1 said in a bored tone.

"I think it's pretty clear that Mr. 0 will disembowel you both if he catches you screwing around in here," Miss Doublefinger commented. Surprisingly, this pacified both of them, and Mr. 2 sat down with a pout. About 10 seconds passed before...

"Stooop joooking around! Wheeere are they!?"

Mr. 1 was thinking about a more painful way to kill someone than disembowelment when his partner in crime spoke up again.

"You know, he has a point," she said. "I wouldn't know what to expect from Mr. 0, but Miss All Sunday is usually pretty punctual. On top of that, the Mr. 3 and Mr. 5 pair never showed up either. I can't help but feel that we're out of the loop."

"I'm afraid none of them will be able to make it," said a deep voice from the end of the table.

They all turned to the chair where the voice originated from in shock, none of them having noticed his arrival. Mr. 1's eyes narrowed. When did he...?

"A situation arose, and Miss All Sunday went to take care of it," the voice said. "Unfortunately, she won't make it back in time for the meeting. As for the other four...I'd advise you not to mention their names again. But no matter...the time is near."

He turned around in his chair, revealing his face. "For your final mission - Operation Utopia."

The officer agents stared in shock. Mr. 2's jaw dropped. "Cro-Crocodile!?"

"Oh good, so you know me," the man said smugly.

"Of course we know you, you're one of the Seven Warlords!" Miss Doublefinger exclaimed. "But why would you be...?"

"You're our boss?" Mr. 1 said, more in surprise than disappointment.

"So we were following the orders of a government sanctioned pirate all along!?" Mr. 2 exclaimed.

"Any objections?" Crocodile asked menacingly, immediately silencing them all.

"None here," Miss Doublefinger stated, sweating a bit. "I'm just confused as to why a Royal Warlord would go out of his way to form a criminal organization."

"What I desire isn't wealth or fame," Crocodile replied. "It's power." The officer agents listened intently. Seeing that he had their attention, Crocodile smirked. "Allow me to explain...the real reason behind the formation of Baroque Works. My true objective."

A few minutes later, after they all read over their mission orders, Mr. 2's brow furrowed. "So I have a separate mission, huh?"

"That's correct," Crocodile confirmed. "Miss All Sunday was acting as a spy and was able to uncover that Princess Vivi and the Strawhats have met with the leader of the rebellion. As aggravating as it is, he now knows of our plan, which complicates matters. That's where you come in, Mr. 2." The number agents, who were all high up enough to know about Mr. 2's ability, all widened their eyes in comprehension. "The rest of you," Crocodile continued, "are to come with me to Alubarna during the start of the operation, to deal with any pestilence. Until then, Mr. 2, your role is key."