The palace trembled beneath the distant roar of explosions. Pieces of the ceiling fell like ashes, and the sound of extrinsic creatures echoed beyond the walls. Guards ran through the corridors, shouting orders that already seemed useless.
"Vivi, you need to hide." Cobra's voice came out hoarse, a mix of authority and despair.
Vivi stood firm in the middle of the hall, her dress torn by smoke and debris. "I won't, Father." Her breath was short, her eyes burning with tears and dust. "I am the princess of this kingdom. If the people are fighting, then I must fight too."
"Don't be foolish." Cobra advanced, the royal cape stained with soot. "You are their hope. If you die here, what's left of Alabasta dies with you."
Vivi took a step forward, her face marked by the stubbornness she had inherited from him. "Their hope is knowing we didn't run. That we stood and fought beside them."
The roar of the creatures echoed again, making the windows rattle. Igaram rushed in, sword in hand, his white hair covered in dust. "Your Majesty, the eastern wall has fallen. The defenses won't hold."
Cobra closed his eyes for a second. The weight of the decision burned hotter than the flames outside. "Take my daughter. Now."
"Father—"
"That's a royal order." He turned, his eyes teary but his voice unshaken. "Don't make me choose between the kingdom and you."
Vivi bit her lip, her voice trembling. "You can't ask me that."
Cobra walked up to her, his heavy hands resting on her fragile shoulders. "I can, because I'm your father… and because I'm proud of you." He smiled with rare tenderness before looking at Igaram. "Do what must be done."
Igaram nodded silently, stepping closer. His hand gripped the princess's arm firmly.
"Vivi, forgive me." His voice came low, almost a plea.
Vivi tried to pull away, but the captain held her tight. "Igaram, no! I have to stay! They need me!" The struggle was brief, but the sound of the desert wind drowned her cry as she was dragged from the room.
"Let me go!" Her voice echoed in desperation. "I can't leave my father alone!"
Igaram didn't answer at once. Sweat and dust stained his wrinkled face, and his eyes said what his mouth refused. "Your Majesty… the kingdom is falling."
Vivi froze for a moment. "Lies. Chaka and Pell are still there. They'll hold—"
"They're dead." The words cut like a blade. "They died defending the walls."
The silence that followed was heavy as stone. Vivi stopped fighting. Her eyes went blank, as if Igaram's words had torn the breath from her lungs.
"No…" Her voice cracked, and she shook her head, tears spilling. "That can't be true."
Igaram gripped her shoulders, steady. "They died as warriors. They saved hundreds, maybe thousands. Now it's your turn to live for them."
Vivi swallowed hard, tears streaking through the dirt on her face. "What good is living… if everything they protected will be destroyed?" The floor trembled beneath them, the distant roars of the creatures rolling like thunder.
She turned toward the shattered windows. The sky was choked with smoke, the red glow of the portal reflecting over the desert. "I fought so hard to save Alabasta from Crocodile…" Her voice broke. "And now it's all ending because of these… damn creatures."
Igaram tried to pull her again, but she didn't move. "Princess, please. We must leave before the ceiling collapses."
Vivi drew a deep breath, her eyes fixed on the red light cast over the dunes. "If Luffy were here… he wouldn't run." The name escaped like a prayer, heavy with memory and faith. "And Riser… that demon who defeated Crocodile, the one everyone calls a monster… he would come too."
The captain frowned, his tone grave. "Those men are not gods, Your Majesty."
"But they were strength. They were courage." Her hands trembled, but her gaze didn't waver from the rift on the horizon. "And courage is all I have left now."
The roar came closer. Sand blew through the cracks, coating the floor in a dense golden veil. Igaram clenched his fists, feeling the weight of choice. "Vivi, please…"
She turned to him, her face streaked with tears and dust. "Take me if you must, but know this—if Alabasta falls, it'll be with me standing, not hiding."
Silence hung between them until another blast shook the palace.
BOOOOM
The ceiling cracked with a sharp snap. A tentacle pierced through the wall like a living spear, sweeping columns and doors in a straight line. Dust and stone erupted in a thick cloud.
CRAAAASH
Vivi froze, eyes locked on the shadow looming above. Igaram yanked her violently, twisting his body to throw the princess out of harm's way.
THUMP
A massive stone block crashed down where he'd stood. The impact shattered the floor. Igaram's body was pinned beneath the rubble, blood seeping through the cracks.
"Vivi…" His voice was faint. "Listen. My death only has meaning if you live."
Vivi fell to her knees beside him, her hands shaking. "I'll get you out. I promise." The tears came before she even finished the sentence.
"No." He tried to smile, failed. "Promise me something else." His chest heaved shallowly. "Promise you'll lead this people… that you won't waste the sacrifice of Chaka, of Pell… or mine."
Vivi clutched his hand, sobbing. 'I fought Crocodile to save this place. It was Riser who defeated him in the end, and I accepted that, as long as Alabasta lived.' The memory burned like a wound. 'I can't lose again.'
"Go." Igaram closed his eyes for a moment, then forced them open. "Stand up. Live. Make them remember this kingdom never kneels."
The tentacle ripped through the corridor again in a blind strike. The shock rattled their bones.
KRAKK
Vivi squeezed his hand tighter. "I don't want to leave you."
"Yes, you do." He coughed, blood staining his lips. "Because you are hope. And hope decides." His gaze softened. "My princess… my battle-born daughter… give me that order. Tell me you'll live."
Tears fell uncontrollably. "I… I'll live." Her voice broke apart. "For my father, for Alabasta, for all of you."
His chest sank in brief relief. "Then my mission is done."
Vivi leaned forward, pressing her forehead to his, crying in silence.
CRACK
The weight of the debris gave way. Igaram's body shuddered. He drew one last breath. "Your Majesty… go."
"Don't leave me."
"I've stayed long enough."
His fingers went limp in her grasp. His gaze emptied without pain.
SILENCE
Vivi lifted her face, tears glinting through the dust. The scream tore from her chest, echoing down the corridor.
"Nooooo!"
She ran without wanting to. Each step was a sentence. Now there was only one mission clear in her mind: not letting everyone's sacrifice for her survival be in vain.
The corridor shook as the creature broke through the shattered opening. The twisted mass slithered through curved shadows, its scattered eyes scanning for life.
Vivi stepped back instinctively, chest heaving. "No… not now." Her hand searched for support and found nothing. Despair crushed her ribs until it hurt.
The monster leapt in a jagged motion. Its misshapen body split open with mouths in all directions, the wet sound rising to a sharp snap.
SHLAP
Fire was born without warning. The creature ignited entirely, from base to crown, as if the air itself had caught flame. The blaze shot straight upward, the form twisting, burning too fast to scream.
FWOOM
Vivi stood still, eyes wide. She didn't understand where the fire came from, nor how it had started. She only saw the thing shrivel into ashes that fell before touching the floor.
FSSHH
The last spark died, and his presence filled the corridor. Riser appeared at the end of the passage, red eyes sharp, his posture as unshaken as the rumors of Alabasta's savior—the day he defeated Crocodile.
Vivi couldn't speak. Her throat locked with the same violence as the fear that had just faded.
Riser stopped a few steps away, his gaze passing over her and the rubble without pause. The flame beneath his skin subsided slowly, obeying an invisible command.
"Sorry for being late, princess."
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