Chapter 14

Hello all! Here is another chapter. Sorry for the almost year-long wait… If you want the long and short of it, I've been busy. As I said last time, the action is on the upswing but there are still some strings that I need to tie together to get all the way there. So far, I'm still on track to finish this story out in 23 or 24 total chapters (I mistakenly wrote 24/25 last time – my bad). But the chapters will get increasingly longer so there's going to be a lot of content covered in each one. I'm going to try a new tactic after this chapter where I write two chapters at a time and publish one, so that I'm always at least one or more chapters ahead of the game. I seem to have a bunch of free time at work coming up so, hopefully, you'll see more of this story pretty soon.

As always, reviews are my best friends.

Publish date: September 10, 2019

Word count: 3,796

Enjoy the chapter!

It was easy for Sanji to adjust his schedule to the new routines on the ship. As always, he was more than thrilled to bring meals out to Nami, Robin, and Camie personally with a flourish or two. Most often they could be found in the library. If they were elsewhere, Nami was likely hovering around Usopp in his workshop, persistently asking questions or giving unsolicited advice. Robin might be in the infirmary with Chopper or with Franky and Rayleigh belowdecks.

Sanji was less enthusiastic about bringing food to the male members of the ship, but he did so anyway. But he made it very clear that this service was temporary until Luffy returned. Zoro was almost always working out in the crow's nest. The other men could be found in their respective places aboard as they worked on the various aspects of their developing rescue plan. All in all, things were coming together quite nicely. Rayleigh had finished the ship's coating and Franky was updating what was needed. He kept making adjustments, but he had assured them all that everything would be ready in time.

They were getting very close to the Marine-monitored waters surrounding Impel Down. They would make their move within the next two days, if the weather held steady. Nami said that she was almost certain it would but cautioned them to remember how fickle the Grand Line could be.

Since Zoro spent all day in the crow's nest anyway, he was put in charge of surveillance. At least, on paper he was in charge. Nami wasn't sure that he could be trusted to notice or, even less likely, report anything suspicious. She had made her concerns known and, after a brief shouting match that Nami won, now either Hatchi or Brook or both would be up there with him.

On this particular day, Brook was actually the first to notice the dot on the horizon. He grabbed the telescope put aside for that very purpose. "Zoro-san?" he said, in a rather nonchalant voice. "I believe we have company."

Zoro paused in his push-ups. "Is it Marines?" he asked.

Brook answered, "No, I don't believe so. They seem to be flying a Jolly Roger. I can't quite make it out yet."

Zoro stood up and took the offered telescope from the skeleton. After a moment to study the ship, Zoro handed it back to him, his face set in a grim line.

"Zoro-san?" Brook asked.

"It's a pirate ship, all right. They really shouldn't pose us any threat, but…"

"But?"

"It's a Yonko," he said. "One of the strongest men in the world."

"Then why shouldn't he be a threat to us?" Brook asked.

"Because it's Red-Haired Shanks, and he has close ties to Luffy."

Even with Zoro's reassurances of the ship's owner, the crew felt unease as The Thousand Sunny drew nearer to the Yonko's ship. Rayleigh stood watching the other ship crossing the distance with a smile on his face.

"What if…" began Chopper. "What if he attacks us? I mean, he doesn't know any of us, only Luffy."

"They won't attack," Sanji said, stubbing out a spent cigarette. "If half of what that shitty captain has told us about Shanks is true, we won't have anything to worry about. Besides, I seriously doubt it's a coincidence that he's here in the first place."

"Usopp-san, are you alright?" asked Brook. This brought everyone's attention to the sniper.

Usopp's face was stark white and matched his knuckles as he clutched hard to the ship's railing. He was shaking all over, but was keeping uncharacteristically quiet.

"Usopp," Nami spoke, walking up to him and putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're the one who will be surprising him, you know. Technically, you don't have a bounty so he doesn't know you're here."

"Exactly," he responded. "It might be easier if he did know. He probably won't even recognize me."

"Oh, come on," Zoro butt in, rolling his eyes. "If Luffy knew who you were the minute he met you, I don't think you have to worry about that."

Everyone else watched the exchange in confusion. "What are you talking about?" Camie asked.

"My dad is on that ship," Usopp responded. "Luffy met him way back when he got that hat from Shanks."

Aside from Zoro and Nami, everyone stared at him with varying levels of surprise.

"I didn't know your dad was a pirate!" cried Chopper. "That's so cool!"

"This isn't one of your elaborate lies?" Sanji asked.

"No, of course not!" shouted Usopp, turning to face him. "He left my mom and me a long time ago to pursue his dream of being a pirate! He's on that ship and is the best sniper in the world!" His voice was filled with a pride that the Straw Hats weren't used to hearing from him.

"Well, whoever's on that ship, they're almost here," Nami said, bringing everyone's attention back to the ship bearing the Jolly Roger of Red-Haired Shanks.

They could see individual people on the ship now and could easily make out their faces. Rayleigh was still smiling as the other crew looked over the grassy deck at the small host of the twelve people watching them expectantly. The former first mate of the Pirate King watched all eyes catch on his face and smiled larger than ever as a familiar scarred face framed by vivid red locks visibly startled as he met the Dark King's eyes.

The two ships pulled up next to each other and a gangplank was deployed to bridge the gap. To his discomfort, Zoro found himself at the forefront of the group awaiting the other pirates to walk across. With Luffy's absence, Zoro was in charge of officially allowing them on board. Of course, he had no hesitation in doing so as he was fully aware of what their captain would want in this situation. Zoro simply stood back a little to make room for the handful of pirates effortlessly balancing their way across the long block of wood connecting the two ships.

The first to come aboard was the red-haired captain himself. He was casually resting his right hand on the hilt of a sword strapped to his hip. He came to a stop before the Straw Hats as his fellow crew members lined up beside him. A man with long gray hair pulled up was the next to stop. He held a rifle across a shoulder and had a lit cigarette in his mouth. Following them was a mass of a man with a bright green shirt and a bandana and was chewing away at a massive piece of meat and smiling mischievously. The fourth man was of particular interest as Usopp mutedly gasped when he appeared from behind his crewmates. It was a buff man with dreadlocks and a massive gun strapped to his shoulders and a cocky attitude to match.

Shanks eyed Rayleigh one more time before turning his attention to the younger people who stood in front of him. "Roronoa Zoro," he said, nodding to Zoro. "I recognize almost all of you from your wanted posters. I don't know if Luffy has mentioned me at all, but I've been keeping an eye on him and all of you since that first bounty of his back in East Blue." He said this with a wide smile that instantly relaxed the atmosphere as his voice reminded them all of Luffy's carefree attitude. "I'm sorry to say that I don't know any of you," he continued, gesturing to Camie, Pappug, Hatchi, Brook, and Usopp. Usopp yelped and hid his face further behind Robin.

Nami rolled her eyes and punched his shoulder hard enough to push him out from his hiding spot. His eyes immediately went to the man he knew to be Yasopp and he stared, frozen for a moment. Yasopp's eyes met his and narrowed, following the length of the younger man's nose.

"Luffy has mentioned you a few times, yes," Nami said. "That's Camie, Pappug, and Hatchi. They're helping us with some things. That living skeleton is Brook." Here, Brook tipped his hat to the four men gathered in front of them as their eyes widened slightly.

"Yohohoho! It's nice to meet you all. I hear you're important to Luffy-san."

"And this," Nami continued, pulling Usopp forward a little by the arm, "is –"

"Usopp?" Yasopp said. Usopp's eyes darted to meet his as hope took over his features. "You're Sogeking?" he asked incredulously.

Usopp swallowed thickly but Chopper answered before he could. "No," the small doctor spoke. "Sogeking is Usopp's friend." Unbeknownst to the small reindeer, Usopp grimaced.

"It's a long story," he told his father.

"Wait," Shanks said. "This is Usopp? The brat you've been bragging about for the last 15-odd years?"

Usopp blushed at that but stood a little taller as Nami rolled her eyes again.

Yasopp was unashamed as he loudly declared, "Yes! That's my son!" He pulled Usopp in for a hug and, just like that, all tension fled the air. Usopp was frozen for a minute before returning the hug.

Franky started crying, declaring that life was beautiful. Brook laughed merrily. Robin watched the exchange with a small smile. Chopper's eyes were shining with admiration and he shouted about how great Usopp must be to have such a strong dad. Nami watched the exchange and shook her head, calling Usopp an idiot. Zoro and Sanji barely acknowledged the exchange as they continued studying the three other men in front of them and the remaining crew on the other ship as they stood watching from behind their own ship's railing.

Shanks finally turned to Rayleigh and spoke, "Rayleigh-san, I did not expect to see you here."

Rayleigh laughed. "No, I bet you didn't. I'm still a little surprised myself. Ever since you told me about the boy in the East Blue all those years ago, I've wanted to meet him. I didn't expect to become involved with any of this but his crew is rather interesting themselves."

At this, half of the Straw Hats blushed happily and said there were no need for such words and it didn't make them happy or anything. Rayleigh laughed again and Shanks looked them all over with a smile of his own.

The man next to Shanks with his gray hair pulled up out of his face looked down at the grassy deck beneath his feet. "I see you've coated the ship, Rayleigh. I assume you've done this for whatever plan you lot are brewing up."

"It's too bad Luffy hasn't seen it yet," Shanks said, wistfully. "He'd probably go crazy with excitement. Ships sailing underwater seem right up his alley, even though he is a hammer."

The crew bristled slightly at this casual remark on Luffy's childlike personality. It was strange to hear someone they'd never met be so familiar with their captain. Some of them had had to face this reality twice before, once back on Alabasta when they ran into Ace and once in Water 7 when Garp had shown up. They were so accustomed to watching strangers become more and more surprised and incredulous when they spent time with Luffy. It was bizarre to come across someone who knew Luffy as well as they did, if not better. It was a reminder that Luffy hadn't sprung into existence the minute he met Zoro; that he had 17 years of life before meeting any of his crew members.

"Yeah," Yasopp said, his hand clasping Usopp's shoulder. "I imagine he's been a handful for you guys. God knows he was an unpredictable child. I still can't believe he stabbed himself like that."

Shanks' laughter boomed as the Straw Hats' eyes widened. "I'd forgotten about that!"

"How could you forget, Boss? You were more freaked out than anyone," the fat man with the green shirt and bandana said.

"Well, that's hardly what I expected him to do when he said he had something to show us," Shanks responded. "That was an eventful day, huh? To think, he wouldn't have that scar if he'd just waited another few hours."

"What scar?" Nami asked. "The one under his eye? Are you saying he stabbed himself in the face? Why wouldn't he have it if he had just waited?"

Shanks looked at them in surprise as they stared back in confusion. "Luffy hasn't told you about that scar or how he ate his Devil Fruit?"

The Straw Hats shook their heads.

"He was trying to make a point," Shanks explained. "He wanted to prove he wasn't scared of being hurt. But seeing a seven-year-old stab himself in the face didn't exactly convince me of anything except how reckless he is."

"And, in typical Luffy fashion," Yasopp explained, "he ate the Fruit because, and I quote, he 'thought it was a dessert.' He didn't know what it was until Boss accidentally made him stretch."

"And if he'd waited to stab himself, it wouldn't have scarred at all," Shanks said. "Rubber doesn't scar nearly as easily as normal flesh."

"Wait," Usopp began, "Luffy actually did stab himself in the face?"

The four men nodded.

"Well that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard," Nami said. "Thank goodness he doesn't feel the need to pull that crap anymore. I'd throw him into the ocean and let him drown if he started getting stabby with his own face."

"Nami!" Chopper shouted indignantly.

"Being able to withstand a lot of pain doesn't mean that much by itself," Brook said in a somber tone. He turned his eyeless gaze to Zoro. "It's the reasons behind doing so that ultimately matter."

Zoro scowled at him. "As fascinating as this is," he said, "I don't see how any of this shit actually matters at the moment. I don't think it's a coincidence that we ran into you here, Red-Hair. All we know about you is that you helped Luffy out years ago and gave him that hat. But that was a long time ago. What reason do we have to believe that you're here because you want to be helpful?"

"Why else would I be here? I'm certainly not trying to sabotage any rescue attempts you make; why would I? That would only benefit the Marines and they're a common enemy. Besides," he added with a grin, "Luffy made me a promise and he can't very well fulfill that promise while in prison, now can he?"

"We aren't just going to be rescuing Luffy," Sanji said.

"I imagine you're talking about Ace?" Shanks asked.

"Oh?" Rayleigh asked, surprised. "I only just learned about their relation myself. Have you known all along?"

Shanks laughed. "Well, when I first met Luffy, Ace wasn't his brother yet so, no. They became brothers shortly after the fact, so Ace told me. I met Ace a couple years ago when he had made a name for himself before joining Whitebeard."

"So they aren't actually related, then," Robin mused.

"No, decidedly not," Shanks said. "I met Ace's mother once, a long time ago. Hearing about a rookie bearing her name surprised me and when he showed up to thank me for saving Luffy, I was even more surprised. Ace's father died long before he was born and his mother died during childbirth. The mystery of Luffy's parentage aside, there's no way Luffy could have had the same parents three years later."

"Ace's father, then..." Rayleigh trailed off.

Shanks nodded. "Yes, it's who you imagine it to be, Rayleigh-san."

Rayleigh shook his head and mumbled to himself, "That man and his secrets…"

"I don't know about Luffy's mother, but Garp told us who his father was back at Water 7," Sanji said. "And he holds a good deal of power all over the world. Now I'm really wondering if he's going to show up as well." He narrowed his eyes and put a hand on his chin in thought, staring at the ground.

"Oh? Who is he?" Yasopp asked.

"Dragon," Zoro replied simply. Ignoring the shocked looks on the pirates in front of him, he continued. "But like I said, we can't rely on him or anyone else for this. Luffy is our responsibility. Whatever you guys want to do, I don't really care as long as it doesn't go against what we do."

Shanks started laughing again. "Dragon, huh? I shouldn't be surprised at all. I've never met the man myself, but with a father like Garp, it's no wonder he turned against the World Government." Several of the crew sweat-dropped as they remembered their encounters with the Marine Hero.

"Zoro is right," Nami said. "Why are you here? If you're going to help, fine. But we need to figure some things out."

Shanks nodded. "What you all are attempting to do here has never been done before. Only one person has ever broken out of Impel Down and nobody has ever broken in; much less then escaped with two prisoners in tow. And the Marines aren't stupid; they know all of you are still out in the world. They'll be looking for you."

"That's our biggest advantage," Robin spoke up. "The Marines will be searching for us around the Florian Triangle or Sabaody. Even with everything this crew has done, they would not guess that we would infiltrate the world's most secure prison. They have likely written us off as disbanded or lost or in hiding."

"We'll definitely have the element of surprise," Franky agreed.

All eyes were drawn to Usopp as he let out a loud, "Oh!" and slammed his fist down in his open palm.

"What?" Chopper asked.

The smirk that overtook Usopp's face made a slight chill run up the other Straw Hats' spines: it was too reminiscent of his I-have-an-idea-for-an-epic-prank face.

"I know that look. What are you thinking, Usopp?"

"Well," he began, stroking a pretend beard. "We all have bounties, right? Except Brook."

Brook raised his skeletal hand. "Actually, no. I do have a bounty but it's from before my death."

"Oh?" Sanji asked, eyebrow raised in surprise.

Brook bowed dramatically, taking off his hat and everything. "Acting captain of the Rumbar Pirates, Humming Swordsman Brook, at your service." He held out a Wanted poster that seemed to appear from thin air. It depicted him as he must have looked while alive. The edges were frayed with age.

"Well, well, color me impressed," Franky said, taking a look at the bounty. "Not half bad."

"I don't see what this has to with anything, Usopp," Zoro said, his arms crossed.

"Well," he continued. "That bounty is from when you were alive, right? So it doesn't exactly look like you anymore. And it's decades old so none of the Marines or guards at Impel Down would even know about it in the first place."

"If you're going to suggest something that hinges on him being unknown to them, we do have other people here who fit that bill," reminded Nami, gesturing to Hatchi, Camie, Pappug, Sanji, and Usopp himself.

"No, but that couldn't hurt for other parts of the plan," he said. "No, Brook's a living skeleton, right? But other people don't know that." The evil smirk returned. "What if we… surprise them with that knowledge?"

A moment of quiet passed before Chopper spoke up. "Are you suggesting we use him as a decoy?"

A similarly evil grin crept onto Sanji's face. "Oooh, I like that. The guards find what they think is a dead body floating in the water and fish him out."

Shanks smiled as well. "Oh, I like the way you think."

"Wa- wait a moment!" shouted Brook. "You would use me for my body? Ah! My heart breaks at this uncaring attitude. Ah, although I have no heart! … hmm, very well. I suppose the plan does have its merits. But it is far from perfect. What if the guards don't fish me out of the water? What if they just let me keep floating by? I may not be able to die from drowning, but I don't relish the thought of floating around in the ocean forever all over again."

"Unlikely," Rayleigh spoke up. "This is a highly-secured prison. A random skeleton floating by on a piece of driftwood is cause enough for an investigation. They would look into it."

"I think the better question is can you convincingly pretend to be a dead body, Brook?"

Without further prompting, Brook went completely limp, falling to the ground. For all intents and purposes, he appeared completely dead.

"That's great and all, but I doubt it will be an issue. Despite everything, you are still a Fruit user. Being in the water will make you practically unable to move, right? So, you'll be acting like a dead body by default."

The conversation continued from here, various minor points of the plan coming together. Once Brook had been assigned his post, the topic moved on.

"That's all well and good. But getting to the prison itself will be a challenge. I assume that's where the ship being coated comes into play?" Shanks asked.

Franky and Usopp dove eagerly into explaining their plan. After listening and offering suggestions and advice, the four visiting pirates returned to their ship and removed the gangplank connecting the two ships. Both pirate groups raised anchor and continued on, moving closer to rescuing the missing person who held the groups together.

"Aaaahhhhhhhhh….. Ughhhhhhh… Aaa-"

"Shut up!"

"But I'm so bored! Give me something to do!"

"You're bored? You're in a prison cell, brat! No one gives a shit if you're bored."

"But there's nothing to do in here."

"Even if there were something to do, you're all chained up. You don't even have the energy to do anything so why are you complaining?"

"Because I'm bored."

"Oh, my god! Shut the hell up, dipshit! Both of you. It's freezing in here and some of us are trying to sleep."

A loud rumble interrupted him.

"Wha… Was that your stomach?"

"Ahhhh….. Now I'm bored and hungry…. Ughhhh…."

"This guy…."

"Oh, do you guys know Ace?"

"Ace?"

A nod. "Yeah, Ace. He's in here somewhere, too. I gotta rescue him."

A scoff. "Rescue him? Brat, you ain't gonna be rescuing anyone in that state. 'Sides, you're stuck here. You'll die soon enough so shut up and let us get some sleep."

"Listen, kid. He's right. You're in the freezing hell of Impel Down. Whoever this Ace guy is doesn't matter anymore. In this prison, it's every guy for themselves. Just accept it. You're chained down with Sea Prism and the bars on the cell are also Sea Prism. You won't be rescuing anyone."

"That doesn't matter. I'll get out and find Ace somehow." His voice was full of absolute certainty.

A/N: I'm not sure if I've been consistent about his name as Jimbei instead of Jinbei. I don't actually have a preference on this spelling. Romaji-wise, "Jinbei" would be correct (although, if we follow that rule, it should be spelt "tenpura" not "tempura"). Even now, I can't promise I will be consistent with that name.

Secondly; Enies Lobby. I know for a fact that I have typed both Enies and Enes. I'm completely unsure which is actually correct as I've seen both spellings in numerous locations through the years. I usually just use the spelling that strikes my fancy while writing that chapter. Unlike the previous two, I can't rely on romaji for this one as it would end in "su" if I went either way.

Any and all other spelling issues, please let me know! I actually take some pride in my ability to spell things correctly and I don't mind having my mistakes pointed out to me in a constructive way. Grammar is less of a strong suit for me, but I still welcome comments.