'Fallen Angel' Sakidō Tenshi

“The gold recovery team will avoid all regular routes and take the shortest path along the coast to the storage vault.”

“Nami! You three rush across the bay in that boat! And we'll all meet back here, at the Going Merry!”

“You were right, Tenshi. The Marines are definitely certain that we're still inside the base.”

“If the vault was a trap, then where is the gold?!”

“And where are the others now?”

~ * < Taking the Golden Bait! The Straw Hats Fly the Coop! > * ~

“The soldier said they ran into the mountains. We might as well search along the the clifftops,” Tenshi suggested. “They can't be too far.”

“That's the best we've got, I suppose. Hang on!” Nami managed to turn the waver around to drive further along the cliffs. Thankfully, they still weren't noticed by any searchlights, even with the loud motor.

As they rode along, heading upwards, Tenshi saw a head poking out over the ledge. She was able to spot goggles, a green bandanna, and curly hair. “Usopp!” she exclaimed, pointing up at him.

Nami drove the waver so fast up the side, they got some air before they landed on the ground. In addition to Usopp, there was also Luffy, Zoro, and Robin. “There you guys are!” Nami exclaimed, turning off the waver.

“We overheard a bunch of Marines say the gold wasn't in the vault,” Tenshi said, stepping off of the waver. “What happened?”

“It was a trap!” Usopp exclaimed. “We managed to get it open, even as we were all being attacked—I was the one able to crack the locks, obviously. But there was nothing! Zip! Zilch! Nothing but a huge picture of a Blue-Finned Elephant Tuna!”

“Of all things to put in a vault...”

“We found the doctor who pretended to be a hostage alongside you,” Robin added. “And her father as well. But aside from pointing us in the direction of the mountains, they couldn't help us either.”

“Where's the love cook?” Zoro asked.

Nami sat on the edge of the waver with a sigh. “Sanji-kun is back at the Merry with Chopper. So, you don't know anything about where the gold might actually be?”

Usopp shook his head. “We have no clues at all.”

Luffy, who was sitting criss-cross in the grass nearby, yawned widely. “I'm still sleepy...”

“If we just sit around and dawdle, dawn's gonna come,” Zoro said, glancing up at the moon. It was starting to set. “That'll make it even harder to move around.”

“Say, are there any other storage vaults?” Nami asked.

“If there are, they could be traps to lure us in again,” Robin said, looking at the map.

“... Come to think of it, the old man said something earlier about 'bait,'” Usopp recalled.

“The gold is indeed being used as bait,” Tenshi quipped.

“I meant in the context of fishing! He said our gold is the perfect bait to reel us in with. And that it should be dangling somewhere we can see it.”

Nami gasped. “That's it, Usopp!”

“Huh? What's it?”

“Bait to reel us in with... In other words, the gold is somewhere in plain sight! Maybe a place we could imagine it being?”

“Oh, good thinking!” Robin praised.

“What do you mean?” Zoro asked.

“Well, who would be the one dangling the bait to catch us in the first place?”

“... Navarone's commander?”

“It makes sense,” Tenshi agreed. “He's quite the fisherman. His office is decorated with it, he's nifty with a fishing rod—hell, he was fishing when he first found me. And he apparently has a habit of night fishing.”

“And if the bait is near the fisherman, there's only one place it could be,” Nami concluded.

“You don't mean-!” Usopp exclaimed.

“Yep, that's right!” Nami tossed up the middle piece of her Clima-Tact, snapped it between the other two pieces, and pointed the assembled polearm at Tenshi. Startled, she raised her hands up. “You mentioned that you were interrogated in his office, right?”

“Y-Yeah, I was.”

“You think you can remember where it is?”

“I know I can remember it.”

With a grin, Nami exclaimed, “Okay! Tenshi and I will go! Robin and the rest, get back to the dock! Chopper's group will know the rest!”

“Will you be alright?” Robin asked.

“The waver can hold three people, but the gold will be heavy.”

“Luffy weighs less than me,” Tenshi stated. “And he saw where the commander's office is too.”

“But you know the interior,” Nami countered. “So you might have an idea of where they're hiding the gold. Besides, you're not that fat.”

As the crew left, leaving both women to climb back onto the waver, dawn was breaking, as Zoro predicted. The sky was startling to lighten up, changing from midnight blue to a lighter, green-tinted blue. And the searchlights would soon become obsolete.

When they got into position, in the growing light, they could see soldiers stationed along the unbroken bridge. And there were still warships sailing around the bay. “Well, we're gonna get spotted anyway, so it doesn't matter. I'm gonna run it at full throttle! You ready?!”

“I drove this at full throttle! I can handle riding it!”

Nami smirked back at her, and looked forward, twisting the handlebars. “Here we go!” She squeezed them as hard as she could.

Though she said she could handle riding the waver at full throttle, Tenshi was still startled when the waver practically leaped up into the air from the momentum. As soon as they landed in the bay, they took off.

And not a moment too soon. They had been spotted, and were now being fired at by rifles. Tenshi could practically smell the gunpowder as they narrowly avoided getting shot. “Where is it?!” she barely heard Nami shout.

“The cliffside of the island base! Near the top!”

Cannon fire was launched at them, causing big splashes in the bay. Nami had no trouble dodging the cannonballs and driving through the splashes in order to start going up the side of the cliff. They both ended up getting soaked. “Find it, Tenshi!”

“Up there!” She pointed past Nami's shoulder. “There's a balcony! It doesn't have any cannons!”

“Got it!” As soon as she spotted the balcony, she aimed right for it.

** KRR-RASH! **

With a shower of broken glass and splintered wood, the waver drove right through the large middle window. It knocked over a table and chairs as it slid sideways along the rug and down the short steps. They eventually skidded to a stop on the tile floor.

Though the office was dark, they weren't alone.

“What a surprise this is!” Jonathon exclaimed, standing behind his desk. He was wearing his overcoat and tricorne. He flicked the lights on and asked, “What is that vehicle?”

Once she caught enough breath, Nami asked, “Is he the commander?”

“Yep, that's him,” Tenshi confirmed. “Vice Admiral Jonathon.”

Nami gasped, startled by the revelation.

“I never imagined you would make an entrance through there!” Jonathon remarked, glancing at the scattered glass shards, wood splinters, and toppled furniture. He sounded more amused than angry, however.

“Pretty cool, huh?! This is actually a vehicle that came from the sky! Nami and I can both drive it, but she's the best at it!”

“Quit getting excited!” Nami snapped. “And why didn't you mention he was a Vice Admiral?!”

“The subject never came up,” she answered. “I didn't think to explain it.”

“I've not met this girl yet,” Jonathon said. “Welcome. Were you not pirates, I'd greet you warmly for your boisterous visit. It's a real shame, too. You're perceptive and bold—especially you, Ms. Tenshi. But daring can also sometimes be called recklessness.”

The double doors opened behind them, and several Marines came piling in. Though they didn't aim their rifles at them right away, they had them at the ready.

“I was actually considering offering you a place in the Navy, Ms. Tenshi,” Jonathon continued, surprising both her and Nami. “Even as a pirate, you're sharp, strong, and have a good sense of justice. You would make a fine Marine.”

To his surprise, however, Tenshi snorted. “Nah, I'd be a shit Marine! Following orders from higher-ups with corrupt and violent senses of justice!? That's not me.” She shook her head and added with a smile, “I'm a pirate. It might not be in my blood, but it's in my soul. Even in the last few days, I've never felt so free. And I don't plan on trading it for anything.”

Jonathon sighed, sounding slightly disappointed, but nodded. “I see. If that is how you really feel, I suppose I can't change your mind. I respect your resolve.”

After glancing at Tenshi with a smile, Nami said, “That being said, if there's no bait, we have nothing to bite onto! Where's the gold?!” she emphasized when he hummed in confusion. “It's hidden in this room, isn't it? Can't you at least show it to us?”

“Yes. It's right there,” he said, pointing across the room.

“WAS IT THERE THE WHOLE TIME!?”

“No, it was recently moved.”

Sure enough, right by the broken window, was a pile of gold covered by a large tarp. Some of it was pieces Tenshi didn't recognize, like several fishing-related trophies. But the rest, she definitely recognized.

“Jackpot!” she exclaimed happily. “Ship repairs, here we come!”

“It's not fake bait, I hope?” Nami asked slyly.

“It's indeed the genuine article,” Jonathon confirmed. “Check for yourself.”

“Don't mind if I do!” Tenshi jumped out of the waver and ran to the gold, ignoring Nami's yell of protest. She threw aside the tarp and searched around for something familiar. “Ah-ha! He's right!” She held up a golden statuette of a South Bird. “This is our gold, no doubt about it!” Setting the statuette back down, she quickly gathered all of their gold in the tarp—she made sure to not touch any unfamiliar gold pieces, including the fishing trophies—and tied the ends of the tarp up with her rope needles. “Alright, let's beat it! Sorry for the sudden intrusion, Commander!” She lifted her hand to give him a two-fingered salute.

“Whoops, I think not,” Jonathon said, however. “You can't just take the bait and run.”

Rifles clicked as the Marines finally took aim. “Plenty of fish have gotten away with the bait,” she countered.

“True,” he acknowledged. “But I've had plenty of practice to make sure that doesn't happen. Don't be too rough with the lady, lads,” he said to the Marines. “Be sure to catch 'Fallen Angel' first, though.”

A bazooka was fired. Tenshi barely saw what looked like a black spiderweb hurtling straight at her before she was knocked off of her feet and into the wall. “Tenshi!” she heard Nami yelp.

“Hey, what gives?!” Tenshi protested, squirming furiously in the net. She could hear the Seastones clinking, but they didn't do anything to her. “I'm not a Devil Fruit user, you dumb fucks!”

“My apologies, we were expecting 'Straw Hat' Luffy to come,” Jonathon said.

Before she could try harder to get out, she was being held down by a couple of Marines, with several more aiming rifles at her. “'Fallen Angel' is captured!”

“Nami, get the gold and run!” she shouted.

“I am not leaving without you!”

“Don't touch me!” Tenshi snapped, trying to kick and punch at the Marines. But the net was restricting her movements just as much as the Marines were.

But then Nami caught everyone's attention when she broke her Clima-Tact into three pieces, balancing one on her head. The small holes started to spout water like little fountains. “Rain Tempo! Sprinkler!” She spun around on her foot, spraying the water everywhere. It started to feel a little humid.

Everyone grunted in confusion. Tenshi certainly didn't know what was going on, but she trusted Nami to know what she was doing.

“Cool Ball!” She blew through one piece of her Clima-Tact, sending pale blue-colored bubbles into the air. The room became a little chilly.

“Heat Ball!” She blew red-colored bubbles out through another piece. The humidity disappeared.

After only a few seconds, a large, dark cloud was formed in the office, floating just below the ceiling. “I did it!” Nami said cheerfully.

“Wh-what the-?”

“A cloud?!”

Tenshi's eyes widened, recognizing the type of cloud being created by Nami.

She began spinning the Clima-Tact pieces in her fingers, sending out more Cool and Heat Balls. This made the cloud grow even bigger and darker. “Today's forecast: clear skies and zero percent chance of rain! But cumulonimbus clouds may suddenly develop in some places! Watch out for lightning, Tenshi!”

With a gasp, she curled up tightly in the net, wrapping her arms around her head.

“What is this?” she heard Jonathon ask.

“Thunderbolt Tempo!”

There was a loud zap. All of the Marines screamed in pain. Thunder rumbled in the office. She shut her eyes tighter with a whimper.

Then, it faded away.

“Tenshi!” She heard the waver drive up next to her. “Tenshi!”

When she lifted her head from her arms, she saw Nami pulling the net off of her. “You'll have to get used to lightning at some point! It's part of my arsenal!”

“R-Right. Thanks, Nami.” She stood up, brushing her hair out of her face and nudging her glasses up her nose.

“Get the gold and let's go!”

With a nod, she grabbed the gold bag and pulled it onto the waver behind Nami. She barely managed to straddle the bag and grab her shoulder with a free hand before the waver took off, flying out the window and back out onto the bay. It was only slowed down by the gold a little bit.

“You see the ship, Tenshi?!” Nami asked as she drove the waver back towards the abandoned dock.

“It's still too dark to see much of anything!” she said.

Up ahead, however, she saw a stray warship. But before she could yell out, she noticed something about it: it wasn't joining the rest of the herd, it looked like it was pieced together by a child, and it had extra masts and sails.

“I think I see it!” she exclaimed. “About one o'clock and counting!”

As they drove closer, they saw a lantern being waved from the crow's nest in the middle of the 'mainmast'. “Over here, Nami! Tenshi!” she heard Usopp's voice shouting.

When they caught up to the side of the ship, they saw everyone run up to greet them. “Nami-san! Tenshi-sama! Are you both alright?!”

“We come bearing gifts!” Tenshi declared. “Permission to come aboard, Captain?!”

“Permission granted!” Luffy said with a wide grin as Zoro and Usopp tossed down ropes.

Nami and Tenshi tied the ropes to the front and back of the waver, and held tightly as they were lifted up and onto the Merry. But as Nami walked the waver and gold back into the storeroom, Luffy spotted something up ahead. “Oi! There's a Navy ship headed for the gate!”

Usopp leaned over the side to look ahead. “They're probably gonna wait at the gate for us... That gives me an idea!”

~ * <|> * ~

After hearing the plan, Tenshi got to work drawing the sails. The wind was picked up, speeding up the ship to catch up to the warship. Usopp was steering, waiting for the perfect moment, until...

The ship was lurched to the side, brushing harshly against the cliffside. The warship disguise was broken apart, allowing the Going Merry to fall back into the water to reveal itself. Without the extra weight from the disguise, it was going much faster.

“Full speed ahead, Merry!” Luffy shouted from the figurehead, raising his fists triumphantly.

Nami was sitting on the bulwark, and called out to the baffled Marines as they passed the warship, “Thanks for the piloting! Couldn't have made it this far without you!”

“See you all later!” Tenshi added from the crow's nest. “Tell the Vice Admiral thanks for the invitation into the ranks anyway!” Oh, how I wish I could see Drake's face if he ever found out about that!

Just as Usopp planned, before the Marines were able to do anything in retaliation, the discarded shell of a disguise crashed into them from behind. “No enemies in the rear!” Tenshi declared, swinging down from the crow's nest.

“Okay! Now we can escape!” Luffy declared.

“And we got the gold!” Usopp added happily.

“We did it!” Chopper cheered from the poop deck railing. “We did it!”

“Let's rush straight to the Sea Gate!” Luffy shouted. “Full speed ahead!”

“Our navigator doesn't seem interested in going forward, though,” Zoro said, pointing out Nami at the stern of the ship. She was watching the rear intently.

“Nami-san! What's wrong?”

“I thought Tenshi said there wasn't anything behind us!” Usopp said.

“Um... I mighta lied!” she exclaimed, joining Nami—Chopper was there too. “We got three warships coming, with all the bells and whistles!”

But as she watched them, she realized they were furling their sails. This slowed them all down to a complete stop.

Chopper sighed with relief. “They don't seem to be chasing us!”

“They're dropping their anchors?!” Nami exclaimed.

“They must've given up,” Zoro said.

Usopp laughed. “They gave in to our brilliant skills!”

“Even when they could at least fire at us?” Robin questioned from up in the crow's nest.

“Don't tell me there's some other reason?!”

“That's what's bugging me, I don't know!” Nami said.

“We've had traps upon traps,” Tenshi recalled, “all day, night, and morning. This is probably another one for the road.”

As they continued to sail to the Sea Gate, there was a strange sound. It didn't sound like the ship cutting through the ocean, the wind blowing in the sails, or even enemy fire.

“What's that sound?” Nami questioned.

Chopper tilted his head and twitched his ear. “It sounds like a flowing river!”

“River?...” Tenshi looked down at the hull. She squinted her eyes, looking extra hard at it. “... Something's happening to the ocean,” she said.

Robin's phantom arms sprouted downwards, holding a lantern just above the water. “Can you see now?”

Tenshi could start to see vague shapes through the water. They were slowly fading inward, like they were appearing right before her eyes. But they didn't look like fish. The ocean was starting to get choppy, making the ship jerk from side to side. She could hear wood groaning from the stern, just below the surface.

“Th-The rudder's not working!” Usopp yelled.

“The tide!” Nami realized, growing pale. “A huge outward tide happens at this time at this fortress!”

Sharp pointed rocks were starting to jut out of the lowering tide. They were shore reefs, Tenshi realized. They looked like rows of sharp fangs from some kind of giant beast.

“Tenshi! Get me the map!”

Nearly slipping in her haste to get turned around, Tenshi ran and jumped from the poop deck down to the main deck, and grabbed the rolled up map of Navarone from the lounge. When she met Nami by the deck stairs, she handed it to her.

She unrolled the map and looked at it for a few moments. “... So that's what the deal was.”

“What are you acting so satisfied for?” Usopp snarked from the doorway of the lounge.

“When we first tried to escape, I was puzzled as to why they would use a bay so full of shore reefs as a port. But it was the other way around. Shallows are bad for ports, so they would normally use the Sea Gate to regulate the water level inside. You said a ship would get scraped up or run aground, Tenshi. That's their game plan; they can use the low tide in an emergency to make this natural fortress inescapable!”

“That also explains why ships could only come and go at specific times,” Robin added, as if figuring out her own mystery.

“We had some rotten luck with the timing,” Tenshi remarked. “By my calculations, it's a little after nine in the morning.”

“So, what do we do?” Zoro asked.

“Let's head straight for the Sea Gate!” Luffy shouted again.

“WE CAN'T!” “WE CAN'T!” “WE CAN'T!” “WE CAN'T!” “WE CAN'T!”

“Full speed ahead!”

But the Merry began to bounce along the lowering water, almost like a skipping stone. Except it was actually skipping off of the sea bed. It suddenly lurched forward and slid along on its front keel. Luffy fell off of the figurehead, much to everyone's dismay. “We've run onto a reef!” Nami realized.

Tenshi could hear the wood scraping and splintering against the ground and shore reefs. The splashes grew smaller and smaller in size and volume until, finally, the Merry slid to a stop.

“The hull!” Usopp protested, running down below deck. Zoro, Sanji, and Chopper followed after him. Even without the cries for help, she could hear the water rushing in through a hole in the hull.

But that slowed to a stop too, as the tide had completely drained a section of the bay. The Merry was left run aground, surrounded by shore reefs. It looked like they were in the open maw of a giant beast and at its mercy.

“I'm drowning!” Luffy cried out, splashing in shallow water nearby. “I'm drowning!”

Robin joined Nami and Tenshi at the stern of the ship, taking in the current situation. “Given how much the tide has gone out, we won't have to worry about the ship sinking until the next high tide,” she said.

“But we can't move, either,” Nami pointed out.

“And they're not gonna let us sit around and wait for the next high tide,” Tenshi added.

Having recovered from his brief 'drowning', Luffy stood up on the dry sea bed and said, “Let's have some food!”

“How can you be so carefree at a time like this?!” Nami snapped.

Bright lights suddenly shone on them. It was several searchlights, all aimed directly at the ship. Cannons groaned as they were aimed in their direction as well, from both the rim and the island bases.

“Now this is déjà vu,” Tenshi remarked.

“Attention, 'Straw Hat' Luffy and his crewmates!” Jonathon's voice shouted. It sounded like it was coming through several loudspeakers. “You've fought most valiantly against the Navy's great G-8 Fortress! I'm impressed, enemy as you are. You've done admirably, but this is checkmate, Straw Hat Pirates! Don't you even dare think about trying to escape! I can anticipate everything you might think up!”

“I wonder if he has Mantra,” Tenshi muttered sarcastically.

“As commander of the Navarone Fortress, I will greet the Straw Hat Pirates with utmost respect! Give yourselves up quietly!”

“Luffy!” Nami protested, looking down at Luffy.

Tenshi didn't need to see his face to know he wasn't worried at all.

“'Straw Hat'!” Jonathon continued. “You, Roronoa Zoro, and Nico Robin all have bounties on your heads, so I will have to hand you over to headquarters. But I will guarantee the safety of the rest of your crew—including Ms. Tenshi. But if you even think of escaping... I'll get mad!” He sounded amused and cheerful, like this was all a game.

“Robin has a bounty?” Nami questioned, glancing at her.

“We can worry about that later,” Tenshi said, catching Nami's attention. “We have more important matters at hand, right now.”

“Everyone! Gather 'round!” Usopp shouted, having come up on the deck. “I have one last plan to get us out of here! We still have a chance!”

Her eyes widened when she saw what Usopp was holding in his hand as everyone gathered around. “So you do have an Impact Dial! Where was it?!”

“In my knapsack. But that's not the point!” he said, ignoring Sanji's glare. “When we escaped the fortress, I gathered a ton of impacts! We might be able to make the ship float in the air using this!”

“We just need to use it to go somewhere where there's open ocean!” Nami added.

“But one shot won't be enough,” Sanji pointed out. “With that huge hole, the ship will sink right away!”

“If we could just make the octopus balloon fly again...” Robin said.

“Yeah, good thinking!” Zoro complimented.

“Maybe we can re-inflate it with Flame and Breath Dials?” Tenshi suggested. “Like a proper hot air balloon.”

“Yes!” Chopper cheered. “Yes, that's great!”

Everyone laughed in agreement before sighing. “But the octopus isn't here...” Usopp said.

“The octopus...” Chopper repeated.

“The octopus.”

“Damn octopus...” Sanji muttered.

“The octopus...”

“The octopus?!” Zoro grumbled.

“Where's that octopus?”

“I have it,” Luffy stated cheerfully, having climbed back aboard.

“He says he has it,” Usopp said.

“He has it?”

“He has it,” Nami repeated.

“He damn well has it.”

“So he has it,” Robin observed.

“He has it?”

“Where is it?” Tenshi asked.

“Right here!” Luffy said, suddenly shoving his hands down the front of his pants. Everyone leaped back several feet, absolutely baffled and disgusted. He shuffled around until he finally pulled something out. It was small, floppy, and pink with purple spots. “See?”

“... What did you have that thing for?!” Nami demanded angrily.

“And how long has it been down your pants?!” Tenshi added, glancing at his shorts with disgust.

“It saved our lives on our way back from the sky.”

“Maybe so, but didn't it feel gross?!” Sanji asked.

“Gross how?”

Robin, for her part, just laughed. “Let's have the octopus work for us one last time. Right, Long-Nose?”

Usopp shook his head sharply. “Y-Yeah. But hold on, now I can't find my Flame Dial-”

Luffy pulled a marbled orange and yellow dial out of his pocket and shoved it in Usopp's cheek. “It was neat, so I was playing with it in the kitchen!”

Just as he was about to push the button with his thumb, Tenshi grabbed his wrist and snatched it out of his hand. “We need all the fire power we can use!”

Usopp grunted in agreement. “Now, then! That just leaves us with who will fire this Impact Dial...” He trailed off when he saw everyone grinning widely at him, an almost sinister gleam in their eyes. “... What's with those looks?!”

“Whose Impact Dial is that?” Luffy asked.

“Usopp's,” Zoro replied.

“Right, Long-Nose?”

“It's only natural that the suggester does it,” Sanji stated.

“You're so wonderful, Usopp!” Nami praised.

“I really respect you!”

“And besides, I'll be working the Flame Dial up here,” Tenshi added.

“Y-You can't be serious...” Usopp stammered, shaking in place with a look of nervous fear.

“Oh, come on,” Zoro scoffed. “We'll help you out.”

“Then it's decided!” Luffy declared.

Ignoring Usopp's scream of anguish, Chopper and Tenshi got to work furling the sails. He stayed up in the crow's nest after, while she jumped back down to where Nami and Robin had set up the octopus. It was sitting in the middle of the deck, tentacles spread out. “We're all set to go,” she said.

“All set!” Chopper repeated.

“Roger that!” Nami answered back.

Robin, who was looking at the balloon octopus with fascination, said, “This would make such a cute hat design.”

“Yeah? If I had the right colors, I could probably make something like that,” Tenshi remarked.

“Things are ready up here!” Nami shouted down the hatch to the others below deck. “You all take care of things down there!”

She heard Usopp beginning to panic and cry out, “No! I don't wanna! This is gonna hurt like crazy! That Wyper guy lost his arm to one of these!”

“It was a Reject Dial!” Tenshi yelled. “That's an Impact Dial! It has one-tenth the power of a Reject Dial! You'll be fine!”

She vaguely heard Sanji, Zoro, and Luffy counting down before shouting, “Impact!” “Impact!” “Impact!”

With a loud booming crash, the Merry was sent skidding along the ground before hitting a rock just right in order to launch high up into the air. The searchlights seemed to stall before following the ship.

“Wahoo!” Tenshi cheered, jumping up and throwing her fists up into the air. “Go, Merry!”

It didn't take long for them to reach their peak, giving them a preview of the open ocean before they started to fall back down.

“We're falling!” Chopper began to panic from the crow's nest. “We're falling! We're falling!”

“Robin, you're up!” Nami announced.

She lifted her arms up, spreading her hands out. “Cien Fleurs!”

Phantom arms sprouted from under the hull and reached over both sides of the ship to grab the balloon octopus's tentacles. They contracted, pulling the tentacles tight. The octopus spread out wider, catching some of the air as the ship continued to fall. Though this made it stretch bigger, it wasn't enough to even slow down their descent.

Nami stretched up a gray spiral dial and pressed the button. A harsh gust of wind blew out and into the octopus, stretching it out even more.

“We're still falling!” Luffy stated, poking out from below deck.

“Luffy! Your Breath Dial!”

“Right!” He leaped out, grabbed a Breath Dial from his pocket, and held it up to inflate the octopus as well. “Inflate, you!”

“Tenshi! The Flame Dial!”

“Flame!” she shouted, stretching her arm up as far as she could and pushing the button with her thumb. A stream of fire erupted from the dial up into the octopus—the octopus had grown enough to wrap its tentacles around the ship, leaving Robin able to join in with another Flame Dial.

The Merry just barely touched back down into the shallow bay waters as the octopus continued to inflate. But though it was able to make the ship hover just above the water, it still wasn't enough to take off.

“Fly!” Robin called out.

“Please, please, please fly!” Nami pleaded just as the ship started to sink down.

“I said fly, so fly!” Luffy demanded.

“Fly, damn you!” Tenshi snapped.

“FLY!” “FLY!” “FLY!” “FLY!”

Suddenly, the bell of the octopus inflated all the way. At the same time, down below deck, Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji shouted again, “Impact!” “Impact!” “Impact!” This combination launched the ship higher up into the air at a faster pace. And this time, they weren't going back down.

“It's working!” Luffy shouted with excitement. He reached up to pluck Chopper from one of the tentacles, and spun him around with another laugh.

There was a shrill whistle as a bazooka rocket launched up into the air. But instead of shooting straight at the ship or the octopus, it flew messily through the air, just going past them, before hitting the cliffside just above one of the cannon ports.

“Holy shit, what the fuck was that?!” Tenshi exclaimed.

“Who cares?!” Luffy yelled, running to the bow. “Look!”

They were rising up higher and higher before they finally cleared the rim of the Navarone fortress base. The sun was finally rising up over the horizon. The sky was awash with blues, pinks, and oranges.

Everyone was gathered at the bow, with Usopp slumping over the railing with an exhausted and pained look. But he too was watching the sunrise with admiration. “Damn, I'll never get tired of watching a sunrise or sunset,” Tenshi said softly, leaning against the figurehead. “No matter where I am.”

Everyone took a moment to admire their new freedom before looking back at where they escaped from. G-8 was growing smaller as they flew away, revealing the sheer scale of the fortress. “Awesome! It really is a hedgehog!” Luffy said.

“Just look at all those cannons!” Tenshi remarked. She could even see the half-broken bridge.

“Such an impressive-looking fortress!” Chopper added.

“This is goodbye, Old Fortress Guy!”

“Adieu, Jessica-san!”

“Loosen that stick out of your ass, Drake!”

“But are we gonna be okay?” Usopp asked, looking nervous. “Won't we get shot down at this height?”

“This fortress is for protecting the peace at sea,” Robin explained. “They don't have cannons that aim up into the sky.”

“I have a feeling we got off pretty easy, anyway,” Tenshi said. Tashigi... Smoker... Akainu... And so many other Marines out there. And the Fleet Admiral and that Vice Admiral that Jonathon mentioned I reminded him of. I wonder if I'll encounter them all in the future? They're probably not gonna be as nice and easy as these guys were. But I'm gonna show them that I can be a powerful pirate! One worthy of a bounty someday!

“Hey, Tenshi,” Nami said. “The commander back there, he called you something. 'Fallen Angel', I think?”

“Yeah, I guess he did. I didn't come up with it. But it's kinda ironic, don'tcha think?”

“Maybe that'll be your pirate name someday!” Luffy said excitedly.

“... You know what? I like the sound of it. 'Fallen Angel' Sakidō Tenshi. It has a nice ring to it.”

“We're going back to that fortress! They stole all our gold!”

“By 'stash,' I mean money saved up to repair the ship.”

“When you think about it, this ship's been through a lot!”

“It's done so much for us, but now it's all beat up.”

“It's our turn to properly care for the Merry. We owe her that much. We'll be able to sail onward and make even more memories!”

“Let's get a shipwright in our crew!”

“If I were to hide gold in this fortress, this multi-lock storage vault seems like the only place to do it.”

“But are we just gonna leave the Going Merry here? It'll get spotted eventually!”

“'Hide a tree in a forest! Hide a ship in ships!'”

“I have a great idea!”

~ * < We'll Get Our Gold Back! And Our Waver Too! > * ~

With Usopp's idea in mind, the crew left the ship to gather supplies. Like Robin had said, there were plenty of materials that they could use: boards, ropes, sails, and paint. Plus the hardware for attaching everything. All perfect for enacting Usopp's idea of disguising the Going Merry as a Marine warship.

“By the way, Luffy, where'd you hear that proverb?” Tenshi asked as he helped her attach fake sails to the Merry. “The one about hiding trees and ships among other trees and ships.”

“From Shanks!” he said cheerfully.

“... Shanks?”

He nodded. “He was the man who gave me this!” He adjusted his straw hat. “And he's also where I got my Devil Fruit from! 'Red-Haired' Shanks! He's got his own crew, too! The Red-Hair pirates!”

“My dad's one of his crewmembers!” Usopp added from down below, his chest puffing out with pride.

“He saved me from a Sea King after I got my Devil Fruit, though he lost his arm,” Luffy continued. “And I tried to join his crew. But I was a little kid back then, and he told me I wasn't strong enough. I said I would be King of the Pirates someday, and he gave me his hat! He said we would meet again when I got stronger than him, and would give it back to him once I became the Pirate King! He's one of the greatest pirates I know of!”

“Shanks... Why does that name sound so... familiar?”

“Maybe you saw his bounty poster?”

She shook her head. “I would have remembered seeing it. I've seen my fair share of bounty posters in the last six years.”

Even as they continued to work on disguising the Merry, she thought long and hard about it. The name Shanks, and the fact that he had red hair, felt so familiar to her. It was like when she realized Gold Roger made her feel a tiny hint of nostalgic déjà vu. Except this felt a little stronger. But she knew for sure that Roger had visited Skypiea in the past, therefore there was a chance she once met him. Why would this Shanks person make her nostalgic déjà vu feel stronger?

She eventually shrugged it off. It wouldn't do her any good to dwell any further on it. And she had more important things to focus on anyway.

By the time the sun was setting, bathing the sky in a wash of red-orange and dark blue colors, they were finally finished. “What'ya think?!” Usopp exclaimed, sounding extremely proud. “At least now we don't have to worry about it being stolen again!”

If one looked hard enough, they would be able to eventually tell that this was a disguised ship. And a poor disguise, at that. The boards were crooked and unevenly-spaced, the paint jobs were sloppy or simplistic, the sails were old-looking; but the biggest caveat was the fact that it was basically a large shell built around the Going Merry. A single cannonball, or even brushing against the cliffside was bound to break it apart.

“Well... nobody will tell it's a pirate ship at first glance,” Tenshi finally said.

“A bunch of boards all over the Going Merry, what a smart idea,” Zoro remarked, though it sounded more like sarcasm in Tenshi's ears.

“But I'm not sure how long it'll fool people,” Sanji said skeptically, “given how crappy of a job this is...”

“It has to be found first,” she pointed out. “They have to know, by now, that we didn't escape the base. And nobody's tried to search this dock all day.”

“Yep! This is definitely a Navy warship!” Luffy declared happily. “No doubt about it!”

“Yeah!” Chopper agreed.

“You serious?” Zoro muttered.

Nami seemed happy enough, and said, “Alright, then! Now to get our gold back! Everyone, we commence later tonight at midnight! Got that?!”

Everyone cheered in agreement. “But why don't we go now?” Chopper asked.

“'Cause the mood'll be better at night, obviously!” Luffy stated.

“Oh, the mood! I see!”

“No, I don't think that's quite why...” Usopp said quietly.

Tenshi sat down to recline against the cave wall with a small laugh. “It's more likely it's because most of the base will be fast asleep by the time midnight comes. And the dark makes for a better cover. Even if there are patrols out and about, the flashlights will give them away.”

“Ohh!” Chopper exclaimed. “I understand now! But won't we be sleepy too?”

“We'll just have to stay awake.”

“All night?” Luffy asked, tilting his head.

“Obviously not!” Nami snapped before adding in a calmer tone, “We'll sleep until midnight. We have a few hours until then, so we can get some rest.”

“Sounds good to me,” Zoro said, stretching out next to Tenshi to lay flat on the ground, his arms folded behind his head.

“Any excuse for you to sleep on the job is a good excuse,” Sanji mumbled, even as he folded his jacket under his head.

“Are they always like that?” Tenshi asked Nami as she sat on her other side.

“Like an old married couple,” she confirmed, rolling her eyes. “Ever since they met, they've been at each others' throats. But when it comes to getting the job done, they can at least work together.”

Tenshi hummed in thought, and then grinned. “You know what they say about two people who are constantly at each others' throats...?” She bounced her eyebrows in emphasis as her grin widened.

Nami stared at her with irritation before smacking her upside the head. “You're such an idiot!”

“But am I wrong, though?” she asked, rubbing the back of her head.

“Just go to sleep.”

She laughed as moved to lay further away flat on the ground. She stretched out on her stomach. Her arms were folded under her cheek, with her head facing away from the rest of the group. With all the running she did that day, and fighting the Marines, it didn't take long for her to doze off.

It didn't seem very long before Nami was shouting, “Alright, everybody up! It's midnight! On your feet!”

“Don'touch m'feet,” Tenshi mumbled, slowly moving up to kneel and rub her eyes.

“Five more minutes, Ace...” Luffy mumbled, curling up tighter.

“I'm not your brother! Get up!” Nami repeated, kicking him in the back.

Sanji and Robin were already awake. Chopper was still rubbing his eyes and yawning, and Usopp was sitting up to adjust his bandanna. It took them another five minutes to get Zoro and Luffy on their feet. But they were all finally awake.

“Alright, then! Here we go, guys! Ready?!” Nami exclaimed.

Everyone grunted in agreement and started to follow her to go deeper into the rim base. Except for one person, that is.

“Wait, wait!” Usopp said. “Wait, you guys!”

“What's wrong, Usopp?” Luffy asked, his hands folded behind his head.

“Geez, you guys! Are you all just gonna go without thinking this over?!” He sighed heavily and muttered, “This doesn't bode well at all. Look, eight people running around will stand out way too much!”

“That's true, come to think of it,” Zoro agreed.

“Plus, we'll have to worry about you getting separated,” Tenshi teased, resting her elbow on his head, much to his annoyance.

“And even though it's disguised, I'm still worried about Merry!”

“Yeah, given this level of quality,” Sanji scoffed, pointing at it with his thumb.

“You mean they might notice, even though it's so perfect?!” Chopper asked, wide-eyed.

“There's such a thing as worrying too much,” Luffy remarked.

Zoro waved him off. “No one's gonna take this junky-”

“Don't call it junk!” Usopp snapped angrily. “Besides, that isn't even the issue here!” He scoffed again and added, “Honestly! It's like I'm the only one who considers the unexpected! There's no doubt it's gonna get sunk the next time it's spotted. Not to mention, Nami! You never answered Tenshi's question about the waver!”

“Oh, right! I did use it to escape the ship! I left it hidden in some grass!”

“And you were so excited about keeping it, too,” Tenshi said with a snort. “Too much gold in your eyes, methinks.”

“That's exactly what I mean!”

“My bad, I'm sorry,” Nami said, smiling awkwardly as she scratched the back of her head.

“... Well, stupidity aside... Alright, crew. I'll now explain the plan, so listen good!” He took the map of Navarone and spread it out flat on the floor. Luffy, Nami and Tenshi sat around it, with Chopper standing with them. Robin sat on a nearby crate, and Zoro and Sanji stood around them.

“Okay, gentlemen and ladies! Here's the plan! First, the gold recovery team! This will consist of Luffy, Zoro, Robin, and myself, Captain Usopp-sama! And the waver recovery team will consist of Nami, Tenshi, and one other... Sanji!”

Chopper let out a pouty whine, and Sanji cheered loudly. “Nice plan, Usopp!” He practically pranced over to them and placed his hands on their shoulders. “I look forward to working alongside you two ladies!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Nami muttered, nudging his hand away.

“Ease up there, Romeo,” Tenshi added, twitching her shoulder out from under his other hand.

“Dumbass eyebrows,” Zoro muttered, much to Sanji's anger.

“Hey, Usopp!” Chopper wailed, climbing onto Zoro's shoulder. “Why am I being left alone with the ship again?!”

“I can stay instead,” Tenshi volunteered.

“No way,” Usopp denied. “My team formatting is perfect. And don't worry, Chopper, Merry's completely disguised, so you can almost rest easy!”

“Almost?!”

“And besides, who's gonna tend to our injuries if something happens?” he continued. “Eh, Super Doctor?!”

This snapped Chopper out of his mini tantrum. He jumped down to the ground, swaying back and forth on the tips of his hooves as he smiled shyly. “You dummy! Praising me won't help you, you jerk! Eh-heh-heh!”

With that settled, Usopp got back to explaining his plan. “Alright, here's where we are now,” he said, placing a dial on the map. “The gold recovery team will avoid all regular routes and take the shortest path along the coast to the storage vault.” He traced along the rim of the base with a stick. He turned to Nami and asked, “Do you remember where you hid the waver?”

“Yes. By the bay on the eastern side of the island. At the base of the rim... Right around here.” She pointed it out on the map.

“That's almost right across from the jail Zoro and Usopp were in,” Tenshi said.

Usopp hummed in thought, looking a little frustrated. “Almost the exact opposite side... It'll take too long to go by land...” He glanced up past Sanji and Robin, and suddenly exclaimed, “Oh! Yes! Right there!”

Leaning against a pile of broken and empty crates was a small rowboat, marked as belonging to the Navy. There were a few boards nailed to the bottom, but it still looked mostly intact. There was a life preserver sitting on top of the nose.

“Nami! You three rush across the bay in that boat!” Usopp said. “And we'll all meet back here, at the Going Merry!”

Everyone stood up and raised their fists. “Right!” “Right!” “Right!” “Right!” “Right!” “Right!” “Right!”

Once Chopper climbed back onto the Merry, and Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, and Robin disappeared into the base to fetch the gold, Nami, Sanji, and Tenshi were left to drag the rowboat out to the water. Thankfully, there were also a pair of oars to go with the boat.

“Sanji, I can help you with that,” Tenshi said, trying to grab up the stern of the rowboat.

“No, no, I have it!” Sanji insisted. “You needn't lift a finger, Tenshi-sama!”

“You should know, by now, that he won't let up,” Nami said with an amused smirk.

“I'm just not used to people, let alone men, being like this to me.”

“We know, we know.” Nami patted her on the shoulder.

“Your gondola awaits, my ladies!” Sanji exclaimed, gesturing out to the rowboat.

Shaking her head with a sigh, Tenshi carefully stepped into the boat, ignoring Sanji's outstretched hand to assist her. She didn't notice he looked put out by it as she settled in. But he was back in good spirits as he helped Nami in, and then climbed in as well. He put the oars in the oarlocks and began to row as Tenshi pushed them away from the dock. “I can row, Sanji,” she offered.

“Nonsense! It's my honor to row for you two ladies!” he declared.

They set off, under the moonlit sky. It was full tonight, letting off the brightest light it could. As she glanced up at it, Tenshi couldn't help but wonder if Enel was up there by now, having found his Endless Vearth. It must be lonely up there. Perhaps that was exactly what he wanted. After all, he wanted to destroy Skypiea because he decided it didn't belong in the sky; just as he did so with Birka.

She let out a snort, trying to banish such thoughts from her head. She didn't need to think about her big brother anymore. He didn't deserve to occupy such space in her brain. Not after he ruined it.

“The stars! The moon!” Sanji began talking to himself, sounding elated. “And I'm all alone with Nami-san and Tenshi-sama in a boat beneath them! Such a wonderful situation! I feel like I'm in a dream!”

Nami, in the meantime, was using binoculars to look back at the bay. It was then that Tenshi noticed searchlights in the distance, and small dots moving along the water's surface. “Warships?”

“Yeah. They're moving along the bay.” She lowered her binoculars as she added, “But what are they doing?”

“Like I said, they've probably figured out, by now, that we didn't escape the base,” Tenshi said. “They're probably looking for us.”

“You might be right... Sanji-kun! Go faster!”

“Yes! As you wish!” He began paddling as fast as he could, speeding the rowboat up.

“But row quietly, please.”

~ * <|> * ~

“Warships dead ahead!” Tenshi said, looking to her left over Sanji's head. “Hold up, Sanji! Stop!”

Sanji quickly reversed the oars, skidding them to a stop.

“Great!” Nami scoffed. “How will we get past them?!”

“There's an entrance to the rim base over there,” Tenshi said, pointing at the shoreline. There was a large metal doorway in the mountain.

“Good eye, Tenshi-sama!” Sanji began to row to shore.

“At least it'll connect to the area where I left the waver,” Nami said. “I'm just worried we'll run into Marines on the way there.”

“I'll protect you, Nami-san and Tenshi-sama!”

“I can protect myself, thanks,” Tenshi stated, gesturing to her rope needles. “I've been doing a pretty good job of it all day.”

“O-of course, Tenshi-sama.”

Once the rowboat was pushed to the shore, Sanji stepped out first. Once again, Tenshi ignored his outstretched hand to get out. But he was able to help Nami out, and they all ran into the base. The lights were on inside the halls, but there wasn't anybody around. Not even around the corners. The only sound was their footsteps echoing as they ran onwards.

This is way too easy. It's becoming a pattern at this rate. Are there more traps? Jonathon's clever enough to leave them. If anyone is likely to realize that we haven't left the fortress yet, it's him.

They eventually had to skid to a stop when they ran into a young soldier. But unlike that of a stationed guard, he had been interrupted when he was going into a room, and immediately started to panic. “P-Pirates!” he cried out, raising his sword. “Y-You're not going any further!”

Must be one of the new recruits. Even as he stood before them, holding his sword out, he was shaking. “Calm down, Junior,” Tenshi said. “We're not planning on doing anything crazy, like destroying the fortress or slaughtering you.”

“Quiet!” the soldier snapped, his voice cracking. “As disrupters of peace, you have to be punished!” He pointed his sword straight at them.

“She just told you, we're not gonna do anything!” Nami said.

“Like I can really believe some pirates!” he countered, still shaking as Sanji approached him. “We are proud to protect these waters, together with our commander!”

“In other words, you're saying you'll risk your life?” Sanji asked.

“Obviously!” The soldier raised his sword up to slam it down at him.

But Sanji simply spun on his heel and kicked the sword up into the ceiling. Before the soldier had a chance to realize what had happened, Sanji immediately kicked him in the stomach. He collapsed on his knees, and eventually his face, with a pained gasp.

“Then go eat a lot and train some more!” Sanji snapped.

“Let's go before someone hears that!” Tenshi exclaimed, running ahead. She could hear Nami and Sanji following after her.

Eventually, they found another doorway that led outside. This one, to Nami's delight, led to the grassy field she hid the waver in. “They won't see us in here!” she said, running ahead.

“They'll see my seven-foot ass!” Tenshi hunched down awkwardly, having to take long steps on bent legs to keep up. “I hate having to walk like I need to find a bathroom! Numbers one, two, or three? I'll let you know when I get there!”

“What's number three?” Sanji asked in confusion.

“We ladies only get that once a month for a week straight,” she answered. “Except mine hates proper scheduling.”

“Too much information, Tenshi! And not the right time for it!”

They walked deeper into the grass, looking around for any sign of the waver. Tenshi could hear Nami muttering to herself, and started to wonder if somebody found and confiscated it. Given their luck, she wouldn't be surprised; though, she was wise enough to not bring up the possibility.

But then she heard her say with delight, “Found it!”

She and Sanji joined her, and found the waver covered in pulled up grass to further hide it. “Nice idea,” she complimented.

“If things are going as planned, Luffy and the others should be headed back to the dock with our gold in hand,” Sanji added.

“I'm sorry, I really did forget about this!” Nami said, still sounding embarrassed. “I didn't put it together earlier, but it works on the Blue Sea too!”

“That doesn't surprise me. Noland's logbook did mention them playing with one,” Tenshi recalled. “They just weren't very good at it.”

“Right! Now we just gotta hurry back!”

They both brushed the grass off of the waver, and Nami started it up. “Sanji-kun, hold on tight! And you hold onto him, Tenshi!”

“ONTO YOU?!” Sanji cried out, clasping his hands together with delight. “AND TENSHI-SAMA ONTO ME?! I'm so happy to be alive!” He fell to his knees and continued, “God! Buddha! I thank you so much!”

Tenshi silently stared at him, one eyebrow raised in bewilderment. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just get on already!” Nami said. “We don't have all night!”

“Don't mind if I do, then!” He leaped into the waver and wrapped his arms around her. Except instead of her waist, it was around her chest, holding her arms down by proxy.

“YOU MORON!” she shouted angrily. “I CAN'T STEER LIKE THIS!” She swiftly elbowed him in the face, causing him to fall on his back—thankfully, still in the waver.

“Your expressions of love are so dynamic...” he mumbled, still looking ecstatic, even as his nose began to bleed. “I collapse and literally fall in love...”

Not bothering to wait to see if he would get up again, Tenshi promptly boarded the waver and sat on him. “Ready when you are, Nami,” she said, gripping the sides of the waver.

“Alright, here goes!” She squeezed the handlebars. They took off along the ground and through the grass, nearly capsizing before they managed to hit the water. Just like Nami said, they were able to drive along it, just like they did on the island clouds.

She could hear Sanji gasping with glee, now realizing what was going on. “Ah! Tenshi-sama's voluptuous hips! Her rotund ass! Her strong thighs! I never want to move again!”

She didn't even need to look back to see what he was doing. She could see his shaking hands hovering over her hips in her peripheral vision, his fingers flexed in anticipation. “You grab me anywhere, and I'll rip your hands right off your wrists.”

“S-So tempting...” But his arms dropped back into the boat.

Even with the loud noise of the waver's engine, it was much easier to avoid the warships and searchlights by going along the coastline. Halfway back to the dock, Nami steered them into some craggy rocks to get a vantage point. “Security's gotten a lot tighter within the last ten minutes...”

“That just makes me wonder what's going on with the others.” When Sanji started to talk excitedly about being alone with her and Nami again, without even a glance back, Tenshi reached her arm behind her and covered his mouth with her hand. His surprised grunt turned to one of delight.

“You were right, Tenshi. The Marines are definitely certain that we're still inside the base. But why are they just sitting around? I don't like this...”

“It won't do us any good just sitting around, wondering what's going on. How's about we take the noisy pervert back to the ship? Maybe the rest of the crew made it back by now.”

Nami nodded in agreement.

Thankfully, even with them having to be careful around the warships and searchlights, they managed to make it back to the dock. The disguised Merry was still there. “Chopper!” Nami called out as they pulled up alongside the ship.

“Nami! Sanji! Tenshi!” Chopper gasped as he clung to the ship's disguise to look over the edge. “You're alright! I-I wasn't lonely at all, you dummies!” he insisted, even as his fur was soaked with tears and snot.

“You're so brave, Chopper!” Tenshi praised. “Thank you for being so patient!”

“Are Luffy and the rest not back yet?!” Nami asked, looking around. There wasn't anybody else to greet them, whether on the boat or the dock.

“Nope! I've been keeping watch all alone!”

“That's strange.”

“Something might have happened,” Tenshi suggested.

Nami looked at her over her shoulder, gasping in realization. “Then, the gold, too?”

“No doubt about it.”

Nami looked back up at Chopper and said, “We're gonna go look!”

“More romantic alone time with Nami-san and Tenshi-sama!” Sanji cheered, still being sat upon by Tenshi.

“All alone again?!” Chopper protested.

“You're staying here too, Sanji-kun.”

He grunted in protest. “And I have a favor to ask you,” Nami continued. “If the others come back before Tenshi and I, send the Merry out as if it's a warship to 'join' the others. If we're disguising it as one, we might as well use it to our advantage.”

After letting Sanji disembark onto the dock, Tenshi stood behind Nami and held onto her shoulders as she drove the waver back out to the bay. But instead of going along the water, she drove it up the cliffside to find the vault Robin had pointed out on the map. Thankfully, there were makeshift pathways along the cliff, making it easy to traverse the precarious territory.

When they reached a dead end, they both peeked around the rocks, only to see a group of Marines running alongside the mountain. “The Straw Hats fled into the mountains!” one of the soldiers shouted—Tenshi recognized him from last night. “Comb the hills! Hurry! No dawdling!”

Another soldier was helping someone walk along. “Are you alright, Major Shepherd?!”

“Hey, that's the balding gray monkey from the jail,” Tenshi said. Except he was now wearing a Marine overcoat with red epaulets. “So he's the inspector who came to shut down G-8. What was he doing in the jail, mistaken for a pirate?”

“Damn it! I almost had them too!” Shepherd snapped. “But finding an empty vault doesn't mean they'll give up just yet. We still have a chance!”

Nami and Tenshi ducked back behind the rocks. The vault must have been a trap!

“Well, I figured this might happen, so the next step is already set,” Shepherd continued, sounding smug now. “I always know what I'm doing!” He marched away, with the other soldiers following him.

“He's a cocky one,” Tenshi remarked.

“If the vault was a trap, then where is the gold?!” Nami asked.

“And where are the others now?”

“Bye! Thanks for all the food and rest! Much appreciated!”

“That's the fortress' gateway: the 'Sea Gate.'”

“Gumo Gumo no Balloon!”

“We have no cannonballs... or explosives...?”

“... FUCK!” “... AAAGGGHHH!”

“We've been had...”

“Nami, you got off the ship with the waver, right? Where is it?”

“AAAGGGHHH!”

~ * < Take Our Gold Back! Let's Get Ourselves a Shipwright! > * ~

Tenshi turned around from the storeroom door, leaving Nami to numbly stare at the emptiness inside. The Merry was still sailing onward into the huge plume of smoke, which was continuing to expand out and up into the sky. Just before they were swallowed up, she pulled her goggles back down over her eyes, not wanting to take a chance at hurting them again.

A bright light was shining, cutting through the gray smoke. The Sea Gate had been successfully destroyed.

“It's the outside ocean!” Luffy exclaimed happily. “We can get out if we go straight ahead!”

“No! We can't leave!” Nami shouted, finally breaking out of her stupor.

Everyone, save for Tenshi, turned to her in bewilderment. “Take the ship back!” she continued to yell. “Turn it around! Hurry! We're going back to that fortress! They stole all our gold!”

“Say what?!” Zoro asked, affronted.

“A-Are you insane, Nami?!” Usopp said. “We almost died trying to get this far!”

“I'm very sane! Even if we make it out, there's no point without the gold!”

Chopper let out a groan. “When money is involved, she can be strangely persuasive...”

“I love that side of Nami-san too!” Sanji declared happily.

“But we just made that huge hole!” Luffy complained. “Why can't we just leave now?!”

“Aren't we pirates, Luffy?!”

“... Yeah.”

“Don't you think pirates leaving gold behind is shameful?!”

“... Right.”

“And besides, that gold's hundreds of years old,” Tenshi added. “It's probably worth a ton! And we were all talking about what we wanted to spend it on just yesterday.”

“Then it's decided!” Nami raised her hand as she commanded, “Right rudder, full! Make a U-turn and take us back to the fortress!”

“Right, got it!” Chopper agreed.

“Yes! As you wish, Nami-san!”

Tenshi ran to the stern, and grabbed the rope used to control the lateen sail. She untied it from the clew and pulled it as hard as she could to starboard.

The Merry made a tight turn to the right, knocking everyone who wasn't paying attention off their feet and against the bulwark. They just barely missed the destroyed Sea Gate to get turned around.

*DING!* *DING!* *DING!*

Her ears perked up at a bell ringing through the smoke. It wasn't anything like The Light of Shandora. It sent a chill along her back, especially as it began to speed up.

“... These are alarm bells for signaling your location to other ships in the fog!” Nami exclaimed, holding a hand to her ear.

Now that she knew what they were, Tenshi paid closer attention to them. She could almost start to sense how far away the alarm bells were, where they were coming from, and where they were going. But she wasn't sure if that was because of her Mantra trying to kick in, or her just being able to sense it naturally.

“One's coming straight for us!” Nami said.

“How's that? Is that good enough, Nami-san?” Sanji called out from the lounge.

“No! Left rudder, full! We have to change course or we'll crash!”

Tenshi was already pulling the lateen sail to the other side. And the Merry's rudder was flipped in time to avoid a large warship sailing through the smoke. She could hear the alarm bell being rung clearly now. But luckily, it was still too smoky for anyone to spot them.

Keeping a strong hold of the rope with one hand, she flipped off the ship with the other. Her tongue was hanging out as she laughed and said, “Ha-ha, get fucked!”

Everyone else sighed with relief as the warship continued sailing on, disappearing through the smoke. “We almost wound up in pieces without ever seeing the gold again...” Nami said wearily.

*DING-DING-DING!*

More alarm bells went off. And the ship coming at them was either ringing theirs fast, or there were more than one this time. “There are lots more wind chimes than before!” Luffy remarked.

“They's some loud-ass wind chimes!”

“There's one, two-no, even more warships coming from the smoke!” Nami exclaimed.

Tenshi climbed up to stand on the railing, leaning out over the water while holding tight to the lateen sail's rope. She squinted, trying to make out the upcoming shapes through the smoke. “... I see five!”

“Nami-san! What'll it be? Left or right rudder?!”

“More left!” she shouted to Sanji, then said a little quieter, “We gotta get out of this smoke!”

It felt like she was getting more calluses, or at least rope burn in her palms. Though she had practiced sailing before, and worked with various thicknesses of strings, Tenshi never had to actively sail a ship before. Especially not in such a perilous situation. Nor in such visually-impaired places.

But she was a sailmaster. This was her job now. She swore to do her best; and her best, she would do.

“C'mon, Merry, work with me here!” She pulled and loosened the rope at just the right times to keep the little ship sailing onward, weaving through the warships. Back and forth she ran, sometimes even leaping, from port to starboard and back. Her eyes widened with a grimace when she realized just how close they came to scraping along the side of one of the warships. She could see the grains in the painted wood on the hull, and the details of the letters of MARINE along it. For a moment, she was worried they would get spotted.

But they made it through, leaving the ships behind. “... Nailed it!” she exclaimed with a grin.

“Good job, Tenshi!” she heard Nami call out. “Keep her going straight!”

“Straight as an arrow!” She adjusted the lateen sail, but didn't tie it off just yet.

“We have to get out of this dangerous smoke as quickly as possible!” Nami continued.

“They're gonna spot us, you know!” Zoro pointed out.

“Yeah!” Usopp agreed. “We'll be sitting ducks once we leave the smoke! We'll get blasted and wind up at the bottom of the ocean!”

“We can't just stay in the smoke,” Tenshi stated. “It's gonna clear up eventually. Then, we'll really be spotted!”

“She's right!” Nami said. “We'll just have to play it by ear!”

“Navigator,” Robin said. “I did some research in the reference room. This fortress actually used to house many more people and warships.”

“Hey now, Robin! This is no time for old stories!” Usopp protested.

Not listening to him, she continued, “It was military downsizing. They've really fallen into decline. So, it seems there are many unused docks in this port.”

“Unused docks... I see! That's some nice info, Robin!” Nami announced loudly, “Guys! We're gonna hide the Going Merry in an old dock!”

“And where exactly is that?!” Usopp questioned.

“Just follow my orders!”

“Whoo, my hands are gonna be sore tonight,” Tenshi muttered, continuing to pull and loosen the lateen sail's rope. Thankfully, she didn't have to be nearly as quick with the adjustments. There were no sharp turns. And even when they eventually found an empty dock, it didn't take much for her to help steer the ship inside. It certainly helped that Sanji and Chopper were still at the whipstaff.

Finally, the ship was docked. Unlike Dock 88, it was quiet and dark. Very much abandoned. There were piles of old ship parts and lumber scattered about and in piles, all covered in a thick layer of dust. The only light source came from the opening of the dock.

“Excellent steering, Sailmaster,” Robin remarked as Tenshi walked down to the maindeck, massaging her palms. She had already furled the lateen sail, and was getting ready to do the same with the mainsail.

“Thanks. I just gotta figure out a way to do my job without tearing my hands apart. Lotion's only gonna do me so much.”

“Perhaps some gloves would be good for you.”

“Yeah, I'll have to go searching for some in the future.”

“Where'd you suppose those warships all went?” Luffy wondered, folding his arms behind his head.

“Since they were chasing us to the Sea Gate, they probably think we escaped,” Usopp said.

“They won't for long, since we can't disappear or get away fast,” Zoro pointed out. “They'll eventually realize we turned around.”

“We have this for cover, at least,” Nami said as she walked into the storeroom. “Even if they think to look in the abandoned docks, there's so many to look in!”

“I hope if we do get caught, Drake isn't among the ones doing the catching,” Tenshi remarked. “After all this, he's gonna skin me alive for real!”

“How'd you piss this guy off so badly, anyway?” Zoro asked, both bewildered and impressed.

“Just by being me,” she said proudly. “But I think he's mostly pissed that I was able to pull the wool over almost everyone's eyes by pretending to be a hostage. He was the only one who made it clear he suspected me.”

“The old fortress guy said he knew the whole time too,” Luffy pointed out.

“Don't remind me...”

After several minutes, with the sails all furled, Nami returned from the storeroom, back in her regular clothes. She did a double-take at Tenshi and asked in exasperation, “Why are you still wearing that Marine cap?!”

She reached up and adjusted the cap, having forgotten that she was still wearing it. “I thought it looked pretty snazzy,” she said, smiling again. “And besides, maybe I can use it in the future. Or it can be just a souvenir.”

After a beat, Nami grabbed the cap by the bill and yanked it off of Tenshi's head. But because her hair had been pulled through the back, she unintentionally—or perhaps intentionally—pulled it. She hunched down, grabbing her head with a loud yelp of pain.

Unperturbed, Nami marched to the side of the ship and frisbeed the cap towards the opening of the dock. It spun far away before landing in the ocean with a small splash.

“... That was my hat.”

“FORGET ABOUT THE HAT!” she yelled, making Tenshi flinch in surprise. “WE HAVE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT!”

~ * <|> * ~

Everyone was gathered in the kitchen. Luffy and Chopper sat at one head of the table, and Sanji sat across from him; Usopp and Zoro were on Luffy's left side, and Nami and Tenshi were on his right side. Robin stood off to the side, leaning back against the wall.

“What do we do now, Nami?” Usopp asked.

“It's not too late yet,” Zoro added. “We should just go back to the gate and get out onto the ocean.”

“Yeah! These guys mean business! It's a shame about the gold, but our lives are more important.”

“What do you think, Luffy?” Chopper asked.

Luffy, who was slumped onto the table, moaned out, “We need the gold! But I'm hungry! Sanji! Food!”

“I'll look for some food and make you something,” Sanji said, standing up.

“Do you have that tuna meatballs recipe saved?” Tenshi asked as he walked to the refrigerator. “That was really good back there.”

“Ah, you liked it?!” he exclaimed happily. “I'll add it to my usual roster of recipes!”

“But the storeroom is empty,” Usopp pointed out. “We have no gold, ammo, or food.”

“There's gotta be something left somewhere.”

With her arms folded tightly across her chest, Nami asked firmly, “Do you all really think it's okay to escape without getting the gold back?”

Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, and Chopper all nodded. She shrugged her shoulders with a playful sigh. “Well, that's certainly a pity. After all, pirate treasure is always divided up. And given all that gold, we'd each have gotten so much money!”

Their eyes were all now widened with intrigue, and they were grinning. “Divided up?!” Usopp exclaimed.

“Naturally.”

“I've been waiting for this!” Luffy shouted. “I'm gonna buy me a bronze statue!”

“Yeah! Can we buy books?!” Chopper asked. “I want the latest medical books! I want to study all sorts of new medical techniques!”

Sanji pulled out a soroban and began to push around the beads as he muttered, “New pots and frying pans... silverware... giant mousetraps... That leaves a crapload left over!”

“I can drink all I want!” Zoro cheerfully remarked. He turned to Tenshi and asked, “What about you, Tensh? What're you gonna buy?”

“I don't need anything, really.”

“You just talked about yarn being expensive yesterday,” Sanji pointed out, putting away his soroban. “There's probably all sorts of different yarns out there for you to experiment with and create more beautiful things with.”

“It was just a joke, I was kidding. I don't need to-”

“Tensh, you're a part of the crew now. And that means you'll get a share of the treasure; spending money for you to get anything your heart desires. You want that yarn? Buy it.”

The others all voiced their agreements, nodding. She sighed wearily, but smiled softly. She never had much money to spend frivolously on things for herself, between her job at the Wild Cherry not paying much, and her saving up as much as she could for a proper boat to leave Jaya. It was a little overwhelming, the idea that she would be able to buy almost anything her heart desired. And it was strange to have, arguably, so many people encouraging her to do it. But it made her feel good, too. “You guys really like twisting my arm, huh?”

Now that they were all in agreement that they wanted the gold after all, Nami stated, “Right. First, my stash will be 80%!”

“Hold on a second!” “Hold on a second!” “Hold on a second!” “Hold on a second!” “Hold on a second!”

“I knew it!” Tenshi laughed out loud, slapping a hand over her forehead.

“Just kidding.”

“Obviously!” Usopp exclaimed, smacking his hand against the table. “You can't just openly have a secret stash on this little ship!”

“By 'stash,' I mean money saved up to repair this little ship,” Nami explained with a wink.

“The ship?” Luffy asked. “You mean Merry?”

“That's right. The Going Merry is what brought us where we are now.”

“Come to think of it, it has given us a ride on the seas ever since my East Blue village...” Usopp said, gazing off into space.

“Really? That far back?” Tenshi asked.

“She was a present from Usopp's friend,” Zoro explained.

“We've made so many memories with this ship...” Nami said, nostalgia heavy in her eyes.

“And it was with us when we crossed Reverse Mountain and burst onto the Grand Line...” Zoro recalled.

“And then the sky islands...” Sanji added.

“And I even risked my life to protect it!” Chopper exclaimed, holding out his arms in emphasis.

“And then someone fixed the ship for us...” Tenshi said, remembering what Usopp had told her: a small child-like figure, wearing a raincoat, with nothing but a small hammer in its hand and a smile on its face. She was so sure she knew what it was, and what it meant...

“I really saw it!” Usopp exclaimed, glaring at Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji's skeptical expressions.

Luffy's expression faded to a fond smile. “When you think about it, this ship's been through a lot!”

“It's done so much for us,” Nami agreed, “but now it's all beat up.”

Tenshi nodded. “It's our turn to properly care for the Merry. We owe her that much. We'll be able to sail onward and make even more memories!”

Usopp eagerly nodded. “Good idea! The Going Merry's Great Repair!”

“I'm all for it!” Luffy cheered.

Nami nodded. “Okay, then. Since we don't know how much it'll cost, we'll hold off on dividing up the treasure when we get it back.”

“There's bound to be a bank at a future island, so we can have it examined and priced,” Tenshi added.

“They took most of the food,” Sanji confirmed, carrying a large plate to the table, “but not the stuff in the fridge.” The plate was full of sandwiches and meats, some of which were on skewers. “Dig in.”

“What about my mint milk?” Tenshi asked as everyone began to grab some food.

“It's still there,” he said, pouring her a glass of the green-tinted milk.

“Nobody but you drinks that crap,” Zoro stated.

She simply flipped him off as she took a sip. “I don't remember us ever getting mint milk,” Nami stated, looking at Tenshi with suspicion.

“I made it,” she explained. “I just crushed some mint leaves and mixed it in with the milk.”

“I certainly hope you didn't use all of our milk...”

“Of course not. I'm not selfish.”

“Sometimes that's the problem,” Zoro muttered as he ate one of the small cut meats. She grunted in confusion, but didn't ask for clarification. “And anyway, your and Usopp's cheap repairs are just about at their limits.”

“I'm trying my best!” she protested. “I've sewn sails together before, but I'm getting used to sewing up active sails!”

“And I'm a sniper, not a shipwright!” Usopp added indignantly. “But yeah, Mekao-san said the same thing; that it needs real repairs.”

Sanji grunted in agreement. “We should go to a real shipbuilding dock and have real shipwrights fix it for us.”

“There are people better than you at fixing ships, Usopp?” Chopper asked as he munched on a cooked onion.

“Sometimes you gotta take extra good care, or you'll wind up paying for it later!”

“Alright, it's decided!” Luffy declared, standing up. “Let's get a shipwright in our crew!”

A shipwright as a new crewmember. That sounded like an extremely smart idea. And the more on the crew, the merrier—no pun intended.

“Our journey is far from over!” Luffy continued. “We need those skills anyway... And Merry is our home! Our life! Let's find us a shipwright who can keep it safe!” His impromptu speech evidently done, he sat back down and began to sip from his teacup.

“There he goes again...” Sanji muttered.

“Yeah,” Zoro agreed, “on a rare occasion, he gets straight to the point.”

“That's the best way!” Usopp remarked. “Let's do it!”

“Okay, then that's the plan!” Luffy confirmed.

“I hope we can find someone good!”

“And we need a musician, too!”

“A musician?!” Tenshi laughed. “Why one of those, of all people?”

“Don't ask him, it's not important,” Sanji said.

“It's nice to be all excited, but have you forgotten what comes first?” Nami asked.

“What's that?” “What's that?” “What's that?” “What's that?”

“We have to get our gold back!”

“Oh, right...” Luffy muttered, lifting his teacup again.

“Question is, where's it hidden?” Zoro questioned.

“Drake sent it off to a forensic lab when they looked over the ship—sorry, Nami. I wasn't in a position to stop them.”

“No, no. It's not your fault.”

“It's probably in a vault by now, anyway,” Usopp said.

“We know that!” Sanji snapped. “The problem is, we don't know where it is!”

“You don't have to yell at me!”

Robin walked up to the Navarone map, which was now pinned on the wall, and pointed at a spot in the northern area of the outer rim. “Wouldn't it be here? It's only a guess, but if I were to hide gold in this fortress, this multi-lock storage vault seems like the only place to do it.”

Almost everyone jumped to their feet in realization. “You're so smart, Robin-chan!”

“Yeah, that does seem the most likely!” Nami agreed.

“It looks big enough!” Tenshi added.

“Alright, guys! Let's go there and get our gold back!”

“But are we just gonna leave the Going Merry here?” Usopp asked. “It'll get spotted eventually!”

Luffy finished another sip of his tea and said, “'Hide a tree in a forest! Hide a ship in ships!'”

Everyone stared at him in bewilderment before sighing heavily. “What, that's it?” Zoro muttered.

“You shouldn't try to get too serious that often,” Sanji advised.

“Even if this is a ship, it's a pirate ship,” Tenshi pointed out. “Among Marine warships, at that.”

“These are the remains of a dock where ships were built and repaired,” Robin stated. “When we came in, I saw plenty of abandoned materials.”

Usopp gasped. “I have a great idea!”

“Where's the Going Merry?!”

“Dock 88!” “Dock 88!”

“Jonathon's pretty smart and perceptive. He's already laid out a few traps for us.”

“I'm leaving, no matter what!”

“At least we made it to the correct side of the bridge.”

“Let's keep going, then. Which way is it?”

“Oh. That way.”

~ * < Here's Our Ship, Dude! But We've Been Robbed! > * ~

Once everyone got their bearings, especially Luffy, they got to their feet and followed Usopp into the base. He was slowly getting more confident with each hallway they ran through, muttering breathlessly about how he was starting to recognize where he was going.

“Is this really the right way, Usopp?!” Zoro asked. Tenshi could tell he was getting tired of running around the seemingly endless mazes of hallways and cliffside paths. As was she.

“Don't worry!” he answered. “This is definitely it! Keep moving!”

“I recognize this hallway!” she exclaimed happily. “We're not too far away!”

“Y-Yeah! Merry's dock was just around the corner there!” Usopp confirmed excitedly.

“Alright! Let's steal our ship back!” Luffy cheered as they rounded the corner. But they had to skid to a stop with startled gasps and cries.

They made it to Dock 88, alright. But it didn't house just the Going Merry.

It was full of Marines, all with various weapons. The group stretched across the whole dock, blocking the pirates' access to Merry. There were even rows of them up in the rafters, aiming rifles at them.

And at the front of the small army? Lieutenant Commander Drake.

“Now this is something,” Sanji remarked with a low whistle.

“So we were being ambushed!” Zoro added.

“This is really getting old,” Tenshi muttered, her hand palming at her needles again.

The whole time, Usopp was letting out a low, high-pitched whine of fright.

“Sniper Team 7, to the front!” Drake commanded. “Take aim!”

A small group of Marines marched a few steps forward, crouched down, and aimed their rifles at them.

“Just like that?!” Usopp whimpered, taking a step back. He grabbed the back of Tenshi's overalls, like he meant to hide behind her. Zoro and Sanji prepared to attack as well, grabbing a sword and bend at the knees; Tenshi grabbed the loop tail of her rope again.

“Gumo Gumo no...”

“Fire!”

Just as the rifles went off, Luffy expanded his body. “Balloon!”

Usopp and Tenshi grunted in surprise when they were knocked backwards and onto their backs from the sudden expansion. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw the bullets pushing through Luffy's body enough to stretch the skin through his back. But they didn't penetrate through. There weren't even any signs of blood.

Then, they snapped back. She could hear the loud pops against metal as the bullets were basically fired back at the Marines, no rifles required on Luffy's part.

As he deflated back to normal, Zoro and Sanji leaped back to their feet from where they had been knocked away to the sides. “What are you doing?!” “What are you doing?!”

“Can we get a better forewarning next time?!” Tenshi asked, sitting up and rubbing the back of her head.

“Cannon Team 12, to the front!”

This time, it was several soldiers, each with what looked like a bazooka gun. “Fire!” Drake commanded.

After the initial explosions, the projectiles whistled through the air as they flew through the air before landing on the floor with loud clangs in front of Sanji, Luffy, and Zoro. They looked more like giant bullets than the usual rockets that bazookas launched, and didn't even do anything.

“... Duds?” Luffy questioned, looking down at one that landed at his feet.

Suddenly, they all exploded with such a bright flash, Tenshi briefly worried that Enel had somehow struck the base. But though the explosions were loud, they weren't like the loud thunder she could still hear in her head if she imagined it hard enough. And they also released clouds of smoke that quickly filled the dock.

She could feel the effects almost immediately. Her eyes stung so badly, they instantly watered. And her lungs were also stinging, causing her to cough so violently, she thought she would be sick.

The others coughing and groaning as well. “Damn, what is this?!” Sanji exclaimed. “My eyes!”

“I can't see!” Luffy cried out. “My eyes are all irritated!”

“They were flash bombs!” Usopp yelled.

“I'm already blind enough to need glasses as it is!” Tenshi complained, furiously rubbing at her eyes.

“Sword Team, to the front! Charge!”

Even through her heavy coughing, Tenshi could hear the soldiers running at her. “Hol'up! Gimme a minute! I don't have my shit!” Her voice was wheezing from how hard she was coughing.

Something in her told her to dodge. She leaned back as far as she could, wincing when, through the smoke and tears, she saw a sword slicing horizontally where her torso just was. It barely missed bouncing off of the buckles of her overalls. She also managed to see the soldier was wearing dark goggles.

“Cheaters!” she shouted, using the backwards momentum to kick him upside the chin. She jumped back onto her feet in time to see Sanji kicking two other soldiers aside. But then one leaped through the smoke, his sword aimed at either one of them. “Sanji, duck!” she yelled, getting ready to attack.

Though he did duck, something else attacked the soldier. It was a small explosive projectile that hit him dead-center, knocking him back.

When she and Sanji looked behind them, they saw Usopp standing proudly, holding out a green slingshot, with his other hand held back. His goggles were pulled down to cover his eyes. He pumped his fist and declared, “I can see!”

“Oh, that's some nice equipment there,” Sanji remarked.

Usopp reached his hand into his knapsack, shuffled around for something, and tossed them to Sanji and Tenshi. “You can borrow these!”

They both managed to catch what was thrown at them: a pair of shaded goggles for each of them. Hers were even big enough to go over her glasses.

“Thanks!”

“You just have a collection of these?” she joked, snapping the goggles over her glasses and eyes with a pained grunt.

“Tatsu Maki!” She could hear the wind from Zoro's attack, sending several soldiers flying away. It even cleared away some of the smoke. He stood there, crouched after his attack, with his swords held outwards, and Wado Ichimonji in his mouth. And his eyes were closed.

“Blinders don't work on me,” he said through the hilt. “Unlike a certain lovesick moron!”

“Gumo Gumo no... Gatling!” Luffy launched several punches at more soldiers, even succeeding in clearing away more smoke. “And... Whip!” He stretched and swung his leg around, sideswiping a larger group aside. But he also accidentally clotheslined Zoro and Sanji.

He snapped his leg back to normal with a chuckle. “That was a cinch!... Huh? Where's Sanji and Zoro?” he asked, looking around in confusion.

“You took care of 'em!” Usopp snapped.

“Ease up on the friendly fire!” Tenshi added.

“Oh, sorry.”

“You dumbass!” Sanji shouted from where he and Zoro were sitting, several meters away. He turned to Zoro, who was groaning in pain, and said, “Alright, you dimwitted moron! What was that you said earlier?!”

Within seconds, they were on their feet, fighting each other. Sanji kicked at him, and Zoro swung his swords at him; Sanji would catch a sword between his hands, and Zoro crossed his swords to block a kick.

“What the heck are you guys fighting for!?” Usopp shouted as Luffy laughed.

“Can you do that later after we escape?!” Tenshi added, baffled. She had heard them have disagreements before, but not all out brawls against each other.

“Fire!”

Another bazooka was shot. But it didn't have a flash bomb as ammo this time. Instead, something almost invisible shot out, covering Luffy. It knocked him off of his feet, sending him tumbling backwards. Even Zoro and Sanji stopped fighting when they heard what happened.

It was a net.

“What the-? Crap!” Luffy was wriggling in the net, his arms and legs practically folded around himself. “I can't get this off!”

“Luffy!” Usopp exclaimed.

But he barely took a step forward before Drake snapped, “Stay right where you are! Your wanted posters say 'dead or alive.' But here at G-8, we prefer alive. But if you resist any further, I can't guarantee that.”

Though dozens of soldiers were knocked unconscious, both scattered and in a pile, there were still plenty more standing. There were even the ones up in the rafters, still aiming their rifles down at them.

“Luffy, why can't you get out of the net?!” Tenshi asked.

His squirming had almost completely ceased, and he looked extremely tired. “I'm... out of strength...”

When she lifted her goggles to her forehead to get a better look, she realized where the threads knotted to form the net, there were small dark gray stones.

“Seastone!” Zoro realized.

“What?!” Sanji exclaimed.

“That's right! That was a Prison Bomb, meant to be used against those with Devil Fruit powers!” Drake said proudly. “What do you think, 'Straw Hat'?!”

Luffy could only let out a weary groan. “Not good!” Usopp hissed through his teeth, taking several steps backwards away from the rifles being aimed at them. He pulled Tenshi back with him by the back of her overalls, making her almost stumble.

The soldiers all marched closer, tightly surrounding everyone. They couldn't move. Even if they grabbed Luffy and ran back down the hall they came through, they would be easy targets; like shooting fish in a barrel.

“Dammit! There's still this many left, even after all the ones we beat?!” Sanji huffed.

“And there's probably a fuckton more to come,” Tenshi added.

“Just give yourselves up,” Drake said firmly. “Escape is absolutely impossible!” He then barked over his shoulder, “All hands, take aim!”

Thunderous footsteps echoed through the dock as the soldiers took firm steps forward. Swords were drawn and rifles were cocked, filling the air with clinks and clicks. Her eyes darted around, trying to find some way to escape or stop this. But her mind was blank. If she was able to tap into her Mantra, it wasn't helping her.

“Attack!”

But a split second before any weapon could be used, two new screams pierced the air from the hall. Something crashed into Usopp hard enough to send him flying through the air. He landed with a heavy thud on the floor.

It was Nami, dressed in a pink and white Marine nurse uniform. She and another girl were holding onto a stretcher, which had a small lump under the blanket. Something with round eyes was peeking out.

“What is this?!” Nami yelled, staring in shock at the scene before her: Usopp crumpled on the ground, Zoro staring at her in bewilderment, Sanji fawning over her, and hundreds of Marines frozen in shock.

“Hey, I was wondering where you were!” Tenshi exclaimed with a smile. She turned to the doctor. “And Dr. Kobato? Fancy seeing you here.”

“Huh? Was that...?” a small voice squeaked from under the blanket. “... Usopp!”

The small lump grew into a large humanoid creature, with the blanket draped over its massive shoulders like a cape. And a pink top hat on its head.

“And Chopper? Quite the party.”

Chopper lifted an unconscious Usopp, worry and anger evident in his eyes. “What terrible injuries! He's been badly wounded! Did the Marines do this?! Damn them all!”

“No, no, no...” “No, no, no...” both Zoro and Sanji drawled, waving their hands in front of their faces.

For several seconds, nobody said a word. Even Drake was stunned into silence, until he shouted indignantly, “Who are you?!”

A shrill scream pierced the air. Tenshi could actually feel the shockwaves through her body. Even when she clamped her hands over her ears, she could still hear it. “I forgot how loud she can scream!”

“What's the big idea?!” Nami snapped as Dr. Kobato's scream faded.

“We've been taken hostage!” she shrieked, her voice not even cracking. “Please save us! We were forced here against our will!”

“Kobato-san...?” Chopper muttered in confusion, having slung Usopp over his shoulder.

She screamed again. “The furry giant is one of the pirates!”

Now both Nami and Dr. Kobato were screaming and begging for help, while poor Chopper frantically asked what was going on.

“What is this?” Zoro asked.

“Who's that other girl?” Sanji questioned.

“How should I know?!”

“They really need to get their cover story straight,” Tenshi mumbled, having caught onto what was going on with the women. With a roll of her eyes, she loosened her rope needles and held them in her hands. “Don't come any closer!” she exclaimed, aiming her needles at the Marines. “Take one step closer, and both these girls get it!”

Finally catching onto the plan, Chopper spun around with a stomp. “That's right! I'm a rough and tough member of the Straw Hats!” he declared, grabbing the hem of the blanket in his free hand and holding it by his face. “Even crying babies shut up around me!” He stomped his foot again and added, “Better do as I say, or these hostages are dead meat!”

As Nami and Dr. Kobato screamed again, Zoro was clapping his hands with a proud grin. Tenshi was struggling to keep her sinister grin in tact. So cute!

Sounding uncomfortable, even in Tenshi's ears, Chopper commanded, “Alright! Have your men stand down and let us through!”

When nobody said or did anything, he continued, “Hurry up, or I'll snap these girls' necks like twigs!”

“He'll do it, too!” Zoro remarked with a grin, pointing his thumb at Chopper. “He's so crazy, not even we can stop him!”

“I was the last sucker who tried to calm him down!” Tenshi added, subtly rubbing the tip of one of her needles against one of her lightning scars.

“Are you upholders of justice gonna let two helpless ladies die?” Sanji taunted.

“Chopper, how cowardly!” Luffy wheezed from the net. “I misjudged you!”

“Zip it!” Tenshi snapped, kicking at him.

But she could see the pressure was getting to Drake. He was gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, growling under his breath.

Chopper suddenly let out a loud roar, sounding remarkably like a human and beast at the same time.

“He's gonna kill us!” Dr. Kobato shrieked.

“Please, do what he says!” Nami begged.

~ * <|> * ~

Finally, in a tone that sounded like he was betraying everything he ever stood for, Drake said, “I'll pull my men back. All hands, lower your weapons and withdraw! Stand down! All sniper squads, lower your guns!”

Everyone, including him, began to step backwards. “Wow, that worked well,” Sanji remarked.

“I hope so...” Zoro muttered, to Sanji's confusion.

“They sure took their sweet-ass time,” Tenshi added.

Zoro withdraw one of his swords and cut open Luffy's net. Once the sliced threads fell, he was able to completely relax. “I owe you one, Zoro...”

Acknowledging him with a grunt, Zoro pulled one of Luffy's arms over his shoulder, and wrapped his own arm around his waist to hold him steady. By the time he rejoined the others, there was a clear pathway carved out by the marines, straight to the Going Merry.

“As you can see, we've opened the way!” Drake said. “Now release them!”

“Yes, it worked!” Nami whispered. After a beat, she elbowed Chopper in the ribs. “That's your cue!”

“No! I'm not letting them go until we can escape!” he snapped.

Drake cursed loudly, but replied, “I give in to your demands! Get onto your ship!”

“He's a good sport. But is he telling the truth?” Zoro asked.

“Either way, we can't let our guards down.” Tenshi held up her needles as they all began to walk towards the ship. Zoro took the lead, still supporting Luffy on his feet, with Dr. Kobato and Nami behind them. And in the rear were Sanji and Tenshi, watching the back, and Chopper, with Usopp still slung over his shoulder.

For several tense seconds, the only sounds were their footsteps echoing along the metal floor and against the metal and rocky walls. Every Marine had their glare set on the pirates.

A tingle ran along Tenshi's spine. However, it didn't feel like simple nerves. It felt more direct, for lack of a better term. But before she could try to figure out what it meant, Zoro was talking, “Nami. Chopper. Tensh. Love cook. Run to the ship on my signal. Luffy, stretch your arm and get everyone on board. Can you do that?”

“No problem...” he said, his voice getting a little stronger.

Tenshi's eyes scanned both crowds of Marines. Through the sea of soldiers on one side, she could see one pacing along back and forth. No, not pacing. Not like they were nervous. More like... they were waiting.

“... On your signal.”

The silence was even more tense. Their footsteps seemed to echo louder, even as her heart began to thud in her ears. Even as she walked, her body was tense. Her hands clutched her needles tightly. She could even hear the rope connecting them dragging along the floor behind her.

** ker-rack! **

Everyone froze. Their heads whipped around towards the noise.

“Whoops, clumsy me,” a soldier who had dropped his rifle muttered. He slowly crouched down to pick it up.

“What the-? Don't scare us like that!” Nami snapped.

Tenshi barely had time to think about how oddly convenient it was for a soldier to drop his rifle. Dr. Kobato let out a surprised yelp that was muffled. She had been grabbed by another soldier, with his hand over her mouth, and he was dragging her away.

And there was another one creeping towards Nami. She reflexively punched him across the face, screaming, “N-No!”

“You fool! He's on your side!” Drake snapped angrily.

“Crap! Nami-san!” Sanji exclaimed.

“Get to the ship!” Zoro commanded.

“Pretty simple signal there, Zo!”

“I have no choice! All hands! Attack at once!”

Everything certainly did happen all at once. All of the Marines leaped into action, wielding their swords and rifles. Luffy began to stretch his arm back with a groan of effort. Nami and Chopper screamed in fright; Sanji and Tenshi stood with their backs to them, getting ready to attack.

There was a loud clang, and then a huge splash. And, with a groaning creak, the Merry began to slide backwards towards the water. “Merry, at least wait for us!” Tenshi protested.

“Hey, guys! We're gettin' on!” Luffy announced, now back to his full energy.

Too surprised by the Merry moving to move or ask questions, the others yelped in fright as Luffy swiped his stretched out arm at them, clotheslining and sending them flying to the ship. But when the shock faded away, Tenshi was laughing as she tumbled onto the deck. “That was a ride!”

Luffy grabbed onto the bulwark and snapped his arm back to normal to send himself and Zoro crashing into the side of the ship. Luckily, they too fell in just as the Merry continued to slide away.

Clamoring to her feet, Tenshi jumped onto the bulwark and held onto one of the ratlines' ropes with one hand. Her other arm waved at the stunned Marines. “Bye! Thanks for all the food and rest! Much appreciated!” She finished off by blowing a kiss.

Several of the Marines managed to snap themselves out of their stupors to cringe in disgust. But she was too far away to see if Drake was one of them.

As she laughed again, amused by their reactions, she heard Sanji shouting, “Oi! None of you deserve Tenshi-sama's kisses if you're going to react like that!”

Finally, with another big and loud splash, the Going Merry was back in the water. Luffy cheered loudly. “Damn them all!” she heard Drake screaming, his voice fading in the distance. “Don't let them escape! All squadrons, open fire!”

Shots were fired at the water, though they didn't hit the ship. “Good, they still think Nami's a hostage. That gives us plenty of time to make our grand escape!”

“We did it, Merry!” Luffy laughed, until his head was suddenly hit to the side by Nami's Clima-Tact. Then, Sanji slammed his foot down on the side of his head.

“Why can't you ever rescue us normally?!” he asked.

“That takes its toll on normal people!” Nami added. Then, leaning her Clima-Tact against her shoulder, she called out, “Alright, everyone! On your feet! We're setting sail out of here!”

With one last laugh, Tenshi jumped back down onto the deck, grabbed up her rope needles to wrap them back around her waist, and got to work setting the sails.

Sirens began to blare as they continued to sail away. Zoro and Sanji were assisting Tenshi with the sails, Chopper took control of the whipstaff to steer, and Luffy ran to perch on the figurehead.

“Why're we going along the edge of this cliff?” Zoro asked, eyeing the many cannons sticking out.

“We'd have cannons on both sides if we went through the middle!” Nami pointed out. “This way, we only have to worry about one side!”

Usopp, who had been placed on the deck against the mainmast, suddenly sat up with a gasp. “Where am I?!”

“Oh, he's awake!” Luffy exclaimed cheerfully.

“Huh?” He looked around, adjusting his goggles back on his forehead. “When did I get on Merry?”

“After a bunch of this and that,” Tenshi said with a shrug and a grin.

“I see!” He looked over at Nami, who was still wearing the nurse uniform, and continued, “Nami as a hostage! Nice!”

“Right?!” Tenshi exclaimed. “Went down a lot better than my attempt!”

“And she's good at tricking people!” He grunted when Nami suddenly slammed her Clima-Tact down onto his head.

“But why'd the ship start moving on its own?” Zoro wondered as Usopp stood up, rubbing the bump forming under his hair and bandanna.

“Oh, I bet it was the old maintenance guy,” Usopp suggested.

“Who?” Tenshi questioned.

“One of the maintenance guys who works in the docks. He talked to me in the jail. He believed me when I said some little person in a raincoat repaired the Merry! He almost told me what it was, but they kicked him out.”

“Ah, I think I saw him coming out of the jail before Luffy, Sanji, and I ran in.”

“He also told me to pay attention to areas that aren't usually looked closely at. Said those are always the places that need the most repairs.”

“That's some solid advice. And you think he helped us out?”

Usopp shrugged. “That's just the feeling I get.”

“Robin-chan!” Sanji suddenly exclaimed. “So cool!”

Tenshi looked up. With a chain of phantom arms strung all the way from the island base, Robin swung onto the ship. She landed neatly on her feet, and the phantom arms disappeared in a shower of pink petals.

“You copying my shtick?” she teased.

“You have such a creative way of getting around, I couldn't resist trying it,” Robin said, walking to Nami with a large rolled up scroll in her hand—she was wearing a pair of unfamiliar purple sunglasses on her forehead.

“Fair enough,” she agreed, following her up the steps to the poop deck. When Chopper poked his head out curiously, she said, “By the way, that was some good acting back there, Mr. Rough and Tough Pirate.”

“Eh-heh-heh! Quit trying to butter me up, you dummy!” he exclaimed, clutching his cheeks as he twisted one of his feet around. He was smiling and blushing brightly. “It still won't work!”

Nami gasped happily. She was holding the scroll Robin gave her. “A map of this fortress!”

Tenshi looked over her shoulder at the map. “And it's got patrol notes too!”

“I thought we might need it to escape,” Robin said.

“You know the score!” Nami beamed up at Robin as she continued, “You're the only one who's on my side, Sis!”

“A-Am I?”

Sudden cannon fire hitting the water rocked the ship. “They're shooting at us!” Luffy announced indignantly.

“I thought we were okay 'cause we had a hostage!” Usopp exclaimed.

“They must have found out she isn't one!” Tenshi suggested.

Usopp looked behind the ship and yelped. “Warships are coming after us!”

Sure enough, three warships were sailing right behind them. “I wonder if a certain stick-up-his-ass Lt. Commander is on one of them...” She almost wanted to grab a telescope or binoculars to see.

Even with all the cannon fire around them, whistling through the air before making big splashes, they were approaching a large metal gate nestled between the mountain rim at half the height. It had G and 8 on the individual doors, and an inverted arch of bars on top. It was on the complete opposite side of the bridge. “That's the fortress' gateway: the 'Sea Gate.'”

“No points for inconspicuousness,” Tenshi remarked. “Might as well have a big-ass sign that says 'Exit Gate Here!'”

“Usopp, prepare the bow cannon! Chopper, don't get my orders wrong!”

“Got it!” he agreed, holding the whipstaff tightly.

“We gonna shoot our way out?”

“If that's the only exit, our only choice is to break through by force,” Nami confirmed. “But I don't like that there are more shallows than this chart shows.”

Tenshi raised her eyebrow at the map. She couldn't read it, beyond knowing how to navigate to places via the compass, but she trusted Nami's skills. “Well, that doesn't sound good for a port. The hull of a ship would get scraped up, if not completely shredded. Or run aground, even.”

“Right. So why was a base with ports built here? Something doesn't seem right...”

“Maybe the map's old, and the geography has changed?”

“Such a map would be updated to stay accurate, though. Especially for a Marine base.”

“N-N-Nami!” Usopp yelped, running back onto the deck from below. “We don't have any ammo!”

“No ammo?!” she exclaimed. “Not even a single cannonball?!”

“Nope! Not even a box to hold explosives!”

“The Marines probably stole it all!” Tenshi said.

“That does seem only natural,” Robin stated, “given that the Navy confiscated the ship.”

“Greedy bastards!”

“What're we gonna do?!” Usopp asked. “We can't bust through the gate like this!”

“Just means we gotta fight our way through,” Zoro said.

“All we gotta do is gain control of the devise that opens and closes it,” Sanji added.

“Man, more maze-navigating?!” Tenshi whined, slumping against the poop deck's railing. “I've had enough for one day!”

“Don't talk like it's easy, you guys!” Usopp protested.

“Don't worry! I have a nice idea!” Luffy declared. He sounded excited to do it.

The cannons in front of the ship and on either side of the gate began to fire almost all at once. “We'd like to see this idea now, please and thank you!” Tenshi exclaimed, grabbing the rails tightly.

“Gumo Gumo no Balloon!” He leaped straight up from the figurehead and inflated himself. The cannonballs crashed into his stomach, pushing him back against the mainsail. With a grunt, he forced them out and straight at the Sea Gate. They let off a huge, bright, loud explosion that seemed to shake the whole bay. The Merry was not only rocked, but almost pushed backwards from the expanding airwaves.

Once the brightness died down, there was a giant plume of smoke. No doubt the gate had been destroyed, either to pieces or open.

“Yes!” Usopp cheered.

“I see! I hadn't thought of that!” Nami exclaimed.

“That was a nice idea!” Tenshi added.

“Now, let's get...”

“What's wrong?” Tenshi asked, looking up at Nami. She was smiling widely, but had a faraway look in her eyes. She looked like she was coming to a conclusion, slowly but surely.

“We have no cannonballs... or explosives...?”

“... FUCK!” “... AAAGGGHHH!”

Nami ran to the stairs leading down to the main deck; Tenshi simply leaped over the railing, landing on the deck below before her. She was the first to open the door to the storeroom.

But save for some sleeping bags, a bundle of rope, and stray yellow caution tape, it was completely empty.

“We've been had...” Nami whimpered, looking into the room from behind Tenshi.

“... Nami, you got off the ship with the waver, right? Where is it?”

*** To Be Continued ***

“Commander! We've just captured Roronoa Zoro! As we speak, he is being taken to the jail cells!”

“In addition to 'Pirate Hunter', we've also captured a crewmember with a long nose! 'Straw Hat' and the other members are definitely close by as well! Find them!”

This doesn't make any sense. A land bridge should be a prime spot for guards looking to capture some rogue pirates. Not just the bridge itself...

~ * < Jailbreak! Hot Wind on the Navarone Bridge! > * ~

They didn't come across any enemies as they ran along the land bridge, which furthered Tenshi's unease. She was waiting for enemies to come jumping out to attack them any moment. But nobody came. Nobody jumped out of the ocean or down from the bridge.

It still made no sense that they were able to get across what should have been one of the most guarded places aside from the exit.

It didn't take them long to reach the other side of the bridge to the middle island. The searched along the side of the mountain down south until they found, nestled under an overhang, a small rectangular building with a large Navy emblem painted across it. The small windows and green door had bars in it, and a single staircase led up to it.

“That is either the tiniest jail I've ever seen, or the strangest entrance to a jail,” she remarked as she, Luffy, and Sanji looked at it from around the cliff. “I can't decide if it's charming or stupid.”

“Shush!” Sanji whispered.

An old man in an orange jumpsuit was walking down the stairs after glancing back at the door.

“Someone just came out!” Luffy pointed out.

“Yeah. But that place is really fishy.”

“Alright! Shall we go, then?!” Luffy asked, already rolling up imaginary sleeves to go charging.

“Hold on, now!” Sanji said. “This is a little strange.” He glanced back at the bridge, as well as the pathway they took around the cliff, and added, “We arrived here after we took the deserted route.”

Tenshi nodded in agreement, glad that she wasn't the only one who was put off by how easy it was. “Right. They're practically telling us where Zoro and Usopp are...”

“I get it!” Luffy suddenly exclaimed. “The fortress guy is a nice guy!”

Sanji suddenly swung his foot into the side of Luffy's face, smashing him against the cliffside. “It's a trap. A trap!” he corrected as Luffy slid down to the ground. “They're probably trying to save time and send us straight into the jail.

“Who cares?” Luffy asked, a little swollen in the side of his face from being kicked into the cliffside. “Either way, we can't rescue Zoro and Usopp unless we go inside, right?”

“Idiot!” Sanji snapped. “Why would we want to get trapped by our enemy so easil-...?!” He cut himself off as he began to twiddle with his cigarette between his teeth, staring off into space.

“The fortress guy is a nice guy, isn't he, Tenshi?”

“It doesn't matter if he's nice or not,” she said. “He's still a Marine. And the Navy is an enemy to all pirates. He's trying to catch us!”

“Well, not all Marines that are trying to catch us are bad,” Luffy remarked with a grin. “Smokey is alright!”

“'Smokey'?... You mean Smoker? The Marine from Arabasta?”

“Well, we first met him in Loguetown. But yeah, we saw him again in Arabasta. And he's not such a bad guy. I like him! I think you'll like him too, if you ever meet him.” He turned back to Sanji, who was still quiet, and asked, “Sanji, are you still thinking it over?”

“I'm not thinking it over!”

“Well, are you done not thinking it over?” Tenshi asked. “'Cause we need to make a decision before we're actually caught.”

With a grumble, Sanji took off running further along the cliffside path to the jail staircase, with Luffy and Tenshi at his heels. Just like the land bridge, there were no soldiers or guards in sight. It was completely deserted, further proving Tenshi's theory on the Marines purposefully leading them to the jail.

When they reached the top of the staircase, Luffy opened the unlocked metal door. The inside was empty and quiet, with a long hallway in front of them. She could even see along one of the walls.

“Well, if this ain't creepy,” she remarked over Luffy's shoulder, her rough-edged voice echoing down the hall.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “There's nothing in here!”

“Never mind that,” Sanji said, “get moving already!”

“Alrighty!” He took off running down the hall, this time with Sanji and Tenshi right behind him. They eventually came upon more stairs and hallways; another maze, even inside the mountainous island.

“Oooiii! Zoro! Usopp!” Luffy called out again. “Where are you guys?! OOOIII!”

As they reached more rocky caverns, lined with lit lanterns, Tenshi could have sworn she heard a voice shouting in the distance, “Hey, Luffy! We're right here!” It sounded like Usopp.

My brother said I once could use Mantra... Can I tap into it now? She closed her eyes and concentrated as hard as she could on Usopp's voice, even as the echoes faded away. She could feel something unfamiliar, yet vaguely familiar—like that sense of nostalgic déjà vu she had back on Skypiea—guiding her in the direction of his voice. It was like a subtle tug on her senses.

“Luffy, don't come!” Usopp suddenly yelled, sounding panicked. Then, he shouted again, “Come if you want to!”

“Make up your damn mind!” she exclaimed, opening her eyes again and following the voice and subtle tug.

“You heard that too, Tenshi-sama?!”

“This way!” Luffy charged down a stone staircase, leaping over the last several steps to reach the lowest level; Sanji and Tenshi were close behind, though she managed to pass them both.

They were now in a large rocky corridor, filled with carved-in cells with metal bars and gates. The walls were lined with more lanterns. And one of the first cells she spotted was holding Zoro and Usopp, who were both sitting on the ground with their wrists bound behind them.

Usopp grumbled something nervously before hissing out, “Be careful, guys!”

Tenshi was the first to reach the gate, and noticed someone else was in the cell, handcuffed as well. Except they were unconscious on the ground. It was a man, probably older than herself, with gray skin, thinning hair tied in a ponytail, and large ears and eyes. He was wearing what looked like a tank top and boxers.

Raising an eyebrow, she asked, “Who's the balding gray monkey?”

“H-h-he's Condoriano!” Usopp exclaimed frantically. “One of our crewmembers! Y-you remember him, right?! But he won't remember you; he lost his memory when we crashed into the bay!”

“What a small world,” she remarked, not understanding what was going on, but deciding to play along.

“They're here!” Luffy exclaimed happily, skidding to a stop by the cell gate. “Hold on!” He grabbed a hold of the bars. “I'll get you... out...” He suddenly went limp, slumping down against the bars.

“What the...?!” Usopp yelped as Sanji finally caught up.

“What's gotten into you?” Tenshi wrapped her arms around Luffy from behind and lifted him up under his arms.

“Oh, I see!” Usopp said. “These bars must have Seastone!”

“We've been waiting for you!” a familiar voice exclaimed from around a corner.

It was Drake, with dozens of other soldiers surrounding him. They were all wielding swords, and all looked ready to use them.

“Ugh, not you,” Tenshi groaned.

“I knew the whole time you were suspicious! Surrender obediently, all of you!”

“Pirates aren't exactly known for obedience,” she remarked. “Especially to Marines.”

Sanji let out a sarcastic laugh. “You're making light of us, aren't you? You think that's enough to stop us?”

“Is this still not enough?!” another familiar voice sounded from behind.

It was Tetsu, with another group of soldiers; these ones had rifles, and also looked ready to use them.

“How dare you take advantage of the Commander's kindness?!” Tetsu exclaimed, scowling at Tenshi. “But I suppose that is just like a pirate!”

Sanji scoffed. “This is all the same to me, idiots. For starters...!” He swung around on one foot and kicked straight at the cell bars.

But they didn't even wiggle or budge. The loud clang echoed through the corridor.

“What's he doing?!” she heard Drake ask in confusion.

Sanji kicked again, grunting with effort.

“This is painful to watch!” Tetsu laughed. “Those bars can't be broken, unless you use a cannon or something!”

But Sanji continued to kick them, eventually switching to his other foot. “Damn! These bars sure are tough!”

“Sanji, quit it before you break a leg. Literally,” Tenshi drawled.

“Sanji!” Usopp whispered excitedly, waddling closer to him. “Hey, hey, hey... Take what's inside my pocket!”

“Your pocket?”

“I have an Impact Dial in there,” he explained, moving his right hip closer to the bars. “Use it to break these bars!”

“Impact Dial... Hey, those cause pain to the user, you know!”

“It's not a Reject Dial,” Tenshi pointed out, adjusting her hold on Luffy—who was still woozy from touching the Seastone bars. “We don't have time for you to be a wuss.”

Groaning with unease, Sanji reached into Usopp's overalls pocket and pulled out a flat spiral shell. It was just large enough to fit in his palm comfortably enough for him to grip it.

“Give up gracefully!” Drake snapped, growing impatient.

“Wait a second now, gorilla man,” Sanji said, holding up the dial. “I'll now show you something remarkable, so keep your mouth shut.”

“... A seashell?”

“It won't be my fault if you get hurt standing there.” He crouched down by the bars and pressed the dial against them with his palm. Usopp scuttled backwards in preparation for the explosion.

But it was then that Tenshi noticed something: this didn't look like the Impact Dial that Usopp showed her from his stash that he traded with the sky-people for his rubber bands. Instead of orange-pink with black holes along the spiral, it was gray and solid.

“Wait, Sanji! I don't think that's the right-!”

Too late. He clicked it.

“This sweet-tempered snake?” Usopp's voice sounded from the dial.

“Yep... That's a Tone Dial,” she muttered awkwardly.

The whole corridor was quiet, with everyone staring in confusion at Sanji. She didn't need to look straight on at him to know he was embarrassed; she could see his ears turning bright red.

“That total moron!” Zoro huffed.

“What's that? Are you trying to tell us that's your secret weapon?!” Tetsu mocked.

Sanji slowly stood up straight, hands in his pockets, and turned his head to glare at him. “You shut up, or I'll gut you like a fish!”

Tetsu and his group paled at the threat and angry glare.

Usopp laughed awkwardly as he returned to the bars. “Ah! Um, Sanji-kun, I'm sorry! It's actually in my other pocket.” He turned his left hip towards the bars this time. “Here. It's this side. This side... This...”

Sanji's glare slowly turning towards him made him trail off until he was quiet. Keeping eye-contact with him, he forcibly reached into his other overalls pocket and snatched out another dial. Usopp scurried backwards again as he prepared to use it.

Though this one had holes similar to an Impact Dial, it was instead a saturated purple. “Sanji!” she tried again. “I don't know what that one is, but it's not-”

Too late, again. He clicked it.

With a loud fart sound, colored fumes shot out from the holes in the shell. A putrid smell instantly filled the corridor, making everyone's eyes water as they gagged.

“Ugh! What the fuck!” Tenshi shouted, trying in vain to blow the smell out of her nose. But because she still needed to breathe, she ended up smelling it anyway. She could even just barely taste it on her tongue.

She could hear everyone else groaning in disgust and dismay at the smell. “Who the hell stored a fart in my Flavor Dial?!” Usopp protested.

“I... I'm... sorry...” Luffy feebly apologized from Tenshi's arms.

With a heavy groan, she grabbed his head in one hand and slammed his forehead against the bars. “Idiot! Which pocket has the actual Impact Dial?!” she demanded from Usopp.

“WATCH OUT!” Sanji suddenly shouted. “THE LANTERN'S GONNA EXPLODE! GET DOWN!”

Tenshi just barely heard the lanterns starting to hiss. With a gasp, she shoved Luffy to the ground and threw herself over him.

** KRSH! KA-BOOM! **

The sounds of shattering glass and explosions repeated, one after the other. She could feel the corridor shaking with each one. Her eyes began to sting from the clouds of thick dust. Rocks and bars were falling all around them; she and Luffy both grunted in surprised pain when the gate to Zoro and Usopp's cell fell on them.

Faintly from the surface, as everything calmed down, she heard alarms going off.

Rocks were pushed aside. “Hey! Is everyone okay?!” she heard Sanji yell out.

She could hear Zoro and Usopp talking, but her ears were still ringing too much to properly hear them.

“Help...” Luffy weakly called out from under her.

“Tenshi-sama!” Sanji ran up and lifted the gate off of them both. “Are you alright?!”

“Just peachy,” she said, letting Luffy get back onto his feet. She stood up as well, brushing dirt off of her overalls. “Tell Usopp to properly sort his dials next time!”

“Let's get outta here already!” Zoro shouted, tossing Usopp his knapsack.

“Thank you! Sorry Sanji, Tenshi...”

“Let's go, Luffy,” Sanji said to Luffy, who was brushing off his vest.

“Alrighty!” he exclaimed happily. “Guys! Let's get out of here!”

They all followed Zoro, who was charging up the stairs and out of the corridor. “Hey, hey! Wait a sec!” Usopp yelled, still trying to pull his knapsack strap over his shoulder. “Don't let Zoro go first! It won't be my fault if we get lost!”

“It's a straight line!” Tenshi pointed out. “How do you get lost from a straight forward shot?!”

“Shut up, you jerks!”

~ * <|> * ~

Much to her surprise, they did get lost. They were now in a completely unfamiliar hallway.

“See?! We're lost!” Usopp yelled.

“Where are we now?!” Sanji exclaimed.

“How did you do that?!” Tenshi shouted, more amazed than annoyed. “We literally had to run forwards!”

“Shut up!” Zoro snapped again.

She managed to catch up to him and yank him back by the back of his shirt. He nearly stumbled, but managed to keep running. “I elect the captain goes first!” she stated.

Luffy just laughed. “Run! Run! Run!”

She could hear Usopp struggling to keep up. “W-Wait up!” he protested.

“Where's the Going Merry?!” Luffy yelled from up ahead.

“Dock 88!” “Dock 88!” Both Usopp and Tenshi yelled.

“Wait, how did you know?!” Usopp asked.

“I heard that was where it was being moored!” she explained. “How do you know?!”

“I saw it! I know how to get there!” They both suddenly skidded to a stop when the others stopped in a four-way hallway “Wh-What is it?!”

Soldiers were running up to them from the hallway they had been running to, as well as a different hallway; Drake was approaching from behind with his group. And Tenshi could hear more coming down from the last direction, which led to a staircase.

“Marines!” Usopp screamed. “Th-This way too?! This is bad! Very bad! There's no way out of this!”

Luffy chuckled, not seeming worried in the slightest. “Things are finally getting interesting!” he declared, cracking his knuckles. “The old fortress guy said there's absolutely no escape from this place!”

“I can believe that,” Sanji said. “There are at least a thousand marines stationed here.”

“The commander did say there were fresh recruits,” Tenshi added. “Probably chomping at the bit to prove themselves to be dedicated soldiers.”

“And just how is any of that interesting?!” Usopp asked tensely.

“There's absolutely no escape!” Luffy repeated.

“Again, how is that interesting?!”

“Just forget it, Usopp,” Zoro said.

“You're making him talk in circles,” Sanji added.

The groups were closing in. “Unit 37 has arrived!” “Unit 44 has arrived!” “Capture the Straw Hat crew!”

Luffy began to wind up his fist. “Gumo Gumo no... Gatling!”

His fists flew in a flurry, sending the unit of soldiers in front of them flying back and into the air. As they landed, Luffy ran through with a loud whoop; Zoro, Sanji, Tenshi, and Usopp followed after him.

“Don't let them escape!” Drake yelled. “After them!”

Once they were out in the empty halls again, they turned a corner, only to meet another group of soldiers. “Stop, 'Straw Hat'!” one of them demanded.

Undeterred, Luffy attacked them with the same attack as before, blasting them back through a large open doorway and the subsequent guardrail.

“A dead end?” Zoro asked as everyone caught up.

“No, we can run along the cliff,” Luffy said, pointing out the cliffside pathway.

“Ah, if only we had a guardrail,” Tenshi quipped.

Suddenly, gunfire rained down at their feet. Everyone, save for Luffy, ducked behind part of the cliff for cover. But they were able to peek out over it to see who was shooting.

From a level above them and further away, Tenshi saw a balcony. Standing on the balcony were Jonathon and Tetsu. Tetsu was holding a rifle, and Jonathon was holding his arm out to stop him firing it. “So you've finally shown yourself, 'Straw Hat'?” he remarked.

Usopp yelped in fright. “The commander of Navarone!”

“Yep, Commander Jonathon,” Tenshi recalled with a nod.

“Hey! How dare you fire that weapon at a lady?!” Sanji snapped angrily.

“Old Fortress Guy!” Luffy greeted him happily. “What're you doing up there?”

“This is my office,” he remarked casually, leaning his crossed arms against the railing. “Your crewmember, Tenshi is quite familiar with it.”

“Why didn't you warn us?!” Usopp protested, grabbing at the side of her overalls.

“I didn't expect Mr. Compass here to get us lost,” she said, pointing her thumb at Zoro, who grumbled and glared at her. “I thought we'd be in and out fast.”

Luffy ran and leaped up onto a larger rock to get closer to Jonathon, much to Usopp's dismay. But he barely ran out to grab him back before ducking back for cover in case Tetsu shot at them again.

“What'ya think?! I rescued my crew!” Luffy declared proudly, raising his fist up.

Jonathon hummed in response, sounding more amused than angry.

“I told you, I'll leave when I wanna leave!”

“I remember. So, you want to leave now, I suppose?”

“Yeah!” Luffy answered. “We're gonna leave now!”

“After we find the second-half of our crew,” Tenshi muttered.

Jonathon chuckled, but he didn't sound quite as amused anymore. “You think you can escape from Navarone-no, from me?”

“We won't get caught! We're pirates!” Luffy declared.

Suddenly, there was a loud boom and a bright light. It came from the rim of the base. Tenshi barely heard Usopp screaming to run before her arm was grabbed—by whom, she wasn't sure yet—and she was pulled along to run down the cliffside path. There was a loud whistling sound that got closer and closer, until there was an explosion where they just were.

“Was that a fucking cannon?!” she yelled.

“Yeah!” Zoro exclaimed, letting her arm go. “They mean business here!”

Luffy was laughing up a storm behind them. “This is so exciting! Isn't this great, Tenshi?! Your first escape from Marines!”

“Yeah, I'll be sure to log this information down for any future chases!”

“Usopp! You said you remember where the dock with the Merry is?!” Zoro asked.

“Yeah! We gotta get across the bridge to the rim of the base!” Usopp answered.

“To the bridge!” Tenshi exclaimed, stretching her arm out to point forwards.

They ran along the cliffside path, eventually finding a few tunnels that helped them keep their cover. When they found a hole in the side, they stopped to crouch down and peek out at the bridge.

There were now dozens of soldiers scattered across the land bridge. And Tenshi could plainly see that most, if not all of them, had weapons in hand.

“Hmmm... Looks like they can't see us from here,” Usopp determined.

“No, don't let your guard down,” Luffy countered, lifting his head clear up over the bottom edge of the tunnel window. “The old fortress guy is tough.”

“You're the one who shouldn't let his guard down!” Sanji snapped, shoving his head back down.

“He's got a point, though,” Tenshi said. “Jonathon's pretty smart and perceptive. He's already laid out a few traps for us.”

“Dock 88 is on the other side of that!” Usopp continued. “The Going Merry should be over there!”

“But it looks like we'll run into lots of trouble this time,” Sanji said, still holding Luffy's head down.

“How about up there?” Luffy suggested, looking up at the bridge.

“... It seems crossable!” Usopp said.

“But it's strange,” Zoro stated. “There's no one up there.”

“That was the case with the land bridge,” Tenshi recalled. “I guarantee they're either trying to herd us along by showing us an obviously safe pathway, or there's gonna be an ambush this time. Plenty of places to hide up there when we're not being observant.”

“Another trap, then?” Sanji asked.

“A trap?!” Usopp exclaimed in shock.

Luffy pounded his fist against his palm. “It's the same either way!” he declared with a grin. “Plus, I've decided that we're leaving!”

“And worrying about annoying crap is annoying,” Zoro added.

“Doesn't matter what traps come our way,” Sanji said.

“We can't exactly sit here all day, anyway,” Tenshi stated. “Especially because this isn't exactly a prime hiding spot.”

With the next plan of action decided, the four of them took off down the pathway again. “Hey, Luffy! Ach, Sanji! Not you too, Zoro! Tenshi, wait!” Usopp's voice got increasingly panicked until he finally screamed while clutching at the top of his head, “No, I don't wanna go!”

But he still ran to catch up with them. “If you all get caught in a trap, I'm not gonna come save you! Without my help, you're gonna die! Is that what you want?!”

“C'mon, Usopp!” Tenshi yelled over her shoulder. “You're the one who knows where Dock 88 is!”

He groaned. “Fine! B-but save me if I get in trouble, okay?!”

They all ran up several more flights of stairs, eventually going back into the base, until they finally found the pathway to the bridge. Zoro carefully peeked out at it from around the corner.

“Anything?” Tenshi asked.

“No, there's still no one here...”

She peeked out as well. Sure enough, the entire bridge looked completely empty. There were only a few crates and barrels scattered about by the doorway into the base. There were two pathways they could take along the bridge, both leading to and from the same places.

“Perfect!” Luffy said happily. “Let's get going!” With a giggle, he ran around the doorway and out to the bridge.

“Hey!” Zoro protested, following after him.

“Wait, Luffy!” Usopp shouted. “You moron!”

“He never learns...” Sanji muttered as he and Tenshi caught up with them.

As they ran along the bridge, their footsteps making loud clanging sounds against the heavy metal, Tenshi felt like they were being watched. It wasn't just a natural sense; it felt like her Mantra was trying to warn her of the ambush she suspected. The feeling was coming from above, below, behind, and even in front of them.

But the others probably already suspected it as well—at least, Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji likely did. So, she kept quiet for the time being.

Usopp glanced over the edge with a worried groan. “So high up! Yikes!”

“Just don't look down,” she advised. “And don't forget, we fell from a higher height than this.”

“Y-yeah... We did... Tenshi! I'm looking down!”

Before she could respond, some bushes up ahead at the end of the bridge began rustling. Bushes?... I don't remember bushes being there earlier...

The bushes were suddenly thrown aside, revealing a group of dozens of Marine soldiers completely blocking the entrance into the rim base.

“Oh! There they are!” Luffy shouted, sounding both excited and wary.

As they continued running, more Marines climbed up over the sides of the bridge. They leaped onto the bridge proper, stopping the pirates in their tracks.

“See! Wh-What'd I tell ya?! Tenshi was right!” Usopp screamed, turning on his heel to double back.

“Usopp, wait! Come back!” Tenshi yelled, running after him. She managed to catch up with him, thanks to her long, strong legs. “If there's Marines back there, they're probably more-”

More Marines popped out of the crates and barrels from where they came from. And more climbed onto the bridge over the sides, making them both skid to a stop. When she looked around, there were other Marines on the other bridge, and even on the grated pathways leading between the two bridges.

“So that's the score,” she heard Zoro remark behind them. “Looks like this'll be a good little workout...”

“I'm leaving, no matter what!” Luffy declared loudly.

She heard a new Marine's voice loudly state, “We, the Hot Wind Unit of Navarone, will guard this bridge to the death!”

“Eugh, no thanks,” she remarked with disgust, looking back over her shoulder. The new Marine was one who looked like he had been sun tanning for a long time, and even looked sweaty. His sleeves were rolled all the way up, showing off his glistening muscular biceps. “We already had to deal with some hot wind earlier. I doubt yours smells any better.”

The marine exclaimed, appalled. “H-How dare you speak about us that way?! We fight with the wind of our souls and the heat of our blood!”

“Not really helping your case.”

“Enough! We will never let the likes of you pirates cross this bridge!”

“Don't be so damn boastful,” Sanji chided with a soft scoff. “Just sit there calmly and wait while I have a smoke.”

“Don't you underestimate us!” Then, to Tenshi's bewilderment, the Hot Wind Unit leader began to sing a chant, “♪ We are the Navarone Marines! ♪”

The group marched a step forward in unison, and they all added, “♪ We'll show you our fiery spirit! ♪” They all crouched into a wide-footed defensive stance.

“Ooh, that's neat!” Luffy exclaimed. “Is this how it goes?” He imitated their stance.

“Charge!”

All of the marines from both sides charged forward, letting out loud battle cries. Even more of them climbed over the sides of the bridge.

“Hell yeah! Finally some real training!” Tenshi exclaimed with a grin, pulling the loop on her rope and tossing her needles up to catch them. Paying no mind to Usopp running back towards the others behind her—or the multitude of Marines falling overboard from Luffy's attack—she practically launched herself at the oncoming Marines in front of her. She slashed and stabbed at them, and even hit them with the eyes of her needles. She got them in the torso, arms, and faces, knocking them either onto the bridge or over it.

And when her needles were busy or couldn't reach? She just kicked them. And not just in conventional places, like the chest, stomach, back, or even upside the chin. She was not afraid to fight dirty, like kicking them between the legs.

"I thought you guys were supposed to be tough! Y'all's just a bunch of cannon fodder, and I'm not even using cannons!"

At one point, she spotted Zoro joining in the fray, punching Marines left and right, even ones twice his size—and likely three times his age. “Why aren't you fighting with your swords?!” she asked as she swung a needle to slice a Marine across the chest, and then kicked him in the chest right after.

“Why are you fighting with your needles?!” he countered.

“I need to relearn how to fight with them somehow!”

“Alright! Zoro! Tenshi! Fight bravely!”

She looked around for the source of the cheers until she saw Usopp up in one of the bridge's towers, clinging with his leg while throwing his fists into the air. “How'd you get up there so fast?!” she exclaimed, though it didn't seem loud enough for him to hear her.

It wasn't long before they started to get overwhelmed. Luffy got dogpiled by a bunch of Marines after he dodged a Marine's extending boxing glove. Sanji, who had been attacking with kicks and complaining about his smoke break being interrupted, got grabbed by his leg, and then the rest of his body. Zoro got headbutted in the back and the front of his own head by a huge tank of a man. Even Usopp had to start dodging a Marine that scaled up the tower to go after him.

Tenshi had just knocked out a Marine when two twin Marines grabbed her needles' rope on both sides. They yanked back, trying to wrench her needles from her hands. “Drop them, now!” “Drop them, now!”

She growled, keeping a tight hold of both needles. “I just got them back... I am not losing them again!” One at a time, she lifted her feet to stomp on their toes with the heels of her boots. And when they stiffened and yelped loudly in pain, she tugged her needles away from them, pulling them towards each other until they knocked each other in the foreheads. When they fell limp, she snatched her rope out of their hands.

“They've gotta be cloning these guys on the spot!” she exclaimed. “There's so many!”

The others were starting to free themselves as well. Sanji's cigarette dropped from his mouth, burning his captor's arm. When he loosened his grip, Sanji managed to lift his leg up high enough to kick him upside the chin, and then promptly kicked the rest of the Marines holding onto him.

Luffy stood up slowly, but steadily, carrying the dogpile of Marines above his head. With a guttural yell, he flung them off of himself and into the bay down below. He charged and shoved at his initial attacker with a, “Gumo Gumo no... Bazooka!”

The Marine with the extending boxing glove was shoved through the crowd of Marines, knocking even more of them over the bridge's railings. Even when the Hot Wind Unit leader and several of his men tried to take advantage of his stretched out arms by grabbing at them, Luffy just sent most of them flying.

And when a few stubborn ones clung on until they were in his face? He launched his foot several meters up into the air. “Gumo Gumo no...”

Tenshi's eyes widened, recognizing the setup for this move. And recalling that they weren't on solid ground. “... Shit.”

“Battle-Axe!”

When his foot slammed back down onto the bridge, she could feel it shake madly under her own feet. And she could hear the metal pieces breaking apart at the seams. Pipes popped underneath. And with a mighty groan and crash, accompanied by the panic screaming of the Marines, the bridge finally gave way under everyone to send them all falling into the bay.

As she approached the water, she didn't flail or panic. She calmly wrapped her rope back around her waist to slipknot it, and held her breath.

With a huge splash, everyone was plunged into the bay.

It took her a few minutes to register what was going on around her. She could see Marines swimming frantically to the surface, and pieces of the bridge sinking down to the bed of the bay. Spotting flashes of green and red, she began to swim in that direction. She eventually spotted Zoro and Sanji swimming for shore, dragging Luffy and Usopp behind them.

Soon, they made it to the rocky shore. Luffy was dropped halfway onto solid land, and Usopp lay on his back, dazed but alive. “Geez. You never think about the consequences!” Sanji exclaimed.

“I'm sorry...” Luffy weakly apologized.

After looking around, while adjusting her cap and squeezing out her hair, Tenshi said, “At least we made it to the correct side of the bridge.”

Zoro grunted in agreement as he stood up. “Let's keep going, then. Which way is it?”

“Oh. That way,” Usopp grunted, lifting his arm to point.

~ * < Busted! Angel on the Run! > * ~

Before Tenshi could ask more, Drake suddenly opened the door after two frantic knocks. “Commander! We've just captured Roronoa Zoro! As we speak, he is being taken to the jail cells!”

“Aw, fuck!... That's great!” she added uneasily, realizing she had nearly outed herself.

Drake glared hard at her, eyeing her with deeper suspicion than before.

“Excellent work, Drake,” Jonathon said, placing a chess piece on the board. As she didn't know how to play chess, Tenshi wasn't sure which piece it was, other than it being white, and looking like a castle corner tower. “So, seven more, huh? 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro...” He hummed in thought, and looked up. “Drake, shall we try questioning him?”

Drake turned from Tenshi, his glare relaxing as he replied, “But you told us to check the dining hall, Commander. You said that everyone gets hungry, so they're likely to appear in the dining hall.”

“Ah, I did, didn't I? I'll go to the dining hall. Jessica told me that some new cooks sent by headquarters are coming as well. And it's almost lunchtime, anyway.” He swung his chair around and stood up.

“How should we proceed with questioning 'Pirate Hunter'?”

“I'll leave that to you,” Jonathon replied, walking to the door of his office.

“I'd like to bring Tenshi with me,” Drake requested. “I think she would be beneficial in questioning 'Pirate Hunter'.”

Tenshi winced. Though she wasn't exactly afraid of Drake, being alone with him meant he would likely question her a lot more intensely than Jonathon did. He already wasn't friendly with her. And he would have no problem or trouble with imprisoning her alongside Zoro.

Thankfully, though, Jonathon shook his head. “No, I'd rather not spook her by putting her in the same place as one of the pirates who imprisoned her. And she's probably hungry, too. I'll take her with me to the dining hall.”

This time, Tenshi opted to not taunt Drake, and instead jogged to catch up with Jonathon as they exited his office. But she did hear Drake shortly acknowledge Jonathon's decision behind them.

“New cooks aren't our only new visitor today,” Jonathon said as he and Tenshi walked along the halls. “We have a Special Investigator coming in today. He means to shut down G-8.”

“Shut this place down?” she repeated in surprise. “Why?”

“The Navarone base has a reputation for being too big and too 'peace-crazy'. We are one of the most heavily defended and armed bases, but we see very little trouble. Headquarters doesn't really see the need in us staying open, especially with how much defunding we've gotten recently.”

“That's not fair,” she said, frowning. “This base still has its uses. Like tending to injuries and repairing ships.”

“Oh? I don't recall mentioning that we repair ships as well,” he said slyly.

“You didn't,” she confirmed. “But last night, when we went back and forth to and from the base and the M-the pirate ship, I saw a lot of ships being tended to at the docks. Not just regular maintenance, but bigger repairs. And that ship that's coming in with the injured crew, the Stan Maley? I'm willing to bet it'll be repaired here too.”

“You have some sharp observation skills,” Jonathon remarked, impressed. “And you would be correct. And in addition to tending to injured soldiers and repairing their ships, we also keep prisoners in our jail cells. We still have our duties, even if we don't ward off many pirates. This won't be the first time headquarters tries to shut us down, and I don't believe it will be the last. But I'm confident that The Hedgehog will continue to stand.”

“Hedgehog?”

“A nickname that headquarters gave to the island. Mostly because they find this place useless.”

“Oh... I figured it was because of all the cannons sticking out, making it look like a little hedgehog.”

Jonathon chuckled. “That's what the rest of base thinks of the nickname. And I won't be telling them otherwise.” He winked at her, to which she nodded.

Even in the dining hall, Tenshi could hear the cheers for food from the soldiers in the mess hall. It even sounded like breakfast improved—probably after she ate, unless their usual food wasn't that good to begin with.

“Sounds like those new cooks are improving things,” Jonathon remarked as they sat down. “I've never heard so many soldiers so enthusiastic for lunch.”

“Maybe a good enough lunch will entice the Special Investigator to let this place stay running for a little longer,” Tenshi remarked.

“Ah, if only it were that easy.”

It didn't take long for someone to bring out a cart with two plates of food covered by silver domes. The person who pushed the cart seemed to be the head chef, a woman who looked a little older than Tenshi, with her blonde hair tied up in a high bun under a chef's hat. She had sharp, yet kind dark green eyes that softened when she glanced at Jonathon. “Who's this young woman, then?” she asked, glancing at Tenshi with amusement.

“This is that young lady I told you about yesterday, Tenshi,” he introduced. “The one who was a hostage on that pirate ship that fell in the bay last night. Ms. Tenshi, this is my wife, Jessica. She's the head chef here on Navarone.”

“I remember now. Welcome to G-8, Ms. Tenshi,” she said, placing the covered plates of food on the table. “I hope you've been enjoying our food during your stay.”

“I have, yeah. Breakfast was good.”

“Well, I'm sure lunch will be even better, with those cooks that headquarters sent in giving us such helpful advice... Well, the one, at least. But no matter.” She lifted the domes to reveal their appetizers: a small piece of cooked meat alongside lettuce, peas, black-eyed beans, carrots, and broccoli. “Enjoy, you two.”

Though Tenshi picked up her utensils to start eating, Jonathon raised an eyebrow at his plate before looking back up at his wife. “Hey, Jessica. This is your usual dish, right?”

“Any problem, Commander?” she asked slyly.

“Well, my men have been carrying on about the incredibly delicious food prepared by the cooks from Mary Geoise. I had been looking forward to it-”

“You don't like this?” she asked, resting her elbows on the table. Her chin was in the heel of her hand, and she was still smirking. “When I, the executive chief chef, cooked this just for you and our guest myself? You can't continue eating the same kind of food as the younger ones, and our guest deserves top-notch food as well, right? They're both healthy dishes filled with lots of love, especially yours. Bon appetit!”

“But this has lots of broccoli, and carrots as well... I don't like vegetables of any kind,” he whispered to Tenshi, who was halfway done with her plate.

“What is G-8's second rule?” Jessica asked, her voice somehow stern and amused at the same time. “Ms. Tenshi seems to know already.”

“Ah, um... A-Alright!” He lifted a carrot to his mouth and gulped it down, albeit with a grimace. “See? I'm eating it.”

Jessica simply laughed as he ate a few more vegetables. “Since you were so accommodating, I'll have one of our new chefs bring out their newest dish to you two.”

Tenshi was so busy trying to cover up her own laughter behind her hand, she didn't realize Jonathon was side-eyeing her. But when she did, she cleared her throat and took a few gulps of her water. “What's Mary Geoise?”

“Ah, I'm afraid I can't talk about that right now.”

“Why not?”

“Third rule of G-8,” he replied. “The first four rules are as follows: 'Always wash your hands before eating', 'Never leave food on your plate', 'Never mention work while eating', and 'Always brush your teeth after eating'.”

“That's... interesting that the first four rules of this place all relate to eating,” she said, a little perturbed.

“I did mention that this base was relaxed and peaceful, didn't I?”

When he was finally finished with his vegetable appetizer, both their empty plates were taken by a waiter who flinched at the sight of Tenshi's scars. Jonathon hummed, but didn't say or ask anything about it.

Finally, the plates of main lunch were brought out: meatballs with steamed vegetables. When Tenshi lifted her head to thank the person who brought the plates, she nearly panicked.

It was Luffy, dressed in a Marine chef's outfit, complete with a chef's hat stretched over his straw hat.

She just barely managed to swallow her winced exclamation, and ducked her head back down to scoop a meatball into her mouth. Despite her internal panic, she realized it was delicious. It tasted like it was made of tuna. Even the broth tasted vaguely fishy.

“Here you go!” Luffy said cheerfully.

“Thanks. You can go now,” Jonathon said shortly, making Tenshi flinch again. He knows! He must know! Nobody that sharp is gonna get fooled by this idiot!

“Aye-aye, sir!” He backed away until he was right in front of the door leading to the kitchen. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw he was smiling broadly, not worried at all about disguising himself. His hat was barely disguised; she could recognize him by his scar and hair alone.

She heard Jonathon eating a meatball, humming with pleasure. “This tastes just like they said it did. It's amazing!”

Her stomach dropped to her feet when she saw Luffy noticed her, and was about to say something. She quickly did a cutthroat gesture, frantically shaking her head with a panicked expression. Thankfully, he gave her a thumbs up and another grin. She let out a gentle sigh of relief that he got the message.

As she chewed another meatball, she made another realization. Sanji! If Luffy's here fresh from the kitchen, he must be in there too! That's why the food tastes so much better!

But something else caught her attention: she could have sworn she saw meatballs disappearing from Jonathon's plate. “This dish lives up to my expectations!” he continued to praise, eating another meatball.

“Yeah, you're right!”

Luffy... Please tell me you're not...

She narrowed her eyes, watching closely, only to nearly choke on her own mouthful when something grabbed another meatball so fast, her eyes almost didn't catch it. And when she took a peek at Luffy, his cheeks were puffed out as he chewed.

I knew it! I fucking knew it!

And evidently, so did Jonathon, if his suspicious look at Luffy was anything to go by. Especially now that he was actively witnessing Luffy snatching meatballs. He carefully waited to stab the next meatball with his fork until it was the right moment.

At the same time, Tenshi's hand struck as fast as a snake. She managed to grab Luffy's wrist as he grabbed the next meatball; at the same time, Jonathon stabbed the meatball, stalling Luffy's next thievery.

He had been caught.

“Let me have some, you cheapskate!” he complained, trying to stretch his arm back. But between Jonathon holding tightly to the stabbed meatball, and Tenshi keeping a tight hold of his wrist, he was stuck.

Jonathon merely chuckled as he braced himself against his chair with his other hand. “You certainly live up to my expectations!”

“Geez, you have a strong grip, Tenshi!”

“Dammit!” She let go of his wrist so fast, it was like he burned her hand. At the same time, Jonathon relinquished his hold on the meatball.

Luffy's arm snapped back, ricocheting his hand—and the meatball, by proxy—into his mouth as he fell to the floor.

“You damn idiot!” she hissed as she ran to him, grabbing his arm. “Can't you be inconspicuous for once in your life?!”

A shadow passed over them. “Welcome, 'Straw Hat' Luffy. I'm Jonathon, the Commander of Navarone, Branch G-8. I've already become very acquainted with your crewmember, Tenshi, here.”

~ * <|> * ~

Tenshi moaned in dismay as her hand slipped from Luffy's arm. “You suspected the whole time? What gave it away? And why didn't you imprison me in the first place?”

“I didn't do anything with you right away because I was curious about your character and integrity. Not to mention how long you would keep up with this charade of being a hostage. Unfortunately, you're not a very good liar, Ms. Tenshi,” Jonathon said, slightly amused.

She sighed heavily. “Well, I guess it was better you than Drake. I'd be skinned alive by now.”

“Yes, I suspect he'll be quick to tell me he knew it the whole time. But that's for me to worry about later.” He turned to Luffy and crossed his arms. “'Straw Hat', I don't wanna get violent in the dining hall. But could you answer me one question?”

“If I answer, can I eat half of your and Tenshi's stuff?” he asked happily.

“Hm? Not just half; you can eat both plates.”

She rolled her eyes, annoyed she wouldn't at least get to finish her lunch. Maybe she could ask Sanji to make it again once they got out of this base. “Yeah, fine. Help yourself.”

“Really?! Then I'll take it!” He stretched his arms to grab both plates, dumping the remainder of Jonathon's onto Tenshi's plate, which was more full. “Sorry that I called you a cheapskate.”

As he ate the meatballs, Jonathon said, “No matter how hard I think about it, I can't figure out your purpose. After all, it was said that Cap. Smoker was the one who defeated Crocodile. So, it's not as if you gained any good reputation from Arabasta, or even money. What would someone like that want from us? What did you come to this fortress base for? Your crewmember claims that you basically fell in here by accident.”

“Yeah, she's right,” Luffy confirmed, making Jonathon blink in surprise. “When we fell from the sky, this is where we ended up.”

Now finished with his food, he set the plate aside and rose up into a crouch with his hands braced on his knees. “The Grand Line really is an interesting place! I've even come to like this fortress quite a bit as well! You have good food here, and you've been nice to Tenshi. I guess we're just lucky.”

Jonathon stared at Luffy, and then glanced at Tenshi. She shrugged her shoulders. “He's dumb, but he's honest.”

He laughed and continued, “Listen, 'Straw Hat'. Even if you've got a Devil Fruit power, it's impossible to escape Navarone without some sort of miracle.”

“I mean, I've basically seen him perform a miracle. So, anything's possible.”

“Right!” Luffy agreed happily. “I'll leave when I want to.”

“Even after you hear that Roronoa Zoro was captured?” Jonathon asked slyly.

Luffy's grin dropped. “Zoro?” He turned to Tenshi. “Is that true, Tenshi?”

“As far as I know, yeah. I heard about it not long before lunch. He's being interrogated, but I don't know where he's being held.”

Luffy stood up straight and calmly asked, “Fortress Guy, where's Zoro?”

“And if I tell you?”

“What else? We're gonna go rescue him right away!” he shouted.

“You don't have to be so hasty,” Jonathon remarked, not intimidated or perturbed in the slightest. “We'll take you both to the same place soon.” He began to walk towards them. His footsteps were slow, but they somehow echoed loudly in the dining hall.

Tenshi flinched back. She recalled how Jonathon said Vice Admirals, like himself, were third from the top of the Marine rankings. How powerful of a fighter was he? Did he have a Devil Fruit? Some kind of power similar to Mantra?

She didn't get to find out as, after being pushed back by Luffy in preparation to attack Jonathon, she was grabbed and pulled back through the kitchen doors by her arm. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Luffy being yanked back by the back of his collar with a surprised yelp.

She almost tried to wrench her arm away, but stopped when she saw a familiar head of blond hair. “Sanji! I thought you were back here! I'm starting to recognize your cooking!”

“That's lovely, Tenshi-sama, but we have to go!” he said, continuing to drag Luffy by the back of his uniform—he was in a Marine chef disguise as well, but without the hat. “There's no point in staying here any longer!” Both of them began to run through the mess hall.

But they had to skid to a stop, as they were blocked by Jessica and the rest of the Marine cooks. They were all wielding skillet pans as their weapons; a few were even holding parsnips and baguettes like baseball bats.

“Jessica-san...” Sanji whimpered in dismay.

“I hadn't realized that you were all Straw Hats!” she said, scowling at all three of them. “Your skills are too good for a pirate. And you should be ashamed of yourself, masquerading as a former-hostage.”

“Give it up!” the cook holding a parsnip snapped. “Us Navarone cooks are tougher than your average Marine!”

“How'd you get so tough if this place is so peace-crazy?” Tenshi snarked. “There's only so much casual training can do for you.”

“Don't underestimate them, Tenshi-sama!” Sanji warned her with a smirk. “After all, I come from a place with many such cooks!”

But before anyone could attack, the dining hall doors were slammed open by Jonathon. Without a word, he began to march closer to them. And the cooks marched closer to them in turn. They were basically surrounded. Sanji lifted his hand to adjust his cigarette, Luffy balled up his fists, and Tenshi cracked her neck from side to side.

But then, through a perpendicular door, a crowd of Marine soldiers came flooding in. Unaware of the situation at hand, they were all declaring that they were starving and wanted food. It didn't take long for them to fill the mess hall, blocking anyone from attacking anyone.

“Now!” Sanji yelled, wrapping his arm around Luffy's neck. “Let's go!”

“Right behind you!” Tenshi exclaimed, hoisting both of Luffy's legs up under her arm to run along with Sanji. She had to duck down to nearly a hunch to avoid getting spotted. “I hate being so fucking tall!”

They could hear Jessica protesting and Jonathon snapping out their names. But they managed to get through the crowd and out into the hall. Only then did Sanji and Tenshi drop Luffy so he could run as well.

“See ya, Fortress Guy!” He waved over his shoulder as all three of them turned the corner.

“Thanks a lot, you two!” Tenshi snapped.

“Me?!” Sanji protested. “I had no blame in this, Tenshi-sama!”

“Yeah, you did!” Luffy countered. “You wanted to stay and peel a million onions!”

“It's not my fault! I'm unable to resist when a beautiful woman gives me a task!”

“You're both to blame; Luffy for not being more careful, and Sanji for getting so easily-distracted by a pretty face!” Tenshi declared. “I was doing just fine until you two boneheads blew my cover!”

“But he said he knew you weren't a hosta-”

“Shut up, Luffy!”

They all ducked into a closet to throw away their disguises, though Luffy and Tenshi kept their respective chef's hat and Marine cap on their heads.

As they continued to run along the halls, Luffy began to shout at the top of his lungs, “Zor-rooo! Where are you, Zoro?! Zor-rooo!”

“Shut up!” Sanji snapped angrily. “Be quiet!”

Suddenly, he stopped and grabbed Luffy's arm to pull him around a corner. “This way!”

Tenshi just barely managed to skid to a stop, her arms windmilling, and ran into the same hallway. And in time before she was spotted by a patrol.

“In addition to 'Pirate Hunter', we've also captured a crewmember with a long nose!” one of them reported. “'Straw Hat' and the other members are definitely close by as well! Find them!”

“Yes, sir!”

As the troop's footsteps disappeared, Luffy, Sanji, and Tenshi all glanced at each other. “Usopp too?!”

“What should we do now, Captain?” Sanji asked somehow both seriously and sarcastically.

He tilted his head up with a hum. “We need to find Zoro and Usopp, fast!”

“Obviously, yes!”

“No, I agree with him,” Tenshi said. “But we'll have to be more careful with our sneaking about. We probably won't be able to get away as easily if we're caught again, especially now that they know we're out and about.”

Both Luffy and Sanji nodded in agreement. Instead of just running through the halls, they peeked around the corners before running. And they waited in between running spurts to see if they heard any footsteps. So far, so good.

At one point, they were able to find the perimeter of the fortress, including windows that showed where they were in the whole base. Sanji and Tenshi crouched down below the windows to sneak past.

Luffy, however, obliviously walked past while staring out the windows. Until Sanji slammed the heel of his foot onto his head. “You damn idiot!” he whispered harshly as Luffy fell to the ground. “Didn't you hear what Tenshi-sama said about being careful?!”

“S-Sorry...”

They continued to sneak through the halls, which began to look all the same. “Geez... Such a complicated fortress!” Sanji muttered angrily. He pulled the chef's hat off of Luffy's straw hat and flung it to the ground.

“I almost wonder if it's on purpose, to make things more exciting around here,” Tenshi remarked. “I'm normally pretty decent at mazes myself, but only if I can actually see the whole puzzle.”

“I wonder where Zoro and Usopp are,” Luffy said as they all rounded the corner.

“Well, since they got caught, they were probably sent to a jail.”

“Yeah, that's what one of other Marines said about Zoro. And they're apparently keeping other prisoners here too. But they never said where.”

They found another set of windows, which were facing the mountainous island in the middle of the bay. “The Commander's office is there,” Tenshi whispered. “We had to cross that whole bridge just to get here to the kitchen.” She pointed at the long red suspended double-bridge that connected the island with the outer rim. “Super inconvenient, if you ask me.”

Luffy was humming, obviously deep in thought as he observed the middle island. “... I think that belly button island is suspicious,” he finally declared.

“How so?” Sanji asked.

“Dunno. It just is.”

As Sanji grunted in annoyance, Tenshi said, “It's honestly our best lead. It would make more sense to have a jail in the middle of the bay than on the edge. Less risk for prisoners being able to escape.”

“Yeah, you both have good points,” he conceded, sighing. “It's surrounded by the sea, and the only way to escape is that bridge.”

“Or to fly out,” she quipped.

They all froze when a door around the corner was open. They could see light streaming in through the door, with a soldier's shadow in the middle. Then, slow footsteps came creeping down the hall, indicating that they were further away than initially expected.

“Dammit! We can't go back the way we came,” Sanji stated.

Luffy glanced at the ceiling, and exclaimed happily. “Up in the vent!” he suggested, pushing the grate up and to the side. Then, he stretched his arms up and pulled himself in.

“After you, Tenshi-sama.” Sanji crouched down and held his laced fingers out for her to step on.

“Be careful,” she said, stepping on his offered hands and reaching up to grab the edge of the vent's opening. He was able to boost her up so she could crawl in after Luffy. He then stretched his arms down to pull Sanji in. The grate was pushed back into place as the footsteps became louder.

Just below the vent, Tenshi could hear a Transponder Snail purring. But it sounded smaller than a normal one. It clicked, and the soldier said, “Yes, sir! This is District 4 in Block F. All clear!”

“Keep searching!” someone who sounded like Drake answered.

“Yes, sir!”

As the footsteps disappeared, Sanji scoffed. “They're in contact with each other using Baby Transponder Snails.”

“Baby ones?” Tenshi questioned from behind him.

“They're smaller than regular Transponder Snails, but they can still be used to contact another person. Not from island to island, per se; more like across the island.”

“Ah, I see. I think I've seen people coming and going from Mock Town with those. They're hand-sized, right?”

“Right. Either way, this won't be easy.”

“Hey, Sanji. Tenshi. This is kinda exciting, isn't it?” Luffy snickered with delight.

“Just get moving already, you damn monkey!” he snapped.

As they all began to army-crawl through the vents, Tenshi groaned with unease. “I feel like I'm gonna get stuck any moment. Damn these bulbous hips and thighs.” She could feel her hips and thighs, even through her overalls, sliding along the sides of the vent as she moved.

“You shouldn't belittle yourself so much, Tenshi-sama,” Sanji gently chided. “You're lovely the way you are. And your hips and thighs are sexy.”

“Don't worry, Tenshi,” Luffy said cheerfully ahead of them both. “If you get stuck, I'll just pull you out!”

“Thanks, Luffy,” she said sincerely. She didn't notice Sanji grumbling under his breath.

After crawling through the vents, they spotted beams of light coming through a perpendicular tunnel. “Let me go first,” Sanji said, crawling through it. Luffy and Tenshi stayed back and waited for him to give the all clear.

His version of the all clear was to crawl back to them, and then get himself turned around so he could kick the grate out. He rolled onto his back and let himself slide out onto the ground outside. Luffy crawled through, only to fall and land on his head.

Tenshi was a little more careful, letting herself land in a handstand, and somersaulting into a crouch. They both followed Sanji up the stairs winding along the side of the rim. It took several staircases, but they managed to reach the entrance to the bridge.

But then Sanji suddenly stopped in front of them, causing Luffy to crash into his back, and Tenshi into Luffy's. “What're you doing, Sanji?” Luffy mumbled, rubbing his nose.

“What's wrong?”

“Shh!” he hissed. He gestured out at the bridge's entrance, where several soldiers were milling about. “I guess we'll have to force our way through after all,” he grumbled. But then he seemed to have spotted something over his shoulder.

When Tenshi looked down, she saw that the bridge was built on an already existing land bridge, rather than into the water. There were even stairs leading down to it. And it was completely deserted.

“It's unguarded down there... Let's go, Luffy, Tenshi-sama! We'll head down there!”

“Okay!” Luffy agreed as he followed Sanji.

Tenshi glanced back at the soldiers at the entrance of the bridge before following Luffy and Sanji. This doesn't make any sense. A land bridge should be a prime spot for guards looking to capture some rogue pirates. Not just the bridge itself...

“Where are we?”

“Are you alright? You don't look familiar, and you're all scarred up. And you're bandaged up. I'm assuming you were on the ship?”

“Y-yeah! That's a pirate ship! I was a-I was kept prisoner on there! But I managed to get awa-e-escape!”

“According to the watchmen, as well as the maintenance men inside the dock who saw the ship close by... They say they saw ghosts!”

“That ship, without a doubt, is the Straw Hats' ship!”

“Thank you all for your hard work. Please continue your investigation of this ghost ship.”

~ * < “Prisoner” Interrogation! Maine Rankings and Justice! > * ~

With a few other soldiers in tow, Jonathon, Drake, and Tenshi were soon walking back through the base. “It appears that this ship has passed through Jaya quite recently,” he deduced. “That coffee was tasty, wasn't it, Drake?”

“It was, yes...”

“The color and smell of that particular coffee was definitely Jaya-style coffee. Heh, but to think you had the courage to drink it without investigating it well.”

Drake sputtered in indignation, but couldn't say anything to defend himself. He did, however, glare at Tenshi when she snorted in amusement.

“And that South Bird,” Jonathon continued. “That's a bird that inhabits the jungles of Jaya.” He glanced over his shoulder at the others and added, “Did you know? A legend of gold remains deeply entrenched there. Would you happen to be from Jaya, Ms. Tenshi?”

“Yeah, I am,” she replied with a nod. “I was, anyway. But I'm not super concerned about being returned there. It was a nasty place I lived in, Mock Town; nothing but pirates, pirates, and more pirates.”

“Commander,” one of the other soldiers spoke up, “do you mean that ship...”

“I don't know about its crew's whereabouts, and they've seemed to have abandoned their hostage. But, in any case, they definitely last came from Jaya. It's not some ghost ship.”

“Right!” Drake agreed firmly. “I've seen that ship before. It's the Straw Hats' ship!”

“But if you know the Mer-ahem, the ship's not a ghost ship, why continue to claim it is one?” Tenshi questioned.

“We have fresh recruits and prisoners at this fortress. If we were to tell everyone about the Straw Hats' invasion without knowing their true purpose, it'll only cause confusion and chaos. So, we'll just keep calling it a ghost ship for now.”

She nodded. “That makes sense, seeing as the rest of the base hasn't learned this much about it.”

“With all due respect, Commander, we should organize a special investigation group right away and search for the rest of them as soon as possible!" Drake stated. "Please assign it to my unit!”

“Now, now, no need to be so hasty,” Jonathon said.

“But...”

"Building up our defense is the priority for now.” Jonathon turned to the soldier who had questioned about the ship, a blond man with a mustache, short beard, and muttonchops. “You go reinforce security at the coast as well as around the Sea Gate.”

“Yes, sir!” he confirmed with an inward palm salute, and walked away.

To the next soldier, one with dark skin, short dusty purple hair, a thin face, and sunglasses, Jonathon said, “You go reinforce security at the ammunition bunker, detention facilities, and the major passageways. And I'll also grant you the authority to manage personnel.”

“Understood!”

As Drake grumbled under his breath, Jonathon stated, “You seem dissatisfied, Lt. Commander.”

“No, sir...”

“Well, the night is still young,” he remarked. “They probably can't move around much. But that goes for us, too. Wait until morning, and then take your unit to thoroughly investigate places where people gather.”

“Places where people gather, you say?” Drake repeated, intrigued.

“That's right! It's hard to find green insects when they live in green grassy places. If the Straw Hats were to wear our uniforms...”

Drake gasped in stunned realization. There's more of that dramatic irony. Tenshi suddenly felt very itchy in the spare Marines uniform she was wearing, especially when Drake shot her a suspicious look.

“It's not that I distrust my own men's abilities,” Jonathon continued, “but it's still very possible that they'll take some of our uniforms as disguises.” As he began to walk down the hall again, he added, “And pirates are like stray dogs; they're always hungry. Therefore, why don't you start by checking the dining hall once morning comes?”

“Yes, sir!” “Yes, sir!” both Drake and Tetsu responded.

“But what about the 'hostage'?” Drake questioned. “What will be done with her?”

“I'll be personally interrogating her,” Jonathon responded, beckoning Tenshi to follow him. “She's probably tired and frightened at the moment. No need to overwhelm her more than necessary.”

Once they were back in Jonathon's office, he hung his coat back up, and sat at his desk. “Feel free to pull up a chair,” he said.

As she did so, he folded his hands on the desk and looked straight at her. “First thing's first: where exactly did you come from before you were captured by the Straw Hats?”

“Like I said, I came from Jaya,” she answered. “I moved to Mock Town six years ago. My previous home, a village in the cloud-a high mountain, way up in the clouds, was destroyed. It's… also where I got my scars.”

“I'm very sorry to hear that. How did you meet these pirates, and how were you taken?”

“They came to the island because they heard of the legend of ancient gold, and because there were rumors of sky islands in the general area. They kidnapped me because they thought I had info, as they misheard what was said about my old village. It was high enough to be in the clouds, but it wasn't a sky island at all.”

“And where was it they got the gold from?”

“There were ruins deep in the-in the jungle, and the gold was there. I often... sometimes explored them by myself in the past, and they made-I was forced to take them there.” Remembering her earrings, not to mention her necklace and ring—which she assumed was treasure from at least Birka—she quickly added, “A-and they gave me some jewelry as 'compensation'.”

Jonathon nodded, humming thoughtfully. “And the ship falling out of the sky...?”

“They heard that riding one of the Knock-Up Streams—it's an explosion of water that can reach the clouds that happens periodically around Jaya—could take them up to the sky islands. But all it did was send them flying up into the sky and way far away… completely off course.”

“That's all so fascinating. But I'm sorry you had to suffer through so much. I'm glad you're not worse for wear, though. Tell me, were you able to get the names of these pirates? And would you know anything about this 'hairy monster' and sprouting hands?”

“I only recognized Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, and Nico Robin from their posters. Otherwise, I didn't hear-catch the others' names. And I'm not sure what to make of 'hairy monsters' and 'sprouting hands'. I have no clue what that-what they're on about.”

“I see...” Jonathon lounged back in his chair, propping his feet up on the desk and folding his arms behind his head. “'Straw Hat' Luffy... 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro... 'Devil Child' Nico Robin...”

Tenshi's eyes widened. 'Devil Child'? That's Robin's pirate epithet?! I guess she said she was given a bounty for destroying several ships as a kid, but... holy shit! I wonder if it also has anything to do with the World Government hating her for being able to read Poneglyphs.

“We can probably assume that the hairy monster is also part of the group,” he continued to speak, most likely to himself. “In any case, there are eight of them, though I'm surprised they would offer a prisoner a cup of coffee.” He eyed her curiously.

“Th-they're trying to get me-to entice me to join their crew,” she claimed. “Especially now that we're so far away from Jaya. They won't take me back.”

“Hmm... In any case, among this crew: a skilled cook, a knowledgeable ship's doctor—Nico Robin is probably the historian—and a craftsperson. Not to mention someone who particularly enjoys dirty romance books.”

Tenshi swiftly spun around to hide her deep blush, pretending to be more interested in looking out the window at the bay. Coincidentally, it so happened to have a view of the Merry, which was still surrounded by boats of soldiers and covered in yellow tape. She stood up and wandered to the window to get a better look.

“What I still don't know is their purpose,” he continued—in the window's vague reflection, she saw him playing with the chess pieces on their board. “What in the world did they come here for? Did they really end up here on complete accident? Or is there a plot they're hiding from their hostage?”

She heard him approaching from behind. For a moment, she stood stock still, wondering if she should defend herself—her needles were covertly hidden under the uniform, so it would be tricky to get them out.

But he simply looked out at the bay alongside her. “Well, at any rate, my fortress is no laughing matter,” he said proudly, pulling the curtain shut. “They won't be escaping us. We'll catch them eventually.”

She swallowed thickly.

“But that is something that will likely happen tomorrow. For now, I'll escort you to the female barracks to sleep for the night. There aren't many women here, so it should be quiet and peaceful.”

“Th-thank you, sir,” she said as he escorted her out of his office.

The barracks were very simple, with several metallic bunk beds and simple mattresses. There were already several women getting ready for bed, whispering gossip as soon as they saw Tenshi. It seemed like word spread quickly about who she was.

“Ah, and Tenshi?”

She glanced back over her shoulder at Jonathon, who was preparing to leave.

“Let me officially welcome you to the Marine 'Grand Line' Eighth Branch—more commonly known as G-8—and to Navarone Island. Pleasant dreams.”

“Thank you, good night.”

After quickly getting ready for bed, she found herself lounging back in the bed, staring up at the bunk above her. She had a bed all to herself, which was nice. She was even able to choose one that let her face the door quickly, in case of an emergency.

What am I gonna do? I need to figure out how to get out of here. But I can't just sneak around, since I don't know the layout of this fortress. I'd get caught, and they'd probably realize I'm not actually a pirate prisoner. And besides, even if I was able to escape, I can't without the others.

Her thoughts gradually turned from escaping to the Marines as a whole. These folks... They're not so bad, yet. I mean, Drake kinda has a stick up his ass, but Jonathon seems like a decent guy. Smart too... maybe too smart. In any case, I'll need to keep my guard up while I'm here. Especially if they find out I'm a pirate, and a part of the Straw Hats, even. They'll be a lot nastier.

She rolled over onto her stomach, and was eventually able to drift off to sleep.

~ * <|> * ~

Tenshi was able to wake up earlier than the rest of the women to not only change her clothes, but to wear her tank top and overalls under the uniform. It was a bit of a hot and tight squeeze, but she would grin and bear it. It would make for a quick change of clothes once she was able to get away.

Because she woke up earlier than the others, she had to wait for them to awaken, prepare for the day, and follow them out to the mess hall to get her breakfast. It was simple, but hearty: a bowl of porridge, pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, and a small cup of fruit, and with a cup of milk to wash it all down.

It was good, but not as delicious as Sanji's breakfast. She chuckled to herself; only a day away from the Straw Hats' usual routine, and she was already missing a piece of them. She was still grateful for the essentially free breakfast, though.

After she was finished, a soldier escorted her back to Jonathon's office, where he seemed to be finishing up his breakfast as well. “Good morning,” he greeted her, wiping his mouth and mustache with a napkin. “Did you have a good sleep and breakfast?”

“I did, sir. Thank you.”

“I'm pleased to hear that. And are you still comfortable here in our humble fortress?”

She nodded again. “It's actually my first time in a Marine base... And my first time interacting with Marines as a whole.”

He blinked in surprise. “Really? Did the Marines never visit or protect your old village?”

“No, it was too high up in the clouds a-and mountains for the Navy to reach. Not to mention it was really remote and well-hidden. We hardly saw any newcomers, let alone Marines.”

“Ahh, I see,” he replied as a tray was brought in. It had a fresh pot of coffee, two empty cups, a bowl of sugar cubes, and a small pitcher of milk. “Do you drink coffee, Ms. Tenshi? I can't promise it's as good as Jaya Coffee, but I'm sure it will suffice,” he joked.

She laughed as well. “I won't say no to free coffee.” She poured herself a cup, and stirred in some milk until the liquid changed from a near-black to almost as rich a brown as her eyes. It was hot, and went down smooth.

“Tell me, Ms. Tenshi, what do you know about the Navy and its Marines?”

“Not much,” she admitted. “Only that they're enemies to pirates, help the people, and uphold justice and keep the peace.”

“That is the common goal of the Navy, yes. Everyone who joins the service strives to do just that: help the people, uphold justice, and keep the peace. And it often means squaring off against pirates. There are many ranks to climb if one wants to be a strong and powerful Marine. Some soldiers, for example, start off as simple chore boys. That is the lowest of rankings. The next ranking consist of Seamen Recruits, Apprentices, and First Class. Then, you have the Petty ranks, which consist of Officers, Chief Officers, like our own Tetsu, and Master Chief Officers, like one of Arabasta's heroes, Tashigi. They even all get the privilege of deciding what kind of uniform they like, be it the basic ones, or civilian clothing.”

“I can see why some would want regular clothes,” Tenshi remarked. “Not only is it more comfortable than the cookie cutter uniform, but they'd be less likely to be recognized as a Navy soldier to enemies.”

Jonathon nodded approvingly. “And above them is the rank of Warrant Officer. Though it's only the twelfth-highest ranking in the Navy, it's the highest rank in the Infantry and Sailor Division.”

They were interrupted when, through the open windows, there was a commotion out on the bay. There were loud voices, ships moving around, and heavy chains being rattled.

“Ah, they must be towing the Straw Hats' ship,” Jonathon remarked, standing up and walking to the balcony.

Though her heart dropped, Tenshi managed to move her feet to join him.

Indeed, though the Going Merry had been cleaned of all the yellow tape, a big heavy chain had been wrapped around the figurehead's neck, and a larger warship was towing it through the water.

Before she could try to covertly ask where it was being taken, Drake knocked on the door and walked in. “Good morning, Commander. Ms. Tenshi,” he added lowly, sending her a suspicious glare. “We'll moor the pirate ship to Dock 88 and investigate it further.”

Dock 88. Gotta remember that for later.

A second soldier knocked and entered with a salute. He was carrying a large Transponder Snail that had the Navy emblem on its face in his other arm, and the telecommunications box over his opposite shoulder. “Reporting, sir! The Stan Maley is demanding entry.”

“What?!” Drake questioned.

“Since we're in a state of emergency, I advised them to wait a while, but...”

The Transponder Snail began to speak, a weary man's voice coming through the creature's lips, “We ran into a storm and many of us are injured! This is an emergency! Please allow us to receive treatment at once!”

Drake sighed heavily, sounding conflicted. “I know it's a ship from headquarters, but there's a big possibility that there are pirates hiding within the fortress. We cannot permit them to enter!”

“Are you shitting me?!” Tenshi snapped, glaring straight at Drake. “They just said they have a lot of injured soldiers from a storm! What if some of them are actively dying?! What's more important: keeping a bunch of pirates trapped, or tending to your own wounded?!”

“You hold your tongue!” Drake shouted back, puffing his chest out. “You are not one of us, therefore your opinion is unwarranted! Besides, this is more than just keeping pirates trapped! If we allow outside ships to come in now, it will only cause unnecessary confusion and-”

“Open the gate,” Jonathon casually interrupted.

Both Drake and Tenshi turned to him in surprise. “I'll permit their entry,” Jonathon continued. “Immediately assign a medical team to them as well.”

“Yes, sir!” the soldier cheerfully replied, saluting before leaving the room.

Tenshi couldn't help huffing at Drake with a proud smirk. He glared sharply at her before turning to Jonathon in surprised exasperation. “Commander?!”

“The uneasiness felt by those who are injured in the middle of the Grand Line... Surely you understand that feeling, don't you?”

“Of course! However-”

“You know, this is the first time I've gotten fired up in a long while,” Jonathon remarked as he wandered back to his desk. “But those pirates, they can't get out of this fortress.” He picked up the posters of Luffy and Zoro and continued, “Still, why did they come to Navarone, I wonder...”

With a heavy sigh, Drake excused himself and left the office—though not without sending one last glare at Tenshi. Once his back was turned, she flipped him off.

“You have quite the sense of morality,” Jonathon remarked, causing her to quickly hide her finger.

“I just think some things should be prioritized over others.”

“Though true, it's not easy for some to voice those opinions. Especially as an outsider.” He sat at his desk again and asked, “What is your type of justice? That is to say, what do you, and you alone, think it means?”

What justice meant to her. That was something she never really sat down and thought about. It felt like such a simple answer, but it was difficult to put into words. Especially the more she thought about it.

“My type of justice... I'd say it's doing the right thing because it's right, no matter who's the one doing wrong.”

“But what about the more technical matters?” he challenged. “Who's the one who decides what is ultimately right or wrong? The people? The Navy? The World Government? Shouldn't the law be upheld?”

“Some laws are wrong,” she countered. “Just because some laws say something is right, it doesn't mean it actually is. Same with them saying something is wrong. Laws change every century, every decade; hell, every day. And sometimes people do things for their right reasons, but it's considered wrong in the eyes of the law or other people.”

Jonathon smirked wryly at her as he fiddled with a fishing lure. “So, do you think everyone who does things because they think they're right are innocent? Some pirates and criminals have that way of thinking.”

“No.” She shook her head. “I'm not foolish or naïve enough to think that way. But I do believe that though there are bad pirates and good Marines, there are also good pirates and bad Marines. The world isn't black and white, it's shades of gray. And it's also a matter of perspective.”

For several moments, Jonathon looked at her. Though it wasn't with a lecherous gaze, she still felt like he was undressing her with his eyes. But more like he was looking into the layers of her very being, maybe even her soul. It was a little unnerving.

But he finally blinked and said softly, “You remind me of a few higher-ranking Marines.” He gestured for her to sit back down.

When she did, he said, “I believe we were interrupted before I could explain the rest of the Navy rankings. Above the Warrant Officers, you have Ensign. Once one is promoted to such a rank, like Tashigi recently was for her service to Arabasta, they can start wearing overcoats with 'Justice' printed on the back. And then you have Lieutenant Junior Grade, which is just under Lieutenants. And above that, you have Lieutenant Commanders, like Drake, which is under Commanders. One such Commander that comes to mind was actually raised by our current Fleet Admiral. Rosinante was his name. From what I heard, it broke our Fleet Admiral's heart when he was killed in action... In any case, above Commander, you have the rank of Captain, like the other hero of Arabasta, Smoker.”

Robin mentioned Smoker and Tashigi as the ones who got credit for saving Arabasta from the former Warlord, Sir Crocodile. It's kinda fascinating, learning where their rankings stand in the Marines.

“A Captain also sometimes has the responsibility of commanding a branch on an island. Like Axe-Hand Morgan. He, however, is like you suggested: a bad Marine, to put it bluntly. He was recently stripped of his rank, due to him abusing his power. Then, you have Commodore, which Smoker was recently promoted to. Rear Admirals have full command over any and all lower ranks, and are powerful fighters. Above them are Vice Admirals, like myself; we are third in rank.”

Third in rank? It sounds like Fleet Admiral might be the top dog of the Marines. And if Rear Admirals are considered powerful fighters, Vice Admirals must be nothing to sneeze at too. I might have to be careful...

“And then there's the ranking of Admiral. There are always three, and they are considered the Greatest Military Powers. They receive a unique moniker that consists of a color and animal combined. For example, we have Admiral Akainu, whose moniker simply means 'red dog', though his given name is Sakazuki. The Admirals also exercise their own codes of Absolute Justice. Akainu's is Thorough Justice, which is quite harsh in and of itself. He believes if there is even the slightest possibility of evil, it should be eradicated down to the roots. Even if there's not really much of a threat.”

Tenshi hummed, curling her lip distastefully. “Sounds very harsh. I can kinda see where he's coming from, but I'd worry that innocent lives could suffer for his sense of 'justice', whether it means they're hurt or killed."

“I can agree with that,” Jonathon said with a sigh. “That's why he wasn't one of the Marines you reminded me of. No, the ones you do remind me of is our Fleet Admiral—which is the highest of rankings and the top commander of all Marine ranks—and one of our Vice Admirals. A very certain Vice Admiral, in fact,” he added with a smirk. “I'd be hard-pressed to imagine that even you, who haven't had any experience with the Navy, haven't heard his name at least in passing. He is considered a great hero, after all...”

~ * < Look Out Below! Tenshi Meets the Marines! > * ~

With everything calmed down with the slow descent back to the Blue Sea, Tenshi got a chance to change her clothes. Her old Birkan clothes were covered in dirt, soot, and blood, and were ripped up from her various fights. Though it pained her heart to do it, she knew she had to pitch them.

But she did keep the white headscarf. That was less dirty, and she had a few ideas on how to customize it to make it more her modern tastes.

By the time she reemerged, she was in fresh clothes: a chestnut high-neck tank top under teal overalls. She was also wearing her worn black boots, still wrapped in ropes. Her messy brown curls were left to hang past her shoulders.

In the lounge, Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper—the former two back in their usual clothes—were repeatedly chanting about gold. “Now that we're finally filthy rich, what should we buy?!” Luffy asked excitedly. “I want a huge bronze statue!”

“Moron!” Usopp snapped. “What's the point in exchanging gold for bronze?! We really should increase the number of cannons we have! Let's buy ten of them!”

“Nami-san!” Sanji called out, back in his usual suit. “I want a lockable refrigerator! Pretty please?!”

“Hey?! What am I supposed to do when I'm hungry?! I object!”

Chopper ran up to Nami, who was now wearing a pale zip-up tank top that had “EV IL” written across the bust, and blue denim shorts. “I want-listen! I wanna buy books!” he pleaded, jumping up with his arms in the air as Luffy and Sanji continued to argue. “I want to read about other countries' medicine!”

“Don't ask me what I want to buy,” Tenshi jokingly remarked. “Here's a hint: yarn is a hell of a lot more expensive than you think.”

“Wait just a second, everyone!” Nami shouted. “We'll figure out how we'll divide the treasure once we've reached the Blue Sea. Got it?”

Chopper climbed onto the kitchen counter and asked again, “Please buy books for me!”

She pinched his cheeks together with her hand and added, “If we buy whatever you guys are asking for, we'll probably go broke.”

“Say, Navigator,” Robin said through the door—she was wearing a dark purple crop top vest, with matching pants and boots, and a magenta and black marbled jacket over it. “I wonder where the ship is headed.”

“Where?” she replied, checking her Log Pose. “Why, it's headed...” She trailed off, and suddenly screamed.

Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, and Tenshi ran outside. “What?! What?!”

“What's the matter?!” Luffy asked.

“What seems to be the problem, Nami-san?”

“What happened?” Tenshi asked.

“Damn! We must have started riding an air current at some point! We're drifting!” she exclaimed, glancing at the Jolly Roger billowing in the wind.

“An air current?” Usopp questioned.

“Now that you mention it, there is a different wind,” Sanji remarked.

“Is that even a problem?” Luffy asked.

“Of course it is!” Nami answered. “We won't even know what sea we'll land in!”

“Yeah, we might land outside the Grand Line,” Tenshi added. “Maybe in the middle of the Calm Belt. We can't even set the sails and steer the ship back on course.”

Luffy, however, still didn't seem too worried. “We'll just head to the next island once we've reached the sea,” he declared.

Nami turned to glare at him. “You always just blurt out things so casually...”

Sanji grunted in concern, looking up at the beak of the octopus with a concerned expression. Tenshi followed his gaze with a raised eyebrow.

“What is it, Sanji-kun?”

“Well... I wonder if it was my imagination?”

“No, I think I see what you're seeing,” Tenshi said, squinting her eyes. The octopus looked a little different than usual, but she couldn't put her finger on the difference.

“There'saproblem! Hey!”

Everyone nearly jumped out of their skins at how abruptly Zoro shouted. Having previously been napping on the deck, now back in his usual clothing, he was sitting straight up with an expression that was somehow both stern and concerned.

But then he yawned and mumbled, “Hmm... Just a dream...”

“What is wrong with you?!” Nami snapped as he lay back down, folding his arms behind his head.

“I'll cut you into fillets, you damn Marimo!” Sanji added.

“You scared me!”

“Now, now, Zoro's still tired after those battles in the sky!” Usopp said, holding Nami back as Luffy laughed.

“Not to mention we did party hard for a few days,” Tenshi added, laughing as well. “Besides, I get mumbly when I suddenly wake up too.”

It wasn't long before night fell. Chopper was sitting on the bulwark, while Usopp and Tenshi leaned on either side of him to watch the last of the sun dip below the horizon. “It's completely set now,” Usopp said.

“But it's such a nice view,” Chopper pointed out.

Tenshi nodded with a hum. “Sunsets and sunrises are always so pretty to me. I've thought about making something with their colors. Like a tapestry, or even a long overcoat.”

“Ahh, that does sound nice.”

Next to them, Zoro sat up. “Is it morning?” he mumbled.

“We just said the sun set!” Usopp snapped.

“Not only do you have a shitty sense of direction, but your internal clock's backwards too,” Tenshi said with a laugh.

“It's taking quite a long time to reach the Blue Sea,” Robin remarked from where she was sitting, leaned back against the mainmast.

“I'm still so worried about how far the ship will drift,” Nami said, sitting on the opposite bulwark.

“Y'know, it'd be so quick and easy if we drifted right to Laugh Tale,” Usopp said with a grin.

“That would be so cool!” Chopper exclaimed, bouncing to his feet on the bulwark.

“Laugh Tale?” Tenshi questioned, tilting her head to the side.

“Oh, you don't know?” Usopp asked. “That's where the One Piece is! The Log Pose might be leading us to various islands, but it'll be those islands that will guide us there! An old man we met a while back said Gold Roger and his crew were the only ones to reach it!”

Tenshi's eyes were wide with fascination. She had obviously heard of the One Piece, but never knew where it actually was. “Amazing! But it would kinda take the fun out of the adventure if we just plopped down on it.”

“It's impossible anyway,” Robin said. “In order to reach Laugh Tale, we still need to go more than halfway around the Grand Line.”

“Um, yeah, well... I knew that,” Usopp mumbled.

Zoro stood up, stretching his arms with a long groan. “In any case, I'm bored! How long until we reach the sea?”

“Aw, just go back to sleep.”

“Come up here if you're bored, Zoro! This is fun!”

Everyone looked around in confusion. “Luffy?” Chopper questioned.

“Where did his voice come from?” Usopp asked.

“It sounded kinda far off,” Nami remarked.

“And up high,” Tenshi added.

“Luffy!” Sanji yelled out. “Where are you?!”

“Up here!” he answered. “Come up here, everyone! This is fun!” He laughed.

Usopp and Chopper leaned over the bulwark to look up. “He is up there!” Usopp said, annoyed. “He's bouncing on the octopus!”

“How'd he get up there?” Tenshi wondered, looking up as well. “And when?”

“Hey, don't be so reckless!” Nami shouted as he continued to bounce on it, laughing. “Our lives depend on that balloon!”

“Don't worry! Don't worry!”

As Tenshi continued to look up at the bottom of the octopus, her stomach slowly dropped, and her eyes widened in realization. “... Shit!”

“You see it too?!” Before she could answer, Sanji yelled, “No, Luffy! Get back down here!”

“Luffy! Quit it!”

“What's wrong all of a sudden, Sanji-kun? Tenshi?”

“This octopus is shrinking!” Sanji exclaimed, jumping onto the bulwark next to Nami. He jumped up again to climb up one of the octopus's tentacles.

“If we don't stop him, we'll start falling even faster!” Tenshi added, jumping and climbing up the opposite side of the octopus. Luckily, with how squishy it felt under her fingers, it was easy to do so. “Luffy! Listen to Sanji and me! Stop bouncing!”

She managed to reach the top of the ballooned octopus at the same time as Sanji. They found Luffy bouncing on top like it was a trampoline, holding onto his hat. She could see the broad grin on his face.

“Hey, Luffy! Something is strange, so come back down!” Sanji yelled out.

Distracted, Luffy landed on his feet on the top of the octopus. It had deflated so much, his feet sank, causing him to trip and roll into Sanji.

“Fuck me!” Tenshi slid back down the side of the octopus, and landed on the bulwark, and then the deck in time to see Luffy and Sanji fall overboard.

Thankfully, when she ran to the other side, Luffy had already stretched his arm to grab the edge; his other hand had a hold of Sanji's ankle.

“That was quite a scare!” He laughed.

“Like Tenshi-sama and I were saying, the octopus is shrinking!”

The others barely breathed a sigh of relief before the ship began to fall faster. It had sped up so fast, they all began to rise up into the air off of their feet, and caught up to where Luffy and Sanji were dangling.

“WE'RE FALLING!” Usopp screamed. “WE'RE FALLING!”

Nami shrieked. “This isn't good! We'll be swallowed by the sea!”

“There's no guarantee we'll even fall into the sea!” Robin pointed out.

“Agh, you're right!” Usopp reached back and grabbed his floating satchel.

“What are you doing, Usopp?!” Chopper whimpered from where he was clinging to the bulwark.

“What else?! Protecting the ship!” He strapped his Usopp AaaaaAAAaaaAA belt around his waist, pulled what looked like red octopus slippers on over his boots, and perched onto the bulwark.

“What are you doing?!” Nami asked.

“Don't be so reckless, Usopp!” Sanji snapped.

Undeterred, though he was quivering, Usopp pulled the grappling hook out of his belt and hooked it over the edge of the bulwark. “Usopp... AaaaaAAAaaaAA!” He jumped backwards, letting the rope flow out of his belt. When the rope was pulled taut, he managed to swing himself under the Merry's hull.

With a yelp, Tenshi grabbed onto the rope. But not to pull it up; only to make sure it didn't accidentally loosen.

After a few minutes, the ship's falling actually began to slow down. It wasn't back to the original speed, but they weren't in any danger of hitting the water hard enough to break the ship apart.

“We... slowed down,” Nami mumbled.

“Sweet!” Luffy said happily.

“Were we saved?” Chopper whimpered through his tears.

“Looks like it,” Robin replied.

Usopp floated up beside the ship, still attached via his rope. He laughed proudly, planting his hands on his hips. “Did you all see my wonderful work!?”

“Usopp, you're so cool!” Chopper exclaimed.

Luffy laughed with delight. “I wondered what was gonna happen there for a minute!”

“Yeah, I seriously thought that was it!” Nami agreed.

“That was some quick thinking, Sopp!” Tenshi said with a grin.

But before anyone could add anything, the octopus suddenly shrunk down to a tiny size with a snap. It happened to fast, it was hovering over the ship.

“Why?” was all Nami could mutter before the ship was falling again, even faster than before. Everyone was screaming and trying to keep their feet planted to the deck.

“Usopp!” Luffy called out, realizing he had passed out from fright.

Tenshi began to pull him in by his rope as fast as she could. But it apparently wasn't fast enough, because Luffy reached his arm out to grab him by the nose and pull him back in. “Everyone! Grab onto something and hold on tight!”

Tenshi let Usopp's rope go and wrapped her arms and legs around the mainmast as tight as she could. And just in time for the ship to land heavily on the water with the loudest thud she ever heard and experienced. The splash was so massive, it felt like rain for a few moments. The Merry rocked about before finally settling.

“Nami-san! Robin-chan! Tenshi-sama! Are you all okay?!”

Nami had to catch her breath before she managed to whimper out, “That scared me so bad! The octopus suddenly shrunk down so small so fast!”

“My heart... needs to... restart...” Tenshi mumbled, sliding down the mainmast to sit on the deck.

“I wonder if the air leaked out,” Robin remarked, somehow calm.

Something small fell out of the sky and onto Luffy's face with a wet, squishy slap. It was the octopus, now the size of a Blue Sea variety.

Luffy laughed as he pulled it off of him. “But we somehow made it without dying!” He thanked the octopus with a grin.

“Still...” Sanji lit his cigarette and puffed out a cloud of smoke. “We really went to a really extraordinary place, huh?”

“It seems so much further up, now that we've fallen from it,” Robin remarked, looking up as well.

“It's like we were dreaming,” Nami added.

“It was a land of dreams,” Chopper said, smiling widely. “You think we'll be able to go back someday?”

“We might get there when we die,” Zoro joked. “Or close enough.”

“So, you think you'll go to heaven, Zoro?” Usopp asked, much to his annoyance.

“It's still crazy that I was born and raised up there,” Tenshi said, gazing up at the sky. All of the clouds looked the same. There was no way of knowing if they were sea or island clouds, or just normal clouds that let out rain and snow.

“You gonna miss it, Tenshi?” Luffy asked her.

“Yeah, I will... But I think I'm gonna have a lot more fun with you guys.”

“Well, now that things have calmed down, I'll brew us some coffee,” Sanji offered as he walked to the kitchen.

“I'd rather have dinner!” Luffy proclaimed, throwing his fists into the air.

“He'll make us dinner,” Tenshi said. “Just be patient!”

“Fine. Say...”

Suddenly, they were bathed in light. It was so bright, she almost wondered if morning had come as suddenly as the octopus deflated.

But there were sirens blaring. And when she looked around, she realized they were surrounded by high cliffs, a small mountainous island, and a bridge that led between the two. And the lights were searchlights, all aimed at them.

“... Where are we?”

~ * <|> * ~

Tenshi didn't even wait for the word. She immediately dove into the water.

She could hear the sirens still blaring, though they were muffled by the water in her ears. She could see the light from the searchlights on the surface of the water—whether this was a lake or still the ocean, she wasn't sure yet. Her eyes still stung, regardless.

Through the blaring sirens, she could hear loud groaning and creaking. She wasn't sure what it was, but she didn't care.

She swam for all she was worth away from the Merry, holding her breath as tightly as she could. Luckily, having been taught by Masira, she was good at holding her breath for a long amount of time. And she was able to do it until she saw land up ahead.

When she poked her head out of the water to take a breath, she saw someone sitting on the shore, fiddling with what looked like something on the end of a fishing line. Though they were shadowed, the stray light from the searchlight managed to catch some of their details. It was a man, dressed in white, with a red sash over his shoulder and chest. He had short hair and a mustache, and was also wearing a visor.

When she squinted, she saw the dark blue symbol on the visor: it looked like a simplified bird in flight, carrying a wrench.

Shit! Isn't that the emblem of the Navy?!

After the man tossed whatever was on his line away into the grass, he happened to glance in her direction. With a gasp, she ducked back down into the water. But she accidentally inhaled some water, and began to try to cough it back up. Her lungs burned, and she could feel herself starting to choke. Her arms flailed and her legs kicked, but she couldn't seem to get herself to resurface.

But then she was pulled out by her arms. She turned onto her hands and knees, coughing up the water she inhaled—it tasted salty, which told her this was still the sea.

“Are you alright?” the man asked, patting her back heavily.

“... Yeah... I'll... I'll be okay,” she rasped. “Thanks for... not letting... me drown.”

“Well, I also meant are you alright in terms of the falling ship,” the man clarified. “You don't look familiar, and you're all scarred up. And you're bandaged, too. I'm assuming you were on the ship?”

Thinking quickly, Tenshi sat up and nodded. “Y-yeah! That's a pirate ship! I was a-I was kept prisoner on there! But I managed to get awa-e-escape!” She put on what she hoped was a nervous expression.

“I'll take you to the medical bay, then. Just to make sure you're completely alright.” He helped her to her feet, picked up a small basket, and slung his fishing pole over his shoulder. “Follow me, miss.”

“R-right.”

He led her to a small boat, and rowed them across the bay towards the island in the middle. She glanced towards the Merry, floating all by itself in the middle of the searchlights. She hoped the others managed to escape, and hadn't gotten caught like she had.

Of all the luck, we had to drop in a Marine base!

Once they reached the island, the man helped her out of the boat, pulled it ashore, and led her through metal doors that were marked with the Navy's emblem. The guards were surprised by her appearance, but he waved them off and explained she was a hostage that managed to get away from the ship.

She managed to keep up with him as he led her through the various halls until they reached the medical bay. Inside, the only doctor was a young woman with short wavy purple hair and oval glasses. She had a white doctor's coat over a red jumper, light skirt, and wore simple shoes on her feet.

“Dr. Kobato, I found this young lady half-drowned,” the man said, nudging Tenshi to an examination bed. “She seems to have some injuries; she said she was a hostage on the pirate ship that just landed here. Could you check her over?”

“Of course, Commander!” Adjusting her glasses, she looked over Tenshi. She checked her vitals, looked at bandages on her legs, chest, biceps, and upper back—notably with a wide-eyed nervous look that had Tenshi raising an eyebrow—and even fetched a fresh change of clothes. “We only have spare uniforms, and they're all a men's sizes, but this one should fit her.”

“Excellent,” the Commander said with a nod.

“In terms of her injuries, they don't look to be too severe. Th-there's not much blood in the bandages, so...” As she handed Tenshi the uniform, she suddenly screamed loudly. It was so shrill, it made her jump and cover her ears.

“I'm sorry!” Dr. Kobato exclaimed, red in the face. “I'm so sorry! I-I've never seen such scars! They frightened-That was inappropriate! I'm sorry!”

But she and the Commander were caught off guard when Tenshi just laughed. “I was wondering what was taking you so long to notice,” she remarked with a grin.

The curtain was drawn, giving her privacy to dry herself off and change her clothes—her injuries from Skypiea were healed enough that she didn't need them bandaged any longer. The uniform consisted of a white short-sleeved button-up shirt that had the emblem and MARINE printed on the back in blue, dark blue pants, a matching neckerchief, and a white baseball cap that was teal in the front, and also had MARINE printed in blue over it.

The pants were a little tight over her hips, and the shirt's buttons barely held on over her chest and stomach, but they would suffice. She tied the neckerchief around her neck with a square knot, and pulled her squeezed-out hair through the back of the cap like a ponytail.

When she came out from behind the curtain, she saw the Commander speaking with Dr. Kobato. She was now able to get a better look at him in the light: he had orange-red hair in almost a buzz-cut, with the sideburns left a little thick, but his eyebrows and mustache were a darker brown. He looked older than her, but had kind eyes.

“Ah, you look freshened up,” he remarked. “I never did catch your name.”

“Uh... Tenshi,” she answered, not being able to come up with a fake name on the fly.

“Tenshi. A lovely name. Come along, I'll take you to my office for a spell.”

“Right. Thank you, Dr. Kobato.” She bowed to her before following after the Commander.

“You can call me Jonathon,” he continued. “I may be the commander of this base, but there's no need for such formalities.”

She simply nodded as he took her up several flights of stairs. It was a while before they finally reached a double door that had the Navy emblem on it. He opened one of them, and allowed her to go inside first.

The office was warm and cozy, with brown walls and a white tiled floor. There was a large purple rug under the desk, and the trim under the ceiling had fish décor. There was even a painting of a fish over the doorway. In addition to books, pens, a bottle of ink, and a box of fishing lures on the desk, there was also a chessboard.

There was someone else already inside. It was another Marine, but wearing a more decorated overcoat, trimmed with yellow and with blue and yellow epaulets, over a dark blue suit and pale blue ascot; the back of the overcoat had the kanji for 'Justice' in black. He had tanned skin, and brown fluffy hair, even on his muttonchop sideburns. His mouth seemed to naturally curl into a permanent sneer on the left side.

“Commander!” he exclaimed. “Where have you been?!” He was barely able to glance confused at Tenshi before Jonathon tossed him his fishing pole and basket, and then his visor.

“I didn't catch anything today,” Jonathon said, pulling aside a curtain to look out at the bay. “But I did find a fallen angel. This young lady is Tenshi. She was a hostage on that pirate ship that just landed here, but managed to escape. We'll be keeping her here with us until we figure out what we can do for her.”

As she smiled uneasily at the other Marine, Jonathon continued, “This is my Lieutenant Commander, Drake.”

Drake scoffed and stated, “She could be a pirate pretending to be a hostage.”

“She's injured,” Jonathon said. “She had bandages on her arms, legs, chest, and back. And those harsh scars, too.”

“Even still! Pirates are sneaky and dishonest, and will do anything to catch you off guard!”

“Don't pay too much mind to him,” Jonathon said, winking and grinning at her. “He's always so strict and on edge.”

“Can you blame me?! Commander, you're always wandering off to go fish-”

“What's the big deal? Night fishing isn't necessarily a waste, you know.”

Two knocks on the door interrupted them. When Tenshi turned to look, there was another Marine. This one was dressed in a similar uniform to hers, but had epaulets like Drake, and wore tall brown boots. Under his cap, his dark hair fanned out in tight curls, and he had a faint mustache.

“Commander, I have...!” He flinched at the sight of Tenshi's scars, but shook his head with a grunt. “I have a report! According to the watchmen, as well as the maintenance men inside the dock who saw the ship close by... A-according to them...”

“I can cover my face,” Tenshi offered.

“You're alright, my dear. What is it, Tetsu?” Jonathon asked.

“Spit it out already!” Drake insisted.

“Yes... Well... Um... They say they saw ghosts!”

Ghosts?

“Ghosts, you say? Please continue.” Even as he listened, Jonathon took his fishing rod from Drake and sat at his desk to fiddle with it.

“They all say similar things: the ship fell from the sky, a hairy monster jumped out and disappeared, and hands sprouted out of other soldiers' bodies—as noted by Makeo, they were a young woman's hands. And they've all come to the conclusion that this is a ghost ship!”

Drake suddenly slammed his hand on a small table. “Don't be ridiculous!”

“Yes, sir...”

“That ship, without a doubt, is the Straw Hats' ship! And this woman came from it!” He gestured his other hand at Tenshi. “Therefore, it is not a ghost ship! Moreover, to say it fell out of the sky, of all things?!”

“Well, the part about it falling from the sky is true, at least,” Jonathon said. He swished his fishing rod, and managed to hook the back of Drake's overcoat to pull it up. “I told you night fishing wasn't a waste, didn't I?” he added with a grin.

With a huff, Drake yanked the hook out of the back of his overcoat. “I say we interrogate this woman! She came from the ship, she'll know what is going on!”

Tenshi gulped nervously. I'm not sure how I can keep up this façade. I'm not the greatest of liars in the best of times...

“Nah, we can do that later,” Jonathon said, standing up and setting his fishing rod aside. “I want to see what this 'ghost ship' is about.” He pulled on a fancier-looking overcoat with several medals on one of the lapels, and a white tricorne with blue trim and a feather. “Come along, Tenshi. You can show us around on this 'ghost ship'.”

“Well, I'd rather-” she was interrupted as Drake shoved her from behind to follow him.

Well, fuck. I can't just sneak away, I'll get lost. But I can't even get away because I don't have the Merry, and I don't have the rest of the crew. I'm just gonna have to play it cool and hope I don't reveal too much by accident.

By the time they reached the Merry, it was covered in yellow caution tape. Dozens of Marines were aboard, on both the upper and lower deck, in the crow's nest, and likely below deck. All taking pictures. And there were several numbered markers strewn about.

Poor Merry. I'm sorry you ended up like this. We'll get you out of here, though.

Jonathon was examining one of the areas deemed suspicious enough to get a marker: eight coffee cups, with a still-steaming coffee pot, and an ashtray with a cigarette.

“Hmm... Ghost ship, huh?” he remarked, pouring a cup of coffee. He took a sniff, and stood up to hand the cup to Drake. “It sure smells good.”

She raised an eyebrow as Drake took a sip of the coffee. For someone so 'strict and on edge', he's kinda chill with drinking random coffee from a 'ghost pirate ship'.

One of the soldiers suddenly shouted, “Commander! I found these in one of the rooms!” This startled Drake so bad, he had to cough a few times to catch his breath.

Tenshi nearly choked on her breath herself when she realized what the soldier was carrying: armfuls of treasure from Skypiea. But she managed to keep herself quiet so as to not attract any attention—at least, to where she might have recognized it and didn't want the Marines to even touch it.

“Ingots and a crown... This golden treasure is quite old,” Jonathon remarked. “They must have been stolen from some ancient ruins.”

Oh, the dramatic irony...

“Send them to the forensic labs!” Drake demanded.

“Yes, sir!”

Tenshi's shoulders slumped as she watched several Marines run out of the lounge, carrying bags of their treasure. She could almost see the pile shrinking down to nothing, even being outside on the deck. Nami is going to kill me for not being able to keep them from stealing it.

“Well, then, let's explore the inside, shall we?” Jonathon nudged Drake aside and walked towards the door to the lounge.

But then the sound of flapping wings overhead caught everyone's attention. A shadow flew through the sails before it landed on the yard. She could see everyone quivering with fright, probably wondering if this was one of the ghosts. “Chirps?” Drake grunted in confusion.

“There it is. It's just an ordinary South Bird,” Jonathon said, pointing out the bird. “Nothing to fear.”

“South Bird?”

“Yeah. A funny bird highly valued by old-time sailors because they always point south.”

Suddenly, with a loud angry squawk, the South Bird flew straight down at Jonathon and began to attack him. It pecked at him, grabbed him with its talons, and smacked him with its wings.

“Hey! Shoo, shoo!” Tenshi exclaimed, swiping the bird away with her hands until it flew away. “Quit it!”

“Are you alright, sir?!” Drake exclaimed.

Jonathon lifted his head with a weary sigh. “They're surprisingly violent, it seems.” He turned to Tenshi and added, “Thank you, Tenshi.”

With a nod, she followed him and Drake into the lounge. There were more soldiers inside, taking pictures and stock of everything. Drake himself opened the refrigerator, only to slam it shut. A soldier placed a pile of books on the table; she recognized them as Chopper's medical books, Robin's history books, and her own crafting books.

Jonathon examined the stove and Sanji's tools, even picking up a knife. He carefully sliced at the hair on his arm to check the sharpness, and turned it to look at how reflective it was. “Hmm... These are well-maintained.”

The soldier that had stacked all of the books onto the table reported on what they were. “I guess these 'ghosts' enjoy studying and crafting,” Jonathon remarked, sounding amused.

“We found other books below deck. However, these ones...” The soldier trailed off with a bright red face.

My smut books! Tenshi's mouth twisted. She wasn't sure if she should be annoyed that they went snooping in her stash, or amused that they realized what they were looking at.

“Ghosts again?” Drake scoffed distastefully. “How ridiculous. We have someone who was on the ship right here! And she isn't a ghost.”

“You never know, I might be haunting you all,” she remarked with a smirk. Only to grunt and flinch when he flicked her in the forehead.

Seemingly satisfied with his examination, Jonathon walked back out on deck and clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. They all stopped talking and taking pictures to look his way.

“Thank you all for your hard work,” he said, his voice not very loud, but still attention-grabbing. “Please continue your investigation of this ghost ship.”

As the soldiers muttered in confusion and fear, Tenshi tilted her head to the side. Why was he keeping up the charade of this being a ghost ship? Especially when she herself was alive and well?

“... Goodbye, Big Brother...”

“Nobody deserves to be judged for their family and their actions, whether they were good or bad, recent or in the far past! The only way they should be judged is based on who they themselves are, and what they themselves have done!”

“You're far too kind for your own good. Especially given what you've gone through.”

“What will you do? Will you stay here in Skypiea?”

“I can't quite explain it, but I've already deeply bonded with them, even after only being with them for a few days... I'm gonna stick with them.”

~ * < Down to the Blue Sea! Sakidō Tenshi the Sailmaster! > * ~

The celebrations went on for another three days, leaving everyone passed out around Shandora in a state of utter exhaustion. Even the Cloud Wolves, having survived the near destruction of Upper Yard and joined in, were scattered about.

In between the festivities, Tenshi was able to get a complete recounting of the story of Kalgara and Noland meeting from Wyper, the Shandian chief, and even the snake, thanks to Chopper translating her speech—they found out her name was Nola, named after Noland. She wrote down every single detail so that not only she could remember the true history, but could share it with Cricket if they came across him again.

It made the Shandian chief weep when she explained Noland's reputation after Shandora was sent flying up into the sky, and he was eager for her to someday tell Cricket the true history. “I would like to meet him as well,” he said.

But, for now, everyone was asleep and snoring.

At least, Tenshi was, alongside the rest of the Straw Hats on a platform. Until she was startled awake by a loud argument between Luffy and Nami. “'s not m'shift t'day,” she mumbled sleepily, patting around for her glasses.

The others around her were woken up, whether because they couldn't sleep, or because they were accidental collateral damage from their tantrums. Their angered or affronted shouts filled the ruins, shattering the peaceful early morning air.

Tenshi just sat off to the side, having found and pushed her glasses onto her nose, and watched the spectacle with a smile. “... I love this crew.”

But once they all calmed down, they gathered around to hear what Luffy had suggested to Nami, which led to the argument on who was talking too loudly: he knew where there was actually some golden treasure, and that they could swipe it and take off.

“So, that's the plan,” he concluded.

“Sounds good to me!” Usopp declared. “It's not often we come to a place like a sky island! You ought to make sure you leave without any regrets!”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Later, once morning properly broke, and everyone else had awoken, the crew was split; Zoro and Usopp remained in the ruins to make sure nobody went looking for them—and so Usopp could barter for dials—Robin wandered off, presumably to look for the Poneglyph she mentioned wanting to find, and Luffy took Nami, Sanji, Chopper, and Tenshi inside of Nola, who was still asleep with her mouth propped open. Both he and Nami remembered seeing ruins that she had swallowed, and he said he had also found treasure.

“What the heck?!” Sanji said, glancing at the ruins in surprise. “What does this snake eat?”

“She kept smashing her head against ruins when we were fighting her,” Tenshi recalled. “She probably swallowed some ruins by mistake over the last four hundred years. I'm just surprised her venom didn't melt it all, least of all her stomach acids.”

“Are we there yet, Luffy?” Nami asked in exasperation. She had already been complaining about the creepy dampness and pungent smell of Nola's esophagus and stomach.

“Look! There it is!”

Sure enough, there was an area where there was various treasure scattered about. Gold, silver, and gems, various types of crowns and jewelry, swords, ingots, crosses, and statuettes.

“So amazing!” Nami cheered, nuzzling her cheek against a red velvet and gold crown.

“This is the real thing!” Sanji declared, looking at a golden cross that was encrusted with green gems.

“How pretty!” Chopper exclaimed, admiring an ingot. “Just like the salvaged one from Tenshi's pops and little brothers' house!”

"This must all go back hundreds of years!" Tenshi added, polishing a South Bird statuette with her sleeve. "Depending on how fast Nola grew up and started eating it all!"

“See?! See?! See?!” Luffy said proudly. “There's so much here!”

As they began to gather as much treasure as they could stuff in sacks they brought, Tenshi found a small wooden box. She flicked it open, and found a pair of earrings sitting on a velvet pillow. They were big dangling earrings, each the size of her thumb, and were shaped like the ingots—or, rather, like the Golden Bell, which Wyper had told her was called The Light of Shandora by the Shandians.

“Hey, Nami. You think I could keep these earrings for myself?” she asked, showing her the box. “Just as a souvenir of this place.”

“Sure, go ahead!” she said happily.

With a pleased smile, Tenshi carefully stuck the hooks into her pierced earlobes, making sure they dangled just right. She even found an ornate mirror to look at her reflection with. The bells were big, but not too heavy. And they sparkled brightly, even in the dim light of their lantern.

“What do you guys think?” she asked.

“Ohhh! You look beautiful with those, Tenshi-sama!” Sanji exclaimed.

“They're so sparkly!” Chopper said, climbing onto her shoulder and gently poking at one of them with his hoof.

“Gold jewelry really compliments your eyes and hair, Tenshi,” Nami added approvingly. “And the purple stones on your necklace and ring add to it!”

“You're a proper pirate now, Tenshi!” Luffy said, happily grinning.

She was still smiling herself, even as they exited Nola's mouth with their bags of treasure in tow. She was just happy she was able to take a piece of Skypiea with her, even after they spent all of their treasure. From now on, whether I make it myself, or I get something, I'm going to have trinkets and other things that will remind me of the places I visited; maybe even of the people I encountered.

She eventually found herself in the ruins of Shandora again, with the rest of the crew, save for Nami and Robin.

“What do you think will happen to this place?” Chopper asked.

“From what the Shandian chief told me, he and their tribe will start living here,” Tenshi said. “This is their ancestral home, after all. And there's even talks of the Skypieans living here as well. Now that their four hundred-year war is over, and the six-year reign of a false god is too, there can be proper peace.”

She laughed softly and added, “And to think it's all because of a group of pirates. Hella ironic.”

“We helped our friend save her kingdom too!” Chopper said.

“Yeah, Robin mentioned that. Princess Vivi of Arabasta, right? I heard a couple of Marines saved it, but I guess it was a cover up.”

Chopper nodded happily.

“I wish you could have met her, Tenshi-sama,” Sanji said with a morose sigh. “She was so lovely! Always concerned for the well-being of her people, and so strong! She even stayed behind so she could help her people more.”

“She sounds like a great girl,” Tenshi remarked. “I'd love to meet her someday.”

Luffy, who had been looking out at the entrance to the ruins, whined, “Robin's laaate! What's she doing?”

“Maybe trying to find a Poneglyph,” Tenshi suggested. “She mentioned there might be one here.”

“In any case, this place has been so empty,” Sanji said. “Where did all the guerrillas and angels go?”

“Better for us, I'd say,” Usopp stated. “If they spotted us with their gold, they'd probably chase us off! They probably won't just let us get away with it.”

“Well, Nami-san and Conis-chan did take most of it back to the ship, and are preparing to shove off,” Sanji pointed out. “But you're right, we do need to hurry.”

“I almost feel bad for taking it out from under their noses,” Tenshi said softly. “Especially after all they've been through...”

“If it was in the snake this whole time, they don't know it exists. And you're gonna have to get used to it,” Zoro said. “You're a pirate now.”

“I'm still getting used to it.”

“What's your role gonna be on the ship, Tenshi?” Chopper asked, intrigued.

“Well, Robin did mention that me setting the sails and taking care of them was like that of a sailmaster,” she recalled. “So, I guess that's what I'll be: a sailmaster.” She pumped her fists and declared, “And I'll do my damn best at it!”

“Yaay!” Chopper cheered. “You'll be the best sailmaster ever!”

Suddenly, the rest of the guys broke out into a fistfight. She could barely hear what they were arguing about, only that Sanji kept calling Zoro 'Marimo', and Usopp shouting that he would get lost within three steps of the jungle.

When she glanced down, she saw Chopper 'hiding' behind her leg with wide eyes. “You really need to learn how hiding works...”

“Hey, look! It's Robin!” Usopp suddenly exclaimed.

Sure enough, Robin was returning to the ruins.

“Robin-chan!”

“Oooiii, Robin! Hurry up! We gotta run! We stole some gold!”

Tenshi flinched in realization and exclaimed, “Luffy, are you fucking blind?!”

“Exactly!” Sanji snapped in agreement. “Take a good look behind her!”

There was a crowd of sky-people behind Robin. And they were carrying something. It was huge, round, and looked long. And it was wrapped in a giant tarp. It took dozens of sky-people to carry it.

“They're all coming at once!” Sanji concluded.

Chopper screamed in fright, hugging Tenshi's leg tighter. “There's a ton of them!”

“This is bad!” Usopp cried out. “This is super bad! They got a giant cannon!”

“Is that everyone?” Zoro groaned in exasperation.

“Robin, you snitch!” Tenshi yelled.

“Hurry back to the ship!” Luffy shouted loudly. “We can't stay here any longer!” He twisted his body around to show the mouth of his sack of gold. “Lookee here! We got a big haul! We're rich now!”

The crowd of sky-people did stop, but they began to shout as well. Tenshi could just barely hear them telling the crew to stop and wait a minute.

“See there?! They found out!” Sanji said. “We're busted!”

“Run away!” Luffy laughed, taking off towards the jungle.

As the others started to follow Luffy, however, Usopp doubled back to strike a pose on a large piece of rubble. “You guys keep yelling, 'Wait! Wait! Stop! Stop!' But you listen here! We-”

But he was interrupted when Tenshi grabbed the back of his overalls' straps to drag him with her. “We need to book it, on the double!” she yelled.

“Hey! Y-you interrupted my cool speech!” he protested as he struggled to keep up with her.

“You wanna stop and go back for a do-over?!”

He glanced back as she let go of his overalls, and realized the crowd of sky-people were running after them now, and still shouting for them to stop and wait. He gulped, and answered, “N-nope!”

“Then, get those feet moving!”

“Robin-chan!” Sanji called out happily. “Hurry!”

“Keep going, guys!” Luffy shouted. “Keep running all the way to the end of the sky!”

Thankfully, it didn't take them long to reach the jungle. They were barely even slowed down by their bags of gold.

“How's it look?!” Usopp asked. “Have we lost them?!”

“Looks like they gave up!” Sanji declared as he ran backwards, shielding his eye with his free hand. “I can't see them anymore!”

“That huge cannon will be a pain in the ass to get through these trees!” Tenshi added.

Usopp sighed with relief. “Anyway, that humongous cannon sure did scare me! Where the heck were they hiding that thing, anyway?!”

“A cannon?” Robin asked in confusion.

“Yeah, you know! That huge thing the warriors were carrying!” Usopp explained.

Robin simply laughed in response.

“Hey, it's no laughing matter!” Usopp protested. “It was really scary!”

“He's right!” Chopper chimed in, bouncing up to make himself heard better. “Don't laugh!”

“Hey! There they are!” Luffy exclaimed. “Nami and Conis!”

“And Gan Fall and Pierre are with them!” Tenshi added, seeing them near the ship through the trees.

“What?! Nami-san! Conis-cha-ow!” Sanji yelled out, having gotten clotheslined by a low-hanging branch.

“... Are you alright?” Robin asked over her shoulder.

“Of course!” he declared, leaping back to his feet.

Before Nami could ask what was wrong as they ran to quickly board the ship, Tenshi said, “No time for questions! Just shove off!”

“Well, do your job, then!” Nami answered, half-affectionately and half-seriously.

“Aye-aye, Navigator!” she exclaimed happily, throwing her bag of gold aside to climb up the mainmast. She grabbed the clewlines for the mainsail and jumped back down to tie them to their respective cleats. “Hoisting the sails! Off for Cloud's End!”

The whole time, she didn't notice Gan Fall watching her proudly.

~ * <|> * ~

As the Merry sailed along the White-White Sea, Gan Fall and Conis rode on Pierre, who was in his horse form and flying alongside them. Tenshi, having set the sails properly, was now sitting on the yardarm, watching Skypiea disappear in the distance. She felt sad that she was leaving, especially because she didn't recover as many of her memories as she hoped she would. And because though she knew who her people and home island once were, they were all gone.

But at the same time, she was excited for any adventures that awaited her along the Grand Line. Never before did she feel more sure of her path. She had escaped Mock Town and left Jaya. She was finally going to see the rest of the world.

She looked over her shoulder at the rest of the crew—her crew. Her new friends. Maybe even, dare she think it, her new family?

Luffy, who had been the first to invite her to the crew, and had defeated her brother when nobody else could.

Zoro, who never once judged her for how she looked, and called her a great fighter.

Nami, who though started off wary of her, found a sense of female camaraderie in her.

Usopp, who trusted her to help keep the Merry in good sailing condition, and made her feel protective.

Sanji, who though could be annoying with his fawning and flirting, still treated her like a lady as nobody ever did before.

Chopper, who was always cheerful to her, and made sure she didn't go without untreated injuries.

And Robin, who while still a little distant and cold, could trust her secrets with her.

This was her crew, her friends. And she trusted that as she would help them go the distance, they would with her as well. But she would still miss the friends she made in Skypiea: Conis, Wyper, and Gan Fall.

“I wish there was a way to write to you guys to tell you about our adventures,” she said across the way to Gan Fall and Conis. “I'll miss you guys a lot; especially you, Gramps,” she added with a grin.

Gan Fall laughed heartily. “Ah, what cheek you have!” His expression became more somber and reminiscent as he added, “I remember seeing off an old friend many years ago at this very route: Captain Gol D. Roger.”

Tenshi's eyes widened in shock. “Gold Roger came up here?! And you knew him?!”

“Indeed. Over twenty years ago; if memory serves right, likely twenty-four.”

“Twenty-four years ago... I would have been five years old...” I wonder... Did I ever meet the King of the Pirates? Did he once come to Birka? And come to think of it, is this why he sounds so familiar? Not that I know of him because of people talking about him... but because I might have met him? There is a tiny hint of nostalgic déjà vu...

“How do you know about Roger?” Gan Fall asked curiously, interrupting her thoughts. “Is he still alive down in the Blue Sea?”

“From what I know, he became the greatest pirate of his time! He gathered a great deal of treasure, and everyone's out to find it and claim his former title of King of the Pirates. But about twenty-two years ago, he was caught and executed. He was the one who set off everyone to find his treasure just before he died.”

“Ahh, I see.” Gan Fall nodded with a sad sigh. His eyes brightened back up as he continued, “But I'm happy he led a great life. I shall drink and toast in his honor tonight.”

“Everyone! We can see it now!” Conis announced from Pierre's back. “Please look to the front! For we are reaching Cloud's End!”

Several meters up ahead, they saw what looked like a grand gate. It was white, with red roofing and gold trim, had a few towers, and statues of sky-fish spitting up sea clouds like water fountains. A rainbow was arched over it.

Everyone gasped in admiration. “Alright! So we can get back down through there?” Luffy asked.

“We got here a lot sooner than I thought,” Usopp remarked.

Luffy slumped down on the Merry's figurehead. “Do we have to leave already?” he whined.

“I know how you feel,” Sanji said. “Now that we're finally on the cusp of going back down, I admit I hate to leave.”

“Time to say goodbye to this pure, white sea of clouds,” Zoro remarked.

“The sky island was fun,” Chopper added, leaning over the taffrail and letting his feet dangle below him. “Even though it was scary.”

“Once we pass through this gate, we'll take the Milky Road straight down to the Blue Sea?” Usopp asked.

“You think we'll be able to visit this sky island again?” Nami wondered out loud.

“Hard to tell.”

As the Merry sailed through the ship, Pierre landed on the gate so he was running alongside it. “This is as far as we can take you, folks!” Gan Fall called out.

“Take care, everyone!” Conis shouted, waving her arm in the air.

“Thanks for seeing us off!” Nami answered.

“Conis-chan! Take care of yourself!”

“Say hello to the others!” Usopp added.

“Thanks for everything!” Luffy said.

“No, we should be thanking you!” Conis countered, her eyes already shining with tears. “I'll never forget you all! I hope you regain your memories, Tenshi!”

“I do too! Thank you!”

“Conis, Tenshi's gramps, and little white thing! You all take care!”

“Yes!” “Yes!”

“Now, furl your sails immediately and hold on tight!” Gan Fall commanded.

“Furling the sails!” Tenshi jumped down from the yardarm, untied the clewlines from their cleats, and quickly began to furl the sails. She was surprised when the others jumped in to help, but bit her tongue so as to not protest.

If she was going to be a part of a crew, she would have to learn to accept help from them. Even when she thought she could do it herself.

Suddenly, there was a loud, strange chirping. Something bright and colorful flew down and attacked Luffy, sending him sprawling onto the deck.

It was the South Bird, now perched on Luffy's back. It squawked angrily.

“He's saying, 'Don't forget about me.'” Chopper translated.

“Oh, yeah... That is the South Bird we brought with us,” Nami recognized.

As the ship sailed into the small tunnel of the gate, the sails were all furled. “Alright, Captain!” Nami announced, adjusting her Log Pose. “We have the log for our next island!”

“Hell yeah!” Luffy exclaimed, now back on his feet. “Once we get back down, we'll start our next adventure!”

“LOOK OUT, GRAND LINE!” Tenshi declared as loud as her lungs and throat would allow it, now in the crow's nest. “THERE'S GONNA BE A NEW PIRATE ON THE SEAS! I MAY NOT HAVE AN EPITHET OR BOUNTY YET, BUT I AM SAKIDŌ TENSHI! SAILMASTER OF THE GOING MERRY AND THE STRAW HATS!”

The crew down below cheered in response. “Ready, guys?!” Luffy shouted. “WE'RE GOING BACK TO THE BLUE SEA!”

“YEAH!” “YEAH!” “YEAH!” “YEAH!” “YEAH!” “YEAH!” “YEAH!”

“BE CAREFUL WHILE DROPPING, EVERYONE!” Conis called out as loud as she could.

The ship exited the gate, and slid down a Milky Road, eliciting more excited cheers. They had sped up, making it all seem like a fun ride.

But it wasn't until the Merry had leaped completely off of the Milky Road, which took a sheer drop, that they realized what she had just said. “Dropping?” “Dropping?” “Dropping?” “Dropping?” “Dropping?” “Dropping?” “Dropping?” “Dropping?”

They barely heard Conis calling out one last “Heso!” as gravity began to take hold. The ship was free falling, and fast, nearly knocking everyone off of their feet and into the air. And soon, they were all screaming in fright.

“I WISH WE HAD A MORE DETAILED WARNING EARLIER!” Tenshi shouted indignantly.

“HOLD ON, TENSHI-SAMA! I'LL CLIMB UP AND HOLD ONTO YOU!”

“DON'T GRAB ME!”

Suddenly, a giant pink and purple-spotted octopus burst out of the clouds and grabbed the Merry in its long tentacles. Everyone was slammed onto the deck with how sudden the ship stopped falling. Once they got their bearings, they could only look up in shock at the giant cephalopod that was now cradling the ship in its tentacles. Several of the suckers were bigger than their heads.

“Hey, look!” Luffy called out from where he was perched on the bulwark. “This is so cool!”

As everyone else staggered to their feet, they exclaimed in realization. “It's like a hot air balloon!” Chopper realized.

“This is so much fun!”

“We've slowed down!” Nami pointed out.

“Uggghhh... I really thought we were gonna end up in the afterlife...” Usopp moaned.

** GONG! ** ** GONG! ** ** GONG! **

Everyone looked up with delight gasps as they heard The Light of Shandora ringing. The gongs were loud enough that it sounded like the bell was right next to them.

“I'll never get tired of hearing that beautiful bell...” Tenshi whispered, feeling herself tear up again.

** GONG! ** ** GONG! ** ** GONG! **

She was reminded, again, of Cricket, Masira, and Shoujou. She wondered what they were doing when they first heard the bell. Were they watching the sky, wondering what they themselves were doing? What would they do, now that they knew the city of gold was up in the sky?

“Keep an eye out for my first bounty poster, Pops, little brothers,” she said, gazing off into the sunset.

** GONG! ** ** GONG! ** ** GONG! **

*** To Be Continued ***