Author's Note:
This story takes place directly after the Thriller Bark arc and right before the Shabaody Archipelago arc, before the crew meets Duval and the Flying Fish Raiders. I just want to clarify all that, because I kind of get a lot of questions about it.
I will accept all criticism with an open hand, however, all non-LuNa fans, I would appreciate you not focus on that and more on the actual writing skills.
This chapter was last updated Saturday, July 21, 2012.
Warning:
This piece of writing includes language.
Chapter 1 - Escape
Nami was surprised to feel the salty tears on her cheeks. She touched her face to her shoulder and wiped them away, the liquid staining the dirty and ripped sleeve of her favorite T-shirt. The chains on her wrists restricted her movements, clanking loudly. The sound reminded her painfully of her situation; pressure built up behind her eyes again and a lump formed in her throat. She bit her lip, refusing to shed any more tears. She promised herself to shed no more through this ordeal.
She looked up, but her cell was empty. She knew it would be. It always had been. For the past week, she had only herself for company. The marines gave her little food, even when she batted her eyes at them in a way that would have made Sanji bleed to death via nosebleed.
Sanji. Even she would accept his perverted stares if it only meant she could see a familiar face. She hadn't seen any of her crew since they had been ambushed in the night. Zoro had been on watch, but he had shirked his duties and fallen asleep. That bastard. The marines had crept aboard, cuffing the entire Straw Hat crew before they even had a chance to fully awaken.
Chopper, Robin and Luffy were taken away, their Devil Fruit powers restrained by sea prism stone. Brook had been brought along as well, though he only feigned a random dead skeleton. Zoro and Sanji, the second and third most powerful members of the crew, were wrapped in chains from head to toe. Zoro's katanas had been confiscated, along with her Climatact, Brook's violin and staff, Sanji's special shoes, Franky's cola, and Usopp's slingshot.
Franky, Usopp, and Nami were imprisoned together, put in the brig on a giant marine warship. After two days, they had been separated, and Nami was left alone. Four days ago, Nami had been moved from her cell onto dry land. She had been blindfolded, so she had no idea where she was.
She shook her head, refusing to remember. She instead recalled the joyous days before. Zoro and Sanji got into a fight again, the crew egging them on, only Nami and Robin standing watch, laughing. Franky and Usopp invented a cannon that could safely shoot crew members to enemy ships without Luffy's Gomu Gomu power. Chopper created fake blood for Sanji's perverted nosebleeds. Nami finished a large portion of her world map not one month ago. She hoped those marines hadn't ruined it.
Marching boots caused Nami to look to the door of her cell, her filthy hair draped over her face. Four columns of marines marched past, their faces hard. Nami watched them for a long time. Many men were lined up; Nami counted thirty in the line closest to her, but she lost count soon after. She was about to turn away and drown out the sound of the hypnotic footsteps, when the familiar slap-slap of sandals was joined in the melody.
Nami knew those footsteps. She jerked her head up again. The movement made her dizzy; lack of food and nutrients made her weak. Her body had become accustomed to Sanji's excellent, nutrient-packed meals.
A break in the marines revealed sandaled feet, covered in dirt and blood. Her gaze moved upward. Ripped blue shorts rippled with the movement of long legs. A sleeveless red vest rested loosely on wide shoulders. Hands chained by sea prism stone were wrapped behind the back. Raven hair shifted slightly over the white blindfold, which barely masked the small scar under the left eye.
"Luffy," Nami rasped, trying to catch his attention. Her voice cracked from lack of use, so she cleared her throat quickly and tried again. "Luffy!"
He stopped walking, causing a holdup in the line of marines. "Get moving, pirate," one of the men growled, poking his gun into Luffy's back.
Luffy didn't move. His head turned slightly, toward Nami. "Luffy!" she said again.
"Shut up!" The marine with his gun in Luffy's back suddenly turned on her, and aimed his gun at her chest. She inhaled sharply, shrinking away as she watched the trigger being pulled.
The gun went off. Nami flinched, squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the bullet to enter her body. It never did. Trembling, she opened her eyes to see what had gone wrong. She gasped.
A fresh wound in Luffy's shoulder dripped blood on the hard stone floor, running down his arm. He staggered slightly, unused to being shot by bullets and having them actually pierce him. His back was turned to her; slashes through his vest revealed lines of scars, some scabbed, others still pink and oozing. The sight made Nami sick to her stomach. She almost turned away, but she forced herself to stay strong.
Luffy, as if sensing her gaze on him, turned his head, a small smile pulling at his lips. "Nami, are you okay?"
"Y-yes," Nami stammered, moving herself into a more comfortable position. Her chains clanked loudly.
Luffy's smile vanished a little at the sound. "I'm glad," he said. "Do you know where the others are?"
Nami shook her head, then remembered that he was blindfolded. "No. I was with Franky and Usopp for a while, but – "
Nami was cut off by the entrance of a large-boned man. Luffy didn't move, but Nami could see the muscles in his jaw tense. "Grandpa."
Vice-Admiral Garp stared down at his grandson, his eyes unreadable. "What's the hold-up?"
"Sir! The pirate noticed that his subordinate was near, and refused to move without speaking with her!"
Nami grit her teeth. Subordinate, my ass, she thought.
Garp stared at Nami. She stared back daggers. Something in his gaze softened, just a fraction of a degree. It was like they had not had a friendly conversation back on Water 7 all those months ago, and he was meeting her for the first time. "Keep moving. Don't stop again." Did he possibly understand the relationship between friends? Is that why he spoke quieter? Nami didn't try to understand the Vice Admiral.
"Yes, sir!"
Four marines grasped Luffy by the arm and tried to haul him away. He didn't budge, just kept staring in her direction.
"Walk," said Garp, his voice hardening again dangerously.
Luffy ignored his grandfather. Instead, he smiled a very cheerful smile. "I'm sorry in advance if you get hurt, Nami," he said.
Nami knew that smile. It was the smile he used when he was about to do something extremely stupid. She could almost see his eyes sparkling with a new-found thrill. She scrambled back to the farthest corner of her cell, her chains chafing her wrists. When she stopped moving, and the air settled back into its quiet stupor, Luffy made his move.
He tensed his legs. Several marines noticed, and moved forward to intercept him. Luffy somehow evaded them easily and ran up the wall, about half way up. He pushed off, doing a back flip into mid air. He pulled his ankles between his bound hands so they were in front of him. Luffy landed lightly on the floor, his head bowed.
While the marines were still in shock, Luffy reached up and began to untie the blindfold around his eyes.
"Stop!" Garp yelled, raising his fist. But he was too late.
The cloth floated to the floor. Luffy slowly stood up, the smile on his face gone as he grew serious. "Alright, you filthy bastards! Get ready for some serious ass-kicking!"
Something in the air rippled. Nami felt an incredible weight pressing down on her mind. The cell began to flow and bend like water, giving her a headache. Her insides began to contract and expand rapidly. She gasped and slid to the right, her head resting on a wall. The marines collapsed on top of one another, falling all over themselves. The feeling faded as quickly as it had come, and Nami returned to normal. She gasped, feeling as if she had been deprived of air, and now she could suddenly breathe again.
Only Garp was still standing. Granted, he looked a bit shaken, but still able to fight. He raised his fist, bringing it down rapidly toward the Straw Hat captain. Luffy barely avoided the attack, tripping over the body of a marine. Luffy stared around from his position on the floor. "Why'd they fall asleep? Maybe they were tired?" Luffy suddenly remembered that Nami was there, and ran to the cell door. "Nami!" He wrapped still-chained hands around the bars, pressing his face against the metal. His face was a mask of worry. "Are you alright?"
"Behind you!" Was her reply, and Luffy ducked as Garp's fist slammed into the bars right where his head had been. Luffy rolled away, cursing. His grandfather moved forward, chasing Luffy back down the hallway and out of Nami's line of sight.
Nami looked around her frantically, trying to find something to use to at least help her captain. There was a limit to how far she could move from the wall without her chains stopping her, but she could at least kick a rock or something for him to use! She finally noticed a long steel bar poking from the wall near her. She stumbled toward it, wrapping her awkward hands around the cool metal. Something crashed in the corridor as Garp's fist connected with something. Nami froze, holding her breath.
"Phew, that was close!" Luffy's voice echoed. "Lucky that window was there."
Nami released her breath and tugged with all her remaining strength at the pole. She could feel it loosen from its position, and she gave it one last heave. With a menacing screech, the pole came loose from the wall and crashed next to the nauseated navigator. Nami grabbed it in her hands, shoving it as close to the cell door as she could.
"Luffy!" she yelled as loud as she could. "This way!"
A few seconds later, and Luffy's slapping of feet met her ears. Her captain skidded to a halt, his eyes meeting hers. "I only have a few seconds. Grandpa's pissed."
Nami pointed at the pole that lay between them. "Use that!"
Luffy followed her gaze. "Really? Thanks!"
He grabbed it just as Garp came into view, storming down the corridor like the Rocketman sea train on steroids. Luffy raised the pole just in time for it to crash against his grandfather's clenched fist, diverting it into the wall next to him. Garp tried to retaliate, but his fist was completely embedded in the wall and he couldn't pull it free. Luffy took the opportunity to beat the Vice Admiral upside the head with the pole, knocking him unconscious.
Luffy dropped the pole, his chest heaving. He looked up and met his navigator's eyes. "Thanks, Nami."
She nodded, keeping her gaze from the Vice Admiral's prone form. "Are you alright?" she asked Luffy.
He shrugged, holding his chained hands in front of his face. "Could be better. How about you?"
"I'm fine." Nami stood up, her knees weak.
"Where's everyone else?" Luffy asked.
"I'm not sure." Nami shrugged sadly. "I was with Usopp and Franky for about two days after we got captured, but..." She trailed off.
Luffy nodded. "Where's your Climatact?"
"Gone."
Luffy sucked his lips, contemplating the situation. "Alright. Hold on." Luffy moved away and picked up an unconscious marine. "Hey, you," Luffy said, shaking the body. "I know you're awake."
The marine slowly opened his eyes. "What do you want, filthy pirate?" he spat.
"Where's Nami's Climatact? And my hat? If you bastards lay so much as a finger on my hat, I swear you'll all pay."
"I don't know."
"Really? I'll have to ask someone else, then."
"Luffy!" Nami raged. "He's obviously lying!"
Luffy gawked at Nami. "No way! He's lying?"
"You idiot, of course!"
Luffy turned back to the marine. "How dare you lie to me! Where's Nami's staff? And my hat? And where's the rest of my crew?" When the marine didn't answer, Luffy threw him against a wall. The man grunted and slid to the floor, holding his bleeding temple.
"Alright," The marine moaned. "All the Straw Hat weapons were taken to the vault near the captain's quarters! I'm not sure where the skeleton, raccoon-dog, or the other woman is, but the long-nosed guy, the swirly-eyebrow man, and the giant robot are a floor below us! The swordsman is two floors down!"
"Usopp, Sanji, Franky and Zoro are below us. Okay. Where's the key to my shackles?"
"On Garp! Please don't hurt me anymore!"
Luffy grinned. "Thanks, marine-guy!" He punched the marine, knocking him out. Then, he walked to his grandfather, who had slumped directly in front of Nami's cell. She watched Luffy as he began to search Garp, noticing other details she had failed to recognize. His hair was longer, despite being separated for only a few weeks. His skin was scraped up, scabbed, and scarred in numerous places. She would need to mend his clothes. The thought made her slightly warm.
"Yes!" Luffy straightened, holding up a small key. He fit it into the keyhole on his cuffs, and the lock clicked. The sea prism stone shackles clanged loudly as they hit the floor. Luffy began to stretch, flinging his arms up and down the hallway until they were out of sight. They retracted and fell back into place with a snap. "Oh, man, this feels good! I've been wearing those forever!"
"Great, now get me out of here!" Nami demanded.
"Oh, right. Stand back."
Nami did. Luffy threw his arms behind him, as far as they could go. "Gum Gum Bazooka!" His stretched arms retracted and slammed into the cell door. It rattled, but held. Frustrated, Luffy tried again, but it still didn't work. Luffy tried Gear Second. Finally, with the lighting-fast attack, the hinges gave in and the door fell inward.
Nami coughed, waving her hands in front of her face to clear the dust. When the debris cleared, Nami started and fell back a step, because Luffy had silently maneuvered directly in front of her, staring at her intently.
"You look awful," he said.
Nami grit her teeth. She tried to punch him, but her chains slowed her movements, and he dodged easily, a grin pulling at his lips.
"Here." Luffy put his hands on Nami's wrists. She could feel color rising in her cheeks. He's holding my wrists, which are connected to my hands. He's holding my hands? Nami shook her head. Don't think about that now! Focus on escaping.
Luffy closed his eyes, and suddenly jerked Nami's hands in opposite directions. The cuffs snapped in half, freeing Nami. "Idiot!" This time, Nami didn't have any hindrance, and she easily gave Luffy a nice-sized lump on his head. "What if my hands fell off!" Then he couldn't hold them again…
"Sorry, Nami," Luffy moaned. He was up again in a second. "Come on. We need to go get our friends."
Thank you so much for reading, please review! I'm not sure what's going to be your thoughts, but please let me know how I can make this better!
Coming Up: Chapter 2: Deception