Chapter 3: I don't own One Piece in any way.

And oh my goodness it's been two whole months since updating…

Please forgive me.

:D Sorry!

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P.S. This chapter will be told from third person's point of view.

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Hard Lines: Saving the Children.

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The sky was a dark and stormy, promising by the looks of it the calamity of torrential rain that might just consume both Islands. Zoro had come out on deck after seeing to Tashigi and looked back to the island. While he had been gone it seemed that Franky had taken quite a good beating, but he still seemed to be enjoying himself. And so Zoro left him to it and instead of staying on the ship he decided to go back into the mountainous fortress to find the others.

Ten minutes of later a massive cart appeared carrying pirates, samurai, children, navi soldiers, and Ceasar's helpers all the same. There was a great sigh of relief that followed them all as the tunnel behind them collapsed as they came to a stop.

At the sight of the extra reinforcement the two strangers that were fighting Franky decided to try and make a dash for it, but were thwarted by the skills of the navigator of the strawhats Nami, and the sharpshooter of the strawhats Usopp. Upon seeing their attempted escape, the Pirate Trafalgar Law separated their heads from their bodies intending on leaving a very clear message to whomever came after them.

It didn't seem long before everyone seemed to celebrating in the simply fact that they were alive and had not become one of the lost purple statues that had been force to be the fate of so many men that had followed just a few paces after them. While many others mourned in the loss of friends and brothers and in some ways the loss of trust in their once perceived hero of justice Caesar.

The Captain Monkey D. Luffy seemed extraordinarily carefree and happy (to all those who did not know him), and upon his orders a banquet was issued where all could eat to their hearts content. But the sweetness of victory and peace was short-lived.

'BANG!' 'BANG!' 'BANG!' 'BANG!'

"What the hell is that noise!?" Luffy mumbled as loudly as he could with meat still in his mouth.

Heads all turned to look in the direction of the sea. Off in the distance they could all see six battleships heading their way firing at the Island and coming closer by the minute.

"Oooooooooooaaaahhh!" Luffy grinned and pulled his strawhat back onto his head. "You think they want to fight!"

Usopp turned back round again to glance back at his well earned meal and then back out to this so-called new enemy. "More marines just showing up," He sighed, "I just can't take a break." and started gathering up all his food to take back with him onto the Thousand Sunny.

Luffy grinned. "Or maybe they were annoyed because they missed out on all the fighting." Luffy's eyes suddenly widened in alarm. "Or maybe they're after all our meat." He nodded to himself and started cracking his knuckles together. "I'll beat the crap out of any bastards that try to steal any o….!"

"IDIOT!" Nami punched him. "THEY CAN'T SEE FROM THAT DISTANCE WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND WHY WOULD THEY WANT TO FIGHT CESAR THEY WERE ON HIS SIDE!"

"WHAT!" Luffy turned back to Smoker. "YOU WERE FRIENDS WITH THAT GUY?"

The glare he received back was answer enough, but Smoker replied anyway. "YEAH RIGHT! AND I HEARD YOU WERE GOOD FRIENDS WITH CROCODILE BEFORE THE PRINCESS OF ALABASA PAID YOU TO TAKE HIM OUT!"

"What? Vivi?... WHAT IDIOT TOLD YOU THAT!" Luffy yelled.

"SOMEONE LIKE YOU!"

"We should send out a cease fire signal." Law spoke into the madness.

Smoker nodded, he had to get the message out somehow. 'Where was that den den Mushi? It would appear that Tashigi did get her message to head quarters out fast enough.'' He stood up and immediately looked around for his young Captain. 'Thinking of which, where is that girl? She should have been able to navigate her way out of the mountain by now. The gas had basically gone.' Smoker turned to bark orders out to his men and the children started to cry at the loud cannon fire.

"What's up Smokey?" Luffy asked noticing his hesitation.

Smoker seemed to be unbothered by the question as one of his men appeared with what he needed. He looked back up to the pirates. "I will allow you to escape, your work here has been commendable, but I will be taking the custody of missing children and Caesar.

Law raised his voice. "Caesar will be coming with us, that was the deal."

"Deals need to be changed from time to time." Smoker said. "It would be better for everyone here if the scum was dealt with by us."

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT CAEASR! BUT YOU'RE NOT TAKING THE CHILDREN! NOT AFTER WHAT YOU PEOPLE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN TO THEM!" Nami shouted.

"Hey!" one of the marines called out. "We would never have allowed this to happen to these kids if we had known what was going on here!"

"Yeah!" Shouted another, "Who do you think you are!? Caesar is more like a pirate than a marine."

"Shut up you idiots!" Zoro's low voice seemed to get everyone's attention. "It's a good deal. The Marines should take the kids. We could never fit them all on the Thousand Sunny for that long anyway."

Smoker nodded in appreciation to him, but Zoro continued. "However, there is something else…."

"Zoro!" Luffy held Nami back by looping his arm around her a few times. "Luffy let me go! I need to give him a piece of my mind."

Luffy smiled. "Don't worry Nami. The G5 people can take care of them!"

Nami glared at Luffy. "No it's you that doesn't understand Luffy! The navi does not and will not care about a couple of missing children or their parents. We have to take them back, because if we don't they will probably end up somewhere else in another lab."

Ignoring them both completely everyone else's eyes were focused on Smoker's face which seemed to pale at Zoro's softly (unheard by any other ears) spoken words. His mild look of annoyance turned into a look of rage and warning.

"Hum." Robin looked at them both with new keen interest. 'What did I just miss? I wonder what Zoro just said to get the white chaser so worked up?'

Smoker scowled as if the mere sight of Zoro was an offense to him, "Very well you may have him, but listen boy..." He stepped towards Zoro somehow seeming to tower over him. "…you had better keep to your word if you fail you will have hell to pay. And not even your captain will be able to bring you back from the place I will send you."

Smoker lifted the den den mushi on his wrist and spoke into the voice transponder. "Hold your fire." He walked away from the group. "This is SMOKER. Hold your fire, there are civilians in the area, and we have secured…." his voice faded as he moved away from the rest of the group.

Luffy looked between Zoro and Smoker utterly confused as to what had just transpired, but Law didn't seem all that bothered by the whole affair and nodded in understanding. The rest of the stawhats climbed aboard the Thousand Sunny along with their new acquaintances, raised anchor and set off. Meanwhile the marines set aside their prisoners ready for collection and signalled for the children and their protectors on the large tanker to be let out. And so they both moved off in their separate ways.

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Nami sighed feeling refreshed and not too bad about how things seemed to be going strangely well. There had been no extra fight as she had at first anticipated and the children would now be taken back to their homes. She hoped. She scowled at the idea of the marines not following through with their promises. But… what could she have don't for them anyway? Children that age don't remember where they grew up and how to get there. It only made sense now that she looked at it for the Navi to take them back, they had the resources to track back to where they had all originally come from. Now all she had to do was take a calming and warm bath and wash away all of her new troubles that were thrown her way in life through occupational hazards and…or simply brought in by her troublesome captain.

"Jeese! Anyone would think he is trying to get himself killed." As she walked into the room she tripped over something that seemed to be lying in the middle of the floor just as she turned the light on. "What the..!" Nami sat up and gasped in shock. Right there in front of her was the young Marine Captain that she had seen just a few hours before.

'What the hell is the Marine lady doing here? How did she get on board?' She reached out and touched her forehead. 'she's freezing too.' Nami pulled her away from the doorway and stepped back through it.

"Chopper! Get over here!" Nami shook her head puzzled as to why the Marine would… 'I wonder how long she's been like that now.' Nami looked down at her worriedly. She noticed her right shredded shoulder and began to consider if she might even be dead.

"Chopper! Come here quickly!"

The first to appear was not Chopper, but Zoro, and he came to a sudden stop when he saw Nami standing outside the bathroom.

He stopped and took a few paces back. "Zoro?" Nami spoke up. "Do you know anything about why this woman is here bleeding to death in our bathroom?"

"Oh, crap."

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So what do you guys think so far? I don't particularly like this chapter. I didn't really feel in the mood for writing it either, but I needed it as the in-between chapter to set the stage for the next ones.

Please leave a review! :D