Chapter 7
"Paulie? What are you doing here? What's all of this? What's going on?" Nami grasped at mounting questions, dark in premature conclusions.
"I say we leave this place first," said Paulie, rubbing his right eye. "This stuff isn't working at its' hundred percent, so let's use what we can here. For some reason I can't get it to work right with the guys."
"The guys?" She stepped out to follow him, thoughts racing. "You mean Tilestone and Lulu? That's where they've been all this time, right?" It made sense. It made so much sense now. "Zambai said you don't come down to a town anymore..."
"Ahahaha, right." Paulie waited for her to leave and started to seal off the doors. He grunted, turning the gear and checking small pressure counters Nami has overlooked earlier above the doors. Rusty mechanism worked in his hands with offending ease. "I'm sorry to keep you and Frankies out of that," he said at last, facing her. "I didn't want to keep you here longer than necessary. As for Frankies and all their good intentions I can't really see them keeping a secret like that to themselves. They are just like Tilestone in that sort of things," he added.
They walked into the main corridor. Relieved to return into relatively open space and still feeling the rush of discovery, Nami put her arms akimbo and turned to face Paulie.
"What's going on."
"I guess I should have told you guys way earlier, before you arrived," sighed Paulie heavily. "Could've saved us a lot of trouble in fact. Things got out of hand so fast..." A guilty look passed his face. "See, we did some research in here in that time you were away." He motioned the tunnel around them. "We checked foundations of this place when building the new headquarters two years ago. Found cracks here and in some of the older warehouses nearby so we decided to check the others, even in the lower parts of the city. It took some time, but we were going to need this check-up for Mister Iceburg's plans anyway."
"And...?"
"We didn't like what we found. This city's sinking way faster than we thought. It will be gone with next Aqua Laguna."
oOo
"Dock number 4!" Luffy's voice rang from den-den mushi in the surrounding noise of a struggle. "Ice-guy says he's at the wood warehouse!" Sanji grit his teeth in mirthless grin. Some luck at last.
He was just rounding Dock 5.
"Alright, I'm coming! Call up Usopp and others, they should be still around!"
oOo
"Two years? A-are you sure?" Nami stared at Paulie. The prognosis seemed unreal for a bustling city like Water 7.
"Yeah." He looked down. "We're trying to use coating to ease the pressure on old foundations, but that's not gonna get us far - most damaged places are deep underwater. We can't reach them, even with these baubles. Mister Iceburg has almost drown there." A shadow passed over his face. "He says we need Fishman workers but we ain't got enough of them here right now."
"You tried asking at Fishman Island? We met Tom's brother there, I'm sure he'll be happy to help."
Paulie nodded. "Yeah, Mister Iceburg left four months ago but turned back because of the weather. Damn Triangle. To top it off, some of the news on his objectives slipped to the outside shareholders who started to argue against entering a contract with-"
"With Fishfolk," ended Nami.
He looked up. "You understand this, don't you? We couldn't let the world know about it just yet. Even with contract in place, turning this city into a ship is gonna cost fortune. Noone will help us without being certain of getting their money back."
oOo
The marines on his way probably didn't know what hit them. Sanji didn't bother with knocking out the survivors left in his wake. He ran through the courtyard towards the storage building which loomed on the other side of the workplace. The doors exploded in splinters and there Franky was, at the ve-
"-stop the test! Forget me, stop the test!" Franky was looking at him wildly. Sanji took a step back, meeting his eyes. "Iceburg can't start this engine!"
What...?
"The test runs tomorrow," said Sanji, hurrying to check the chains binding Franky. He should be able to pick them up... Usopp would be happy to know they didn't need that spare parts in the end. "Besides, we're breaking this as soon we get you out of here."
"No! That bastard Spandine left to have that test started the moment you broke in! It's gonna blow entire Dock One up!"
What the...? Sanji took a step back. He refused to recognise tears in Franky's eyes. "Franky, what the hell," he growled.
"They gave him my plans but I had them coded! The measurements are all wrong! There is no way Iceburg'll know how to build it alright!" For a moment Sanji thought his heart has stopped.
-Nami.
...Fuck.
Through daze of realization, Sanji took a few hesitant steps back and ran out into the night.
oOo
"What do you mean, they're starting it now?!" demanded Paulie, grabbing at den-den mushi in Nami's hand.
"That's what Franky said." Sanji on the other side seemed to encounter some brief troubles, but returned shortly after sounds of struggle died out. "Paulie! You've got to sto-"
And then the world on the other side exploded.
oOo
Sanji was just two streets from Dock One when it has exploded.
He skid to a disbelieving halt, panting and watching with icy apprehension the column of fire ahead. Damn it all. Damn it all to high hell. He knew Nami was safe - she had to be, she was still underground when he has called, but there was no telling who else was in the area during the accident. Iceburg for a start...
Shit. He has failed Franky. Sanji leant forward, catching his breath and letting exhaustion catch up with him. Damn... it...!
The street around him filled with shouts of people running in direction of the accident site. Lights were being lit up in the windows along the street and doors were being opened. Buckets clang on the cobblestone.
"-ji! SANJI!" Catching his breath, he straightened up and looked down at tortured den den mushi grasped tightly in hand. "Are you alright!?"
"Yes, Nami." Staring at the mayhem before him, Sanji brought up the receiver up close to catch his voice despite surrounding chaos. "I'm safe."
oOo
Putting out the fire took the rest of the night. No bodies were recovered.
oOo
The soldiers were anxious.
Jonathan could hear the whispers as he walked down the hallway, with his assistant following closely behind. They passed the ruined corridor, marked with signs of recruit's attempts of fixing up the damage. The night raid by Straw Hats left clear marks on the ship; given the Dock One incident Jonathan didn't count on shipwright's immediate help.
He walked down the stairs down into the prison. The man chained to the wall looked up slowly with bloodshot eyes. Jonathan saw his assistant falter at his side.
Admittingly, he didn't blame him for the reaction.
"Cyborg Franky," he said. "I come to fulfill my end of the agreement I made with late Mayor Iceburg." He took out a file of papers received earlier on from vice-president of Galley-La. He put them on the ground before the chained man. It felt like an insult, but there was no better way to do this without releasing the prisoner first. The rampage he went on just after being fred by his pirate comrade yesterday was enough of a warning. Jonathan was still running damage control. "I return the plans that were confiscated on your arrest, the very same plans that were used to build failed experiment in Dock One."
Silence. The pirate wasn't looking at him now, but the plans on the ground. No answer came.
"As you may know by now, a part of the agreement regarded your release," continued Jonathan, quietly. "However, befo-"
"What is the meaning of this?! Vice-admiral!" Jonathan stopped short, feeling a pang of annoyance the familiar voice that came from the far end of the corridor behind. Talk about dramatic entrance. He was certain he asked his people to see he wasn't disturbed now. Not that they could've stopped the man. He turned slowly to face the newcomer.
He meant to address the problem before finalizing the deal with the shipwrights, but hoped for more time to let the pirate behind him to understand the point Jonathan wanted to get across.
But Spandine was already storming down the stairs, pointing accusing finger at Jonathan. "I strongly advise against releasing this prisoner! The damage he wrought yesterday should be enough of the reason to keep the deal void and null!"
Jonathan looked hard at him. "The damage you refer to pales in comparison with the one in Dock One," he said calmly. "Which, as I understand, was completely avoidable had preliminary tests of the engine been ran."
For a moment, the man seemed astonished by the argument. From the corner of his eye, he could see the guards by the entrance and his assistant tense, hesitant in face of confrontation.
"Everything was built exactly according to the blueprints! I had to test it, Straw Hats were coming to destroy it!"
"It was your responsibility to guard it, along with the shipwrights' premises. As for the test, the agreement clearly stated to carry it out today," said Jonathan quietly. "After a set of preliminary inspections. Minutes after midnight hardly count as morning, officer Spandine."
"Your negligence has costed a much needed citizen his life and a near outbreak of civil war - all of this for completely avoidable reasons," he continued. There were things that needed to be said, preferably with no witnesses for rumors to spread, but Jonathan knew the signs of the city around and could no longer afford institutional camaraderie. "I strongly suggest you leave this island before its' citizens realise this, or I might find myself too overwhelmed to protect you."
Spandine kept opening and closing his mouth, but then the look on his face hardened. He turned on his heel and stormed off.
"Vice admiral-" started his assistant, still shocked, but Jonathan waved him silent. The last night has been straining for everyone. He turned to the silent pirate, who didn't look up from the crumpled plans during the entire exchange. He knelt down to search his eyes.
"Remeber the price of your freedom today. Don't waste it."
oOo
The sea before him was calm, soft waves crashing against the trash-filled beach. A flock of seagulls circled above, crying against the hum of the wind high above.
Franky didn't know why he came here or how long has he been here. He let his feet carry him wherever they liked after being let out of custody. Somehow, he ended up here.
Just where he has started all these years ago.
A rasp of metal and crunch of soles against the half-rotten debris were his only indication of a company.
"Franky." It was Robin. He forced himself to face her.
She wasn't alone. There was everyone from his crew - Sanji, Luffy, Chopper, Zoro, Nami, Usopp and Brook - all standing few feet away from him and Robin. There was even his family with Twins and Zambai. He opened his mouth, but couldn't get his voice out.
"I think there is something you need to see," said Robin and there was strange tinge to her voice, a softness he decided not to dwell on for now. Instead, he stopped trying to speak and looked at the offered paper.
"We found this in your workshop this morning," she said quietly, as he watched familiar note with familiar writing on it. 'Stay clear of Florian Triangle. I.', it read. Franky felt strange tightness build in his throat.
-Wait.
There was something off about that message. The edge of the note has been dark with soot, a small margin of soot eating away at the paper. "This thing-" Franky's breath caught.
"Luffy met Iceburg shortly before that accident. Iceburg asked him to heed this note. We think he didn't mean the writing."
As if in a dream, he put the paper loosly on his hand and watched it point out to the sea.
"It's a vivre card!?"