Ace hit the cliff face with enough force to cause his logia defense to flash an ignition of flames before tumbling down the last few yards, slamming into the woman's strong and firm body, her hands gripping his shoulders as she steadied him. Ace looked at her. She was crouched down, perfectly positioned to stop his tumble. Green eyes met his with concern.
"Are you all right, Ace-kun? It seemed like you lost your grip in that moment instead of just dropping like I suggested," she said.
Ace hesitated, accessing his body. The numbness was gone and his balance had returned. The sensation of no gravity was gone and his vision was normal again. He started to stand and the woman helped him to his feet. He thanked her, still spooked by what had just happened.
Thatch came over and grabbed Ace's shoulders, forcing the younger to meet his eyes. "What was that, Ace? What happened?"
Ace stared at his commander then looked away, his mind flashing a third time on that moment when Mary's blood touched him. "I don't know."
Thatch was quiet for a moment his expression neutral then said in a low voice, "You didn't completely dodge Typhoid Mary's final attack, did you?" Ace looked up, shock written all over his face. "So that's it."
"What?!" gasped Rory.
"It burnt to ash as soon as it hit and I didn't get sick like everyone else," Ace hurried to explain. "Everyone else dropped within seconds of being hit with her blood but I was fine. So I don't know what's going on. I really don't!"
"True, it's been several days since Mary invaded our ship," said Thatch. "This may not have anything to do with Mary's devil fruit."
Teech snorted. "Still, what a lousy time to catch a cold."
"Indeed," said Rory with a snarl of disgust.
Thatch held his chin in thought then looked up in the direction they had come. He sighed and looked at Ace again. "Let's get this done as quickly as we can. Try to keep you head while we move but don't be afraid to say you need help if you find yourself going under again, Ace."
"I understand," said Ace, hating himself at that moment. He had blundered again and now the mission was being endangered. If he really was getting sick, he would be a liability to the team and after Thatch had gone out of his way to allow Ace to come along when White Beard and wanted him to stay. He silently cursed himself. Thatch had looked up because he had been trying to determine if it would be possible to send Ace back to their ship to wait now that he was compromised.
"Now." Thatch turned to face the woman. "Let's see about getting you free of your chains. The sooner we find Mary, the sooner we can deal with her and get out of here. Rory, you're our resident locksmith, can you get her out of her chains?"
"What kind of question is that?" huffed Rory as he walked over. He bent down to examine the shackles then pulled out his lock picking kit from his inner pocket. Ace stared in wonder, Rory seemed to have a lot of talents. Rory went to work on the shackles and a few nerve wracking minutes later the shackles came off with a shockingly loud thud.
"What the fuck?!" yelped Rory when he tried to pick them up and failed. "And they had you working in those? What are you?"
"Is it really that shocking to have restraints of this weight?" she asked.
"Eh…" All four just stared at her, dumbfounded.
"So it is someone named 'Mary' that you seek," she continued, apparently dropping her question.
"It is," replied Thatch, recovering sooner than the other three. "She has an ability that can sicken anyone that touches her blood. She inflicted many of our shipmates. While the disease she inflicted them with doesn't appear to be contagious from person to person, we fear it is also the type that can't be cured unless the one with that power is knocked out or killed. Our friends will die if we can't find and defeat Typhoid Mary."
"Such a frightening power," said the woman. She looked across the crater toward the buildings that lay on the other side. "I know that a ship arrived earlier today but I do not who or what was on board. However, while the part we are in is the quarry where they mine for these crystals," she paused to run her hand through the top of the basket full of glowing crystals then continued, "it is probably in the experimental laboratories located in the main building that we shall find her." She pointed to the buildings in the distance. "She sounds like someone Doc Holiday would be interested in working with. He often conducts experiments on humans for various reasons. A disease crafter would be something he would want for his work, I am certain."
"That's a bit disturbing," said Rory.
"The World Government has never been the ones to shy away from human experimentation," said Teech with a shrug. "Slaves or prisoners are their preferred victims since no one of note will complain, but they've been known to use citizens if they are fresh out of the first two types. They'll use any method to obtain more power or to keep their secrets."
Ace glanced at Teech. It almost sounded like the man was speaking from personal experience. He then glanced at the woman and flinched. "Ah! Here we are talking business and we haven't even introduced ourselves yet," he said remembering his lesson in manners Makino had given him as a kid.
"Ah, good point," said Thatch. He turned to their newest companion and apologized, "Sorry, about that." He gave a little bow. "I'm Thatch, the fourth division commander of White Beard's crew. These are by shipmates, Teech, Rory and Ace, of course." He gestured to each man, throwing a grin at Ace since she had already called him by his name and therefore knew it.
"My four years of captivity seemed to have also caused me to misplace my manners," she replied returning the bow with a small one of her own. "I am Guinevere, fourth knight of the circle in service to King Arthur of Anglan."
Teech whistled while the others just stared in shock. She was surprisingly a big deal.
Ace coughed then asked, "You mentioned it earlier about being caught while serving your king. What happened? You seem like the last person they would want to hold prisoner just because you sound like a really important person."
"I do hold a significant rank, yes," she replied. "However, Anglan is independent of the World Government. We have been suspicious of them for centuries and refused to be a part of their system. They are a people with neither honor nor justice, only an illusion they use to fool the masses. Being a nation independent of their rule means we are not considered people their laws will grant even the illusion of protection to. My nation must maintain an ever constant vigilance against their spies and thieves.
"That being said, four years ago, a thief did gain access to our sacred vault and stole two treasures of the nation that should never have left our inner sanctum. I, along with my subordinates, rushed after the thief but he escaped the island. I insisted in going after him and my king gave me the order to return regardless of the outcome of the pursuit. I think he feared the World Government's power and that my men and I were throwing our lives away trying to recapture those treasures. However, he could not forbid us to go after it because those treasures were that important.
"Though it was an order to return, my men and I could not justify returning without those sacred treasures. In the end my men were killed and I was imprisoned. My failure as a knight and commander of men is absolute and I would have chosen death despite the order but for what I learned of the World Government during my pursuit. This knowledge that I now possess must be brought back to Anglan. Though I will return in shame and will probably have to surrender my title and face retribution for my failure."
"You're going back just to face punishment for going back empty handed despite an order to return empty handed if you could not retrieve the items?" Ace was stunned. "Why would you? It's completely unfair!"
"It was my failure that caused my men to lose their lives. We were all ordered to return but I, the commander, am the only one still alive. That is a shame that no knight can shoulder and still remain a knight. I should have realized we were in over our head before it happened. I should have recognized the difference in strength and called the retreat. Instead I let my personal feelings lead me to make a very poor choice and my men paid the ultimate price. That is my failure and dishonor."
Thatch sighed and said, "I can understand the responsibility that comes with being a commander of men and knowing their lives depend on your good judgment. We won't pry into your reasoning anymore." He directed that last statement mainly at Ace and the young man flinched back. As a former captain, he should have been more sympathetic to her loss. Ace felt like a cad.
"Anyway," continued Thatch, "I think we've lingered long enough. We need to get moving again."
"If you are worried about the guards, never fear," said Guinevere. "This is the quarry and they only come by if they hear of trouble. As long as there are no revolts they will have no reason to enter this area."
"That's nice to know," said Thatch.
"This way." Guinevere then turned and headed down the walkway, leaving the basket of crystals behind. The four men hurried to catch up to her.
Sabo slid out of the crevasse which was now a narrow tunnel as the top part had closed up as they inched along. He stepped out into the open space, grateful to be out of the narrow fissure. Koala, Hack and Akatsuki emerged after him. He looked up and blinked in surprise. Several people in chains and tattered brown outfits were frozen mid activity and staring at him.
Looks like we found the slaves, he thought, grimacing. That was faster than I was expecting. He knew saving them was top priority, and he agreed with that sentiment, but how was he to save them so soon? He hadn't even gotten to look around for Timothy or Holiday yet.
"Hello," he said to the people who looked as if they might drop everything and run. "My friends and I are from the Revolutionary Army and we've come to rescue you from your captivity."
Now the people looked at him like he was crazy. They had probably abandoned the concept of escape long ago and couldn't see how this would be even half way successful.
"Koala, do you mind getting in touch with the Icarus and letting them know where they can bring her to dock?" he asked in a hushed voice. "We'll be sending everyone through the path here rather than risk exposure at the port."
"That does seem like the best course of action," replied Koala. "This side isn't being watched at all."
"Once everyone is safely on board, I'll have the Icarus leave. We can escape with our own craft after we've dealt with Holiday."
Koala nodded and brought out her encrypted den den mushi to speak with the Icarus.