Chapter 25 State of the Captain

"Are you sure that it's this way?"

"OF course."

"Are you doubting Nami-swan?"

"Ero-cook."

"What was that Marimo!"

"Shut up!"

"Something crawled on my back."

"Maybe it was a spider."

"Yohohoho this is quite dark."

"We're gonna get caught if you don't shut up."

"Whose idea was it to come in this way?"

"Yours you idiot."

"Who touched my ass?"

"Sorry."

"What did you do to Nami-swan?"

"If Luffy were he she would be saying she was hungry."

"No she would be complaining."

"Or asleep."

"I think that would be Mugiwara's aniki."

"He has a point."

"How much longer?"

"Oi Marimo, what the hell are you doing turning there?"

"How did you even know a tunnel was there?"

"Shut up."

"All of you shut up."

"I see the light."

"Don't go all death scene on us."

"No, I really see the light."

"I see it to."

"Are we all dead?"

"But how?"

"We could have been stuck in here when an explosion happened."

"Then why are we still in here?"

"Wouldn't we have felt pain as we were blown into pieces?"

"That's really morbid."

"I think that's the exit."

"Nami-san…"

"No."

"Oi, we found the exit."

"Finally. This place is way too cramped."

"Anybody out there?"

"Nope."

"Don't hear anyone."

"Kick the gate open."

"Roger that and don't order me around!"

Sanji shoved his foot against the metal grate that covered the airway tunnel that the group had travelled through. It had been easier than they had expected to be able to get into the royal palace of Mariejois but they did have the world's strongest pirate crew causing a diversion for them so it pretty much evened out.

The man jumped down before helping Nami climb down. Usopp followed with Brook and Chopper right behind him. Zoro and Franky followed and the blue haired cyborg help Robin down as well before closing the gate again. They all looked around and made sure that no one was around before going to the corners of the walls and peaking over into the next group of hallways.

"So, how are we supposed to find Luffy within all of these halls?" Usopp asked as they crossed into another section.

"It's been around two or so months since Luffy was taken." Nami said trying to think of how this would play out. "Since she's Luffy and we all know how well she can handle torment she is probably either in a dungeon or being dragged around by one of the nobles."

"Ah, Nami-swan is beautiful when she's being logical." Sanji said with a heart in his eye.

"Not the time Love-cook." Usopp said sweat dropping.

"Ah that's right, Luffy-chan needs to be saved now." Sanji said earning a glare from Zoro.

"What was that ero-cook?" he asked clearly pissed at the tone Sanji used for his girlfriend.

"You got a problem with what I just said?" Sanji challenged.

"Luffy's my girl and you already have one." Zoro said angrily.

"I treat her like a lady because she is one and don't forget that you left and became Mister No-emotion on us." Sanji said challenging back. Zoro was about to make a comeback when Nami rammed her fists into both of their heads creating welts, which in Sanji's case was a heart shaped one.

"Shut up, we're trying to save Luffy." The orange haired pirate said.

"Who are you?"

The group flinched and stared at the slave in front of them. The trident he was holding was pointed at them and he had an expressionless scorn on his face. The group looked at him and Zoro gripped his katana, ready to strike if needed.

"Are you the Mugiwara Kaizokou?" the man asked seriously. Zoro narrowed his eyes before nodding slowly; trying to figure out what the man was getting at. "Follow me."

The crew stood up slowly and looked at the man who had his back turned to them. He glanced back and once again gestured for them to follow and began to walk down the long hallway, the opposite direction that they were going to go. Zoro followed the man which caused the others to do as well but his hand never released the white sheath of Wado Ichimonji.

"Why are you helping us?" the green haired man asked watching the guy's back and every step to make sure that he wasn't going to do something. The man's back was bare giving them full view of the cursed mark of a slave and the ring collar around his neck.

"I met Luffy on the first day that she came here." The man said never slowing down or speeding up but thoroughly brining them through the maze of halls that made up the palace. The crew watched and waited for the man to continue to speak.

"She attempted to attack my mistress. I stopped her and injured her before dragging her off to the training room." He said stopping in front of a door and looking at them. "She didn't blame me even though I attacked her and gave her less of a chance to live for my own life."

"That sounds like something she would do." Zoro said watching as the man slowly pulled out a key and opened the plain grey door that led them to another hallway.

"I told her that she should stop caring about other people and learn to only care about herself. When you are a slave that is the only thing that comes to your mind. Yourself and protecting and saving your life." The man said continuing through the straight damp and cold hallway. He came to another door and turned to them.

"If you have weak stomach I suggest that you do not come in here." He said giving the crew a warning.

"We don't have time for that." Nami said "and you still never answered the original question. Why are you helping us?"

"She told me that if I only protect myself that I would never be free."The man said catching the crew's attention. "I want to see if that is true."

The door to the room opened slowly do to its massive weight and size but the slave along with the help of Zoro and Franky was able to open it wide enough for them to walk in and look around. No light shown except what came from the dimly lit hallway. Sanji pulled out a match and lit it illuminating the place and revealing multiple weapons and tools that were clearly meant for the torture of others.

"Luffy's scent," Chopper said looking around. "And a lot of blood."

The man walked them through the tables and tables of weapons ranging in all sorts of torture and tormenting styles. He stopped at a table that was the worst of them all. Usopp instantly looked away, hurling onto the floor and crouching down. Nami instantly covered her face and eyes while Robin looked away and Brook comforted the long nosed boy the best he could without emptying his own stomach.

"That's Luffy?" Zoro questioned and the other man nodded.

"She has been here for the last two months being trained." The slave said and Sanji looked at him as if he was sick.

"You call this training!" he asked grabbing the collar around his neck.

"That is what the Nobles call it. She has been dealing with this everyday for two months and they still haven't had the ability to break her. This is the first time I've seen her since the first day and even I don't know if she's still alive." He said looking down as of to apologize knowing that if the girl had been able to strike the noble that first day, that she might be in a better condition. But then again, it could have been a worse condition.

Sanji and Zoro instantly rushed over to Luffy and looked at the girl. Blood dripped down from her as if there was no end to it. There was no shirt on the girl but at the moment that concerned neither teen. The gashes that covered her body were impossible to count due to the amount of blood and bruises and infection that covered the skin like clothing itself. The shorts that Luffy was wearing were sliced and almost falling off and her hair grown out during the time and obviously accidentally cut when strikes had been made to the girl's face.

"The braces around her feet and wrists are just plain iron." Sanji said easily breaking the anklets while Zoro handled the bracelets.

Luffy instantly fell since those were the only things that were holding her up. Zoro caught her and bent down with the girl in his arms bridal style for Chopper to look at her. Chopper flinched and looked wretched as he checked her over.

"She's still breathing but we need to get her to the clinic as soon as possible. I don't know how much longer her body can hold out. There is so much infection in her and I think some of the weapons may have held poison." The young doctor said looking at Zoro in an almost plea. The man nodded and glanced at Franky who instantly pulled out a baby den den mushi and called the number Ace had given them.

"Yeah?" Ace asked as he picked up the small yellow snail that he had made sure to hold onto. There was only one group it could be.

"We got her." the voice which belonged to Franky said and Ace instantly signaled Marco who told Oyaji. "We got to get her out of here know. Reindeer-bro said that she isn't going to last much longer unless we get her treated."

"Got it." Ace said ramming his fist into one of the guards that had rushed him. "We're on our way out." At the same time to the call ended, Whitebeard called all troops out and towards the exits.

No actual marines had been at the palace which seemed suspicious to the older pirate. The only thing they had had to fight against were the normal guards that protected the place, even the admirals themselves had been absent. The thought that they were going to be ambushed came to his mind but a quick scan of the palace proved that the strongest people were the straw hats which were currently making their way to the exit they had planned on. He could tell that Ace's sister was at her limit. The life force she was giving off was small and weak and it was to the point that anyone who had the Kenbunshoku Haki and had not pure master of it would think that she was dead.

They rushed out of the palace and both groups had their own way to scale down the massive wall that was the Red Line or the place that Mariejois was fixated on top of. When at the bottom, neither group met with each other until they were at the scheduled place of the clinic where Chopper lived and worked. There, they would have to wait and see what happened with the black haired female pirate captain.

Yay Luffy is safe and well... she's not a slave anymore so let's put it that way. I had fun with the dialogue at the beginning and I know that this was a serious matter but if Oda-sensei had been making this in the manga he would have put some humor into it somehow so this was how I did it. Guess who said what and win absolutely nothing. Okay sorry that was mean but Still try if you like though at some points it is pretty obvious. Hope you liked.