Hey, all you Voice readers! Sorry I didn't update yesterday, but my internet was giving me problems. Just my luck.

Keith: Oh, well.

FM13: What are you doing here?

Keith: Oh, you're nice. This chapter is in my point of view, isn't it?

FM13: Oh, yeah...

Keith: You're ridiculous, you know that?

FM13: I'll take that as a compliment, Wood.

Keith: Hey... Anyway, frostmoon13 doesn't own One Piece or any of it's characters. Only her OCs.

Thanks for the reviews! They're awesome!

Chapter 26

"Good morning, sir!" one of my subordinates said.

I ran my hand through my hair with one hand, and smoothed the wrinkles out of my shirt with the other. "Good morning, Vencci." I said.

I started down the hallway. The same hallway that I had walked down the day I had been brought to the marine base. I sighed. It had been ten years... How much had I changed since then?

"Ah-ACHOO!" I sneezed so hard, I jumped off the ground. "Geez..." I muttered, brushing my brown hair out of my eyes and scratching my still itchy nose.

I fished through one of my pockets, and pulled out an elastic band. I pulled my shoulder-length hair into a ponytail. Admiral Kizaru often teased me about the length of my hair. How many times had he told me I should braid it? Too many.

"Good morning, Keith." Someone said from behind me.

"Oh," I said, turning around. "Hello, Vice-Admiral Garp."

Out of all the Vice-Admirals, I definitely liked Garp best. He was a good-natured old man, although he was also very weird. He was always munching on something, even in meetings.

Garp had his dog head hood down, and his suit was slightly wrinkled.

There were two people walking behind him. One was a tall guy, in his early twenties, with a rather ugly blonde bowl cut, and a chore boy's outfit.

The other was a short kid, about two years younger than me, with pink hair, and glasses. Judging by his outfit, he was also a chore boy.

Both of them were looking around nervously.

"New recruits?" I asked.

Garp nodded. He turned to the two chore boys. "You two, this is Keith. He's been serving in the marines for over eight years."

The pinkie bowed formally. "N-nice to meet you, sir." he said.

I blushed again. "Please don't call me sir, it makes me feel awkward..." Might as well lie. The kid looked like he was about to pass out from fear.

Pinkie got up quickly. "Sorry..." he muttered.

I grinned and clapped him on the shoulder. "No problem." I said. "What are your names?"

Pinkie ran his hand through his hair. "I'm Koby." he said. "Becoming a marine has been my dream since I was a child!"

"Good for you for acting on it." I said.

Bowl-cut was next. "I'm Helmeppo." he said. "My father was captain of the marine base in Shell town until a few days ago."

I scratched my chin thoughtfully. "Shell town... You're Morgan's son, then." I eyed him suspiciously. He had the slacker look about him. If he didn't have what it takes, he wouldn't last long under Vice-admiral Garp's tutelage.

Helmeppo nodded. "I'm willing to try my best."

I smiled. "Good to hear." I said. "Good luck, both of you." I started to turn away, when I thought better of it. "If you ever need any help, I'm normally around."

Koby and Helmeppo smiled. "Right!"

Garp clapped my shoulder, hard. "Keith here is a prodigy!" he said, laughing. "Quite the fine young sailor. Although, what would you expect, with his training and his mentor."

I frowned. I had to call on my father's teachings, the one he called the 'superior's no-nonsense talk'. I straightened, and said, "Excuse me, Vice-Admiral. I have business to attend to."

Garp laughed. I rolled my eyes. I liked him well enough, but he didn't know when to act his age. "Go ahead, then!" he said. "Give your regards to the admiral!"

"Umm... Keith?"

I looked up from my lunch - my favourite dish, risotto - and stared at Koby.

"Hey." I said. "What's up?"

Koby pointed to my chest. "That medal... It looks like the medal given for the highest valour..." I smiled. "You did your homework, I see." I laughed. "Yeah, it is... I just got it. I was promoted as well." I sighed as the memory of the ceremony washed over me. All of the higher-ups were there, all the way up to Fleet Admiral Sengoku. I remembered the look of ferocious pride in Father's eyes as he pinned the medal to my chest.

I scooted over. "Here." I said. "Sit down, if you have the time. I don't normally see people around my age here."

Koby straightened, then sat down next to me. "Of course! It's an honour!"

I sighed and lightly smacked him over the head. "Geez... Don't do that." I said. "This is the lunchroom... We're all equal in front of food."

Koby chuckled. I cracked a smile.

Helmeppo came to join us. He sat next to Koby. He flinched when I glared at him. I didn't think much of this guy. According to the stories that had been passed along for the past few days, Morgan had been ruling by fear. Not the way a marine should act. If I had been there, I would have taken him down.

Koby and Helmeppo started telling me about the journey from their old base, but I wasn't really listening. I was thinking back to that fight with the Endless Dusk pirates, and how our whole unit had been nearly eradicated.

"Stand tall! G-1!"

"Do not tolerate evil!"

"Die!" "Aargh!"

"*Hah* *hah* Aargh!"

"Is everyone alright? Are we the only ones? Where's the Rear Admiral?"

"I saw him fighting 'Endless Dusk' Noir! He was really badly hurt!"

"What do we do?"

"How many of us are still alive?"

"We're the only marines alive..."

"Even the Rear Admiral?! No!"

"What do we do now?!"

"We stand and fight! We have to hold out until Admiral Akainu gets here! He's not far away! Stand up!"

"Keith?"

I gasped and opened my eyes. Koby and Helmeppo were staring at me with concern.

"Are you okay?" Koby asked. "You were shivering."

I sat up straight, and blew my bangs out of my eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine." I lied. I had a job making it sound convincing.

"You were like that for almost ten minutes." Koby insisted.

I ran my finger along my medal of valour. It felt hard and bone-chilling to the touch. "Sorry." I said. I grinned. "So, how was your first morning?"

Koby's eyes lit up. "Oh, it was hard work, but it was incredible!" he said. "Vice-Admiral Garp is amazing!"

"Are you afraid to face what's ahead?" I asked.

Koby nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I'm scared. But more than that, I'm super excited! I have a dream!"

I smiled. "Well, if you have a dream, it's not about life and death." I said.

Koby grinned. Then, his expression turned serious. "You know," he said. "You remind me of a friend of mine... In fact... Nah."

I felt every muscle in my body go tense as a bowstring. "What?" I asked. "Who?"

Koby looked taken aback by my response. "Oh, it's probably nothing... You just remind me of her... the auburn eyes, that's all..."

I turned on him. "Auburn eyes?!" I shouted. "Who is this? What does she look like?!"

"Uh..." Koby managed. "Well, she's about my age. She's got red hair that she ties back in a ponytail. She's got a really kind, yet goofy smile, and she has a good sense of humour."

"What's her name?" I asked. There was no way... Not after ten years... I might have hoped it, but the chances were so small...

"Ummm... Keith?" Koby asked. "Are you alright?"

"Just tell me."

"Koe." Koby said, his ears turning slightly pink. "Her name is Koe. Why?"

My heart stopped. It felt as if time frozen around me.

"Keith... Sir?" Helmeppo managed. "You're scaring me."

"Where did you see her?" I asked.

Koby looked at me with more concern than before. "She's on her way to the grand line, I think." he said. "It's been a little while."

"Excuse me a moment." I said. I grabbed my officer's coat off the back of my seat and tossed it over my shoulders. I turned on my heels and swept out of the room. "There's no way..." I muttered under my breath. "It can't be."

I dashed down the hallway, not stopping to apologise when I nearly crashed into a group of unsuspecting ensigns. I passed the barracks and went straight to the conference room. I threw the doors open.

Four people were sitting around the round table that was normally used for meetings with the shichibukai.

The first one on the left was Fleet Admiral Sengoku. He was sitting with his seagull-topped hat and his black hair braided. His pet goat was crunching on a piece of old paperwork at his feet.

Next was Admiral Kizaru. He was leaning against the table, staring at me with that carefree look in his eyes. He smiled nonchalantly, shuffling a deck of cards.

Next to Kizaru was Admiral Aokiji. He was leaning back, his sleep mask half covering his eyes. He didn't look too upset that I had just barged in on their card game.

Next to Aokiji, glaring angrily at me, was Admiral Akainu. Admiral Akainu had trained me since before I enlisted in the marines over eight years ago. I knew that glare almost as well as I knew anything else. He was obviously extremely nettled that I had just barged in in such a rude fashion. "Keith." he growled. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Forgive the intrusion," I said. "Admiral Akainu, may I speak with you?"

Akainu growled, got up, and followed me out of the room.

When we got out of the room, I led Akainu to a small room. I didn't want anyone to hear I shut the door, Akainu grabbed my arm, hard. The heat and pressure made spots dance in front of my eyes. I had really pissed him off. Even when Akainu wasn't mad, he emanated a lot of heat.

"What on earth is the matter with you?" he growled. "I don't recall ever teaching you to be so out of control!"

I struggled against his grip. "Koe... I got some news about my sister..."

Akainu's brow furrowed. He let go of me and I slumped to the floor, rubbing my sore arm. "Are you sure?" he asked.

I nodded. "One of Garp's new recruits travelled with her about a week ago!"

Akainu nodded. "I assumed you had-"

"Given up? I know." I said. "I nearly did. But if she's out there, I have to find her." I straightened.

Akainu sighed. "I suppose you want to search for her."

I nodded.

"Then, I give you permission. Go find your sister and bring her here. I look forward to meeting another member of your family."

I smiled. "Thank-you... Father."

There's chapter 26!

Keith: You notice that only three of these chapters were in my point of view.

FM13: You've still got a really important part! Stop complaining, Sailor!

Keith: (rolls his eyes) Geez... Well, please review. I won't be reading them, but I'm sure Koe does, since she spends the most time with Frosty here.

FM13: Not you too...

Keith: Let me finish. Anyways, Review!