Chapter 25- Loose Again

One Piece © Eiichiro Oda

Silvios, Neko Beckett, Noppera Spark, Beau-Père, William Henley, and G-13 Base © HatOnFire/Me

On the bottom floor of the detention center, there were a couple of guards on the ground dead. The catfish fish-man, Neko Beckett, had killed them all with his cat-claw attachments, located on his fingers. Right now, he was keeping watch in the hallway, making sure no one comes down to this floor.

'This is stupid!' He thought, 'Just 'cause this marine's in our pocket, that doesn't mean he can push us around!'

Behind him, Silvios had his arms crossed, staring at the fat marine as he talked with Noppera Spark.

"And the bomb is planted on the generator inside the base's headquarters," The corrupt soldier explained, "When that thing goes off, the generator that powers the current goes too. With nothing holding you back, you and Arlong can get out. The commotion upstairs wasn't intentional, but it should make for a perfect distraction."

"I see," Noppera said, his hair blowing as he spoke. "So the youth who defeated him is here. That could be problematic."

"How come?" The marine wondered, "It works perfectly for him. He wants revenge against the brat."

"His desire for it will throw us off schedule. We can't afford to take detours, even if it suits his best interests."

"Well, you know I don't exactly care what happens."

"Silvios, open this door to the Box."

"Alright, Bell-head," The anglerfish fish-man did as he was told, turning a large wheel on the door clockwise. He pulled the door open with his strength as the sound of creaking and squealing metal echoed throughout the floor.

"You should stand back," Noppera suggested to the bribed marine, clutching his swordstick. "The sight of my handiwork is not for the fainthearted."

"I'll live," The marine chuckled, "I just want my money."

"Of course," The jellyfish merman nodded, showing his shimmering blade. "So do I."

Some guards were startled, seeing Noppera pitter-patter on his tentacle legs, his sword glistening under the yellow light bulbs that lit the room. When Silvios walked in, the guards cautiously stood up, each reaching for a rifle or a polearm.

"Don't mind us, humans," He spoke up, "We're just passing through. We'll be taking Arlong."

"W-We can't let you do that!" A guard trained his halberd on the intruders, walking slowly and almost shaking in his shoes. "This man here is a dangerous criminal! He can't be released into the world!"

"Unfortunately for you," Noppera whispered through his hair, "Your compliance is not our concern."

"But look at you," Silvios sarcastically rolled his eyes, "Standing so tall and brave. I'll make this quick for you."

"Enough of this!" Another guard shouted with a rifle in her hands, ushering her compatriots to surround the intruders. "We may not care if you have business with the pirate, but trying to take him out of here is where we draw the line! Move and we'll shoot!"

"Idiots, all of them," Silvios sighed while a blue flash erupted from his light, blinding the guards. They couldn't attack, let alone prepare themselves for what came next.

Noppera quickly rushed through them, swinging his sword once with his back turned to them. Then, wide gashes appeared on the bodies as they hit the floor, staining it with their blood.

"W-What happened?!" A guard questioned with his eyes closed.

"Thousand Brick Fist!" Silvios struck him in his stomach, making him cough up blood as he hit the bars. The punch was strong enough to kill him.

The bright fish-man turned his attention to five more guards, who showed up from the other side of the room. He ran to them, letting out a barrage of kicks that broke their bones. One particular kick across the face made a guard's neck snap, instantly ending his life.

Noppera continued cutting down soldier after soldier without much effort. Four charged, attempting to thrust their halberds into him, but he leaped over them with a somersault and landed on his many legs. With a quick sheath, the guards fell with their severed heads following them.

"Naturally, none of you stood a chance," He said, moving to another group and slashing at them. With massive cuts on their bodies and necks, for good measure, the deaths of a few brave men and women were ensured. "But your efforts are commendable. I've had to use most of my energy in this part of the Grand Line."

"With your Power Levels, you'd be strong enough to catch a Sea King and kill it!" Silvios mocked with an air of superiority, kicking a guard in his face. "Hell, you're all stronger than the average marines! But you're still weak humans, compared to us."

*BANG!*

The woman that took a stand earlier fired her rifle, hitting the fish-man in his shoulder.

"AAGH!" He grunted in pain, feeling the shot. He set his sights on the woman, growling at her, and quickly moved, dodging bullets left and right. When Silvios had kicked the gun away from her, he grabbed her by the neck and slammed her headfirst into the floor.

"Y-You bitch...!" He snarled, "I was going to make this painless... But now I'll just make it painful for you as your life slips away...!"

Silvios lifted her head up and sent her to the floor repeatedly, making sure she would still feel the torment as he killed her. After hitting the guard against the stone floor fifteen times, he ended her by kicking her head so hard her neck snapped.

"SILVIOS!" Noppera scolded, striking the anglerfish fish-man with his arm, stinging him with a touch. "You gutless savage! How could you kill someone in a cruel manner?!"

"OW!" He winced in agony, applying pressure to his chest with his hand. "What?! She deserved it for shooting me! Besides, you don't hear me calling you out for decapitating a bunch of humans!"

"That's because, unlike you, I don't get off on killing opponents in our way!" Noppera slapped him across his face, forcing him to plummet. "The last time you and Beckett tagged along, you two excessively killed ten civilians as we were robbing a passenger ship!"

"A true fish-man would show pride from showing dominance over a weaker race...!" Silvios muttered as he stood up, "It's how some animals are listed higher in the food chain compared to others."

"There is no pride in brutality, much less disgracefully dispatching one unable to resist."

"Bell-head, you're the one who stung a few marines to death. I wouldn't call that honorable..."

"I only killed them when they turned to face me," Noppera took a key from the porky marine when he entered the room, "You wouldn't know, seeing as you and Beckett were still arguing about trivial matters."

"Trivial?!" Silvios snorted, looking offended. "Figuring out who's gonna be in Arlong's new crew isn't trivial!"

"Weren't you listening to the tentacle guy, dumbass?" The marine spoke out of turn, "He just wants money. Speaking of which..."

"A few more seconds of patience," The jellyfish merman replied, removing a ring of five keys off of a hook. "This won't take long."

He was right, it didn't take too long for him to unlock the cage and open the barred door. Noppera approached the container and tried the other keys on the ring. When one of them fit in the lock, he turned it and opened the door.

"Arlong, I presume?"

"Ah, Noppera Spark, my old friend," Arlong grinned under his muzzle, standing up from his small bed. "Would you remove this thing on my mouth?"

"If you want to start there," Noppera reached around Arlong's skull, uncoupling the muzzle. "I could still unlock the cuffs."

Just then, Arlong bit through the chains of his wrist bindings, allowing himself more freedom for his arms.

"Could you get the legs?" He asked politely, "Those bindings are made of Sea-Prism Stone."

"I assume your handcuffs were swapped?" Noppera pondered as he removed the cuffs on Arlong's ankles.

"The marine I bribed switched those cuffs with the ones that are made of thick iron. Even so, it's nothing when I bite into it."

Arlong and his associate got out of the Box, greeted by Silvios and the heavyset marine.

"M-Mr. Arlong...!" The anglerfish fish-man stumbled, trying to act natural. "I-It's actually an honor t-to, uh, meet you again, sir! I heard stories from you back on Fish-Man Island."

"Oh, I didn't know there were others involved with this plan," The former prisoner mused, "I thought you came alone."

"I did," Noppera sighed, "But these two fanatics insisted on coming along."

"Oh, there's another one?" Arlong noted, just as Beckett entered the room.

"A-Arlong!" He almost gasped, breaking into a sweat. "S-Sir, it's a pleasure to see you again!"

"I met him first, you're not special!" Silvios yelled, shoving his hands in his jacket.

"Please, we both met him when we were kids!" The catfish fish-man was just about ready to get into a scuffle with the other fanatic.

"If you two are finished brownnosing," The marine interrupted, approaching Arlong. "Arlong, I did what you wanted. I want what you promised me: my five million berries."

"Here," Noppera sent his arm in his yutaka and pulled out a surprisingly dry sack. "A bonus sum of four hundred thousand berries should be good for now. The five million you request should be in an account under your name in the morning."

"Really?" The marine held out his hand and received the sack, opening it up to see some ten thousand bill berries. "Oh-ho-ho! Nice! You never said I'd get a bonus!"

He stopped smiling to raise a question that came to his mind.

"There's gonna be an account with my name on it?"

"In the morning, yes," Noppera nodded, "The mastermind of this escape plan has arranged such. Your services are complete, and you shall be compensated with five million and four hundred thousand berries."

"Perfect!" The marine giddily pulled out the money in the sack, "I'm a rich bitch!"

"In counterfeit bills, anyway."

The room almost went deaf from Arlong's words. His shit-eating grin was plastered all over his smug face as the marine looked at him in shock.

"W-What...?"

"Arlong," Noppera's body language read all kinds of disapproval, "Don't joke with him. I checked the money myself. It's real."

"Is it?" The sawshark fish-man raised a brow, almost condescendingly.

The marine looked at one of the bills in his hand, seeing that one of the swirly patterns on the bill is a dry, transparent red compared to the usual green.

"T-This is a counterfeit...!" His eyes bulged, staring in confusion at Arlong.

"Impossible!" Noppera took the bill from the rotund soldier's hand, examining it until he saw a different error from what the marine had seen. "But I checked the bills myself!"

"Only two bills in that sack are genuine," Beckett stated, "And as for your account, it'll be filled with fake money. Complements of the mastermind."

"You knew?!" The refined merman's made a small spark on the tip of his tentacle hand that caused the bill to go up in a small fire.

"Hey, the human that planned for this wanted me to join for a reason. It was to clear these details up.

"What is this shit, you son of a bitch?!" The marine threw the sack to the ground and stomped on it, "You promised me money!"

"You did get your money, human," Arlong murmured, "It may not have been actual money, but you still got it."

"You lied! You went back on your word!"

"DID I REALLY?" Arlong pondered, chuckling a little. "Sha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha!"

"Y-You...!"

"As Noppera said, your services are completed. Therefore, you are no longer needed. Now die."

Arlong was ready to charge at the marine and kill him, but Beckett beat him to it when he got behind the marine and grabbed his shoulder, digging his cat claws into his flesh.

"AAGGHHHHHHHHHHH!" The man cried out in agony, unable to act through the pain.

On the wall, the silhouettes of Beckett and the overweight marine are shown as clear as day. The catfish fish-man reeled his hand from the marine's neck and backed away as his victim grasped his throat and went to his knees.

While he gasped out, blood poured in between the soldier's reddened fingers like a garden sprinkler. Belly first he dropped to the cold stone. His greed betrayed him to his end, this unnamed fool who sold his soul for printed currency.

"The first second I met this fat bastard, I wanted to kill him," Beckett remarked, spitting on the man's corpse. "His existence is a new low for the infested humans."

"His death was unnecessary!" Noppera hissed, "The worst that we could've done to him was make him look like a fool and leave him!"

"He was a witness, old friend," Arlong stated, "Besides, I said I never broke a promise to anyone. He got his money, just not the kind he wanted."

"You knew the bonus bills were counterfeit, didn't you?" The jellyfish merman questioned, "You also knew the account was going to be packed with counterfeit bills by tomorrow, and that the marine wouldn't take this well. You expected me to kill him when his usefulness was outlived."

"No, I would've done it myself. But I do have to admit, our fellow brethren have shown some initiative."

"We want to join your crew," Silvios reached within his jacket, pulling out a claw weapon and a flintlock. "Here, some weapons for you."

"These will do," Arlong smirked, taking the claws and putting it over his left hand. He placed the gun he was offered in his pants, seeing as there were no pockets on his uniform. "And I thought I'd have to go to the armory and take some weapons."

"Apparently, some parts of the plan were lost in messaging," Noppera crossed his arms, "The human that planned for your retrieval never said the armory would be a factor unless needed."

"Well, I suppose I don't need it now," The sawshark fish-man swung his left hand, letting the claws slash the air. After admiring his new weapon, he proceeded to walk out of the room, heading for the elevator. "Let's go and have a little chat with that rubber brat now."

"Sir, I believe that's a poor decision. I didn't come here so you could have a chance at revenge."

"Please, Noppera. The boy's weak, and that gives me an advantage. But I don't just want to kill him. Sha-ha-ha-ha..."

If anyone behind Arlong could see his face, they'd see his exposed sharp teeth shining a smile, the anger in his eyes, and the veins in his neck and head pulsating. He finished his sentence with a cold snarl...

"I WANT TO SAVOR HIS DYING, BEATING, BLEEDING HEART IN MY HAND... BEFORE I CRUSH IT...! SHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

XXX

Meanwhile, outside the stronghold...

"Shoot him!"

The marines were opening fire on Henley, who was jumping around like crazy, avoiding shot after shot.

"I was just looking for the little boy's room!" The redhead joked, leaping all over the battleship and using his spider legs to strike on occasion. "You guys should know the struggle! I can't take one drink too many!"

"We can't let him escape, men!" A marine with a sword shouted, "He's destroyed the last rudder of our battleship!"

"Chemistro Grenades: Smoke!" The minute Henley landed on the floor again, he released a pair of grenades and sent them to a cluster of marines. They were quickly covered by thick clouds of gray smoke.

Henley took the opportunity to scale one of the large masts of the battleship, reaching the top and leaping off in succession.

"Moonwalk Jumping Spider!" He maneuvered through the air thanks to his legs, and he began to head off for the center of the base.

'Alright,' He thought, 'I should tell the crew to head for their ship and fend off the marines that are trying to capture the ship. Then, I'll get inside the detention center and make sure Nami gets out of here with Luffy. This plan's a little complicated, but it's working. At least, for now.'

Henley kept going for the stronghold, almost close to achieving the Straw Hat Pirates' common goal: Luffy's rescue.

XXX

Meanwhile, on the ninth floor of the detention center...

"Tempest Kick Luna Boomerang!" Beau-Père kicked upward, letting out another flying projectile for Nami to dodge.

She retaliated by running to him and swinging her weapon wildly, with poor results, as the commander maneuvered through the swipes. He hopped up and went airborne, making it to the top of the ceiling.

"You are capable of defending yourself," Beau-Père mused from his high place, "I expected as much from a member of the Straw Hat Pirates. But your flaw is that you depend too much on your weapon, making you inept in hand-to-hand combat."

"I'm not that weak..." Nami slightly growled, taking off the top part of the Clima-Tact. "I just happen to play things smart!"

(BGM: Duel, Metal Gear Solid)

"Thunder Ball!" She fired a ball of lightning at Beau-Père, but he went backward, preparing another attack through pressing his feet together.

"Be careful, Nami!" Luffy shouted, "He's going to send some arrows your way!"

"Tempest Kick Artemis Arrows!" As Luffy had said, a large arrow-like air burst shot from Beau-Père's shoes, splitting into smaller arrows halfway in the descent.

'Shit!' The navigator mentally cursed while leaping out of the way, somehow managing to avoid all of them.

"Shave!" The commander landed on the ground, moving so fast he made afterimages of himself. He stood next to Nami, then behind her, and kept moving as she turned and attempted to strike lightning balls at him.

"How about you stand still and let me hit you?!" The navigator yelled in frustration, missing her shots again and again.

"Try something different, and we'll see!" Beau-Père mocked, waving his hand and disappearing all around her.

'I have to end this here and now!' Nami thought, uncoupling the rest of the Clima-Tact. 'No more wasting time!'

"Dark Cloud Tempo!" She put two of the rods together, forming an X, and a black cloud with an electric current took shape at the top.

The commander stood back, entering his hybrid form once more.

"Another cloud?" He regarded.

"Coming into contact with this cloud will result in electrocution," Nami said, "If allowed, a large bolt of lightning will release from it and pass through your body. You will survive the encounter, assuming your body is strong enough to take the blast."

"Are you serious?"

Nami threw the dark cloud in Beau-Père's direction, except he leaped over it and caught her waist with his tail.

"Well, that was something different," He murmured, "But it looks like the fight's over."

"It's going to be, alright," The navigator smirked, attempting to hit him with the reconnected weapon.

"Iron Body!" With Beau-Père hardening his defenses, the weapon would have no effect on him, but Nami stopped short from hitting him. She held it close to Beau-Père's chest, condescendingly waving her hand as Beau-Père did a few seconds ago.

"Thunder Lance Tempo!" By the time the commander realized what was going to happen, it was too late for him to dodge. The dark cloud discharged the thunderbolt, traveling at an alarming rate to Nami's weapon, passing through his body.

"Graaaaaaaaaaaaaagggggghhhhhhhhhh!" Beau-Père roared from the shock, subconsciously letting Nami go. She searched Beau-Père's pants pockets, unable to find what she was looking for there. She swiped her weapon across his face again, distracting him as she tried frisking the pocket in his shirt.

"Puma..." The commander towed an arm back, keeping his claws in check. "Palm Barrel!"

Nami moved out of the way in time, leaping before the small shockwave could make contact with her.

"You're resistant to physical damage when you use that move," She stated, seeing smoke exit Beau-Père's mouth. "But it's not the best defense for everything."

"You know how to use that weather controller, I'll give you that..." He panted, "But you're still facing an opponent out of your scale."

"I know," Nami nodded, "But I came here to save Luffy."

"There's nothing you won't do for him, is there?"

"I said as much as we were fighting, didn't I?"

"You did."

Something came back to Nami's mind, beckoning her to ask another question.

"I tried not to think about it, but I'm a little bit curious," She began, "If you and your men win, hypothetically, what's going to happen to Luffy?"

"W-Well..." The commander hesitated, knowing the outcome, should the Straw Hats' fail. "If you didn't show up in time, or if you lost, your... your captain would be taken to Marineford."

"Marineford?" Luffy chimed in, "What's that?"

"A major marine facility," Nami answered, "Just like the prison Impel Down, and Enies Lobby, the judicial facility we stormed."

"Marineford is the headquarters of the marines," Beau-Père further told, "Fleet Admiral Sengoku is stationed there, sometimes with his friend and coworker, Vice Admiral Garp."

"Oh, so I'd be taken to where Gramps is," Luffy concluded.

"You're taking him to his execution, aren't you?"

"W-What?" The captain stared out at Nami, startled by her immediate theory.

"I'm afraid that's true..." Beau-Père sighed, driving Luffy up the wall.

"Are you serious?!" He exclaimed, "You were holding me here just so I could get killed?!"

"Sengoku ordered me to hold you here until your execution date. He believes that your death will show the power of the marines, demonstrating their competence, without the need for a Warlord."

"I-I can't believe it..." Luffy shook his head, still taken aback. "Does Gramps know about this?"

"Not yet. I only found out myself a few hours ago. I don't believe he would agree to this, though."

"This is a show of power," Nami spoke up once more, "But this act is also because of Luffy's pirate status and because of his bloodline, isn't it?"

Beau-Père looked a little surprised that Nami knew about her captain's heritage, but he admitted it as well.

"Yes," He confirmed, "It's also what the Fleet Admiral said."

"They want me dead..." Luffy murmured, "Because of my dad..."

"Oh, Luffy," Nami looked to him, feeling sorry for him.

"If you must know," Beau-Père regained some attention, tossing his marine jacket aside to the bars. "I'm not proud of what I have to do. But I have my orders."

The marine then disappeared in an instant. He reappeared behind Nami, and had an iron grip on her shoulder, forcing her to drop her weapon. Then, he shoved her away, forcing her to fall in her rear end.

"However," Beau-Père continued, "I will say this: I'm glad to have met you. Your determination was extraordinary."

"Was?" The navigator raised an eyebrow, picking herself up. "You think I still can't help him?"

"Your weapon is right here," The commander pointed out, "You can't win without it."

"Can't I?"

That was when Nami did something the commander didn't expect her to do... Take her shirt off in front of him.

"W-W-W-W-W-W-What?!" Luffy stuttered confused, looking away with a blush on his cheeks.

"OH GOD!" He exclaimed, closing his eyes and blocking his face with an arm. "WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!"

'My sister would kill me if I looked at her daughter like this!' He yelled internally, 'But how am I supposed to test her further if she's doing this?!'

"Wow, you're a celibate person?" Nami questioned with a smirk, "Then don't look further, because you won't like this."

Underneath the teal shirt that she took off away was a modest black sports bra, but there was something else on her body. Looping around her ribcage were two belts with grenades strapped on them!

"N-Nami?!" Luffy dared to look, but what he saw made his eyes widen with fear. "What is that?!"

"Grenades," Nami simply explained, her eyes shifting back to her captain. "Explosive devices, ones that can look like fruit from the shape. You pull the pin, throw the grenade, and wait for the boom."

"Grenades?!" Beau-Père looked to see if she was bluffing. To his own horror, she wasn't. "Y-You're not actually-?!"

"Going to blow myself up?" She finished the sentence, "Maybe. I did say that I was willing to do anything to save Luffy, even if I die. But it's out of my hands now. What comes next depends on what you do."

As Nami said that, she pulled open the cell door right next to her, which was the one Luffy was in.

"You unlocked it already?!" Beau-Père shouted, seeing Nami grab Luffy by his arm and walk out the cell.

"When Luffy wasn't looking," Nami replied, regretting keeping the fact to herself.

"Y-You didn't tell me you unlocked it..." Luffy whispered.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Luffy. If you kept refusing, I wouldn't have any other choice but to drag you out. But I swear, I wanted to get you without resorting to forcing you!"

"No, it's fine, Nami," The captain slightly smiled, "I wanted you to get me out."

"So, I guess we can leave now. I've got everything I need."

"You can't walk out of here!" Beau-Père declared, shifting back to normal. "I still have the key to your captain's cuffs!"

"You mean this key?" Nami stuck out her tongue whilst holding a key in her free hand.

Beau-Père stammered, searching in his pockets. "You pickpocketed me...!" He looked back to her in realization.

"And you have nothing to bargain with."

The orange-haired girl would've unlocked Luffy's cuffs if the commander didn't try to run at her. He only stopped short when Nami put her fingers on a grenade pin, almost ready to pull it.

"Y-You wouldn't!" Beau-Père growled out of frustration, "You have everything! Blowing yourself up wouldn't do any good!"

"Actually," Nami retorted, "It would do something. You were ordered to arrest Luffy, but not kill him. If you took him to the marines, you'd be given a valuable promotion, I'd wager."

"T-That's..." He stumbled, "That may be true, but I didn't do this for a better rank!"

"True, but if we both blow up, it'd look bad on your record. This base did have a history of prison riots in the past, after all. It would suck if your superiors found out that you not only failed to turn Luffy in alive, but also couldn't keep this base in better condition, something even your predecessor couldn't do."

'S-She must've been in the Records Room,' Beau-Père thought, gazing in awe at her. 'And there's what I told her when she pressed me...'

"There's also what you admitted to me. The marines will publicly execute Luffy to show off their power. All because the World Government sees him as a threat. But if Luffy died, not by the hand of the marines, it will show that the most rebellious pirates won't admit defeat, even to the point of killing themselves. And lastly, you don't like blood to spill when you can prevent it."

"Heh," Beau-Père smirked, prepared to swiftly move again. "That's true. But I'm still fast enough to stop you from pulling the-!"

Nami interrupted him by pulling out the pin on the grenade, hearing the faint ticking of the timer.

"NAMI?!" Luffy exclaimed as Beau-Père stopped himself from moving in.

"Do you really want to try again?" The navigator wondered while she put the pin back in, "Or do you want to let us walk? I'd prefer the second choice."

"Don't do that again...!" Beau-Père clutched his chest, "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"I won't as long as you keep your distance," Nami told as she and Luffy both walked backward, "And toss me my weapon back, please."

The commander did as he was told, sighing on the outside, but smiling on the inside. This wasn't what he expected, but felt relieved he wasn't the one to send Luffy to certain doom. He threw the weapon, which Luffy caught with his mouth, surprising both of them.

"What?" He muttered with the Clima-Tact, "Don't you need your hands on those things?"

"Thanks, Luffy," Nami couldn't help but laugh, taking the weapon while holding onto a grenade. "I don't think you need me to hold you."

"Congratulations, 'Cat Burglar' Nami," Beau-Père bowed his head in graceful defeat, "You outwitted me and won back your captain. Someone out there must be proud of you."

"Uh, thank you?" Nami wasn't sure what to make of that, but it didn't matter to her. Or so it seemed.

'Great, now I feel like I disappointed Belle-Mère too. I don't think she'd approve of what I almost did.'

"I'm sorry for how this all turned out, 'Straw Hat,'" The commander apologized, "But I hope we meet again. I might want to face you properly."

"You know what?" Luffy thought, nodding, "I hope so too. But I'll be the winner."

"We'll see."

"Hey, Nami?" Luffy questioned while he backed up with the navigator, "How did you find me and this place if you didn't know where to go?"

"Well," She answered, "We got an Eternal Pose from a barrel out at sea."

"Really?"

"Yeah..." She looked to Beau-Père, "That reminds me. Did you send it out there, hoping we would find it?"

"If I did, would it matter?" He pondered, crossing his arms. He neither confirmed nor denied it, only puzzling Nami for a spell.

Suddenly, the elevator rang out, startling everyone on the floor.

"You didn't press the button already, did you, Nami?" Luffy gazed at her for a response.

"I'm right here with you!" She exclaimed, "How could I do that and be here at the same time?!"

"'Straw Hat' Luffy!" A familiar voice shouted from the opening doors of the elevator.

(BGM: Luffy vs. Ratchet Round 2, One Piece Movie 7: The Giant Mechanical Soldier of Karakuri Castle)

"W-What?!" Nami's face went pale at the sight of a face from her dark past.

"W-Why is he here?!" Luffy stared in shock from the sight of Arlong, in his prison attire, holding a pistol in one hand and having a claw in the other.

"N-No!" Beau-Père gasped, "You can't be loose again!"

"Oh, but I can," Arlong grinned as Noppera and Silvios went out with him, "And look what we have here...!"

"W-Why are you here?!" Nami yelled, grabbing Luffy and stepping backward, getting as much distance between them as possible.

"You see," The sawshark fish-man explained, "I heard that the runt who took everything from me was in this place, so I decided to get some payback. But you're here too, my mapmaker and crewmate."

"Don't call her that, you asshole!" The captain shouted, "You have no right to call her that!"

"I can do whatever I want, inferior human! And I'll start by taking her back and ripping your organs out. Piece by piece! SHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

Arlong's haunting laughter filled the entire floor as Nami could only walk further away with Luffy, both feeling a sense of dread overtake the atmosphere.

'We're fucked...!' The navigator swore, biting her lip.

The worst has come, and it will only go downhill from here...

TO BE CONTINUED...