Chapter 13

Great news all! I have a rough (very rough) outline for the rest of the story. It is, of course, subject to change and will almost inevitably do so. However, having it at all is a major accomplishment for me. I hope it will serve as a source of motivation when I see it literally pinned on the wall next to my door. As it stands right now, I've outlined 24/25 chapters (12/13 more including this one). But I can practically guarantee that that is a modest estimate and that my languid style of writing will lengthen it a lot.

Seriously, all of your reviews and favorites are what really instilled me with the motivation I needed to write this chapter in a (relatively) short time. To that end, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Publish date: September 21, 2018

Word count: 3,545

Here is Chapter 13!

Yet another sigh escaped the young man behind him in the cabin. It was becoming ridiculous. But Garp was steadfastly determined to ignore it as long as he could. He thought back to his observation of his grandson a few days ago in the hospital room; had he really been so worried about Luffy's constant sleeping? Now, he would much rather Luffy be asleep again. All he had done since they had left Marineford was sigh loudly in between obnoxious whining or complaining. Garp felt a headache building behind his eyes.

The clang of metal as it moved around brought his attention back to Luffy. He refused to turn around and look, wary that that would only serve to increase Luffy's pouting. The sound paused briefly before a long, loud sigh preceded a thump as the rubber boy probably threw himself back onto the couch. A pitiful whining moan was then thrown at him. Garp simply brought his hands up to run over his face in exasperation, taking a deep breath.

"Grandpa….." Great, now he was talking again. Garp fervently did not react and looked down at the paperwork laid out in front of him on his desk, picking up a pen.

"Graaaandpaaaaa….." Garp squeezed his eyes closed.

"Gramps."

Garp whirled around with a fist raised. He stalked up to Luffy menacingly. "Don't start calling me that. It's bad enough Ace does it."

Luffy's eyes were wide, but there was a glint of triumph in them. He said, "Well you weren't answering."

"No shit!" Garp shouted. "Luffy, I've told you already that I'm trying to get some work done. You're lucky to even be in here instead of the brig. Keep up your whining and I'll change that."

"But I'm bored," he said, drawing out the word like it was a grievous sin.

"I don't care!" Garp shouted. "You need to learn some patience. Think of it as training. I want you to sit there and do nothing until I say otherwise."

Luffy's eyes widened comically and a look of utter despair shot across his face. "Nothing? That's worse than your normal training sessions! Which is saying something!"

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Garp raised his first again.

"Your training sessions are the worst, Grandpa. I never actually learned anything. At least with Ace, he actually tried to give me advice."

Garp swiftly punched his grandson. "I gave you plenty of advice. If either of you had bothered to listen to it, we wouldn't be in this situation." Now it was Garp's turn to sigh and he ran his hands over his face again. "Listen, Luffy, you know what's going to happen. This is the last time we're going to see each other before…" he swallowed thickly, "before you return to Marineford one last time. Don't waste this small taste of freedom, alright?"

Luffy was, unsurprisingly, not fazed in the slightest. "Eh, that's okay," he said nonchalantly. "My crew's got it covered."

Garp was dumbstruck for a moment. "Your crew?! You think they would storm Impel Down?"

Luffy smiled brightly and laughed, nodding.

"Even if that were true, they'd just be captured too," Garp continued.

Luffy merely kept smiling and laughing. Garp rolled his eyes in exasperation before walking back to his desk and resuming his seat.

After his observations in the hospital at Marineford, Garp had expressed his concerns about Luffy's health to Sengoku. He maintained as stoic of an expression as he could during the conversation. Sengoku was, of course, not fooled. But he did agree with Garp in that sending such a heavily injured man to Impel Down was not wise. After asking, the doctor in charge of Luffy told them that the Sea Prism cuffs were definitely slowing his recovery time. The drain of energy to his body was not allowing the necessary healing to occur. After some back and forth, they came to an agreement; Luffy's handcuffs would come off if a Marine of Vice Admiral rank or higher were in the room with him at all times. For the next few days, Garp had spent most of his time in the room with his grandson. The other Vice Admirals saw this as preferential treatment to the pirate and most refused outright to cooperate. Luckily, Vice Admiral Tsuru, Vice Admiral Hina, and Admiral Aokiji himself volunteered to sit with the boy.

Tsuru spent her time with him asking questions about his life on Dawn Island and his crew. Luffy excitedly told her about Dawn Island and Ace, but showed a surprising insight through his hesitance to divulge much about his crew other than their names and stations aboard the ship.

Hina did not spend much of her time talking. Instead, Luffy pelted her with questions about the most random things, ranging from her hair to her Devil Fruit to who her friends were. Aokiji outright refused to speak with the pirate, opting instead to pull up a chair and sleep soundly throughout the entire visit, successfully shutting out Luffy's annoyance and questions.

Although not technically allowed by Sengoku's new rules, Garp let Coby in to visit Luffy without anyone else in the room, with the understanding that they wouldn't tell anyone he had left. The two of them talked about anything and everything and Luffy had no hesitation whatsoever when describing his crewmates to the pink-haired boy. Coby also regaled the pirate captain with stories of his time training under Garp (something the two were unfortunately able to bond over) and his time as a Marine.

At night, Luffy was put under the lock and key of the Sea Prism handcuffs once again. The doctor expressed his shock at Luffy's rapid healing abilities once the changes were put into place. The internal damage to Luffy's body was healing at a rate he hadn't seen before. Much to his surprise, he noted that the more calories Luffy consumed, the faster the healing process was. He was still trying to work out the biological tie between this phenomenon and his rubber body when Sengoku declared his time in the hospital was up. Though not fully healed (seriously, what the hell had Luffy done to get himself so injured?), Luffy was transferred to Garp's warship. Garp insisted that the boy take up residence in Garp's personal cabin for the duration of the trip – which was not very long when using the Gates of Justice and the Tarai Current operated solely by the Marines and World Government.

As Impel Down came into view between the opened Gates of Justice, the ship came alive with activity. Luffy watched as best he could through the porthole in the cabin. Garp once again locked the Sea Prism cuffs into place on his grandson, hating every second of it. Other than an exaggerated whine and slumping of his shoulders, Luffy allowed it without comment. The pair made their way onto the deck and was joined by a small contingency of guards. Coby and Helmeppo stood off to one side and Luffy's eyes met the pink-haired boys'. Something passed between them and Luffy smiled brightly at him. Coby was taken aback for second before shyly returning the smile. Garp narrowed his eyes at the boy as he walked past, not sure if he approved of the silent message between the two.

The passage to the entrance of the prison was shorter than Garp would've liked. No one spoke as they drew nearer. When they reached the opened doors, a woman with long blonde hair met them. She made Garp's men stay back as prison guards took their places around Garp and Luffy. As they walked inside, she began to explain to the Vice Admiral what the protocol was for prisoner transfer. He stopped her before she got very far.

"I've done more of these than you have, girl."

She was barely thrown off before replying, "It's policy that the protocol be shared every time, no matter who is doing the transfer."

Garp hmph-ed and tuned her out as she continued with her explanation. The large doors shut behind them and Garp felt his sense of foreboding increase. He knew what was coming. Luffy would be separated and taken to be processed, Garp not allowed to follow him. Garp would be taken aside by the Vice Warden – what was his name? Hanimal? Harry? Eh, whatever – to be searched thoroughly. Garp had a second reason for coming to Impel Down, a visit he would have already made several days ago if Luffy had not been captured. He had thought about not seeing Ace with Luffy in prison, but disregarded the notion. Ace was as much of a grandson to him as Luffy was. And there was no reason to spill the beans about Luffy's capture. He just wanted to have a conversation with Ace, one of the last they'd ever have.

The appearance of the Vice Warden – ah, it was Hannyabal, that's right – and Magellan, the Warden, shook him out of his thoughts. As he knew would happen, Luffy was to be taken in a separate direction. They weren't given any time before he was taken away, something Garp had been expecting. He took one last look at the boy and did a double take. Luffy looked… eager. There was no other word for it. He looked eager to go into the world's most heavily guarded prison with the worst reputation in the world. Garp realized that Luffy was truly convinced that he would be escaping with Ace in tow soon. It was a blow to his heart to know that the look would soon be wiped from his grandson's face with a vengeance. Magellan had no problem convincing his charges that they were permanently stuck in this hellhole.

Suddenly, Garp was reluctant to leave Luffy here for a whole new reason. What if he did it? What if his grandson escaped his cell and found his way down to Ace? He knew the pair would never be able to escape from the prison itself but Magellan would do absolutely anything to prevent an escape attempt tarnishing Impel Down's reputation. If he caught Ace and Luffy trying to escape… Garp wanted to turn to Magellan right there and smack him upside the head. Accepting an official execution was difficult enough, but to let some overzealous wannabe poison his grandsons to death was not something he could stand for. Instead, Garp gritted his teeth as he watched Luffy disappear behind another set of doors, prison guards closing in around him with Magellan himself accompanying them.

Hannyabal took Garp aside for a thorough search before leading him to the elevator used to go from floor to floor. As they descended, Garp spoke.

"Where will Luffy be placed?"

"That brat? Level 5 for now. Sengoku told us about Straw Hats' and Fire Fists' relationship so the Warden doesn't want them on the same level. Besides, you know that Crocodile is on Level 6 as well and we really don't want to have to deal with that mess."

Garp nodded in understanding. Naturally, as soon as the news had broken to him about the truth behind Crocodile's upset, Garp had contacted Smoker. Smoker had raised quite a fuss about being credited with Crocodile's defeat, unhappy that the truth of the situation was being kept secret just to make the Marines look good. The minute Garp had contacted him and told him about his relationship to Luffy, Smoker had gone off on a very uncharacteristic rant about the meaning of "justice". Garp was more than familiar with the World Government's tendency to bend the truth from time to time – just look at his strange friendship with Roger – and he had been the one to finally convince Smoker to shut his trap and stop calling out the higher-ups for their cover-up. The advice had saved Smoker's career and led to his promotion.

In turn, Smoker had told Garp the entire true story; or, at least, the parts he was there for. Garp knew that Crocodile's feelings toward Luffy were likely very complicated but probably overwhelmingly negative. And, knowing Luffy, he would try to break out of his cell just to beat Crocodile up on principle alone. Besides, having Luffy and Ace on the same floor would only cause upheaval of one sort or another. Those boys would cause problems unlike anything the prison had ever seen if they were within shouting distance. As it stood now, Garp was wary of the situation. As much as he hoped to avoid it, Garp knew it was only a matter of time before Ace was made aware of Luffy's capture and imprisonment one floor above him. Ace was extremely overprotective of Luffy and he shuddered to think what Ace would try to do once he found out what had happened.

Hannyabal was rambling away, alternatively calling himself the warden and then saying he would never be so presumptuous to claim that title. Garp was not listening, having been familiar with Hannyabal's weirdness for many years and from many prisoner transfers.

Eventually, the elevator reached Level 6 and Hannyabal reminded Garp – unnecessarily – about the dangers present on this particular level. They walked out, Hannyabal on high alert with his weapon at the ready as Garp casually strode alongside him, ignoring angry shouts of damnation from the prisoners lining the walls.

When they approached Ace's cell, Garp turned to Hannyabal and told him to wait by the elevator. Though not especially pleased, Hannyabal knew Garp fairly well and stood back, slowly making his way back down the hallway. Garp turned and approached the cell that held his grandson and Jimbei.

Jimbei watched him with confused and narrowed eyes as Ace, wrists shackled to the wall and his head hanging down, didn't react at all. Garp took a seat outside the cell and let out a long sigh, very reminiscent of the many that had escaped when in his ships' quarters with Luffy.

"Ace. You've looked better."

A snort from his grandson. "You have too, old man."

"You have to actually look at me to see if that's true," Garp countered.

"Why?" Ace asked. "You're always an old fart. I hope it's true because, otherwise, you've looked one hundred your whole life."

Garp's booming laugh made Jimbei's eyes widen in surprise. "It is good to see you, boy. Even if these circumstances aren't great."

Ace finally lifted his head to rest it on the wall behind him. "Well you know who to thank for that."

"You should have just listened to me. You wouldn't be in this situation."

"Yeah, that was never going to happen, gramps. Even if we didn't know it, Luffy and I both have the blood of a demon in our veins. Joining the Marines wouldn't have changed how the world viewed us."

Garp shook his head ruefully. Before he could answer, Ace spoke up again, "I know, by the way. About Luffy."

Garp inhaled sharply. Shit, how did he find out?

Ace continued, "Some guard showed me the paper. Apparently it's prison-wide knowledge that he's my little brother. They were trying to goad me into a reaction. It's a real swell place you Marines have for your guests here, gramps."

Garp punched the floor in frustration. "Dammit. I was hoping to avoid this. Listen, Ace. Yes, it's true. Luffy is here. Just dropped him off myself. But you won't find out which level he's on because it sure as hell isn't this one. And there's no point in trying to change what has happened because neither of you will be leaving this prison without a full guard surrounding you."

"Easy, gramps. Who said I was planning anything?" Ace said, a nasty gleam in his eye and a smirk gracing his face.

Garp narrowed his eyes. "I'm not stupid, boy. I know you and I especially know Luffy. He has already made it very clear what his intentions are regarding your imprisonment and, rest assured, he won't have any kind of chance to follow through with those plans."

Ace merely shrugged noncommittally. "Whatever. Anyway, gramps, what's the story? The true version this time. I know you didn't capture him like that paper said."

Garp sighed and rubbed his forehead. "We're actually not quite sure ourselves. Bartolomew Kuma isn't saying much. He picked up Luffy, who was apparently unconscious after defeating Gecko Moria. Kuma isn't saying what happened to the rest of his crew but they haven't been seen since. It's likely that they're still lost in the fog of the Florian Triangle. I'm not thrilled with the papers claiming I captured the boy, but I won't cause trouble by publically denying it."

Ace was staring at him with wide eyes. "Luffy beat Moria?! What the hell? Why was he fighting Moria?"

Garp shook his head. "Hell if I know. Luffy isn't saying much about it. All I could get out of him is that 'The shadow guy was a bad guy and I wanted Brook to join us.'"

"Wait a minute," Ace said. "That paper came out days ago. Why are you just now dropping him off here?"

"Well, we had to keep him at Marineford for a while to let him heal up. I don't know what Luffy did to defeat Moria but it almost destroyed his body from the inside out. You don't have to worry about that anymore though, because it's not as if he'll have a chance to do it again with those Sea Prism cuffs."

Ace hung his head again and his eyes became unfocused as he lost himself in thought. Garp turned to the silent third party in this conversation. "So, Jimbei, still haven't changed your mind?"

A little startled at the direct address, Jimbei responded, his mouth a firm line. "No. Ace-kun is a good person and I refuse to participate in his execution. I also will not fight Whitebeard. I don't know what all this talk is about demon blood but I don't care if Ace were the son of the worst person in the world; he's still just Ace-kun."

Despite the situation, Ace burst into laughter. Garp's mouth curled up slightly on the sides as he stared at Jimbei. "You aren't that far off, Jimbei," Ace said, catching his breath. "I took my mother's name but almost everyone in the world hated the monster she had me with." Here, he turned to Garp. "Whitebeard is my real father, gramps. He's the only one I need and the only one I want."

"You can make that decision for yourself, Ace. I won't act like I have any control over it. Speaking of fathers, I met up with Luffy in Water 7 and told him about his father."

"I imagine his reaction was about what you'd expect," Ace said.

"Yeah, he had never even heard of the man. It didn't faze him at all. In no time, he was shouting at me about Shanks again. That brat," Garp trailed off, clenching his fists in anger at the reminder of his hatred for Shanks after he set his grandson on the path of becoming a pirate. Ace was laughing and shaking his head fondly.

Out of the corner of his eye, Garp saw Hannyabal start walking back up the hall to where he sat. "Well," Garp said, looking back at Ace, "it seems our time is up. I'll see you again, Ace. I expect your formal sentencing will come soon. It's only been delayed this long because of Luffy."

"It doesn't matter," Ace said. "We all know what their decision will be."

Garp nodded sadly and stood. Hannyabal approached the Vice Admiral and told him that time was up. Garp stared at his grandson, chained to the wall and, for a split second, Ace could have sworn he saw moisture gathering in the corners of the old man's eyes. Quicker than thought, any indication of tears was blinked away and Garp laughed heartily. "Make sure not to cause too much trouble, Ace. I hear you've been having trouble making friends with the guards." He turned to Jimbei. "Jimbei, your time to change your mind is almost out. Make the right choice." With that, he thumped Hannyabal on the back and set off toward the elevator at the end of the hall. The Vice Warden steadied himself and followed after.

Jimbei watched as the pair walked away. His impression of Garp was confused with rumors of the War Hero and the man who had had the friendly conversation with the infamous pirate chained to the wall of a prison. Just what kind of person was he, really? Still unsure how Ace knew Garp, Jimbei turned to the pirate in question and almost did a double take. Ace was staring at the Fishman intently, a big smile on his face and a gleam in his eye that Jimbei recognized from numerous pranks the boy had set up on board the Moby Dick. Swallowing audibly and sure that whatever plan Ace had involved him somehow, Jimbei asked, "What's up your sleeve, Ace-kun?"

Ace's smile grew wider and he said, "I think I might send the old man a thank-you card when all of this is over. He just told us how to break out of here."

Things are finally moving along! Luffy is in Impel Down and (almost) all players have been accounted for. The action will be picking up from here on out. Parts of the following chapters will be inspired from the canon version of Luffy's foray into Impel Down. However, as you can hopefully guess, it will not follow the canon story. I will be taking facts from the canon and applying them here (such as who is in Impel Down and where they are).

I am currently not up-to-date with the canon storyline (still at the beginning of Whole Cake Island arc), so if there is any new information regarding Impel Down that has been presented in the interim (very unlikely), I apologize for not including that information here. Please bear with me.

For those of you wondering about Sabo and Dragon, well… since this follows the canon timeline, Sabo does not remember that Luffy and Ace were important to him. It has not been announced that Dragon is Luffy's father, but Sengoku knows and is prepping for possible interference from him. That's all I will say about that for now.

Please leave a review as they serve as my strongest form of motivation! I welcome constructive criticism (I know this story isn't perfect – how could it be when I write it so sporadically?), but if you feel the need to leave flames, just simply don't. Walk away from your computer, smartphone, tablet, etc. and just don't do it. There is nothing easier. It helps literally nobody in the world when you let out your anger on me.

Guest Reviews:

Moi: Thanks for the review! Yes, I have so many things going on and even a couple more that haven't been introduced yet. I also hope that I can keep them all straight!

TheDork2Life: Thanks for the great review! You made me really happy with your kind words. I've been trying super hard to keep these characters true to themselves and I'm so glad you think I'm doing a good job. As for all the strings laying around and where they lead to… while I know where most of them are going, I'm actually quite curious myself where some of these characters are going to turn the story to. And while I hope I don't cause too much emotional turmoil, what's a good story with some, right?