A/N: This chapter is a little shorter than the last, but I hope that you enjoy it regardless!

At first, Luffy could tell that Enel was taken aback by his lack of visible damage, but as the fight went on the anger was clear in the other mans actions, as he got more and more brutal with each individual attack. Luffy could only defend where he was able to, and get his own attacks in when Enel slowed down.

(Which wasn't as often as he would have liked.)

He could hear shouting down beneath him, someone yelling at him to ring the bell.

The bell, was old and covered with leaves and moss and was highly detailed even from a distance. And the only thing that was in his way of actually ringing the bell was the lightning man in front of him.

Luffy knew that the only way to stop the fighting was to ring that bell. And that was what he was going to do.

"HERE I COME! I'LL RING THE BELL, AND YOU RIGHT ALONG WITH IT!"

Enel was having none of it, despite the waver in his own voice, not believing his own words.

"What have you done to my kingdom, you blue sea monkey! You insolent little…"

He wasn't able to finish, his own anger getting the better of him.

Enel lit up, lightning crackling around him as he shouted incoherent words at Luffy with the anger and rage of a thousand sea kings.

"I AM THE ALMIGHTY! YOU'RE JUST A PARAMECIA FREAK!"

Luffy would have sighed in frustration if he wasn't in the situation that he was in, "I keep telling you that doesn't work on me! Kami this and Almighty that. Dammit you're annoying!"

Enel let out another noise of anger at those words, but Luffy couldn't have cared less.

"WHAT GOOD IS A GOD WHO CAN'T SAVE HIS PEOPLE?!"

Luffy's fist landed with a thwack right into Enel's face. He knew that his punch would land, and that he'd probably break something in the other mans face, he wasn't expecting his own fist to swell up as it had, however, and he could feel himself start to fall backwards.

That wasn't in the plan.

But Luffy was good at improvisation if nothing else.

As he fell, he could hear the cries of horror and anguish and Enel's cackling laughter.

He slingshotted himself forwards, swollen fist first as he ploughed directly into both Enel and the golden bell behind him.

Luffy could only hope that the old man's descendant had heard the bell toll as he plummeted towards the earth beneath him into the awaiting arms of his exasperated first mate.

Zoro, who had been sitting already, caught his care free and laughing Captain with a thud.

(Despite how much Luffy ate, and the dense muscles he had, being rubber made him exceptionally light.)

"Really Captain?"

"Shishishishishishi! It's time for a party, Zoro!"

The celebration went on for a few days, with Ebony being told (ordered by both Chopper and Luffy) to not do anything too strenuous. Or else. (The 'or else' wasn't ever mentioned, but was definitely implied. Sanji was under the same order it seemed, if the constant grumbling was any indication.)

Robin had yet to speak with Ebony about the writing that she had found, having not yet worked up the courage to see if she understand the words.

It turns out that Robin wouldn't have to seek Ebony out herself, as the other woman joined her having snuck out of the cabin that Chopper had confined her.

"Are you off to see the Poneglyph's?"

Robin should have been startled, but the Outlier knew much more than she was ready to let on. (It was almost fun in a way, not being the only one who knew stuff that they shouldn't according to the government.)

"I am, yes."

"Can I join you?"

Robin thought about it for just a moment, partially because she was worried about the other woman and how many times she had been hit by lightening in the last two weeks. That thought was fleeting as the excitement of sharing an archaeological find and hopefully an opportunity to learn something knew overtook it.

"Of course," Robin paused when Ebony gave her a giant smile, teeth glinting in the sunlight. "Are you sure the little doctor will let you go?"

The grin turned sly, "What he doesn't know, won't hurt him. After all, he's too busy helping Nami and the others steal gold."

Robin couldn't help but laugh. For all the morality and ethics Chopper had as a doctor, he was as much a pirate as the others when it came to loot.

"We best head off before they catch us then."

Ebony nodded, and a crutch that Robin hadn't noticed before appeared underneath the blonde's arm. It seemed as though she wasn't nearly as okay as she put on. A limp was clearly there when she walked, but she wasn't making a fuss, so Robin wouldn't either.

"I did make a note earlier that on some of the stonework there is an unfamiliar language."

Ebony made a noise, somewhat like a tea kettle.

"Unfamiliar? To you?"

She sounded shocked when Robin replied affirmatively.

"Wow, I didn't think that would be possible. You're incredibly knowledgeable about languages…"

"That may be true, but I think this language may be one that you are familiar with."

Ebony was on guard almost immediately, stopping in her tracks.

"How so?"

Robin waved a hand in front of her in peace, "Nothing bad, I haven't gone through any of your writings, I just saw some on the desk."

Ebony relaxed, tension draining rom her shoulders immediately. Robin said nothing on it, but knew that Ebony was back on her guard, something that Robin had been hoping to avoid.

"So, what does it look like?"

Ebony was staring straight ahead at the group of Shandorian warriors, whom were all staring around at the Poneglyph's in wonder and a little bit of surprise.

"I'll show you."

Robin led her over to one of the tall stones, pointing at the words carved beneath that of the language that she could read.

"Do you know what this says?"

Ebony stared at the words, obviously recognising the characters, before her eyes widened almost in a frenzy as she whipped around to Robin.

"Are there more?"

Robin nodded, excitement brimming as she showed Ebony the next few lines carved on the following stone tablets.

"Do you know what they say?"

Ebony looked as though she was ready to burst as she spoke, grinning widely.

"I don't know every single thing that's said, my ability to read Ancient Greek is pretty limited, but i can understand most of the Latin just fine"

Ebony tilted her head, before reaching into her jacket and pulling out a notebook and pen.

Robin was amused, "Do you take that with you everywhere?"

She wasn't one to talk, she did much the same thing.

Ebony gave her a look that screamed exactly that, "Give me a moment to write them down. You go and explore the others and i should have something for you soon."

Robin did as she asked, hearing Ebony mutter to herself as she left.

"That's Sappho, I'd know that poem anywhere. But... that one is a name, and the legion that they served in..."

Ebony trailed off, before jumping and yelping in pain, triggering the injury that she was most definitely not supposed to be walking on.

"I know that name...why do I know that name? What's it about that legion that..."

Robin cold have kept an ear on her, but thought it best to concentrate on the words in front of her. Words that shouldn't have been there, and a name that she too recognised. One that everyone on the Blue Sea below would know.

"Gol D. Roger? The Pirate King?"

Robin was shocked.

Could this be another reason to add to the pile of why the World Government wanted the Pirate King dead? That he was able to read and write in the language that caused her so much grief and happiness?

She hadn't realised that the chatter around her had stopped, the warriors surrounding her silent as they took in the look on her face. They had been pleased, relieved almost, when earlier she had said that their mission was complete and they no longer had to guard these ruins with quite as much fervour as they once had.

"He couldn't read it, nor write it, if that's what you're thinking."

Ebony's quiet voice startled Robin out of her stupor. As Robin went to ask how she knew that, Ebony began to recite the words carved.

Word by word, line by line.

Ebony read aloud the words that the Pirate King had left behind for his one day successor, whoever that may be.

"I have come here and will lead this passage to the furthest ends of the earth."

Robin's voice was equally as silent, "How?"

Ebony gave her a sad smile, "Roger... he could hear the voice of all things."

Robin had never heard of such a thing, but for Ebony to say it with such a sad smile meant that it had to have been important.

It also didn't answer her question, but Ebony had already moved on, finding the inscription beneath Roger's to be more interesting.

"I... wait? That doesn't make any sense!"

Ebony started to furiously write down the inscription, every few seconds swearing at whatever it was that she had read and translated.

She stopped suddenly, her head whipping around to Robin so quickly that Robin feared she may give herself another injury. (Whiplash, perhaps?)

"How old would you say these particular inscriptions were, Robin?"

That legion that was mentioned beneath Roger's message was the same age as the inscriptions written from the Void Century.

That had to mean something, but I couldn't be entirely sure what it was.

A few of the names stood out to me, but i couldn't be sure if I was remembering my history correctly, only that a whole group of this legion (perhaps the whole legion) had somehow turned up in this world, leaving no trace behind in the world that they had originated from.

My world.

Something had happened to bring a whole Roman legion into this world, rather than just an individual being. This group of Outliers was unusual, especially since they came into this world as a group and each one of them was from the same place. Not just a singular person, and not from various worlds.

I was missing something important, but whatever it was would have to wait.

The others had managed to pilfer as much of the gold as we could fit onto the decks of Merry, with the spirit's occasional help or direction on where precisely to put something so that it wouldn't impede movement.

"You know, we didn't have to run."

Nami rounded on me, breathless.

"WHAT?"

I pointed behind me, the crowds could barely be seen in the distance.

"They were ready to thank us,"

Luffy interrupted before I could finish, "Why?"

"You did just stop an ongoing civil war." Robin quietly answered as Luffy pouted and muttered something about not being a hero.

I continued on as though Luffy and Robin hadn't spoken, "And give us more gifts."

Nami once again shouted out in frustration, rounding this time on the Captain, looking ready to strangle him before Merry stopped her.

"We couldn't have taken it anyway, I'm already carrying enough."

Nami pouted at the unimpressed look on Merry's face, but turned around as the look took it's toll; the look was one of sisterly disapproval and probably reminded Nami of Nojiko.

"Maybe next time?"

Merry sighed, shaking her head and disappearing, but not before shouting.

"HOLD TIGHT EVERYONE! THIS WILL BE FUN!"

I wasn't expecting the Octopus, but the plummet down back onto the sea I had, the unpleasant loss of gravity keenly felt by everyone as they hit the deck.

Getting the letter that Moda had given him to the marines was easy. Getting the information on Blackbeard, also easy.

Making a decision on asking for back up?

Not so easy.

Ace knew that if he didn't, he would not only regret it, but Ebony, Luffy and Sabo would be incredibly disappointed with him. As would Oyaji, and that was the last thing he wanted.

If he timed this correctly, he would have time to scout around the island, just in case it came to fight (it would). He didn't want to involve innocents, so taking what was to come away from anywhere densely populated was key. And if he timed it even better, he could call Whitey and Deuce for back up, as he knew that they would be at least fairly close by.

They had bigger ships, so they'd definitely be able to make it in time.

As he neared the coast of Banaro, a shudder went through him

So many had warned him away from taking on. Doke no Buggy, Ebony, even the marines who he'd stolen from had given him a pitying look as he'd stolen the records from them.

Perhaps it would be best to get a second opinion.

Marco would know what to do, right?

"May I speak with you all for a moment?"

Dinner was really about the only time that everyone was around the kitchen table at the same time, as breakfast was taken at different times depending on who was on watch the night before and what jobs needed to be done on deck.

Nami was the first to react, putting down her fork and staring expectedly at me.

"What do you need?"

I couldn't help but laugh, "It's not really something that I need, it's more something that I need to warn us all about."

This had Zoro on alert almost immediately, "Warn us?"

"The next island is Long Ring Long Land, right?"

Nami nodded, "Yes, I checked the map not too long ago. It's a bit off, but I can fix that."

"Well there's a pirate there by the name of Foxy and he raids other crews by forcing Davy Black fights until there's no-one left of the original crew."

Luffy, who had been shovelling food into his mouth with an absurd speed until this point stopped, food half way in to mouth.

"What?"

The table almost froze at our Captain's tone of voice, not used to hearing the coldness that was present.

"Foxy baits the Captain of whatever pirate ship that arrives into the Davy Black fight, usually the opposing Captain's don't even realise they've accepted until they start loosing crew mates."

Usopp face palmed, head heavy as it slapped into his palm.

"Luffy would have been baited, wouldn't he?"

The Captain turned to Usopp, pouting.

"No I wouldn't!"

"Yes, you would have." He turned to me, betrayed. "Sorry Captain, but you would have gotten angry at something the man had done and would have inadvertently said yes. All because you wanted to beat down a man who hurt someone you liked."

Sanji had been quietly eating spoke up.

"That sounds like rubber brains."

Luffy threw his hands up in the air, "It's like you have no faith in me!"

I laughed, "We have plenty of faith in you, Luffy. We just know what you're like."

Me better than most.

He pouted, "So why are you bringing this up? Do you not want to fight Foggy?"

"Foxy, and no, that's not why I brought it up."

"Then why?"

Robin chuckled, clearly understanding where I was going with this, even if the others didn't.

"She wants to come up with a plan, don't you?"

"Exactly! If we come up with a plan now, several plans really, that way we have the upper hand right from the beginning."

Everyone thought on that for a moment, before Chopper leaned forward eagerly.

"What do you know of the fighters' skills?"

The rest of the evening was spent planning and discussing what we could do. I could only hope that we had some luck, and that we didn't lose anyone, even if it was just temporarily, to the Foxy Pirates.

Robin was eager to show the blonde her notes, excited at the prospect of having someone else to talk archaeology and history with.

It had been such a long time that she had almost forgotten what having a fun and interesting conversation was like. So long, too long.

Robin knew that Ebony would be in the office that she shared with Nami. Though it wouldn't be long before the office would be hers, and hers alone with all the books and writing materials scattered around the place. Robin could see even now Nami's map making utensils had been shunted off into a small corner of the second table as art supplies and single sheets of paper were taking it over.

Robin knocked at the door, despite it being wide open.

Ebony looked up, hair all over the place and her glasses slightly askew atop her nose.

"Come in! I've got something to show you!"

Robin took a seat opposite Ebony, who grabbed the notebook she was writing in and turning it around.

The transcribed words were fairly illegible to Robin, but the translations were there. And they honestly didn't provide all too much more context.

Ebony went on to explain as Robin looked up questioningly, "These words were written by a man called Lucius Aninius Sextius Florentinus, who was a legatus legionis of the Legio Novem Hispania. In other words he was a high-ranking officer in the Roman Army, but not just any part of the army, he was a part of the ninth legion that went missing almost two thousand years ago."

Robin was intrigued, "He was an Outlier from your world?"

Ebony nodded, "That's not the only thing, though. He didn't come into this world alone, other's from the legion were with him."

Robin took a moment to take that information in.

When Outliers normally came into this world, they would be the only person from their home world on the Blue Sea. And when they died, another would take their place. Everything she knew, and what everyone else in the world knew, was that Outlier's were singular and no one Outlier came from the same world as another.

For an entire group to come through from one world at once was unheard of.

"That's…that's a new piece of knowledge that the World Government would definitely kill someone for having."

The blonde shared a smile, one full of secrets, with the black-haired woman in front of her.

"We both know about that, don't we?"

"All too much, though I am intrigued about how much you do know."

Ebony grimaced a little, "I know that on the island with the stupid name that we'll be going to shortly, a certain admiral will just so happen to be cycling through."

Robin's good mood almost evaporated right then and there, but she held just a little bit.

"Kuzan? He'll be there?"

Ebony nodded, "He will be. He says that it'll only be to check up on you, but I don't think it's the entire truth."

Robin leaned forward, voice a whisper.

"What do you think he's there for?"

"To see if he made the right decision all those years ago."

Robin's next words were so quiet she could barely hear her own voice, "And did he?"

Ebony looked her in the eyes and spoke clearly and without fear, "He did, and I hope that one day you'll realise that he did, too."

She had been right.

The bloody Crow Queen had been right.

He should have listened to her, otherwise they wouldn't be in this mess. He wouldn't have been forced to fight his own first mate, his best friend.

Doflamingo was as ruthless as ever, and even as hardened as he was, Bellamy's heart was breaking as he broke Sarquiss for the Warlord's own amusement.

Bellamy had to bow down, if only for his crews safety.

"I won't disappoint you again! Please! Give me another chance!"

He could vaguely hear some of his crew shouting at him, the words lost to his pain.

"I lost! But… I never meant to disobey your orders! I swear on the flag! This… it's just, this is how I do things!"

Bellamy went to move forward, but almost collapsed, lurching before he managed to catch himself.

"If I start by eliminating the weak… someday… I'll make it to your level!"

He could only hope that those words would pacify the Heavenly Demon, but he knew that it was in vain as the warlord in front of him burst into psychotic laughter.

"Such loyalty! This is what I like about you Bellamy," His hopes rose, only to fall at the next few words.

"Go on then, do whatever you like… I don't need you in my crew."

A slash rang out through the air and Bellamy gurgled, looking down at the bloodied wound across his chest. He fell to his knees, tipping forward as his face hit the now bloodied concrete.

The world went dark to cries and shouts of anger, and screams of despair as foot falls began.

He knew no more.

A/N: I really hope that you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a comment, and a favourite if you haven't already!

Stay safe and hydrate!