Author notes:
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I don't own one piece!
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This chapter was beta'd by the Wonderful Black' Victor Cachat and Amazing Gerbilfriend. Thanks for all their patience, ideas, love and encouragement. Please check out Gerbilfriend Marine!Lina below, and her own stories! Send lots of love!
A real heartful and special thanks goes to Black' Victor Cachat for his help with planning those chapters. All hail the one true king (night or Day? hmmmm). Check his stories if you're looking for a good read, especially save Ace stories.
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Warnings:
English is my fourth language. The story will include cursing and spoilers to the latest chapters in the manga.
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Reviews answers.
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scl04
Thank you for your awesome review!
Yeah, no names, so needed to use something! I have a theory that one of them or Imu is a D, and that's one of the reason we know nothing about them, and their names were not revealed.
Thanks! I tried to keep it to the things we 'know' about them, but it was fun to play with them.
XD
Sorry, but yeah, you know 'male idiot theory'? it does sum those three's behavior! Lol
I planned this scene way before (Lina calling them about the stupid plan and calling Morgans), it's way I needed to introduce Morgans before!
"he also got an inside regarding Luffy's mindset and let me tell you,"
Yeah, Morgans love the unusual and unique, and Luffy's very unique with his mannerism and ideas! So yep, I think that way Morgans in the OP announced him as the fifth Emperor.
Sengoku is really, really regretting the whole war! He want to run and leave it to kuzan to handle it, but….
His only joy now is torturing Garp. The problem is Garp doesn't say it as torture. XD
We still have few Chapters to go, and I have few ideas to more scenes to add. Get inspired from you lovely review.
Hope you enjoy the new chapter. REALLY Looking forward to hearing your thoughts...: D
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Black' Victor Cachat
Thank you for your review and all your awesome help!
Morgans is pretty interesting character! I needed him for the scene to spread the news (Luffy's picture) so I decided to introduce him before, and was surprised with how fun I had with. I hope so! :D
I don't like Kizaru, sooooo … shishishi had fun with it.
You will read them first!
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DannyPhantom619
Thank you for your review!
I Know! THEY are so so sooooooo much awesome.
Hope you enjoy the new chapter. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts...: D
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Girl-luvs-manga
Thank you for your review!
XD Oh wait and see! Nami is soooo happy! ;)
Hope you enjoy the new chapter. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts...: D
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OTrizy
Thank you for your review!
I guess You will have to wait a bit more! :D we are explaining what happened.
Hope you enjoy the new chapter. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts...: D
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Ini minnie maini moe
Thank you for your review!
LOL
Whose face? Kizaru? Morgans? There are lots of special faces!
Hope you enjoy the new chapter. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts...: D
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Read notes at the end (and Marine!Lina).
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…
No, it just can't be.
It just doesn't make sense.
Iva's words were running in an endless loop in her mind.
They had chilled her to the bone. Which was weird. She was wearing long-sleeved clothes. And while the cloak was cool looking, it also kept the cool breeze out.
She could feel it heavy on her shoulders. Anchoring her to the here and now.
So she knew that she was in a daze. Shock. A trance.
Only a few minutes ago, Lina had come to say goodbye to Iva-chan, Bon-chan, and the okamas before they left for their kingdom. Lina intended to drag Luffy along with her, but she couldn't find him, and neither could she find Ace. Those two were up to no good, she was sure. She planned to say a quick goodbye and then search for the two terrors.
Bon-chan had hugged her, easily lifting her up and twirling her around. He had promised his eternal friendship! Lina had hugged him back just as enthusiastically. While she couldn't pick him up for a spin as he had, she still tried her best.
Iva-chan was grumbling about missing opportunities and how she wished she could arrange a meeting between her, Luffy, and their Revolutionary Army's chief-of-staff. He was young, a few years older than them, and he had quickly risen in the ranks. Iva-chan seemed to really be impressed by him, noted Lina.
"Now that I think about it, he is also from East Blue."
"Oh?" That had caught her attention.
"Yes, it had been almost ten-eleven years since Ve saved him from a small island in East Blue, a terrible fire!"
"Fire?"
"Yes, it Vas deliberately lit, Sabo had been seriously injured. If it Vasn't for yours truly here!" Iva pointed at herself dramatically, "he may have not survived."
"Sabo?"
Iva merely nodded and carried on speaking, but Lina had stopped listening.
Her mind stuck on that one word.
Lina doesn't remember how and what she had exactly said to convince Iva-chan to delay their travel plans, and to call this… S—chief-of-staff person.
The Okama Queen had a Den Den Mushi in her hand she spoke softly into as she paced inside of a private room on the ship. It was very uncharacteristic behavior.
She kept glancing in Lina's direction with a frown, and worry shone in her eyes.
Lina stared into her lap, blinking. She had a cup of warm something in her hand. She didn't remember how it got there. She sniffed the aroma, it smelled of herbs. Maybe mint? Chamomile?
A tea. She was holding a teacup.
She forced herself to take a sip. It was sweet lukewarm tea. While too sweet to her liking, she forced herself to swallow.
They were all alone in the room, she vaguely remembered Iva-chan ordering everyone out, even if someone had to drag Bon-chan out. She would have found it amusing if she wasn't in... shock.
A few days ago, Iva-chan had bluntly asked her and Luffy if she wished to arrange a meeting, or more accurately a Den-Den call with their father, Dragon. Having helped Whitebeard meant perks like being able to borrow one of the crew's White Den-Den.
Instead of whatever the Okama had expected, Luffy had shrugged and refused. He didn't really care. He had never wondered about their family like she had. Luffy thought of their nakama as his family. Of Ace as family. It was something he chose. Something he had made.
Iva-chan, Lina theorized, had never heard of the word 'discreet.' The Queen had asked them while eating dinner in the mess hall, not bothered with who may be listening in, which was lots of people judging by the eruption of cheers and applause after Luffy's final answer. Luffy had even waited between bites to give his clear rejection. It sounded almost like speech.
She had felt Ace tense when the Okama Queen asked the question, if looks could kill, Iva would be in La La La Land, and not Ka-ka-ka-Kamabakka Kingdom. Ace said nothing, yet was still tense even after Luffy's refusal, even after Luffy bluntly called him family.
Lina had heard a few of Ace's crew murmuring their approval, and they now understood why Luffy refused to call Whitebeard 'Pops.' They actually seemed to respect him more.
That won't hold for long, they only have to see him at least once with his finger digging into his nostrils, or shoving chopsticks up there, for it to nosedive back down. Although, that hadn't worked with the Kuja tribe.
Meanwhile, Lina had known for years who her father was. Ever since she and Ace heard a drunk Garp babble about it to Dadan.
For seven-year-old Lina, that was a very confusing revelation. What was so wrong with the World Government? Especially if Gramps, who for all his rough nature, she still considered a good man, worked for it? The Gray Terminal's Fire, losing Sa—
She swallowed, only to find dryness in her throat despite the tea.
That event had shifted how she looked at the world, and ripped off the rose-colored glasses.
It had made her question everything. Well, trauma tended to do that.
And as she traveled the world, she began to understand her father's goal.
The only good thing that came from learning her father's identity in her opinion, was that it made Ace feel less alone. She and Luffy also had a demon of a father, just like him.
So while Luffy didn't care about Iva's invitation to call their father, Lina was conflicted. She did understand Dragon's choice to abandon them. You couldn't go on the path of revolution with children in tow. Not if you wanted to protect them.
Especially after all the revelations centered around Enies Lobby had opened her eyes to how vulnerable said kids would be. And as Luffy was sailing and following his Dream now, she couldn't condemn Dragon for following his own. Dragon had merely done the same as Luffy. That didn't mean she hadn't resented him for it.
However, her inner turmoil also stemmed from how she strongly suspected the man had saved Luffy's life back at Logue Town. He had failed to show the courtesy to say "Hi" to them (although it may have painted another target on their backs), but he had saved her brother. Probably.
Another thing that almost tipped the scale was their mother's issue. While she had learned about her father's identity, Lina had never heard anything about who her mother was. She hadn't even heard the word 'mom.'
She remembered when she was young, she had asked Garp once if Makino was their mother.
His first reaction was priceless and disgusting. In hindsight, she probably shouldn't have asked the man while he was binge-eating his lunch.
She knows now how foolish that idea was, as Makino was hardly older than them. But to her tiny mind, a 'mother' was an older woman who took care of them.
Her grandfather had coughed and beat his chest trying to dislodge the food stuck in his throat, then he had gone grimly silent for a few seconds, before loudly asking about what they wanted to eat for dinner (For Grand Line's Sake they were still eating! "MEAT!" shouted Luffy even as he was already chewing on a chunk of it. Of course, everyone already knew the answer) and was extra cheerful the whole night, even giving her and Luffy some of his meat. Extremely out of character.
The whole time, he never answered her. Instead, he left on a mission the next day, and she remembered how Gramps was gone for a whole year and a half afterwards, without so much as a word. It was the first time they hadn't seen him for so long. If not for Shanks stopping by their village, and Luffy being nearly killed twice over, it might have been for even longer. So, she learned not to ask.
Her theory after she learned about their father, was that either their biological mother was with him, or dead. Truthfully, she didn't know which option she preferred. More to the former, when she learned that Garp told Ace about his own dead mother. If Garp could tell Ace about his mother and her sad fate, he should have been able to tell them about her and Luffy's own mother.
Lina remembered the day that Ace had sat her and Luffy and told them that he would take his mother's name.
Ace D. Portgas.
Luffy was confused. She and Ace had thought he was confused with why Ace wasn't taking the 'Monkey' name.
Yet, Luffy had not understood the significance. "Ace is Ace," Luffy had said.
Lina and Ace had laughed until there were tears in their eyes. It was a typical Luffy's answer. Her brother had looked at them like they were stupid, and left them searching for food.
For once, Luffy was utterly right. Ace is Ace.
She really missed those carefree days.
So in the end, while she appreciated the reasons why Iva had offered, Lina decided against talking to the man. If she had agreed to Iva's idea, and Dragon had refused to speak with her, for whatever reason, she would not be able to handle it with grace. Maybe in the future, she would be mature enough, and less resentful of him to be able to have a conversation with her fa-Dragon, but not at this time. And that was that.
Iva-chan had merely nodded and dropped the issue.
Ace had finally stopped being tense. She would have to give him credit for not going all over-protective-momma-bear, and trying to forbid her or anything. Even though she could see in his eyes the temptation to do so.
Lina took a deep breath, and then another.
S...abo, she forced herself to say the word in her mind.
Sabo wasn't that unique of name, Lina was sure there were a few people with the same name that came from East Blue. Who also got hurt in a fire. Ten years ago. Who, as Iva confirmed, had blonde hair. Yeah, right.
She just needed to check. To make sure. She wasn't a fool to hope. She was realistic, she needed to know.
She remembers asking the Okama Queen if by any chance she had a picture. Maybe a wanted poster. After all, Iva-chan was a Revolutionary, and still had one.
It made sense, given how they were revolting against the World Government, so they would be treated just like pirates. Right? Plus he was important, their chief-of-staff.
It made her heartache and the palms of her hands clammy to think she may have seen his picture, or maybe given it a glance, and didn't know it was her brother.
But Iva had said he didn't have an official Wanted Poster. Yet.
That hadn't stopped the pain in her chest.
It could be a coincidence. Right? A coincidence.
No, she didn't believe in coincidence. If something she had learned while journeying with her twin brother, there was no such thing as coincidence.
But there was such a thing as Fate.
She knew that each nakama they had met and joined them was meant to be.
And she was going to check if Fate was playing games with her or… maybe she was just projecting her deep-seated wishes.
She swore she was going to meet him (Fate was a 'him' for sure, since only a guy would dare play this kind of shitty game with her) and she was going to kick him in the nuts all over the Red Line and back.
So much that even Luffy would feel pity for him, and finally realize that kicking the Family Jewels was extremely painful.
Her face must have shown some of her thoughts, because Iva-chan was staring at her openly, small lines of worry marring her usually relentlessly cheerful face.
Lina tried to smile. She knew she hadn't actually managed more than a grimace. But she tried, and Iva-chan nodded to herself, and went back to whispering to the Den Den Mushi.
Lina stared at the air, she tried to regulate her breathing, to keep it steady, to stop herself from going into panic again while clutching the cup in her hands, hard.
Sabo.
Suddenly, Iva-chan was in front of her. Lina blinked. Iva gently took the cup from her hand, and handed her a Den Den Mushi without a word. The Okama Queen took a few steps back, giving her the illusion of privacy. But she still stared at the young pirate with wary eyes.
"Hello, so I am finally speaking with the Goddess of Chaos?"
The voice of a young man. Low, casual, and a bit teasing.
Desperately she tried to search the voice for clues. Was the voice familiar? Could it be S—
"Are you…" she trailed off. Her throat went dry. She can do it. She had to.
She choked out "Sa...bo,"
He didn't seem to notice her choking, and or maybe was too polite to mention it. Her Sabo wouldn't have mentioned it. He would...
She didn't want to hope but couldn't help hoping. Could it be? Was it possible? Was this Sabo her Sabo? But it didn't make sense. If Sabo was alive all this time he would have tried to reach out? Right? They were his family. At least she considered him as such. A message? A meeting? Something? It's been ten years!
Still, humans were fools. They couldn't help but wish for the impossible.
"The one and only," said the voice amusedly.
She let herself imagine Sabo as he grew up and got older. He will be Ace's age. Twenty years old.
"Is your hair... really blonde?"
"Yes, did Ivankov tell ya..." He answered, his voice showed slight confusion and amusement.
Iva-chan merely raised an eyebrow at Lina, as she confirmed the Okama's earlier answer.
Lina hadn't noticed. She was trying to imagine what kind of hair Sabo will have. His hair was short, young Sabo hadn't let it grow. Will it be like Ace and Luffy? Or maybe curly? She wanted to know.
"Eyes round and black?"
Sa...bo hummed his confirmation. He seemed willing to wait her out for now.
"You are from the East Blue?"
Iva had told her so, and Lina believed her. Why would she lie to her? But she needed to hear it from the source.
"Yes, is this some kind of interog—?"
She cut in, now that she was talking she wasn't about to stop.
Truly, if she wanted to be honest with herself...she was afraid of stopping.
"Dawn Island, Goa Kingdom?"
"Yes, why— "
"Do you still wear a tophat?"
It was hard for her to imagine grownup Sabo without that bloody hat. No matter how much she, Luffy and Ace teased him about it, he always proudly wore it.
"He does," a feminine voice answered. "Like a proper gentleman, with cravat and all," the voice teased.
"Hey, what do you mean still?" Sabo demanded.
"Goggles?" she demanded back.
She ignored the peering eye of Iva. She was thankful that she hadn't interrupted her or demanded an explanation for her odd behavior.
"Yes," the feminine voice answered again, if less enthusiastically, and more hesitant this time.
"What has Ivankov been telling you exactly? Where is he—" Sabo's voice showed his anger and displeasure.
"Did you meet Sabo before?" asked the feminine voice.
"Hey, I don't remem—" S...abo was arguing with the voice on his side of the call.
Only one explanation could make sense…
She refused to entertain the notion that Sabo would willingly cut all communication with them. Or worse, he chose to cut them out of his life. That they were not as important to him as he was to them.
Still, it made no sense. He knew his own name, so he should know it all and remember it all. Right?
Yet a small shadow of hope, almost unseen, still remained in her. She had to ask. To be sure.
"Do you remember your childhood? Do you have a memory of 10 years ago? Did you by any chance …in the fire accident…did you lose your memory...while still at Dawn Island…or somewhere near?"
She held her breath.
That was the only thing that maybe would make sense. The brain was a mysterious organ. So it could be. Maybe. Probably.
"How did you know? Did Ivankov tell you, that's not like—"
She was going to kick Fate so deep in the family jewels.
Iva moved forward and quietly said, "Sabo, I didn't tell her. Nor Vould I betray your trust like that."
The Queen took a few steps back and openly stared at Lina in fascination.
Lina decided to stop holding back. She was already filled with hope. She had nothing left to lose.
She took the plunge.
"Do the names Lina, Luffy, and Ace… mean anything to you?"
"That's your names...you and your brothers, right? Dragon's children..."
"Think," she demanded. Impatience filling her voice. "Have you seen our pictures? Ace… Ace's tattoo?"
Lina had not been able to confirm it until she saw it in person in Alabasta, as the newspaper pictures were a bit vague.
The crossed-out S.
She understood. Ace had given her the physical item he had used to remember Sabo, so he needed something else to carry with him.
To carry Sabo's spirit. Because sometimes memories are not enough.
"….It's on his left arm…" said Lina hastily. Realizing he wouldn't be able to see it in the Wanted Poster, more words fell from her mouth, "A few months back, there was a full-body picture of Ace when he became known as a division commander. His left ar—"
"Ok, what is going on?" he angrily cut in. He was exasperated. She could almost see a frown blooming on his face.
"We are from Dawn Island," she blurted out.
"Ok..ay.." he said. He had to be in denial. S...S-Sabo is smart; he had to know what she implied, or she was being too unclear.
She had to say it.
All of it.
"Ten years ago, I, Luffy and Ace lost a brother. His name was … Sabo. Our bond was stronger than any blood relationship. We chose it." She didn't allow herself to stop.
"Round black eyes, blonde hair, one tooth visibly missing, top hat with google on it. Like to dress in blue, like a little noble boy. He played with us in a pile of garbage, dreaming about forming a pirate crew and sailing the seas. Also a good fighter, especially with a piece of metal pipe. It was kind of funny because he was secretly a noble, but he hated it. So he ran away and came to live in the forest… with us!" She knew she wasn't making any sense. Her story was not a coherent one, but she really didn't have the capacity to try.
"His father came to find him one day. His name is Outlook III." Lina put every bit of disdain she had in her as she spat out his name. "Outlook threatened us, and Sabo had to go with him to protect us. I don't know what had happened when he was back in his fancy house that he despised." She refused to call it home. Sabo had called their tree house a home.
"But he ran away, and sailed away following his dream..."
She took another breath
"His dream was to sail freely, and to write a book containing the story of everything he would see and every place he would visit during his journey..." A dream she had considered making her own.
"There was also a big fire, just the night before when Sabo was still locked up in that house, to cleanse away the filth so that a visiting Celestial Dragon would not see it. That morning, when Sabo was sailing away, the bloody Celestial was sailing into the harbor, and he didn't like the small boat that Sabo was using ….so he shot it, and Sabo died. Dogra… someone we knew saw it happen and told us. We refused to believe it, but had no choice but to… since Sabo never showed back up."
She used to dream that Sabo had actually sailed safely away, and someday she would open a newspaper and see his picture and read his name. Sabo.
"Or that's what we've believed for the last ten years."
Not a word was uttered by anyone.
"We found later that he left us a letter before he sailed. It was a goodbye letter. It ended up being a literal one."
Ace had given her the letter to take care of before he had left for his journey at seventeen. Even after everything, she still kept it safely on her. It was even in good condition, despite all the creases from folding and unfolding it. Whenever Lina stared at it, she could almost see tears stains by each of the words scrawled by Sabo's young hand. Ace's? Luffy's? Her's?
The Goddess of chaos hugged her arms around her body underneath Shanks's Cape.
The Cloa—No. Cape was not enough to anchor her as it usually did.
Where was Luffy the Anchor when she needed him?
Oh, dark humor. Robin will be proud.
She struggled to speak the first word, but once she did it flowed.
"A…Ace, Luffy, Lina, did you get hurt in the Fire? I am worried about you. But I know you're all right. Unfortunately for you three, by the time you get this letter… I'll already be at the sea. A lot of stuff happened, but I decided to set sail before you guys. My destination is anywhere but here. I am going to become stronger so I can be a pirate. Pirates are freer than anyone else in the world. We siblings should become pirates one of these days. Then we can meet again somewhere out there. This ocean is vast and free. We'll meet again someday. Sorry Lina, I sailed before you. But if you ever want to join my crew, there is a place saved for you.
Another thing, Ace, are you the older brother, or am I? It might be weird to have two oldest brothers and one little brother and sister, but the bond we share is the greatest treasure I have. Luffy and Lina are still weak and crybabies to boot, especially Luffy...but they both are still our little siblings. Take care of them."
She had read it so many times that she had memorized it. She would always imagine young Sabo's voice as she read it, but not this time.
"Ring any bell?"
She forced herself to say. Her clenched hands dug painfully to her sides.
She didn't receive an answer. She took another breath and ended the call.
The decision wasn't in her hands anymore.
See Ace, you were wrong. She was no Compass. She led no one nowhere.
She stood up and went to Iva-chan, and hugged the queen. "Please tell no one about this."
Lina was somehow able to make it through the goodbyes again, she blustered a smile on her face and assured everyone she was okay. She wasn't sure they really brought her act, but Iva-chan understood and she made sure they left soon enough.
Lina watched the ship leave, waving her hand until the ship had disappeared over the horizon. With shaky legs, Lina headed to her room. Stopping for ice in the kitchen and taking out the makeup kit from her bag and putting them beside the bed.
She would need them in a few hours to hide her red-rimmed eyes and the tear stains she would have after she cried herself to sleep.
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…
"How did you do it?"
Whitebeard had suddenly asked as Lina was standing up to leave, having assumed their discussion was done.
Lina paused in the middle of movement, and sat back down, with a raised eyebrow she waited for Whitebeard to carry on.
They had just finished going over some future plans, mainly concerning Ace.
They had few short meetings, beforehand, mainly aimed at taking care of emergencies.
Ace's father had told her a few times just to let his crew know, and they would do whatever she had needed. That there was no need to make it all official and formal by going through him, which really would make things easier for her.
But she insisted, because while they were pirates and were all easygoing bunch, especially for a Yonko crew, and her older brother was part of Whitebeard's crew, a commander at that, it was still necessary. They were still an opposing crew, and they were not allied. So far, Whitebeard seemed to be happy to indulge her need for structure…
Especially with Luffy refusing to hear anything about an alliance between them.
Truthfully, not many as she had thought were surprised by his adamant refusal. Whitebeard himself seemed to have expected the refusal, and he took it with laughter.
Lina wasn't completely sure but he seemed to approve of Luffy's refusal. A test maybe?
Others had demanded an explanation from Luffy, and Luffy with an unapologetic shrug had told them that the old man had already had his journey. Luffy and his crew were going to have their own adventure. And anyway, a Pirate King can't have anyone above him, or even equal to him.
Whitebeard had also asked them both to call him Pops, which they both refused.
That didn't stop the old man from correcting her each time she addressed him, and she was running out of ways to tactfully decline. The last few times, she just acted like she hadn't heard him.
She had a feeling that he, a Yonko, was continuously asking her just to mess with her. To see her reaction. If she was anything but a Straw Hat, she would have been flustered.
Earlier, they had just finished discussing the Marines, and what to expect from them. It was scaring her that they were yet to be issued new Wanted Posters. The bets over how much they would increase her and Luffy's Wanted posters were getting a bit too crazy.
Truly, she may prefer to live in her bubble of only their crew, but pulling a fast one and then disappearing into obscurity again was impossible. Luffy never intended to stay in obscurity either way.
Enies Lobby, anyone?
Lina was part of his crew. True, the light was never focused on her before, but now she has to learn to live in the same light as her brother, which she was alright with. What she had chosen to accept, back on that stolen marine ship leaving Impel Down.
No regrets, she had vowed.
Buckle up girl, chin high, shoulders straight, and get ready to be tanned. The rays of the sun in the spotlight were screeching hot.
"Blocking observation Haki?"
Oh, she had wondered when he would ask. Surprisingly enough, no one had bluntly asked her. Except for the annoying reporter with his strange questions. He was supposed to be a top professional, for goodness sake.
"Hmmm….. I am not sure," Lina answered. She wasn't exactly lying. She doesn't know how it really works, or why, just that it does.
Whitebeard raised his eyebrow in disbelief and incredulity. She would have been the same in his place.
She shrugged and elaborated, "In short, seastone…."
She took a minute to rearrange her thoughts. Whitebeard waited, taking a sip from the bottle in his hand. It was his second bottle since the start of their meeting.
Lina assessed him, he was a truly strong and impressive man. She could clearly feel a unique aura emitting from him, giving off a feeling of an unmoving mountain. The raindrops may have shaped it and may even have tried to cut a valley into it, but the mountain stood firm and sturdy.
Yet, it was an old one, its edges crumbling. The scars on his body told of his long and dangerous journey. She could understand why Luffy would say Whitebeard had already sailed his journey.
The Yonko had a vast array of IV's and medical equipment that surrounded him, yet it did not seem to make him ill at ease or diminish his presence. It was as if he was… at peace with his lot. There was a reason why she had asked him if he had come to die in the war.
She cleared her throat and started.
"When we were in Impel Down and Luffy got really injured..." she trailed off. She doesn't like remembering that moment. If they didn't have Bon-chan with them, she shuddered to think what would have happened.
"Anyway… we were saved by Iva-chan, she is the queen of okama with purple hair and tiara."
Whitebeard nodded, indicating that he knew of who she spoke of. Of course, Iva prided herself on being pretty distinctive.
"He...She and a whole bunch of prisoners, well, you saw how different they all were from Buggy's people. ״ Lina felt no need to elaborate on this. It was self-explanatory in her opinion. It was either prison clothes, or what the Okama considered fashionable.
"At one point in Impel Down, they all fled from the fifth floor they were imprisoned in, to the fifth and half floor, which was a hollowed-out space between the fifth and the sixth floors. They had stayed there for a while, years even. Inside the World Government's most fearsome prison, the most terrible threat they have for those they deem criminals, and they have made their own Revolutionary kingdom! They had lots of food, and partied all day and night, and called it: `The New Kama Land.' It was because of them and their army we were able to break free."
She was sure that Whitebeard could hear the awe in her voice, and she was in awe. Some people could truly take the worst of circumstances, and make the best of them.
"What caught my attention was that no one knew about their whereabouts. The guards actually thought they were all dead."
True, it didn't matter too much for the guards where those prisoners were in the grand scheme of things, so long as dead or alive, they were still in Impel Down. But still, those were dangerous criminals that were not receiving their punishment, and who knew what they could be scheming?
(Case in point, they had been scheming a lot.)
"I don't know much about Haki." At least then she didn't know. After her and Luffy's experience on Amazon Lily, she had learned few things about the three kinds of Haki, but since then - that was only a few weeks back, how time flies— -she had learned a lot, she had too.
"But I knew that others with Observation Haki should be able to tell where they are… yet they couldn't. Even though you'd think the top guards like Magellan would have to know at least some for their job. So why? What was special about that place that made others unable to find them?" She paused, taking a breath. She noticed that she had his undivided attention.
"The only thing that I could find or think of was seastone… The cells were made of it, especially the sixth and fifth floor where the dangerous prisoners were being kept, a bunch of whom must have had Devil Fruit powers, and I remember hearing that seastone was used by marines to layer the bottom of their ships, so Seakings that are underneath the ship will be unaware of the ship's presence…so I thought maybe it worked the same with blocking someone's presence. That if you had seastone surrounding you from every corner, then even Observation Haki won't be able to pinpoint where you were."
Lina stopped, letting her words sink in and took a very needed breath. She could see the thoughtful look on Whitebeard's face as he considered her words carefully.
"We were trying to save Ace, and then to break out of Impel Down so it isn't like I could examine my theory, but I did ask those without Devil Fruits to grab as much seastone as they could carry while we were leaving, which ended up being mainly small stones in different shapes. Iva figured it was a good idea to have some available regardless, and approved. Although truthfully, not all of the stones were seastones. I had to use Luffy to find which was which… He says it feels like the sea to him."
Even the smallest of stone, if it came to connect with Luffy's skin, made him literally deflate. It was as if the energy was being sucked out of him.
"It does," confirmed Whitebeard.
She nodded and fumbled through. "Anyway… emm... when I was sharing my plans of taking out an Admiral and using him as a distraction, a few people pointed out the Observation Haki issue. People who'd mastered Observation Haki would easily find him. They argued it was better to just kill him if we ever had the chance, but by then I had a theory on how to block it… and I thought it was worth a shot… "
If you don't take risks, you can't create a future.
That's what her twin brother had said, and in that moment, she believed it, and here she was. She had helped in creating a future she could live with. The three of them were all alive.
"So I asked about seastone. Where we could get more. Even if it wasn't for my plan specifically, we needed it, 'cause there were too many Devil Fruit enemy users. Jinbe pointed out about the seastone that coated the marine ship to keep seakings away, and they are found a lot around Impel Down, part of the reason why it's so secure, so the stolen ship we were on definitely had it. So I thought when we arrived at Marineford we would be able to take it off. But then when we arrived we got stuck on ice above the battlefield…" she swallowed her snarky comment about it being Whitebeard's and the icy Admiral bastard's fault.
"I had a few people try to break the seastone off, and it took a while to figure out how to do it… But before I could examine...our ship fell..." she shrugged in a helpless sort of way, with a what can you do expression twisting her mouth up at the corners in a grimace.
You were there, and saw the clusterfuck yourself.
"I didn't have time to personally examine the theory, so I had someone I trusted to try and do it, while I joined Luffy." She was never good with delegating jobs to other people, but she had to learn as she moved. And really! Like she was going to leave Luffy alone! They didn't have their crew with them. No matter how much she trusted the others even with their short acquaintances, she wasn't going to let just anyone watch her brother's back.
"Before… Luffy jumped to face the three Admirals, and after you...mmm… officially entered the war," Whitebeard raised an eyebrow at her word choice but didn't comment.
She didn't find a better one, so she marched on.
"I found out that all the necessary pieces to my plan were in place more or less… They were even able to make a box of seastone…"
How the hell were they able to cut and trim seastone into huge slabs or block shapes? They needed something as strong as a diamond to cut it!
"I have no idea how they were able to smuggle all the big pieces of stone to the battlefield, they made the box in front of me...Mr. 3 used his Doru Doru no Mi to create candle wax which held the stones together..." she halted her bubbling and cleared her throat.
Even now, she was still in a state of awe and disbelief at how things worked out.
Luffy was right. It's not about whether it's impossible or not, I just have to do it because I want to.
And she had wanted it to happen. So much.
Voila! The impossible had happened.
"Anyway, after we took out Kizaru, and Iva-chan drugged him unconscious, and he was cuffed three times over—"
"How did you catch him? Was he the intended target?"
"Emmmm…"
It was the first time that Whitebeard ever cut her off, she noted. He never did before, not even when she was being obnoxious, or even purposely rude.
She took a few seconds to gather her thoughts and chose to answer his second question first.
"I was pretty sure that when I flew up there and made a flashy move in front of them, one of the Admirals would attack me. I really preferred Kizaru, so yes he was the intended target. We'd fought him before, and I knew of his power. He could suddenly appear behind me, and get real close to me, and that's what I wanted. But..." she swallowed the bile in her throat as she remembered the terror she had felt then.
The words said once by Zorro had run loops in her mind. Being strong isn't just about having power or move, it's about one's spirit.
Her spirit was as strong as her twin brother's. She would not let fear control her.
Luffy had said more than once. If I die fighting for it, that's fine. I will still fight…
But she had still been scared. Except she had fought on even with the feeling almost choking
her.
"My only fear was that he would kill me right away before I could do anything, but like I thought, he wanted to say a few things before he attacked me… He liked to stop and gloat the last time we met."
At that moment, her heart had been beating so loud, with her struggling to control her shaking hands.
"...or maybe he wanted to see the look in my eyes before he killed me..." she didn't know how she did it, but apparently she had smiled at him.
Iva-chan and others told her that she had seemed relaxed and that her expression frightened them.
From what they had described, it reminded her of Loguetown. Of Luffy almost dying on the execution stand as they all run to save him. The idiot smiling, unflinching… if it wasn't for that sudden lighting... She still had her suspicions of if it was a coincidence or not.
That night she had quietly cried herself to sleep. She had come this close to lose another brother. She had promised herself to never let that ever happen. She never thought that Ace would be the one to come this close to death.
He was safe. Ace was safe, she had reminded herself. He and Luffy were busy right now fighting their 100 fights, reminiscing of old times and to decide once and for all who was the strongest. Luffy was still losing, but last she had seen, not as badly as when they were kids.
They were both safe (not from injuries), and they had lots of eyes watching them, mostly for entertainment and bets.
She cleared her throat. Whitebeard was watching her quietly, and she wondered what he could read from her face.
She knew she can't anticipate the future, but she was going to try her hardest to make it in their favor in any way she could.
"I attacked him right as I turned using a Reject Dial. It's …."
She rummaged inside of her bag looking for the right shell. She had two more, even with her staff having been destroyed by that evil, red-obsessed baboon. Obviously, she was thinking about building a new one but wasn't sure if she wanted to use a staff as her main weapon anymore.
Ahh, here it was. Lina took it out triumphantly from her bag, showing it off.
"We found it in a place called—"
"Skypiea."
Oh, he knew.
Now that she thought about it. It would be weird if Yonko and someone that sailed the seas as long as he did, didn't know about it.
Distractedly, she put it back in her bag. "I also put powdered seastone inside of the reject dial"
Seastone was as hard as diamond, or so she was told. So it was hard to pulverize it into powder, but they were somehow able to do it. She wasn't sure how effective it would be. But a Reject Dial, even as a surprise attack, may not have been able to stun the Admiral enough to put seastone cuffs on him, or use Iva-chan's tranquilizers. She needed an edge, and powdered seastone was all she could think of then. In the end, it worked. Kizaru had fought them, but the combination of his injuries, the tranquilizers, seastone cuffs and seastone rocks that some had thrown at the Admiral did the job. But it was a close one, as he was still a monster.
"I wasn't sure how effective it would be, but I thought it would not hurt."
Crocodile had complained that it affected him a bit, some of it had mixed with his sand apparently, and he felt a bit sluggish. So it worked.
Whitebeard nodded. He seemed impressed, or was she reading too much into it?
"We had Bon-chan touch Kizaru. He is the one..."
"Who can impersonate people by touch?"
"Yes," Lina confirmed.
"Hmmm, very dangerous ability. Useful too!" the Yonko mused.
"Don't we know it!'' Lina murmured under her breath. Remembering all the trouble they had to face back in Alabasta while helping Vivi. Except, Bon-chan had proved again and again that he valued friendship above all. He was a true friend. And Lina would think of him as such until her final days. Thankfully for him, he seemed to have found his home with other okamas. He would arrive not only at a whole nation of people like himself, but as a hero!
"Emmmm… anyway, Bon-chan was hidden inside of Iva's hair and…" she trailed off, choking out a laugh at the comical look on the Emperor's face as she finally broke through his stoicism. He still got a hold of himself fast though, and let out a loud chuckle.
It was as funny as it was terrifying to see people march out of Iva's hair. The things the queen had stored there were just… wow. Most of the things Lina had needed were found in the hair of time.
Iva had been coy about if the hair-storing-thing was part of her Devil Fruit ability, or just her natural hair.
The purple-haired queen had only said with the sway of her hips that it was all "her natural beauty".
Lina took a breath, cleared her throat, and brought the conversation back into track. "I needed Bon-chan to be able to impersonate the Admiral without anyone being the wiser for the later things I planned."
"For the central Den Den Mushi and Red Port stunts?"
Lina nodded with a shrug.
At the war, she knew it would be really handy if they could impersonate an Admiral perfectly (5000 beli on Alabasta please), especially when she knew where and what the true' Admiral was doing (stuck in a box).
The details of how and when to use it were not set on stone. Plans change according to reality. She learned that early on with a twin brother like Luffy. He was the one that put unpredictability into unpredictability (except when it came to food).
Her way of life was to hope for the best, plan for the worst, and then plan some more.
"Anyways, by then we just had to put Kizaru in the seastone box, and make him disappear from the battlefield without anyone being the wiser."
"He never was one of those four that were paraded around," Whitebeard said knowingly, letting out a loud, amused chuckle.
Lina mouthed the word 'paraded' to herself a few times, and tried not to choke on air.
"Nope, I wasn't going to let my trump card be anywhere it could be taken away from me."
She (and others) had worked so hard to take him down.
"But the real tricky part came afterward."
At her declaration, the amusement touching his lips reached up to crease the corners of his wrinkled eyes.
"I might be able to block them from sensing the Admiral and knowing his location, then I wasn't yet sure if it would work. But how can I stop them from sensing the imposters too? They needed to not know that they weren't Kizaru. No one should be able to sense them either. Or it will not work. Does it make sense?"
She didn't wait for a reaction as she went on her rant.
"Let's say I was able to make more seastone boxes. Making one was a miracle in itself. Except let's say I was able to make more but it wouldn't be enough. For the distraction effect to really work, and to not seem like a simple trick. Boxes would stand out too much, and would be hard to maneuver. The Marines needed to see that it was actually the Admiral, or enough of a glimpse of him to seem like it. Someone with his build when he is so tall. Someone with his skin tone. Not that we showed any skin if we could help it, but still. And the most prominent thing about him was yellow. He was wearing a stupid yellow suit. That is what I remember the most about him when he attacked us at Sabaody. "
And his nasty personality, and the quirky way he spoke.
"I was really thankful for the Okamas and their ability in all things fashion. I don't know where they had found the fabric, and in that kind of yellow, to make it this believable. I mean obviously we had one suit after we took it out from Kizaru's body, but we needed more."
She ignored his amused snort as she carried on her rant.
"They didn't make it, I mean, the suits on the spot. Even the Okamas aren't that skilled. They had been working on it since back at the ship. Miracle workers I tell you. Not to mention that we had only hoped to get Kizaru, so we needed outfits available for the other two. They had even made five red-baboon suits for the bastard Akinua. Apparently, they had lots of red fabric. Go figure."
Taking a deep breath, she slowed down and continued.
"Anyway, how to block the Observation Haki from working here in those conditions. I thought maybe to use the small stones and rocks of seastone and to sew them inside the suit that we were preparing, and also inside the black clothes that we will use to hide the head of imposters. I wasn't sure if it would work. I honestly still don't know how much it really helped! At the time though, I was busy worrying about things like how much seastone would we need? Will it work if it wasn't in direct skin contact? What about the density and composition of the seastone? Does it need to be 100% pure seastone for it to work? I was basically working on blind here. On assumptions.
"I was pretty sure that it would buy me a few minutes at most, before the cards castle, I built would come crashing down. I might be able to trick those of the low ranks, and improve the morale on our side. But for sure the other Admirals, and those who could use Observation Haki would interfere. I just needed those few extra minutes to make sure the box with real Kizaru disappeared."
She paused, taking a long breath. While she was fumbling through her explanation, Whitebeard had moved forward in his chair so that he was just sitting on the edge. His face might not show it, yet he was invested if his questions were not a clue enough. "How did you make it disappear?"
"That was actually Mr.3's idea, and Jinbe. You see Mr.3 used his Devil Fruit. I mentioned him before, the candle wax."
Whitebeard nodded instantly.
"He made the whole area where Kizaru had fallen into wax. It was to stop the marines from arriving to Kizaru first, but the main reason was to hide a hole that Jinbe made, and then we took the box under the ice. Jinbe helped transport him."
"That's not right. Jinbe was helping keep the wall of the bodies, where you did all of this, secure."
"Yup!" Lina agreed. Whitebeard frowned.
"I needed for him to be seen, before he disappeared. So when the four groups with fake Admirals suddenly appeared and Chaos ensued, Jinbe went POOF. Disappeared. He went into the hole took the box to somewhere where others were waiting. Made sure that Kizaru didn't die from drowning." She shrugged in a non-helpful, matter-of-fact manner. If they didn't have enough seastone, she had intended to dose him with seawater, only for them to end up dosing him regardless. In the end, him being alive wasn't that critical to her plan. The marines not knowing was.
"And POOF Jinbe was with Iva-chan going after Luffy." It worked! Just as Jinbe thought. She had thought Jinbe being clearly wet, and drenched in seawater would be suspicious. He had laughed, reminded her that he was a Fishman, and used water to attack.
"To my utter surprise it worked. I wasn't going to think too much about it. It worked, and that was that. I had more things to worry about. I wasn't sure..."
"If I would support you, or make your life difficult?" Whitebeard asked. He was well aware of what could happen if he had chosen differently. He let out a laugh. "I made a good decision. Gurarararararararara!"
"Yes, you did!" Lina said firmly, making him laugh harder. If he hadn't, things may not have worked as she hoped. Things were unpredictable in general, but especially in a war of that magnitude. Too many players, too many Devil Fruits. Too many plans.
She couldn't control or prepare a counter for everything, nobody can. So she needed to be the unpredictable factor. To make them move like she wanted. Mostly it worked.
After a few minutes, the laughter died down. Whitebeard took a long gulp of his bottle, setting it down.
A sudden surge of intense awareness filled her senses like a cold snap of wind across the face. It was as if the mood in the room had suddenly changed from one moment to the next. It seemed as if the light and the atmosphere had shifted, although in reality everything remained as before.
"Do you truly believe your brother will become the Pirate King?" Whitebeard gravely asked.
"Yes, Luffy will be the Pirate King." The newly crowned Goddess of Chaos didn't hesitate. Her heart didn't even miss a beat. She believed. She knew.
"Oh?"
"You met him. What do you think?"
Whitebeard stared at her, clearly amused by her attempt to avoid answering the question.
Lina sighed.
Shrugging her shoulders and telling him Luffy said so would not fly. Probably.
"For one, he's wearing his crown."
"So you know?"
Lina's look was pure DUHHH.
"Does your brother know?"
"No. For him it's treasure because Shanks gave it to him, and it's the crystallization of their promise."
"Hmmm," Lina was expecting him to interrogate her about the promise, and how she found out about the previous owner of the hat, but Whitebeard was humming to himself as he leisurely drank, waiting for her to continue.
"It's kinda funny really. It's also the name of our crew. As if whenever anyone is calling us 'Straw Hat,' they are calling us the 'Pirate King.'"
"A bit far-fetched," said the Yonko, yet he was clearly charmed.
"Fate… Destiny has a twisted sense of humor," she countered.
"Does it?"
"Ace hated … hates his… biological father, yet somehow a possession of his very hated father has been with him since his childhood and had watched over him as he grew up. And in a way, saved him."
Whitebeard raised an eyebrow
"Ace said that me and Luffy saved him, gave him a purpose, but I think it's mainly Luffy. He was the stubborn one that followed Ace around, I was merely there for the ride."
Luffy had changed for the better after he had met Shanks. She had always adored her brother, but once Luffy had found a purpose, a dream, he had become a bit different. And that was the Luffy who had met Ace, with a treasured straw hat on his head as a reminder of his promise.
"Somehow I don't think so."
Lina shrugged in a don't-care sort of way. She didn't intend or care to try to convince him. She knew it's true.
"And?"
"I knew Luffy seems like an easygoing guy that does things on whims, and in a way he does, but the way he chose his crew... It was with such care… with purpose. He was keeping his dream, his purpose, always on his mind!"
It was Luffy's crew. She is part of it, but he was the captain.
"The first one to join was Zoro. His dream is to become the greatest swordsman in the world. Early in our journey, he faced the present strongest swordsman. Zoro lost miserably, except Dracule 'Hawk Eyes' Mihawk acknowledged him, and challenged him to grow and become stronger, and then to come after him, and Zorro is doing just that. He is almost as stubborn as Luffy. He told Luffy when he first joined that if he ever came between him and his dreams, he would kill him. But now I think he sees Luffy's dream as part of his own dream."
Whitebeard didn't seem that surprised by the threat, or the fact that Luffy accepted someone that threatened him into his crew. Maybe it's a pirate thing. Well, a male pirate thing.
"Usopp joined us next. He is better described as a trickster. A storyteller." She refused to use the term 'liar', even if Usopp used it to describe himself.
"He is also a good sniper. Doesn't give himself enough credit. He could be a sniper surpassing his own father Yasopp from Shanks's crew." Ennis Lobby truly showed what he could be. He didn't hesitate when Luffy gave the order to shoot the flag. "His dream is to be a brave warrior of the sea!"
"Then Sanji joined us. He didn't want to… but Luffy is stubborn. Sanji is a great cook, and well, you know how much Ace eats." Whitebeard amusedly lifted his eyebrow. "Luffy is worse. You will see what I mean at the victory banquet tonight. Sanji can handle Luffy's appetite and his mannerisms, which let me tell you is no small feast. His dream is to find All Blue."
Sanji was almost a different person when he spoke about his dream. The mystical sea of legend that has fishes from each of the four seas, and the perfect bounty for any chef.
"Nami is our navigator. She is the best! Her dream is to draw a map of the whole world."
Lina felt it was better if she didn't expand too much about Nami's history. She had yet to speak with Jinbe about Arlong, but she was definitely going to have that conversation. She really liked Jinbe, and she saw how her brother was sometimes eyeing him with interest, but if he didn't have a good explanation... Well…
"Chopper is our doctor. He is so amazing and brilliant. He is a reindeer that ate the Hito Hito no Mi, a Devil Fruit that allows its user to transform into a human. He wanted to be human to make friends, but now he would become a monster to help Luffy and the crew."
She adored him and his resolve. Robin was right, Chopper was the cutest thing ever. His dance when someone flatters him, his love of cotton candy, and the sounds he made when he ate it.
"His dream is to cure all illnesses."
Whitebeard seemed quite impressed, and did she also glimpse genuine respect shining through his eyes?
"Robin is our Archaeologist. We didn't get on the right foot at first. It's a long story," she said when she saw his curious look, her firm voice said she didn't intend to share. Of course, he probably knew the stories about Robin, given her own infamy. The World Government had called her a 'Demon child' an eight old girl that just saw her whole world implode, and pinned on her the whole Ohara tragedy. Personally, Lina doesn't know how sane she would still be if that had happened to herself.
And yet, Robin was as sane as anyone could be except. Even if her dark sense of humor scared most of the crew shitless.
"But as he did with others, Luffy convinced her to join us." Robin was loyal almost exclusively to Luffy. Lina wasn't sure if there was anything Robin wouldn't do if Luffy asked. "As you know Robin can read the Pongeglyphs, which is needed to find the One Piece. Her dream is to find the Rio Poneglyph which tells the true history of the world."
Whitebeard didn't bat an eye when she had mentioned the need for the Poneglyphs to reach the One Piece. Which confirmed that the discussion by some of Shanks crew she had overheard as a child was true. Well, she wasn't exactly eavesdropping. Well, yeah, she was. She had wanted to find out when they would leave so she and Luffy could sneak aboard the ship. A foolish idea in hindsight, as Shanks would have turned the ship around, and brought them back to Dawn Island.
Instead, she had heard something she shouldn't have, even if it had only made sense to her after hearing Robin's tale.
The One Piece was connected to the Void Century.
And that was what Robin was after. The True History of the World.
Robin had shared with her all she knew and learned. Her theories about the lost kingdom, and the will of D.
Lina couldn't wait to meet her and tell her that their theory was confirmed. By a Yonko no less!
(Unwittingly, 'cause by not acknowledging it, he had acknowledged it.)
When Lina had first heard about Robin's story, her true story and not the propaganda told by the World Government, she had suspected that Robin was a secret D. to survive this. Instead, it turned out she was saved by a D.
Jaguar D. Saul was a giant and a former Vice Admiral. He was one of the happiest and optimistic people there ever was, according to Robin. He had told her she would find true friends to share her life with. And then Robin ended up being saved by another D.
Luffy.
After Robin had shared her story and thoughts with Lina, they became really close, as both of them found in each other a determined, kindred spirit.
"Franky is our shipwright. He built our ship the Thousand Sunny." Lina decides to leave out that Franky built it inspired by the blueprints for the ancient weapon Pluton. Franky denied it, but she and Robin thought otherwise. Honestly, at the very minimum, there was no way he had never glanced at those ancient papers, with thoughts about them quietly grinding away at the back of his mind.
"His teacher was the Legendary Tom. Yes, the one that built the Pirate King's ship, the Oro Jackson,"
Whitebeard seemed to have finally realized what she was getting at.
Everyone Luffy chose may have their own dreams, but each one had a role in the crew Luffy was building to achieve his own dream. Even if they only discovered later the significance. They all needed Luffy to achieve his own dream for them to achieve theirs.
Luffy was the most selfish and selfless person she knew.
"Franky's dream is to create a ship and sail the whole world with it, and he is living it. As I told you he built Sunny."
Lina carried on.
"Brook is our musician. He came from your era. You may have heard about the Rumbar Pirates. He belonged to it originally. They sailed 60 years ago."
Whitebeard seemed deep in thought, trying to jog his memory.
"Brook ate a Devil Fruit while he was alive, only to discover that it was the Yomi Yomi no Mi after his death. It allowed him to return to life as a skeleton. His dream is to fulfill a promise he made 60 years ago, to meet someone after traveling all over the world." She didn't explain that the someone was a whale named Laboon, who was still alive.
Lina felt exhausted. She doesn't usually talk this much in one sitting. She was always a better listener.
"What about you?"
The soft question startled Lina.
What about her?
Oh, he meant why she joined Luffy, or what her dream was.
She resisted shrugging. It was her default way of handling things when she didn't want to answer, or was too complicated to explain.
"I don't really have a dream," Lina purposely didn't look up to see the man's reaction. She wasn't exactly dreading it, but she would be upset if she saw pity in his eyes.
She merely wanted to see the world and learn new things. Nothing specific. She even sometimes thought of writing a book like Sabo said he would. Make his dream hers, except it didn't feel right.
"I was tempted to see his journey more than making my own."
She finally craned her neck and looked up to see a thoughtful look.
"You're still searching for it," the Yonko stated.
Her dream.
Was she?
Yes.
"Yes… I guess."
They both sat in comfortable silence, both of them pondering their own thoughts.
"You think destiny is guiding your brother's fate."
"According to Luffy, Luffy is guiding Luffy's journey," Lina intoned, earning a laugh from the old man.
"Indeed, but the pieces are just keeping on falling into the right place."
"Maybe because he is a D.," Lina said nonchalantly, but her eyes were glued to Whitebeard's face.
The man didn't disappoint. He was startled. If she blinked, she would have missed it.
Right now, his face was blank, and his eyes were narrowly watching her. He knew immediately that she had done it purposely and it confirmed her theory that Whitebeard knew much more than he had let on. She will bet that he knew how to reach the island where One Piece was on if he ever chose to.
"What do you want?"
To know had gone without saying.
Lina shrugged. She was curious, but she wasn't the prying kind. She would not ask more than someone was willing to give.
Whitebeard eyed her for a few seconds before reaching a decision. He nodded to himself.
"After Roger finished his journey, he found me and told me a story about the meaning of D." He paused, and with a faraway look in his eyes, he added, "I sailed under a D."
It's her turn to startle. It made sense that Whitebeard, as a young sailor or pirate, would sail with a crew run by someone else. It was just... she had found it hard to imagine the Emperor as a young... person.
She was also stunned to hear he had sailed under a D. Except now that she had heard it, she wasn't. Did that make sense?
Well, in her muddled brain it did.
The Emperor had a contemplative look in his old eyes as he observed her.
"Do you want to hear it?"
It was a test. Wasn't it?
Luffy would refuse. He will surely refuse. She remembers Luffy's reaction when Usopp had asked Rayleigh in the bar. But Lina was not her Brother. She was a different kind of D. At least she thought so. Well, she was about to find out.
Lina nodded, but Whitebeard still stared at her.
"Yes, I wanna hear," she said in a firm, sure voice.
"Only if you call me Pops," the Yonko smugly said.
…
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Here, I explain some of what actually happened in the war. Thoughts anyone?
About Seastone blocking Observation Haki. I came up with the idea almost five-six years ago (I am so very patient, aren't I? ) after I read Impel Down and Marineford (and had my heart broken). After we learned about Haki, I decided to write this story to mend my very broken heart. I read the whole arc again, and I found it made no sense to me how Iva and okama were able to hide in Impel Down, and no one was able to sense them and find them.
So Lina had explained how I came with this idea. Since then, in the manga there was no confirmation or reputable to this idea (anyone knows otherwise please let me know). I didn't find anyone else discussing it, so I do take credit for it. Seastone block observation Haki.
Feel free to use the idea but give me credit, please.
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Leave me a review or I will set Lina after you. Just like poor Fate XD
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Marine!Lina: The Walls of Marineford
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Marineford is big. Marineford is big and bustling, and the Monkey D. name carries weight here.
Of course, it has weight here. It's Garp.
People whisper about her in the hallways in a way that they didn't on Hina's ship. Lina hadn't quite decided what she wanted to do with that.
On the one hand, she had a premade reputation. On the other hand, she had a premade reputation.
On the third hand, and yes there was a third hand, Lina was valid in this, her reputation led everyone to believe that she wanted to literally break down all the walls.
(His name opened doors for her here, not figuratively and not out of courtesy, but out of terror. Well, terror or determination not to have their walls destroyed.)
The one thing she hadn't been hit by was a wall of grandfather.
It was a relief that she hadn't been expecting. It was Gramps, so Lina had half been expecting him to be throwing cannonballs at the ship as a welcoming exercise to greet his darling grandchild as she made it to the marine headquarters. And failing that, then she had at least expected a crushing hug, being tossed in the air, and lots of shouting.
It goes without saying his obnoxious laugh would be following her around for what seemed like an eternity.
She had even brought extra-strength earplugs.
Nothing.
Zip.
Zilch.
Nada.
It was actually stressing her out.
Gramps had a grandchild radar that she was now hearing to be a thing called haki. According to gossip, he wasn't at HQ, but it was Gramps.
He had to have known that she was coming here.
The longer it went on the more nervous she got, the more contingency plans she started making for the inevitable conclusion. She had felt that something was wrong in her bones.
Then the news broke.
Suddenly she knew why she hadn't seen Gramps.
He was avoiding her.
The mood was tense but excited. That's what would stick with Lina. The feeling. The sense that there is a clever plan in play, and the Chessmaster is just nudging the last few pieces into place in order to watch the chaos that will unfold and lead them on their way to victory.
She had felt that feeling, and knew there was a plan brewing.
Later she would kick herself for not realizing What.
Then the news came pouring in. First, Something had happened to the Straw Hats. Luffy had attacked a Celestial Dragon. Oh Luffy. And that Bartholomew Kuma the Tyrant had taken care of the whole Strawhat crew. What did that mean? No one was willing to tell her. Before she could sink into the hole at the implications and what she needed to do-
Ace was to be executed.
That was the next announcement. News to rock the world. More specifically hers.
That was the announcement she had been called in by Captain Hina to hear, and she was so lucky Hina didn't know that Ace was her brother, because she was screaming on the inside.
Ace was to be executed.
He was in Impel Down.
There's an odd ringing in her ears.
