Chapter 12: Visits and Visitors

Warnings: mentions of executions, mentions of pervious character death, medical illnesses

"Are you sure you're alright to go back to duty?" Tsuru asked her friend.

Garp grunted, "Of course I am. More than that…" The old D's Haki surrounded him for a moment and flared outward. "There, now no one will be able to spy on us with any Den-Den's. The only people who have bet on me are you, Sengoku, and Kong."

"I know that. Why are you bringing this up now?" Tsu asked, confused.

'Because I'm going to defect.' Garp thought.

"I'm heading to East Blue for a little bit." He told her.

Tsuru didn't know what to think about that. She knew that Garp still held feelings of guilt and regret for what happened to his home island…but she didn't think that it was a good idea for him to go back to East Blue so soon only a few months after Dawn's destruction.

But it wasn't her decision.

"Okay then. Just be careful and keep yourself safe, alright. That's all we ask." Tsuru said softly. Garp chuckled and gave her a small smile.

"I will, just got to do somethin' in the east." Garp told her, standing up and going over to the cabinet he has in his office. He opens the cabinet doors and pulls out a few files.

"Well, I'll leave you to get packed. Will you stop by Sen's office before you leave?" She asked as she made her way toward the door.

"He already knows I'm leaving." The male Vice-Admiral told his companion as he stuffed the files into his travel bag.

"See you when you get back." Tsuru called before she left the office.

Garp sighed, he hated lying to his friends but he didn't have a choice. If it was between keeping his family safe and telling his friends the truth…he would pick his family every time.

Family always.

The Old Generation Marine continued packing and arranging his office. He stuffed clothing and little knickknacks in his bag to take with him, as well one of the last things he had from his son before he disappeared.

A bronze dragon.

He wouldn't be coming back.

The only reason he would set foot on Marineford again would be if he was dragged back by Sengoku, Kong, Tsuru, or an Admiral to be executed.

Finished packing, he looked around the room; it was basically bare of anything but his marine jacket.

He was about to leave and say goodbye to his friend when a knock sounded in the room. He glanced at the door to his office and narrowed his eyes.

'Who would be coming…' His thoughts trailed off into shock as he realized who was waiting behind the door.

Garp promptly growled, his eyes turning into slits in his anger at the man who knocked again. "Get in here!" Garp shouted, his King's Haki slowly pulsing around his body.

The man behind his door opened it and bowed deeply to the Marine Vice-Admiral. "Vice-Admiral Garp." The man said.

"What are you doing here?" Garp asked harshly, he was in no mood to play games with this man.

The dark-suited man frowned slightly, tipping his hatted head down before looking up at the D-Bearer. "You have no love for me and those I work with." The dark haired man stated.

"Get on with it." The D crossed his arms over his broad chest.

"Something in the world is shifting." A sliver of Garp's Haki slipped from his control as the coat-rack near the door cracked loudly throughout the silent office.

The man only reacted with a raised eyebrow.

"Be careful with your next words, boy." The man bristled but did not attack Garp. He knew that he would not win, even if he is the strongest member in his unit.

"I wish to make a bet." He finally replied.

Garp went slack-jawed in shock and confusion. "You….do you even know what that means?"

"Yes I do."

"Why?" Garp asks, regains his composure.

The other occupant in the office tilts his head to one side, a flicker of a smile on his lips. "I believe that Jaguar D. Saul is still alive."

Garp moves. He grabs the dark suited individual and slams him against the wall; a reverberating BOOM is no doubt heard throughout the hallway.

"You have five fucking seconds to tell me what you know or else I will make your assassination look like child's play!" Garp snarled, spit flying from his mouth.

The pinned man gasped, choking out a laugh (this might be the first true emotion he had shown an outsider in almost ten years), and smiled. "You-" Garp squeezed his neck.

"Lie to me Lucci, and not even CP9 will be able to find your body." He hissed low into the CP9 agent's ear.

Garp released his crushing hold on Lucci's neck, but still kept him pinned to the wall. "As I said before, something is shifting in the world. I don't know what, but I think it connects with you, Saul, and….Roger." he finally said.

"Why do you think that Saul is alive? He died during the buster call of Ohara." Garp frowned thinking back to the needless massacre.

"Both you and former Vice-Admiral Saul refused the position of Admiral time and time again. The Five Elders for the most part, left you alone. However, they worry about what you will do because of that initial in your name. That D. I think he faked his death and is working in the shadows." Lucci explained.

"Working in the shadows for what?" Garp asked, wondering if it could be true. If Saul was alive then…the kids might have an actual shot at killing that monster. Roger, Saul, and him are all Old Generation, if his cousin did fake his death, the question is: why?

What purpose would that serve for him?

"I don't know."

"Alright…why do you want to make a bet?" Garp wondered why the assassin would even wish to make a deal with one of the few people who could topple the World Government with just a few sentences.

Not that anyone but him and Saul knew that.

The Family of D were powerful, there no doubt about that to those who encountered them. But their Will is where each D stands apart from even the power of the Yonko.

Lucci sighs and closes his eyes. "You are the only one I trust."

Garp jerked back in shock. "Why trust me? If you think that Saul is alive then…"

"Because you have nothing left to lose." Lucci interrupted.

'If only you knew, Lucci.'

"You're a Cipher Pol agent, you're responsible for so many atrocities across the Grand Line, so why me?" He stressed the last word.

"That day…I watched, as the rest of the world did, as he said his final words and took his final breath. But I clearly remember him looking directly at you. You two are – or were – connected somehow. Both of you sharing that odd initial in your names, but taking different paths. The Pirate King and the Marine Vice-Admiral.

Rob Lucci didn't know what compelled him to say the next thing he did, but once it left his mouth, Garp let go of his neck as he fell to the floor but managed to stay upright.

"You have the same eyes. Something is haunting you."

A burst of Haki then crushed the assassin as a cold sense of fear slipped through him. "Get out."

Rob Lucci fled the office, and for the first time in a very, very long time, he felt terror.

Kaku and Kalifa were waiting for their leader, Rob Lucci, to finish with Vice-Admiral Garp. Both CP9 agents knew that it would be a while before Lucci came back. But they were anxious; neither knew if Lucci would succeed in convincing the Vice-Admiral of what they had found out.

Well, that's not technically true. The three agents didn't specifically find any proof to their claim of Jaguar D. Saul being alive, but they suspected that he somehow lived because of the Fire of Dawn Island in East Blue, the home island of Monkey D. Garp.

Before either agent could think more on that particular piece of information, Lucci enters their base.

Kaku and Kalifa stand and go over to greet him. "Status, Boss?" Kaku asked casually.

"Did he believe you? Will he help us?" Kalifa asked, worried about the Vice-Admiral's answer.

Lucci frowned and both Cipher Pol agents slowly back away from their strongest member. "The conversation did not prove helpful." He started. "Monkey D. Garp does not trust my intentions."

"I'm not surprised since we are assassins that answer to the World Government." Kaku said.

"True, but he is a marine." Kalifa pointed out.

"That does not matter, nor what our own occupation is." Lucci said flatly. "Something is shifting in the world and it has to do with them. Those with the initial of D are powerful, Roger, Garp, and Saul are perfect examples. There is no way that he died during the buster call of Ohara."

"Got a plan to prove that he is alive? And what do we do if Jaguar D. Saul is still alive, tell the Five Elders?" Kaku pressed his leader.

"Saul was there at Ohara, so we need to find Nico Robin. She is the key to proving our claim." Lucci paused, "As for what we do afterwards – should the former Vice-Admiral still live – we make sure that the only ones that know about it are Monkey D. Garp and Nico Robin if he has not already informed her."

"That's treason. If it's discovered that we deliberately hid this then we'll be executed." Kaku said stiffly.

"Alright…how do we find Nico Robin though? She's gone off the grid because of her bounty. She is not a Supernova because of the nature of her bounty, but the point still stands, she has a bounty of B100,000,000." Kalifa told the two males with her.

Lucci tapped his finger on his bicep. "Admiral Aokiji was also there when the Buster Call was initiated." He muttered.

"Will he tell us anything though?" Kaku asked, arms spreading out in front of him.

"No. Not without good reason. The man is lazy to a fault, but he is an Admiral for a reason. We should tread carefully for the next few years. Monkey D. Garp will not forget. And should Admiral Aokiji get wind that we are actively searching for Nico Robin he will become suspicious. For now, we have an undercover mission to get ready for as well as to meet our new…teammates." Lucci grumbled.

Kaku and Kalifa glace at each other but follow Lucci deeper into their base to prepare for their mission.

Buggy was anxiously waiting for Shanks to show up at their rendezvous point on Drum Island. True, it was pretty stupid for them to be here, mainly because both of them hated Royalty as a whole, and the fact that Doctrine Kureha and Doctor Hiriluk were the only two people in the Old Generation that knew about the Family of D/Will of D and had stayed completely neutral throughout the utter chaos and war that happened around 30 years ago.

Hell, not even Buggy or Shanks know the full truth about what happened during that time. Roger wouldn't talk about it and Rayleigh would always pale in terror when they tried to ask when they were still on the Oro Jackson.

But what they did know, was that whatever happened during God Valley…would die with those that were there that day. No one would ever speak of it, they would let it die, become legend and myth so obscure that the generations after would think that it was just a made up tale used to scare children into behaving.

But Buggy and Shanks knew that something bad had happened, and was still happening. It just wasn't as obvious anymore.

"Bug? Oro to Buggy?" Shanks called out to him, waving a hand in front of his face.

Buggy jumped and hissed like a cat. "What the fuck, Shanks?!"

"I've been callin' you for the past five minutes. You have oversensitive Observation Haki. What's up? What's got you thinkin' so deep?" Shanks asked, concern flooding through his Haki.

Buggy shook his head, "Later. Come on, we got an appointment with the Doctrine."

…

When Kureha opened the door to her home – Wapol's old castle – she did not expect to find a pair of red and blue haired brats that had grown into renowned (to those who knew them and remembered that they sailed with the late Pirate King) pirates themselves. They were no longer riding on the coattails of their dead Captain, yet, they usually tried to avoid that if they could.

Seas know how many times she had patched up Blue and his motley crew when they had the unfortunate tendency to run into Golden Lion's allies, but other than that, she was on pretty good terms with both of them (not that Shanks goes out of his way to come to Drum often), considering the circumstances as to how they first met.

"Blue, Red. Why are you both here? If both of you are here then that means something is very wrong." Kureha said as she opened the door a bit wider, but neither of them entered her home.

"Permission to enter, Doctrine Kureha?" Buggy asked politely.

"Granted." The old woman grunted.

"Permission to enter, Doctrine?" Shanks asks after his friend.

She waved them both in and they stepped through the door as she moved back deeper into the hallway. "So… are you just gonna stand there or are you going to tell me why you two came here? Together?"

Shanks glanced at Buggy, letting him take the lead on this since he still didn't really know what got Buggy so worked up to call for him to get to Drum as fast as he could.

"In the next few years a rookie pirate crew will come here and ask for your assistance with a diagnosis. I want to request that you teach his Doctor how to help him should…" Buggy grimaced, thinking back to his Captain. "…I want to request that you teach his Doctor how to treat him when the symptoms start coming up." Buggy's voice died at the end.

The blue haired pirate couldn't bring himself to look at Shanks or Kureha, knowing the expressions he would find on their faces.

"Buggy…" Shanks breathed, his heart-rate spiking at what his best friend was implying.

"Blue…are you saying what I think you're saying?" Kureha asked, shock coloring her tone.

Buggy didn't answer.

"Will you help him?" Buggy asked, as tears streamed down his face. "Please…I won't be able to live with myself if his crew have to go through what we did." His voice broke as his Haki twisted with overwhelming grief.

Shanks collapsed to his knees as he hugged Buggy, his thought circling to his Captain, to the man who was his father in all but blood, and his illness. An illness that the only reason any of the Rogers ever caught it was because of Buggy. Because of a boy who had unlocked his Haki, his affinity, in the middle of a battle with one of Roger's biggest and nastiest rivals.

The elderly doctor closed her eyes sadly watching as the two men cried and sobbed in the entryway of her house.

"So the Massacre of Baterilla was based on a true fear of those five." She whispered in horror.

"By the Seas…He…She- they have a child out there!" Shanks choked, he couldn't even begin to think about the implications if anyone found out about his Captain's child.

"That's why he wanted me to get to Baterilla…he knew that both would be hunted down…" Kureha's horror grew as she remembered Roger's plea when he came to her a little under four years before his execution.

"Buggy, when did you find this out? Was it when you called me?" Shanks asks his friend and fellow Captain.

"Yes. I'll do it." Kureha said suddenly, making both former Pirate Apprentices look up with hope on their faces.

"You will?" Blue asked.

"What's the kid's name?" Kureha asks instead.

"Can't tell you that. But I'm telling you this because I trust you Doctrine and because you are the best damn Doctor that doesn't have a medical Devil Fruit. But you'll know him when you see him." Buggy smiled brightly thinking about the three brothers that he met a few months ago.

'I promise Ace, you won't be alone.'

"Alright, fine. Come on, get up. You two can stay here for the night." Kureha offered as both pirates got up from the floor and followed Kureha to the upstairs rooms.

"Thanks Doctrine!" Buggy and Shanks grinned at her as she sigh and chuckled at their antics.

"I'm going to East Blue. Be a few months probably." Garp said as he entered Sengoku's office.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" The other man asked.

"Got an odd call, gonna check it out." Garp thought over his conversation with Rob Lucci, debating whether or not to tell Sengoku about it, but decided against it. He just said, "What mission do CP9 have?"

"Huh? Why do you want to know?" the Fleet-Admiral asked, confused about the sudden interest by Garp.

"Just wonderin'"

"They've got an undercover mission. That's all I can tell you." Sengoku told him sternly, knowing that if he gave Garp enough time, he would pry the information out of him by feeding him a lot of food.

"Alright, well…I'm off." Garp saluted lazily to his friend. He hoped that this wouldn't be the last time he saw him.

As Garp was leaving, he didn't see the worried frown on Sengoku's face.

"I received a Den-Den transmission from this part of East Blue, now I demand for you to get the person who called me!" the D Vice-Admiral growled at the commander in front of him.

"I…Sir, I truly have no idea who sent that transmission to you." The commander said frightfully.

"Vice-Admiral Monkey D. Garp?" A female voice asked behind him.

Garp turned and saw a young redheaded teenager with a sword strapped to her belt, which reminded him of another red haired brat that he knows.

'Please tell me this isn't Red-Hair's daughter!' Garp thought frantically.

Garp really didn't want to deal with Shanks' daughter or with Shanks if she told him that Garp had done something to her. But the Marnie didn't think that Shanks would leave his daughter here in East Blue.

"Yes, who're you?" Garp asked the young teenager.

"My name is Isuka. I was told to contact you and send out a transmission for you to come here to Shells Town." Isuka introduced and told the Vice-Admiral

"Oh? And who told you to contact me?" Garp asked, curious as to why this young girl would ask for him.

"Vulcan." She responded.

Garp's eyes widen in shock, curiosity, and happiness. He was happy that Ace was alright, he hoped that Luffy and Sabo were as well, but knowing how overprotective Ace was, nothing was getting in reach of either of his grandsons.

"Well now, that's certainly a claim. Got any place to talk, Isuka?" Garp asked her, knowing that she was telling the truth.

"Yes sir. Follow me, if you will?" Isuka asked as she turned around and walked out of the marine base with a very large and intimidating man next to her.

"How did you meet him?"

Isuka glanced at him, a small smile curving her lips up. "He save a restaurant owner that was getting harassed by Captain Morgan."

"I see." Garp said, a hard tone to his voice.

"Don't worry, sir. Vulcan told me not to worry about Captain Morgan, just watch him to see if he gets worse. He informed me that the captain will no longer be a problem in a few years." Isuka told him, shrugging.

"Very well, I'll trust you." Garp said, hands in his pockets, following the girl to a small restaurant.

"Upstairs in the back." Isuka pointed up to the second level of the restaurant. Upon entering the large storage room, Garp saw two small children, a boy with pink hair that looked to be around Luffy's age, and a little brown haired girl how was about 4 or so.

"Isuka, you're back!" The little girl grinned up and her, going over to hug her.

"I am, Rika. I would like to introduce you to someone." Isuka said, the two children listened to her intently. "This is Vice-Admiral Garp, he is the person that Vulcan had said that would help us."

"Cool!" Rika said, awed as she looked up at the large marine.

"These two are Rika and Coby, Vulcan asked me to train them, lightly of course, but train them nonetheless." Isuka said, looking over to Garp who hadn't said anything since he entered the room.

Garp chuckled, 'You're already getting allies, marine allies. Impressive, Ace.' Garp grinned, thinking about all of the ways this could benefit his boys.

"Wow, that's fast." Garp stated. "Sure, why not. But I gotta warn ya, I'm a ruthless trainer, but I get results. If you three aren't up for it, tell me now. Once we start, ain't no going back for you until I deem you worthy to become good marines."

"So we have a deal? You'll train us?" Isuka asked.

"As I said before, I won't hold back on you, but I won't go all out on you either." Garp said again.

"Ace did say that you were one of the good ones." Coby grinned. "I want to train under you, Vice-Admiral Garp!" the pink haired boy declared.

"Vulcan told me you could back me to get up me up in rank since females usually stay low ranks. I would like to train under you, Vice-Admiral." Isuka bowed.

"Mama said it was okay, but can you keep that meanie Morgan from hurting Mama?" Rika asked him.

"Sure, kid." The man smiled at the little girl.

"Okay!" Rika said, smiling and taking Coby's hand.

Garp grinned ferally as he clapped and rubbed his hands together. "Let's start your training, brats!"

Characters: Monkey D. Garp, Tsuru, Sengoku, Rob Lucci, Kaku, Kalifa, Shanks, Buggy, Doctrine Kureha, Isuka, Coby, Rika

Mentioned Characters: Kong, Jaguar D. Saul, Gol D. Roger, Nico Robin, Kuzan/Aokiji, Wapol, Golden Lion Shiki, Portgas D. Rogue, Gol D. Ace, Dr. Hiriluk, Dark King Silvers Rayleigh

…

The Marine/World Government plot-stuff is starting!