"And how are our prisoners doing?"

Dru looked over at the tall man dressed in Navy whites that entered the cell block. He was alone, though he carried himself with an ease that told her he was powerful enough not to fear them. Though she supposed part of that was because of the sea prism bars that held them. She doubted he was asking about her injury.

She heard Jean Bart give a grunt, and she didn't answer, choosing instead to observe first. The man was obviously here to talk, since he grabbed a chair and sat in front of their cells. She guessed that this was an interrogation… or a chance for them to confess before they were sentenced. Jean Bart had told her that there were no trials for pirates.

"Aw, now that's not very nice, giving me the silent treatment," the man said as he sat down. Dru looked over, seeing Jean Bart do the same, and he gave her a go ahead gesture to which she shook her head.

He wanted her to accuse him of kidnapping or some other such thing so that she would be freed. Then she could tell his crew where he was, and they would rescue him. She didn't want to crush his enthusiasm, but she didn't feel like it was a good option. The crew had sailed off without him, so most likely one of them was to blame for him being caught.

"Why are we here?" she asked the Navy man. "We didn't do anything wrong."

Kuzan was surprised, he hadn't quite expected them to play dumb. "Generally, only criminals run from the marines," he replied lazily.

"Generally, when someone holding a gun starts chasing me, I run away," she shot back. Jean Bart eyed her like she was insane, but she held firm. She gestured down to her bandaged arm. "Otherwise, I might get shot."

Kuzan didn't miss the look from the pirate captain, but he was more intrigued by the woman. "So you're saying you're not a criminal?" he asked, amused.

"We had a drink, which we paid for, and then were walking down the street," she answered. "Are those the behaviors of criminals in your opinion?"

He noted that she was adept at turning his questions around on him. "No, but piracy is." His expression was hard to read as he looked from one to the other. "Isn't that true… Captain?" He nodded when the man looked defiantly back at him. "The decent folks don't consort with pirates," he told her, and gave a little smirk. "Generally."

He could practically see the wheels turning in her head, the look of concern on her face as she looked to the other captive. It was basically confessing to being a part of his crew, even if she didn't say the words.

"I'm looking for someone," she said quietly, and his gaze narrowed in on her face. Another young woman had told him the same thing not too long ago.

"And, who would that be?" he asked, wondering to himself if it was possible, even as his mind declared that it couldn't be.

She wanted to trust, really she did, but she just couldn't. It wasn't the first time she wished she had Kia's knowledge of the people here, but she had to go with the information she had. And while this man's eyes were telling her that he was a marine that honestly tried to help people, she couldn't risk it. It could all be an act.

"Does that really matter?" she asked, putting up a figurative wall between them. "The point is, that I was looking for information, and this man gave it to me. That's all. Nothing criminal, and nothing that warranted being chased down like rabid dogs, and put into cells."

"Mm-hmm," the man agreed sarcastically, and gave a weary sigh. "Look, I didn't come here to argue with you, I only wanted to let you decide for yourself." He turned to look at Jean Bart. "Impel Down? Or execution? I honestly don't care, one way or the other."

The door banged open, with a shout of "Admiral!" and the three of them all turned to where the ruckus was. "Come quickly sir! The Celes- I mean St. Ros- You just have to come sir!" the man was so flustered he couldn't seem to even make a sentence form properly.

Dru looked over at Jean Bart, wondering what was happening, even as her insides turned to ice. The Celestial Dragons… she repeated the fearful words in her mind over and over.

The Admiral sighed again, grumbling as he slowly made his way to his feet, and left without a backwards glance at his prisoners. Watching as the door closed behind them, Dru started counting as she inhaled slowly and exhaled- taking deep breaths to remain calm.

She had heard enough from Kia's letter and stories from the revolutionaries, to know she never wanted to meet a Celestial Dragon.

"He seems almost reasonable, for a marine that is," Jean Bart spoke finally, now that they were gone. "But even if you can convince him that you are not a pirate, he knows that I am." He turned to look her in the eyes now. "There will be no escape for me now."

"You don't know that," she told him, though she wasn't even convincing herself. "You never know what may come along- a chance is all we need to escape right?" her voice became more firm with her desire to make it happen. "The important thing is to survive, remember?"

"I don't understand how you can keep saying that," he shook his head at her. "I'm a pirate, I have a bounty. There is no way the marines will ever let me escape."

"This isn't about them letting you," Dru sighed, not seeing a way to get through to him. "The point is that even if I have to wait for years for a chance to be free, then I will. If there is even a small chance of being free again, of pursuing our dreams no matter what we go through… isn't it worth it?"

She knew she was getting impassioned, but didn't really care. "Or would you rather just give up now and be executed?" she asked. "Even if that chance never comes, at least you'll know you never gave up on your dream!"

His eyes had widened now, and he just stared. "I…" he stopped, unsure of what to say.

They waited there, the room silent now. After what seemed like hours, they both turned at hearing the door open. Dru looked up as a group of people entered. Men dressed in black, wearing sunglasses indoors had her preparing a sarcastic comment, but she froze in utter shock as the woman behind them came into view. She looked ridiculous in Dru's opinion, but the large bubble around her head was impossible to ignore.

I swear, these world nobles make me work twice as hard just to keep the peace… Kuzan groaned to himself as he returned to the Navy building. St. Roswell wasn't the worst noble he had ever met, but they were all very similar. No regard for people nor property, though he supposed that was their right. Didn't mean he liked it though.

The nobleman had come to buy more slaves, and hadn't been impressed with the quality provided by the auction houses. So he decided to go out on the streets to find his own from among the people. Nothing made a mess of the streets quite like a Celestial Dragon plucking people from their day to day life. Criminals were one thing, but to the Celestial Dragons, everyone that wasn't one of them was the same.

Kuzan gave a sigh as he trudged up the steps, grateful it was over with. The nobles were on the way back to their ship, and now he merely needed to oversee the transfer of the prisoners to the ship heading for Impel Down, and then he'd be able to return to navy headquarters.

"Sir!"

He looked up as he was given a salute, and gave a tired nod. "Are we on schedule?" he asked, listening half-heartedly as the soldier gave a report as they walked down to the prison block to oversee the exchange.

"I hand picked the men to take the prisoners to the Celestial Dragon's ship sir, but I'm wondering if six is enough?" he asked, and Kuzan turned with a glare.

"What?!" he demanded, and the soldier cowered.

"Uh, the world nobles came earlier sir, while you were out?" the man explained in a fearful voice. "And they are taking the new prisoners- the pirate captain and his crew mate?"

Kuzan didn't listen to another word, as he stormed through the doors. He got to the room just in time to see the prisoners being handcuffed. He saw the resolute look on the pirate captain's face, and while the girl seemed to be trying to have the same, he could read the fear in her eyes.

"Seems I do not need to make a choice after all," Jean Bart rumbled, and seeing the admiral turn to glance at him before returning his gaze to the girl. Jean Bart knew his fate, but he couldn't help but try for a chance for her. "I knew the world nobles were hated and feared, but not so much that they needed to take unwilling women as wives."

He took the hit from one of the soldiers, but his eyes didn't move from the Admiral. The man looked away, and Jean Bart sighed, disappointed.

"You men head out," the Admiral spoke after the cuffs were in place. "I'll bring these two."

He led them through the corridors silently, not even looking back, and Dru began to wonder if this was the chance they needed to escape. They had talked it over, and she could try to use her powers since the men had used ordinary cuffs- assuming if she had had powers, she would have tried to use them. She looked to Jean Bart, who shook his head slightly, and she continued to wait.

The tall admiral stopped just before the doors that led outside, and they stared at his back, wondering what was going on.

"Who…" he started quietly. "Who are you looking for?" he asked.

She glanced at Jean Bart again, who shrugged, and she decided at this point, it couldn't hurt to answer. "My sisters," she answered simply, not wanting to go into it.

It was quiet again, and they waited there for several minutes, until they heard footsteps coming towards them. Another couple of prisoners were headed towards them, with marines at the lead and back of the group. The Admiral waved them on, and the door opened.

Suddenly, he stopped the last prisoner, and the soldier behind him, telling them that he had a few more questions before they left, and he waved the soldier through.

He turned, grabbing the beanie style hat from the third prisoner and pushing it down on Dru's head. He reached out and placed his hand on the man's shoulder. He turned to ice in front of them, both Dru and Jean Bart gasping at the sudden attack, and looking at the tall man warily.

"I may not have done you any favors," he said, as he picked up the frozen captive, and turned back to the doors. "But ladies should always be asked, never forced into a marriage."

"Thank you," Dru practically sobbed in relief.

He glanced down at her, keeping his face hard. "You'll be cursing me once you're in the prison," he told her.

With that, he stepped out, and gestured them to follow. Without looking at them again, he told his men that the prisoner had been trying to escape, so he had incapacitated them. He shuffled Dru off towards the ship bound for Impel Down, and said he would deliver the others to the Celestial Dragons personally, and left.

Dru kept her head down, and followed the marine that was pushing her along. She wanted to call out something to Jean Bart but knew she couldn't, or it would all have been for naught.

She was just glad that Jean Bart had promised her that he would survive, no matter what. Ever since that noble woman had come to their cells and announced that she would be taking them as gifts for her father and brother, both of them had talked of what awaited them. She had told him that she could handle slavery for as long as it took to escape, but felt she was lying- even to herself.

It wasn't like she was a blushing virgin or anything, but the idea of being forced by someone she had never met was a thought she knew would scar her.

She looked up only once, seeing the huge ship that was looming ahead and decided it said something about her, that going to the world's prison was the option she preferred.

Dru let herself be led into the ship, where she was locked up yet again. She felt weak and uncertain, though this time not from sea prism stone, as the soldiers didn't know she had eaten a devil fruit. That admiral… acted like he knew who my sisters were… like he knew who I was, she thought uneasily.

Since she couldn't do anything about that, she focused instead inwardly, trying to get a feel for her new found powers.

The calm-calm fruit huh? she wondered. So then…let's find out what you can do.

"Okay, open your eyes!"

Kia obeyed, opening her eyes to see Usopp holding out a new pair of escrima sticks that were dark and shiny. "Wow Usopp!" she exclaimed. "For me?"

"Who else would want them?" he replied, giving her a look. "Of course for you, dummy!"

She grinned at him, and then reached out to take hold of them. "Wow, they're a little heavier," she commented as she swung them around in her hands, giving herself a feel for them.

"That's not the best part," he said, and brandishing a knife, swung for her. She caught his intention, and pulled up her stick just in time to deflect the blade.

"Hey, what the hell?" she griped, glaring at him.

"Check it out," he told her, gesturing to the stick she held. She frowned, but did as he asked. Her mouth fell open as she didn't see a single mark from the blade. "Whoa… how'd you do that?!" she asked.

"It's the wood," he explained. "It cost more than Nami wanted to spend at first, but I finally convinced her since it was for you." He looked disgruntled at that, since Nami had changed her tune so quickly once he had brought up the fact that the purchase was for Kia. "It's also known as Iron Wood, and it's the best combination of strong and light that I could find."

Kia leaned over to place the sticks on the table, and turned back to give Usopp a huge hug. "Thank you so much Usopp! I feel like I can be a little more useful in a fight now!"

"That's the goal right?" he said, patting her back, and pulling back out of the embrace. He was pretty dirty after all.

"Honestly yes," she agreed, picking the sticks back up to examine them a little more closely. "Everyone is so essential to the crew except for me," she admitted. "I can't let myself be the weak link in our chain."

"Hey, I can't believe you just said that," he frowned at her. "We're all friends here, it isn't a competition of who does the most fighting or whatever."

"I know," she answered, giving a shrug.

"But you don't agree, not really," he said shrewdly. "I can tell by the look on your face."

"Seriously though," she said, lowering her voice. "We've got our monster trio of Luffy, Sanji and Zoro," she ticked them off on her fingers. "They have instincts that keep us safe, and fighting skills to ensure that, and Sanji keeps us all healthy and strong with food on top of that."

"Well sure, but-"

"Then there's Nami," Kia continued, not letting Usopp get a word in. "We'd literally be lost at sea or dead so many times without her." She pushed forward, even as his frown deepened. "And Chopper, who has saved all of us at one time or another. Robin, with her knowledge, and you, basically keeping our ship afloat, making amazing shots as the sniper, as well as creating such amazing weapons to keep us not-so-monster people safe."

She lifted her shoulders as she sighed. "And then there is me. All I've done is unsuccessfully try to leave."

Usopp leaned in and put his hands on her shoulders, making her look at him. "Seriously Kia, you don't see what you actually bring to this crew, do you?" he shook his head at her in disbelief. "There is more to a crew than having strong people, smart people, or even doctors and navigators." He looked her square in the eyes. "You have the ability to bring us all together," he said seriously. "To help our bonds of friendship grow into something even more special."

He gave her a little shake. "We'd be just as lost without you, as we would without Nami, or Chopper, or even Luffy."

She gave him a little smirk. "I noticed that you didn't say yourself," she teased.

"I mean, can anyone really compare to Captain Usopp?" he said, striking a heroic pose, and then laughing. "But seriously Kia, even… and maybe especially, me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded, and he shrugged.

"Nothing!" he said, turning around. "Now I've gotta get back to work! So go try those sticks out, and I better not hear that you lost 'em, ever!"

She felt like she should say something else, but wasn't really sure what. "Hey Usopp?" she asked.

He turned, his eyebrow going up. "Yeah?" he said defensively.

"If… if you could find out what would happen on the next island, before we got to it… would you want to know?" she asked.

He gave her an odd look, not expecting the sudden veer of the conversation. "What brought this on?" he asked.

She shrugged, but didn't let it go. "I guess, I just… wondered."

He stared for another moment, trying to understand what she wasn't saying, but finally decided to just answer the question. "Well, a part of me would say yes, so that I could prepare myself," he finally answered.

Kia waited quietly, knowing him well enough to know that he was giving the question serious thought, even though he thought is ridiculous.

"But then I'd probably say no," he continued.

"No?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah, no," he repeated. "I'd get too worked up about whatever monsters were after us, because there is always monsters after us! And it's not like Luffy would listen if I knew where we needed to go, or whatever. He'd do the exact opposite!"

"So, even if you knew it all ended well?" she asked, honestly surprised at his response.

Usopp crossed his arms, wondering why she was harping on this. "Well sure, even then," he answered. "If I knew what was happening, and it was all going to be okay? I… or let's be honest here, Luffy, would mess it up somehow. It may still turn out okay, but I'd be a nervous wreck, thinking that I screwed up!"

Kia was silent, mostly because she was internalizing his remarks, and a little bit because she was afraid she'd just confess to him that that was exactly how she felt all of the time, or how worried she was that she had somehow sent the Straw Hats off their course with the last couple of islands they went to.

Eventually, she thought he would simply write her off as crazy, so she kept it all to herself. "Okay, thanks Usopp," she said giving him a nod, and turning. "I was just curious."

"Yeah, happy to help," he said, watching in confusion as she walked away. He shook his head, wondering not for the first time where she came up with some of the things she wondered about.

"You're under arrest," Reese stated, though it felt a little strange to say.

The pirate chuckled, giving her a pitying look. "As if I'd let some little girl get the best of me!" he declared. "I don't care if you are a marine! I'd never live down the shame!"

Reese's look darkened, but she didn't reply. He wasn't the first to underestimate her because of her gender and size, and he probably wouldn't be the last. It's all the more satisfying to make them eat their words instead of arguing anyway… she thought, a smile tugging at her lips.

"What's so funny, little girl?" the man asked, then gaped as she seemed to disappear, and he found himself on his stomach, lying on the deck. "Wha-?" he tried to ask.

Reese stomped her boot on his back, keeping him in place. "I said, you're under arrest, for the crime of piracy!" she declared happily. She crouched down and placed her cuffs around his wrists. He started shouting and squirming as she searched him, tossing his weapons away from him. She came across a few treasures, so she stood- her arms full, leaving him where he was as she headed across the ship to see how her comrades fared.

Seeing that Coby and Helmeppo were still in the midst of fighting, she waltzed over to her commander who was observing- giving him a grin as she held out her arms containing the items she had confiscated.

"Vice Admiral, Sir!" she declared, and he turned to look at her. "All this was found on the captain, Sir!"

Garp grinned proudly, and returned his watch on the others. "Not bad Cooper," he replied, and she fell into place at his side, watching her friends fight. "That didn't take long," he said, questioning.

"They always underestimate me, Sir," she answered, feeling a little smug. "One shave technique, and he had no idea what hit him. He's cuffed and awaiting your orders."

"Nice," Garp replied, then yelled some direction out to Helmeppo, just as Coby finished incapacitating the man he fought. Helmeppo followed the order, and took down the other soon afterward. He and Coby came over slowly, panting from the exertion. "Not bad you three, though they weren't really trying," he announced.

"What?" Helmeppo cried. "He was definitely trying to slash me!"

"Yeah, but they all knew that Vice Admiral would defeat them anyway," Coby told him. "So they didn't want to make the punishment worse by actually killing us." He turned and gave Garp a salute. "We'll do better next time Sir!" he promised.

"What better?" Reese teased, giving the pair of them a smile, and showing off her teeth in a way she knew annoyed Helmeppo. "I took down that captain, no problem!"

"And you're so humble too…" Helmeppo muttered.

"Way to go Reese," Coby said, happy for his friend's success.

"I noticed you didn't try to use your staff," Garp mentioned, making Reese flush. They all knew she hadn't gotten the hang of using the triple sectioned staff as yet.

"I found all this on the captain, Gramps," Reese told Garp again, changing the subject as she handed over the items in her arms.

Garp sifted through it all quickly and surprised the others by letting most of it fall to the deck as he examined one small item.

"Is that a devil fruit?!" Helmeppo shrieked.

"Whoa, I wonder where they found it," Coby mused, leaning it to get a closer look at the dark brown swirling fruit that was almost egg shaped.

"Oh yeah, those fruits that give powers, but make it so you can't swim?" Reese asked, receiving a nod from Coby, and an odd look from Helmeppo. "So, we take it back to headquarters then, eh Gramps?" she asked with a shrug.

"You can do that," Garp agreed. "Whoever finds it has the option to eat it, if they so choose, or to sell it to the Navy. The navy pays pretty well for devil fruits, depending on which ones they are."

Reese frowned, Garp looked at her expectantly, and the two boys gaped at her.

"HER?!" Helmeppo screeched. "With a devil fruit power?!"

"Whoa, that could be amazing Reese," Coby said in an awed tone. "Power holders seem to move up much more quickly you know."

"That's garbage," Garp denied, giving Coby a bop on the head with his fist. "Promotions are based on your strength, leadership, and ability to get things done!"

"And who you have backing you…" Helmeppo mumbled.

"Oh yeah?" Garp turned on him, giving him a glare. "What's that say about you lot then?!"

"Um… but what if it isn't worth it?" Reese asked. "Knowing my luck, I'd become part shark, and then not be able to swim, and drown."

Garp laughed loudly, and Reese frowned at him. She had been serious, but he was treating it all like a joke.

"The Navy keeps track of the fruits, what they look like, and what their powers are," Coby told her with a smile, as Garp continued to guffaw like an idiot. "We can do some research first, and then you can make an informed decision."

"Huh, that's not a bad idea," she replied, giving Garp a glare.

He stopped laughing, and looked down at her. "Listen up Cooper," he told her, suddenly serious. "A devil fruit is only limited by two things."

"The water?" she replied sarcastically, though he nodded. "Yeah, brat, that's one. But the other, is the power user."

"It's limited by the person who eats it?" she asked, not sure she understood.

"That's right," he answered, not explaining. "Now, let's get a move on!" he declared. "You two!" he pointed to the boys. "Get that ship moored to ours! Everyone else, get those pirates in the brig!"

He started walking back to their own ship, the devil fruit in his hand. Reese just stood there, the words echoing in her head. After a moment, she gave it a shake, thinking that it was pointless to speculate. The idea of eating a fruit that looked like leather covered swirls was hardly appealing, so she should just sell it.

A few days later, back at Navy Headquarters, Coby and Helmeppo were sparring, and Reese was having another lesson with Bogart. He wasn't a master of the three section staff, but he knew basics- which is more than she could say for herself. She kept whacking herself with one of the sections when she tried to complete a strike.

"Just keep trying," Bogart told her whenever she wanted to give it up. "You've got the build and coordination for this weapon… and once you understand how it moves, you won't hit yourself again."

"I hope you're right," she told him, rubbing the sore spot on the back of her head.

Garp came at the end of their training session to collect them as he always did, but this time he sent Coby and Helmeppo away with Bogart. Reese looked up at him, questioning.

"Got that info on your devil fruit, Cooper," he told her, and her eyebrows went up in surprise.

"How much did they offer me?" she asked, and then frowned when he shook his head.

"I didn't ask," he told her, gesturing for her to sit, and offered the open bag of rice crackers. "I wanted to find out what that fruit was myself, because I hadn't seen it before."

"And?" she asked. "Did they know?"

"Aye," he answered. "The mend mend fruit," he told her. "The last person to have that fruit was a marine, who worked in the laundry here at headquarters until she passed away at the age of ninety-four." He gave her a smirk. "That was about five years ago," he told her. "She was a kind woman."

"Let me get this straight," she told him, annoyed. "That lady had a devil fruit, and she used it to mend uniforms and such?" she shook her head. "I guess there are all kinds."

"Honestly, because of that, the Navy has placed that devil fruit as a class seven," he told her, and she groaned. Class one were the super powerful and rare devil fruits, like the ones the Admirals held. Class seven was the lowest class, which basically meant it was harmless, and not worth much to the Navy.

"Well, there goes the idea of starting to save some money," she muttered.

"They will still pay you for it," he told her, as he handed her the fruit. "But remember what I told you Cooper."

With that said, he stood and moved out of the training room.

Reese stared at the ugly thing, wondering why he would remind her of their earlier conversation. Deciding that she needed a different point of view, she went to her room to put the fruit away, and then went looking for Coby.

"I'm glad you asked!" Coby said happily. "I figured you were just going to sell it!"

"I haven't ruled that out yet," Reese answered, putting her chin in her hand as she rested her elbow on the table. "I'm just wondering why Gramps said that it's only limited by the user."

"I wondered that myself," Coby admitted. He looked around the mess hall, making sure that no one was trying to eavesdrop. "So I did some reading."

"Shocking…" Reese drawled, though she smiled at her nerdy friend. He was always reading something, but it added to his charm.

"Anyway," he continued, rolling his eyes at her sarcasm, "there were plenty of missions involving devil fruit users that were recorded, and it was interesting to see how often the Navy gets ahold of the same devil fruits. And by doing that, they are able to help the person quickly master their powers."

He leaned in, excited. "However there was one case, where the powers of the two users that had the same fruit- one after the other of course- were very different."

"How so?" she asked, intrigued despite herself.

"The previous user, used the power mostly for defense and rescue, especially against natural disasters and such," he explained. "But the next person to have the power, used it as a way to aggressively take down pirates."

"Who's that?" she asked. "Do I know them?"

"I don't think so," he replied, thinking it over. "He's a captain stationed somewhere in the East."

"Oh."

"So, what I think Garp is trying to tell you, is that you can do whatever you want with your fruit, you know… within reason. But you can use it for offense, defense.."

"To stitch up ripped sails.." she added, and he looked at her in confusion. "It's the mend mend fruit," she told him. "Gramps just let me know."

"Hmm," he mused. "Stitching seems like an obvious thing, sure," he agreed. "But it could also mean mending other things, couldn't it? Like mending friendships that soured, or even maybe fixing something that's broken?"

"I hadn't thought of it like that…" she murmured.

"I think that's what Garp was saying," he answered, digging back into his meal. "Though I'm not sure exactly."

"No, I agree," she said, thinking it over. "If I decide what the power is capable of, then I'm limiting it."

"I don't get it," he said, his mouth full.

"For example… Admiral Aokiji," she said, thinking of one of the people she admired most in the Navy. "He freezes things right?" she asked, and he nodded. "But who ever thought of freezing the ocean so he could ride his bicycle across it? And if he really tried, could he use his power on a cloud, and make it snow instead of rain?"

"I… I don't know?" Coby answered, bewildered. "Why would he want to?"

"I don't know, but wouldn't it be nice to know that you could?" Reese replied. His words had her mind swirling. She stood up, grabbing her tray.

"Where are you going?" he asked, surprised. "Aren't you going to eat something?"

She turned, giving him a grin. "Yeah," she said, smiling. "Yeah, I am."