A/N: Hey everybody! We're back again with the third official chapter of LAST CHANCE.

I want to thank everyone for the response on this story - 33 faves and 54 follows, holy cheese. And thanks to everyone who has taken time out of their day to read and review. You guys are the best.

REVIEW REPLIES:

Suzululu08: Ah, thank you. :) the dates are just as much understand the passage of time as well as help the reader. We really don't get travel times during One Piece so it's a constant guess as to how long it takes to get from one place to another. I think the closest we get is when Nami gets sick. (5 days then dead, she was on day 3 when they arrived at Drum?) aw! penguins are so adorable.

pizzalover123: Thanks for the review! Honestly I'm fine with long childhood arcs, but only as long as they build and add to the character. Charlotte, as a noble, didn't really have much of a childhood. Children that live that lavish life style simply don't get to be children. It's all studies and marrying someone of the right status, so I only touched on key points - her visions, her relationship with her family and Koga, her strong bond with the others even though she didn't actually know them, etc. *Whispers* Koga's my favorite Inuyasha character, by the way.

treavellergirl: oh it's very much hit and miss, and everything she sees is subject to change. It also depends on who's eyes she's seeing things from in the vision. Like how in a vision of the previous chapter she was being chased by Smoker. Well we know Luffy gets chased by Smoker in Loguetown - So was it her or Luffy who was being chased? Focusing her visions on a specific person can be difficult - which is why she's only done it that once with Sabo, and the results were... mixed. All she could really feel was the excruciating pain he was in from the burns he was receiving. She didn't see anything solid to prove he lived, and now she tends to let the visions come when they please.

Guest: YES! ONWARDS WE GO!

Thanks to perseus96, name-chan, elina31, YatogamiKushina, chobits15, pizzafan123, booksarelife9, Artist Magician, Magic126, Dorisangel and for adding this story to their alerts/and or favorites.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: What is your favorite dog breed?

ANSWER: This is a tie between two - Siberian Husky and Standard Poodle, both of which I have owned and loved both breeds.

EAST BLUE ARC

CHAPTER 3: Freedom on the Waves

Charlotte, Age 17

Date: May 22

"When will my life begin?"

Charlotte sighed and let the song trail off. She had been locked in this room for days now. Koga had even put bars on her window! A surly thought flashed through her mind before she could stop it.

Now I know how Harry felt.

A rush of guilt followed the thought immediately. That particular former life wasn't one she cared to think to hard about. She had tried so hard in that one, wanting to make things easier for Harry and the others who had all suffered so much. But in the end she had failed save anyone - even the one she had been most determined to save after they had gotten close. Much closer than she had ever been with anyone. It had been the only relationship she'd had in any of her lives, and it hadn't had a happy ending.

War. Death. Life and laughter draining out of his eyes. A deep seated need for revenge. They had to pay. She would make them pay. Why should they get to live, even if it would be miserable, locked away in Azkaban? He would never laugh again! He would never get to run through the rain! He would never get to spend another day with his family! He would never feel the breeze again. He would never... he would never... he would never... so why should they be able to? They shouldn't. She would make sure they wouldn't.

She shook her head sharply. She couldn't let her thoughts drift to that former train of thought, it wouldn't do her any good.

"Lady Charlotte."

Pursing her lips, Charlotte stubbornly refused to meet Koga's gaze.

"Lady Charlotte!"

"What?" she snapped. "What do you want now?"

"You got an interesting letter today," Koga smirked. "From a boy named Stelly. Your betrothed, isn't he? Apparently his parents want to move up the wedding. He requests that you come to Dawn Island immediately for preparations."

"I'm not going."

"But that would be rude, Lady Charlotte," Koga scolded lightly. "Besides, a woman of your status can't stay unwed forever. It would make other Nobles think unfavorably of you."

"The other Nobles can go fuck themselves, I'm not marrying into that family after what they did."

"Ah, the Gray Terminal fire, correct?"

Charlotte stiffened.

"But surely you understand why it was done," Koga continued. "They couldn't let a Celestial Dragon see that enormous pile of trash. It would have been insulting."

Charlotte's lip curled.

"Don't turn your lip up at me," Koga warned. "Ah, and speaking of Gray Terminal and Dawn Island... isn't there where your friend Luffy is from?"

"I don't recall."

"So that's a yes."

"Koga, if you even touch him -"

"You'll what? Blow some hot air at me?" Koga smirked. "It may be a Logia, but your Breeze Breese fruit isn't really anything exceptional. Especially since you can't control it."

"It's probably not smart to push your luck against a Devil Fruit user."

"I think I'll manage. Besides it's nothing that some special cuffs won't fix."

Sea prism stone.

Who knew it was possible to hate an inanimate thing so much?

"Pack your bags, Lady Charlotte, we leave for Dawn Island in the morning. After all, it wouldn't do to keep your fiancée waiting, now would it?"

Something thumped against the door as it closed behind him.

"Throwing things?" he mused. "Such a feminine reaction, Lady Charlotte."

XxXxXxXx

"Luffy, you can't just walk up to a Noble's mansion and ask them to join your crew."

"But Nami, she's psycho!"

"THAT'S NOT A GOOD THING!" BONK!

"Ow," Luffy whined. "Nami, that hurt!"

"I think he meant 'psychic'." A new voice added. "Which begs the question of how three strangers know about Lady Charlotte's gift."

The girl looked quite a bit older than them, especially if the toddler she was carrying was anything to go by. She had long brown hair and sharp green eyes that watched the three of them nervously.

"Who're you?" Luffy wondered.

"A straw hat..." the woman murmured. "So you're the friends she always spoke about. Luffy, Zoro and Nami."

Nami's eyes narrowed. "How do you know our names?"

"Because of Lottie - Lady Charlotte Sinclair," the woman replied. "She and I used to be... not friends, exactly, but we hung out together a lot when we were younger. Before."

"Before what?"

"Before her family was killed by the Marines."

Luffy's gaze flitted away from the woman to the mansion. So the girl he wanted to join his crew had lost someone, too.

"Her family wasn't perfect, but they were still her family. Even though they made her life hell and made her do things she didn't want, she would never have wanted them dead. But the government wants Lottie's gift, and the first step to that is making sure she has no one else to turn to. That she associates only with those they deem proper to help keep her in line. Those people include the Marines in this town and her fiancée in Dawn Island."

Luffy perked up a little. "Dawn Island?"

The woman nodded. "Yes. Her parents had arranged for her to marry some boy there years ago. His family is supposed some big thing on Dawn Island. The Outlooks. When she first learned of it, Lottie threw a fit. Said the boy was an idiot and his parents were heartless killers. Refused to have anything to do with it."

Outlook. The name tickled something in the back of Luffy's mind, but he wasn't quite able to grasp it.

"So she's basically a prisoner," Nami spat.

"That's exactly what she is. So I'm sorry if you all wanted to meet her, but it's probably not going to happen."

Luffy simply smiled. "I want to ask her to join my crew."

The woman's eyes met his. "There's nothing she would love more. But the government would never let her go. They would probably fallen her to the depths of hell. Her foresight is too precious a gift for them to let it walk off and sail away."

"Chased by the Marines all the time?" Zoro mused. "Well, we're pirates. I don't see how Marines chasing us would make much of a difference."

Luffy sent his first mate an approving look.

"Now let's just think about this," Nami tried to reason.

"Nami," Luffy shook his head.

The navigator sighed. "Fine."

XxXxXxXx

It started with what sounded like a loud explosion. The entire mansion shook with it and Charlotte could swear that she heard the sound of rubble scattering on the tile floor downstairs.

At first, all she felt was deep confusion. She slowly walked over to the wood door and pressed her ear against it, trying to focus on hearing what was going on over all the yelling.

"Gum Gum Pistol!"

Her breathing hitched as she tried to make sense of that sentence. He was here. Why was he here? How did he even know? The fighting and the shouting was overwhelming, but it couldn't stop the feeling of blossoming hope that was bubbling in her chest.

Luffy.

A clang that sounded suspiciously like swords colliding somewhere down the hall echoed through the building.

Zoro.

A scratching and clicking noise indicative of lock picks led to the slight twisting of the doorknob.

Nami.

All three of them were there. Charlotte could have cried in relief - was sure that she was. It would explain Nami's slightly panicked face when the door swung open. The orange haired girl hesitantly patted Charlotte's shoulder.

"It's all right," Nami soothed, glancing over her shoulder. "You won't be stuck here anymore. These Marines were of the wimpy variety."

"Gum Gum Whip!"

"Onigiri!"

They're overdoing it, both girls realized with a sweat drop.

"I don't understand," Charlotte said as Nami quickly threw some of the girls' clothes into a bag. "Nami, how did you guys know where to find me?"

"Some old lady recognized Luffy, told him about you," she explained hurriedly. "And in true Luffy fashion he decided he just had to have you as a crew mate. And he doesn't take no for an answer. But you knew that already, didn't you?"

"Yes. I know that already."

"So do you really see visions and stuff?" Nami asked, shoving the bag in Charlotte's arms. "There's some clothes. Do you need anything else? Ooh, do you guys have expensive jewelry?"

"Um, yes, I do. No. And we're nobles, so what do you think?" Charlotte's eyes narrowed. "You can take whatever you want, but seeing as it's my stuff, it'll be split fifty fifty."

Nami's beri eyes disappeared. "Seventy/thirty."

"Fifty fifty."

"... Sixty/forty?"

"Nami."

The navigator let out a pained noise. "But..."

"Nami."

Another explosion rocked the house, making both girls blink.

"Uh, you better hurry before Luffy breaks all the expensive valuables."

Charlotte had never seen someone move so fast. She took a moment to shake her head in amazement of Nami's money hungry drive before she slung the backpack with her clothes over her shoulder and hurried down the stairs. Marines laid everywhere, some knocked out, some severely injured. She couldn't find a single bit of sympathy inside herself for them.

"Luffy!" she shouted, catching sight of the straw hatted boy.

"Huh?" he knocked away another Marine before grinning. "Hi! You're Sinclair, right?"

Charlotte fought back the grimace. She would never get used to having her name flipped. In most of her previous lives, Sinclair had been her surname, and now it was her given name. Thankfully, the only good thing to come out of nobility, most people called her Lady Charlotte, or some variation of Charlotte - Charley or Lottie - and it had stopped being a concern of hers.

But somehow she didn't mind if the crew wanted to call her Sinclair. Though maybe she could talk them into doing just Clair.

"I am," she answered, realizing Luffy was still waiting.

He grinned. "Sin, join my crew!"

Sin? Charlotte wondered even as a smile found its way to her face. "Alright, Luffy. I'd be happy to."

"You're not going anywhere."

The two both turned to see Koga approaching.

"I'll admit, when I heard that the mansion was under attack, I didn't expect to find you running off to join the raiders, Lady Charlotte."

"I'm all about the unexpected, Koga."

"So I see." Koga's eyes shifted to Luffy, then up to his hat, before lips twitched into a smirk. "Finally, a face to put to a name. Luffy, is it not?"

"Yeah, what's it to you?" Luffy asked defensively. He had noticed the immediate tension that had entered Sin's body the second this guy showed up, and already Luffy found he didn't like the man. He was someone Sinclair wasn't comfortable around.

"Oh, nothing really," Koga said dismissively. "Just odd. I thought the kid Lady Charlotte thought so highly of would be a bit smarter than to rush into a place full of Marines."

Subtle isn't Luffy's style.

Luffy's eyes had narrowed. "Sin, who's this guy?"

"This is Warrant Officer Tanaka Koga," Charlotte answered. "He's the one who thought my gift was best suited to helping the World Government."

"Not that she's been much help. Spinning stories and sharing fake visions to throw us off track. Doing everything she can to make sure we don't take interest in certain people or crews by conveniently pointing us towards others like we won't notice." Koga's eyes darkened. "Did you think we wouldn't notice? So I guess the only question is who is it on these specific crews are you trying to protect?"

Charlotte stayed quiet, meeting Koga's stare with her own. Eventually the man sighed and shook his head.

"You won't be going anywhere, Lady Charlotte."

"Sin."

Charlotte's eyes shot to Luffy. "Yes, Captain?"

"Leave this jerk to me." Luffy ordered. "You, Zoro and Nami head for the boats. I'll meet you there."

"But..."

"Trust me."

So she did.

XxXxXxXx

Charlotte didn't even know why she allowed herself to be worried. She had known that Luffy would be fine. Koga may have been intimidating and well versed in hand to hand combat, but the strength of a normal human would never compare to the boosted powers and strength of a Devil Fruit user.

She would never know what happened in the fight between Luffy and Koga that day, all she would know was that Luffy would return relatively unharmed save for a few shallow sword cuts. The boy would smile and remove his hat - his treasure- and place it on her head before grinning.

"Shishishishi," he laughed. "Nami! Set sail!"

The navigator smiled. "Alright. Next stop, Gecko Island."

Charlotte sucked in a quick breath. Gecko Island. Usopp. Kaya. Kuro. She let out a quiet groan of pain, fingers carding through her hair as she pressed her head into her hands as the image of the pirate butler tearing through friend and foe alike on that tiny strip of beach flashed through her mind.

"Are you alright?" Zoro asked curiously, cracking open an eye from where he was laying down on the other end of the small boat.

"Yeah," she croaked. "Head hurts. Visions."

Luffy straightened, dropping whatever conversation he was having with Nami. "Do they always hurt like that?"

"No. Usually it only hurts when I'm seeing an event of extreme danger."

Nami's voice wavered. " Should I change our course?"

"Stay the course, Nami," Luffy said before turning to Charlotte. "Sin, do the things in your visions always come true?"

"I don't know," she answered, picking at the hem of her shirt. "When I was younger, I mostly saw past events of people that I would become close to. Once I got a bit older, I started seeing things that would happen to them in the future. Some of them were awful, I was just a little kid, I couldn't stop any of it because everyone thought I was lying. Things like the Gray Terminal Fire were out of my control even though I tried to warn people."

It was hard not to see the pain that flashed through Luffy's eyes when she mentioned Gray Termnal. "What do you see of the future?"

"Sometimes I see people we'll meet, or future enemies, but the thing is that everything is subject to change," Charlotte continued. "I'm hesitant to tell what I see because I have no idea how different things will become. I could end up messing up and getting someone hurt - or someone who would join the crew might not, and there is no way that can happen. I just..."

Luffy nodded. "Then it's easy. Just don't tell us what you see unless you think you really have to."

"You don't... want me to tell you about my visions?"

"Nope!" Luffy grinned. "Knowing what's coming would take the fun out of the adventure!"

It was such a Luffy answer and yet somehow it made her feel so relieved that tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. Finally, for the first time in months, she was the thing that mattered to someone. Not her visions. Not the power that would come with knowing the future.

Her. Charlotte.

"Oh!" she stood quickly, startling the others. "I'm so sorry! I forgot my manners!" She bowed deeply. "My name is Charlotte Sinclair, thank you very much for helping me and allowing me to join your crew."

Zoro looked faintly amused. "Never heard of a pirate with manners."

She sent him a soft smirk. "Well, you see something new every day."

He laughed. "You'll fit in just fine."

"Of course she will!" Nami trilled happily, eyes turning to beri's. "Just look at how much money Clair made me!"

Charlotte cleared her throat expectantly.

"I mean us," Nami muttered dejectedly. "How much money she made us."

Luffy laughed. "Shishishi! I've never seen someone beat Nami at her own game, Sin! That's amazing."

Clair. Sin. No one had ever given her any kind of nickname to do with her first name before. Charlotte had always been dismayed by how her name had abruptly been switched around in this life. But now, looking at her smiling friends, she knew it was something she would grow to love.

Sinclair, she thought with a smile.

Yes, she could definitely grow to love it.