Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Neither Fate/Zero, Nor OP, nor the verses from any sea-shanties used. They belong to their respective creators. Mutual Funds are subject to market risks. Please read your offer documents carefully before investing.

A/N at the end. Gives the background on some stuff, so read it.

'that's a juicy steak' : mental thought

"That steak is juicy!": spoken words

'Weigh, hey and up she rises! Early in the morning!" : Sea shanty or an invocation, chapter quote, footnote

-=Folio Delta: The Black Flag=-

'It's the unconquerable soul of man and not the nature of the weapon he uses, that ensures victory'

~oO Iskandar Oo~

"Er, very well, just give me a moment…" the doorman simpered as he rapped on the door to the auction house and began to announce my entrance. "My honored Ladies and Gentlemen, I am grateful for the chance to present to you Sir Iskandar the Second, a Noble from the magnificent Goa Kingdom."

Without bothering to hear out his long winded introduction, I shoved him out of the way and strode confidently in.

I was not sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't this. The antechamber was richly decorated with finely-crafted tapestries and chandeliers made of crystal, gleaming and glittering in the darkened hallway. The carpet that I strode on was exceedingly soft to the feel and showed a map of the world with the symbol of the Marines overlaid on it, showing their supposed dominion over the entire known world.

The main room was very large, with a raised dais on the extreme end, facing a series of steps, each having rows upon rows of seats. The very top row was left empty and all the rest were filled to the brim with the so-called nobles. Even here, their narcissism and tendency for self-aggrandizement showed itself. The lowest ranked nobles were sitting down towards the floor on plain wooden chairs, with a simple cushion acting as the sole luxury, while the highest ranked ones enjoyed the pleasures of ornate reclining lounges and were seated comfortably towards the top.

As I entered, all the curiosity-filled eyes stared at me. Unheeding of their searching gaze, I took in the sights and mentally began to create a layout of the room. There were two exits, one towards the top of the seats, and the one that I came in from. Presumably, there were probably at least a couple of exits in the backstage, where the slaves were being held. It just made my job a lot simpler. Having been briefed about the Noble-line I was impersonating, I walked up a couple of rows and sat down firmly on my chair and watched the proceedings in rapt attention.

Up on the dais, the announcer began rattling off the choicest items to be sold off like chattel. From what I could discern of the names, a fair number were women. Judging by the lecherous grins on the bloated faces, I wasn't surprised at the perverseness of it all. Disgusted, yes but not surprised.

His announcements done, the host for the evening called out for the slaves to be brought in for a display. At his barked order, two hulking brutes, the enforcers apparently, trudged in through the backstage door and after a few moments, returned with the merchandise behind them.

The slaves were all hauled inside a gigantic metal cage. The cage was large and roomy and fitted with thick bars to prevent any form of escape, yet allowed the unfortunate captives to be leered at without restraint. Dispassionately, I noted that they were all exceedingly breathtaking to look at, pretty of face and lush of form, yet what stood out the most to me was the despair and hopelessness in their empty eyes.

There was no defiance, no righteous anger, and no rage…just acceptance.

I could not let that abide.

The captives were tied to each other by using long metal chains attached to collars around their necks as well as to the manacles around their hands. According to Silvers, these collars were vicious inventions, designed to explode remotely if a slave managed to escape.

Whenever a slave's name would be called out to be auctioned, the host would unlock the chain by using a key that he kept around his neck. The sold slaves were lined up against the wall, kept under watch by the guards of whoever had bought them.

It was difficult to be patient and to not react to this depravity, yet I bided my time. For our plan to succeed, everything needed to be perfectly in sync with each other. As the appointed hour grew near, I readied myself mentally, preparing to play my part.

"Next to be auctioned is the graceful gem of Alabasta, the dancer extraordinaire, whose beauty has entranced everyone all the way across the Grand Line, I present to you: Tahira!" The man cried out, presenting a young woman. She looked to be in her early twenties, with a slender build and long black hair. She was dressed in a silky flowing costume which was wrapped around her ivory skin alluringly.

"The bidding starts at five hundred thousand Beli. " The host called out, and almost immediately, hands began to rise in response to the initial bid. Once the initial flurry of bidding had died down, only a few of the present nobles were trying to outbid each other.

"Three million, to the gentleman from Lvneel Kingdom!"

"Four to the Dressrossan Noble!"

At this, I lazily raised my hand, much to the surprise of the other nobles around who had probably written me off.

"The gentleman from Goa has made a bid of five million belis. Any counter offers?"

A few quiet moments passed as the assembled nobles debated among themselves whether the woman was worth the six million that they would have to pay. It seemed that she wasn't as no one tried to outbid my offer.

The host banged his gavel loudly and declared, "And Sold! To Sir Iskandar of Goa for Five Million Belis."

Grinning, I got up from my seat and walked right up to the dais with sure, confident steps. At my approach, the man seemed to stammer and sweat in nervousness.

"Sir, I will have to ask you to leave the dais…you can collect your goods once the proceedings are complete."

"Is that so, hmm? You think that you can tell me what to do?"

"O-Of course not, but it's the protocol!" he whined, as if that meant anything to me. "All material transactions will be completed and ratified after the proceedings are finished, not before!"

Ignoring the man's piteous rulemongering and the whispers of the nobles behind me, I turned my head askance and nodded slightly towards the woman I had just bought. I smiled reassuringly at her, noticing how the slightest glimmer of hope appeared in her deadened eyes.

"I understand, it's the protocol, so you say." I said flippantly, "But you know, I don't think that I want to wait any longer."

"S-Sir, what are you saying?"

"I am saying that this auction is now over. They say that when I'm angered, I'm like the devil. And today, I have come to collect my due." I spoke softly, but clearly, and without another word I summoned the Sword of the Kupriotes and plunged it deep in the man's belly.

~oO Shanks Oo~

The day was pleasant, the storms of the last week now a thing of the past. With the bright shining sun, the cheerful sea-breeze and the pleasant noise of the waves breaking upon the shore, one might even mistake the atmosphere as being peaceful. The ones who knew better were already preparing themselves for the oncoming storm.

The docks were a flurry of activity. A great many visitors had come to Loguetown to witness the Pirate King's execution, and not all of them were exactly polite company. Many of these shady characters had long since departed in the cover of the night, while several others were already making preparations for a longer voyage. Their ships and vessels were anchored either off-shore or in reclusive coves and inlets, but for the purpose of resupply and recruitment, nearly all had ended up on the common docks.

So long as they went about their business quietly, the stationed marines were content to let them be, not wanting the added burden of a skirmish after the tiring few weeks of watching over Roger.

Shanks and Buggy were going to be the ones to break that stalemate.

The two were well-accustomed to the bustle at the ports with all the time spent in the Pirate King's crew, and knew just how easy it was to disrupt the unspoken truce. They were dressed innocuously in a simple shirt and shorts. Shanks' straw hat and Buggy's sailing cap were pulled down low on their heads, hiding their distinctive hair from easy identification. The long coat that they wore over their clothes served to conceal their cutlasses.

With a wry grin, the two parted ways, one heading towards a captain of a smuggling ship, the other towards the marines.

Buggy had chosen to go after the smugglers, claiming that he was familiar with what could rile them up, having dealt with them to obtain some black market explosives in the past. Shanks had merely shrugged and accepted to deal with the marines.

Walking nonchalantly, Shanks took up his position, leaning against a stack of timber, overlooking both, the marine patrol and Buggy in his view. Idly, he took out a rolled-up cigarette that he had stolen from Silvers earlier and lit it with a match.

Grimacing slightly as he smelled the stale tobacco, Shanks drew the lit cigarette near his lips and inhaled deeply, only to cough violently in short gasps. Discarding his attempt to look cool, Shanks crushed the offending object underfoot and hoped that no one had noticed the lapse in his veneer of serenity and good-cheer.

Buggy had already successfully ingratiated himself with the smugglers' captain, and was presumably trying to get a bunk aboard the man's ship even now. And judging from the poor sap's enthusiastic nodding, succeeding at it too. Their relative youth and anonymity, while galling at times, was serving them well today.

After some over-the-top negotiations, Buggy saluted the man and then turned to follow the man's orders and made his way towards the cargo holds, but not before nodding surreptitiously towards Shanks.

Taking that as his cue, Shanks straightened and dusted himself off, getting his serious-face on. It was now time to earn his corn.

~oO Silvers Oo~

The past few days had been as tumultuous for Silvers as they had for Iskandar. In such a short span of time, he had lost his captain, and had to face the reality that even now numerous seamen were setting out like vultures, each more eager than the last to claim the late Pirate Kings' riches. The appearance of the dangerously charismatic Iskandar and all that he entailed had only served to further confuse his already jumbled thoughts.

He was feeling conflicted over where his loyalties should lay now, with the memories of his fallen captain, or with the seeming successor of Roger's will. Like the Roger of old, Iskandar too was a natural leader, a skilled warrior and an able strategist. The impromptu duel between Silvers and Iskandar, and the subsequent revelation of the man's naturally overwhelming Haki, had all but cemented Silvers' loyalty.

Whether this would translate into him accepting Iskandar as his captain, was another matter altogether.

However these matters were something to be considered carefully later on, preferably on a bellyful of meat and rum, while snoozing in the crow's nest on a ship. Until he had that piece of mind of mull things over, Silvers was content to follow the man's lead, which brought him here, towards the Marines' prison.

Contrary to their initial impressions, the prison and the auction house were essentially separate. Seeing as how slavery was officially banned by the World Government, the auctioneers had to fly under the radar. They did this brazenly by declaring such auctions to be 'rehabilitation projects' for the minor offenders. As long as the Marines received their ample bribes on time, they were willing to overlook such indiscretion. Every few months, the chief warden of the local prison would send out the list of the choicest of convicts, usually comprised of females or exotic members of different species, and sometimes devil fruit users, to the auctioneers, who would then organize one such sale and invite the nobles to it.

They were careful not to let the Celestial Dragons catch the wind of it, if only for the fact that those despicable creatures would have simply claimed the entire inventory as their own, without recompense.

Thus, while the exotic and the nubile specimens had been whisked away, the common rabble; the run-of-the-mill convicts had been left behind. They were the ones that Silvers was after.

The most common crime on these seas was piracy and smuggling, closely followed by petty thievery and robbery, which meant that the prison held a sea-worthy crew who could easily sail any ship. Even the robbers and bandits could be made to hold a gun and return fire, doubling up as foot soldiers and meat shields. If they were going to pull off this heist and make away with the flagship of the marines, they were going to need these men.

As the sun began to climb steadily higher on the corn-blue sky, and the hour neared towards the mid-morning, Silvers heard a loud explosion and commotion coming from the docks, just the way that they had planned.

As expected, the guards and the local patrols, all rushed towards the docks to investigate, leaving the coast clear for Silvers' infiltration.

Almost nonchalantly, Silvers sauntered towards the prison, kicking in the sturdy steel doors with laughable ease. He had almost reached the entrance to the holding cells when he was first noticed by a marine, who immediately raised the intruder alarm.

Smiling serenely, Silvers kicked a pebble towards the poor man, reinforcing it with Armament Haki. The small stone flew at unimaginable speeds and struck the man's sternum, knocking the wind out of him as his rifle fell from his nerveless hands. Silvers scooped up the weighty weapon and held it by the barrel, wielding it as a club.

By this time, a small contingent of marine soldiers had surrounded Silvers, pointing their rifles at him as they demanded his surrender. At his failure to comply with their orders, the ranking officer of the platoon gave the order to fire.

In an incredible display of skill, Silvers pulled the bayonet off the rifle and used the small blade to deflect and redirect the shots being fired at him. After the volley, when the smoke cleared, he was revealed to be unscathed. Before the marines could begin to comprehend what had just happened, Silvers grinned and fell upon them.

Jabbing the rifle-butt into the stupefied officer's gut, Silvers knocked him down then walloped an advancing marine upside the head with it. Parrying another soldier's sword with his little blade, he punched through another soldier's guard, breaking his sword and his nose too, for good measure.

Silvers sensed a blow coming from behind, using his Haki, and promptly caught the man's sword hand in a grip of iron. Breaking the man's wrist, he turned him about, using him as a shield against an oncoming stab. Throwing the now bleeding man to the side, he brought both his palms down together on the attacker's head, knocking him out instantly.

Within moments, the entire attacking force of the marines had been incapacitated, as they lay bleeding, broken and groaning upon the ground. By this time, the officer had regained his wits and was trying to stumble upright.

Silvers was having none of that. He jumped forward and viciously attacked the man upside his head with a fierce roundhouse, the force of which knocked the man into the gates, splintering the wood with the strength of the blow.

The Dark King just smirked and made a show of dusting his hands off, "I do so love making an entrance. It leaves a distinct…impression." He remarked to himself, stepping upon the downed officer as he walked in towards the bowels of the prison, as unruffled as ever.

~oO Iskandar Oo~

For a moment, everything was silent. The nobles were all rooted to their seats, gazing on at the unfolding spectacle with a growing expression of horror, dread and disgust on their faces. The slaves were also looking at me with shock written clear on their faces; an improvement from their earlier dead-eyed expression, if you ask me. Especially hilarious was the whole gamut of emotions flitting across the soon-to-be corpse's face, ranging from confusion to pain to self righteous anger. I rested my palm on his shoulder and pulled him forwards, stabbing the short sword even deeper on his corpulent form and watched as the last of the light faded away from his eyes. Only then did I kick him off my sword, throwing him down upon the stage with a wet thump.

For a moment, the only sound that could be heard was the steady dripping of blood from my sword, and then pandemonium erupted around me.

The nobles all rose to their feet, screaming and yelling, not at the murder itself, but at the brutality of it. The slave girls held on to each other, wailing and shouting in fear at the top of their voices. The young dancer girl, the one that I had purchased, had fallen down on her knees, mouth agape at the casual violence that I had inflicted.

All of them were used to cruelty, pain and hunger…and to an extent, even death. But knowing about it and seeing it being dealt so easily with had shaken the entire assembly to its core.

I let them vent their fear and terror upon the silent heavens until finally my ears could not take the sonic abuse anymore. There are many ways to get a panicking group under control, but knowing the spineless nature of my target, I used the simplest and the oldest trick in the book.

I yelled.

"SILENCE! You misbegotten, worm-laden spawns of Tartarus! Silence, before I throw you lot to the crows!" I shouted, brandishing my bloodied sword, cowing the nobles sufficiently enough for stillness to ensue.

"Good," I continued, "It seems that you can be tamed. In case it wasn't clear enough, let me repeat: This auction is over." I enunciated clearly, glaring at each noble in turn. To my immense satisfaction, at least one had lost control over his bladder, staining his seat, cushions and all.

"You can't do this, you treacherous dog! You will be caught by the Marines, and then I will make sure that you will be drawn and quartered!" One of the worms blustered, an effect ruined by his stammering and shaking. Oh well, I suppose that it's the thought that counts.

"There will be no marines coming to your rescue; I can assure you of that. Why, in a moment, they are going to have a lot many more problems than coming to the aid of a semi-illegal auction." I declared with an ostentatious gesture, pointing towards the docks from one of the large windows. On cue, the docks were rocked by a massive explosion, followed by yells and sounds of combat. "As you can see, your rescue party will be sadly indisposed."

"What do you want? Money? Girls? You can have the lot for all I care!"

I narrowed my eyes at the simpering man and pulled him out of his seat, dragging him out towards the stage by his hair. There I threw him down sprawling on the ground, right beside the corpse of the late and unlamented auctioneer and pointed my sword towards his neck as I spoke softly.

"Let me make something very clear to you and your ilk. I am Iskandar, the Scourge of Kings. I detest weak-willed idiots like you. One word, one more bloody word from your mouths and I will cut your heads off. Right now, you all exist because I allow it. Just as easily, you all will end if I demand it. Understood?"

As the man's eyes rolled upwards as he lost consciousness, I felt it safe to conclude that yes, he did.

~oO Silvers Oo~

The heist had been going flawlessly so far, which of course meant that it was going to go wrong in the worst way possible. A valid assumption, which was proven true the instant that Silvers laid his eyes upon the trio of Marine officers that were blocking his way in.

The first one was a man of average height, dressed in an open-collared uniform shirt, designating him to be a Marine Captain. His sole distinguishing feature was his odd, violet colored hair, twisted in a small looping ponytail over his forehead.

The other was his diametrically opposite. He too was a captain, but was more muscularly built than his counterpart. His ridiculously tall hairstyle, with a standard-issue marine cap perched jauntily on the top, was the only unique thing about him.

The two were Ranked Officers, sure, but for a warrior of Silvers' caliber, they barely rated a warm-up.

It was the man who led them, who was going to be the wrench in the plan.

He was tall, broad and well-muscled. His face was swarthy and tanned, littered with numerous scars which attested to the man's status as an incomparable soldier. Close cropped dark hair lent a militaristic aura, which was further emphasized by sunken, flinty eyes which seemed to sear into anyone's soul with their mere gaze. His beard was trimmed into a simple goatee, which was nonetheless impressive on the man. A blood-chilling fierce smile, reminiscent of the late Pirate King, completed the intimidating look. Dressed in a simple shirt and suit, with a Vice Admiral's overcoat thrown over his shoulders.

This man was Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp, hero of the marines and the closest thing that Pirate King had to a rival. He was the only one tenacious and skilled enough to chase after the Pirate King and even engage him in combat on multiple occasions.

The man looked visibly surprised to see the Dark King standing in front of him, before he schooled his expression back to his usual jovial arrogance.

"Rayleigh! Bwhahah!" the man laughed, "Fancy meeting you here! Last I saw you; you were still trying to pull yourself off the mast from where I ran you through."

"Well, here I am. Though I distinctly remember your sorry self being hauled away by your subordinates, isn't that right?"

"Bah", he scoffed, waving away the old memory, "That was just a lucky shot; you won't get another chance like that, Dark King!"

The pony-tailed marine perked up on hearing the title and turned to look incredulously at the still-grinning Garp.

"Wait! Do you mean to say that this man is the feared First Mate of the Pirate King? This is the Dark King?"

"Hah! Of course he is! No one else on the four seas is unfortunate enough to have an ugly mug like his." He taunted with a grin plastered on his face. "Oh, forgive me, where are my manners, this one here is called Pudding-Pudding, and the tall one over there is our very own Strawberry." Garp introduced, ignoring the flat looks that everyone was sending towards him.

"Will your idiocy know no bounds, Garp? Though I'm not surprised to find you between strawberries and puddings…you always were a glutton for stuff like that." Silvers said as he chuckled at his own pun.

"Yeah yeah, it was just that one time. Feel free to stop mocking me about that every time we meet. Besides, why are you here? Your boss died over a week ago, and in case you were wondering, I made sure that he was given a proper burial at sea."

Silvers inclined his head in respect, "Ah, so that was your handiwork. I did wonder whether old Kong suddenly grew a heart. As for why I am here, that one is an easy answer. I'm organizing a prison break."

That was apparently too much for the Marine Captain Strawberry, who glared at the Dark King and thrust his finger challengingly, "Don't just stand there and declare your vile intentions like that! In the name of Absolute Justice, I will apprehend you, you villain!"

Next to him, Garp just slapped his palm against his forehead in exasperation, while the other captain tried to make himself as inconspicuous as possible.

Silvers threw his head back and laughed, "This one is new, eh Garp?"

"Yeah, fresh off the boat from the training school. I'm supposed to show these landlubbers the ropes and ease them into the life of a marine."

"Consider this their graduation exam then."

"Well, this has been fun and all, but you of all people should know that I cannot just-" Garp began to speak before being cut off by the ringing call of a baby den-den mushi.

"Ah, sorry. Forgive me. I better take this call." Garp apologized, searching around in his pockets for the snail. Silvers just waved his apology away.

"Hello, this is Garp. Yeah? Oh, is that so? What do you mean that all of you are being held hostage? What about the auction guy…oh okay, he is dead then?Such a pity. Okay, okay, I'll be there, just keep calm. Do avoid wetting yourself again though? That's just shameful. Bye!"

Garp concluded with a cheery goodbye, cutting the call off, and then looked towards an entirely too amused Silvers with annoyance.

"You had something to do with this nonsense, didn't you? No, don't bother answering, who else could it be? Just what do you aim to accomplish here, eh?"

"Ah-ah-ah!" Silvers mockingly waggled his finger, as if scolding a small child. "That would be telling. Now go be a good little minion and save your precious nobles' asses from the fire. Take your puppies with you too."

"Bah, you are just lucky that the bastard Shiki got to me before you, or I would have dealt with you right here and now!"

"Shiki attacked you? One would have thought that a ship's wheel through the head would have killed him."

"Yeah, but that would be too easy, wouldn't it? Besides, the wheel didn't go all the way through. It stuck partway, and now he wears that thing around like a damned tiara. The hardheaded idiot stormed Marineford all by himself, about two weeks ago."

"Hmm, go on, go on. Don't skim on the interesting parts."

Garp motioned to start talking again, before growling and pointing comically towards Silvers, "You! Don't try to distract me now. If those nobles come to harm, Sengoku will be on my case, and I can only listen to his lectures so much before wanting to go on a long long voyage away from it all."

"Then why don't you? You know as well as I do about what exactly is being traded behind those closed doors. Is that your Justice?"

"It's not. It's not just at all, I know…but flawed as it is, the World Government's Justice is the only thing keeping these anarchic seas in a semblance of law and order. Without that, the islands will soon sink to become dens of lawlessness and debauchery." Garp said quietly, his head down, looking away from Silvers.

"Strawberry, Pudding…delay Silvers as long as you can. I'll be back soon to reinforce you both." Garp commanded, as he punched through a wall and rushed towards the underground auction house.

The two newly minted officers looked blankly at their superior's retreating form, and then looked at each other, gulping audibly at the prospect of fighting against the Dark King.

Playing upto his part, Silvers grinned a wide, toothy grin, his eyes shadowed with hidden malice, "You both didn't really think that you were going to delay me for even a second, did you?" he asked even as his eyes flashed as he let loose a sharp burst of the Conqueror's Haki, overwhelming the two.

Silvers grinned in satisfaction as the two slumped over, senseless to the world.

"And that takes care of that." He remarked carelessly, reaching down to pull the cell keys off from one of the bodies.

~oO Iskandar Oo~

Standing over the cowering wretch, I finally recognized the wisdom that a grizzled old soldier had once imparted to me. If I remember correctly, I was about sixteen at the time and we were just returning from suppressing a minor Thracian rebellion. I had named the first ever city after my own name: Alexandropolis, which had caused a bout of good-natured laughter among all present.

While riding on Bucephlaus, this veteran cavalryman sidled up to me and started to chatter, remarking that it was a day of firsts for me, my first rebellion, first city…and considering the rumors floating about my encounter a few hours before, my first woman. With all these out of the way, I was considered to be man enough to learn an eternal secret.

The way he put it, there are two things, that when broken always cause pain: Heart and Promises; and there are two things, that when broken always give pleasure: Hymens and Wills of fools.

I had dismissed the so-called wisdom as the ramblings of a bawdy soldier…but now, as I stood triumphant, I had understood what the old veteran had been trying to tell me.

Satisfied that I would face no resistance from the nobles, I felt safe enough to turn my back towards them, and bent down to pull out the masterkey from around the cooling corpse's neck. Swiftly, I unlocked the restraints on the dancer girl, who still looked torn between fright and hero-worship, and tossed the key to her, motioning her to set the others free.

She looked at the key nestled in her palms, scarcely believing that it was real…I doubted that the fact that she was finally free had even sunk in yet. Sure enough, her hands flew to her throat, noting the lack of the exploding collar with a growing sense of hope. First came the tears, and then came the smile…the beautiful smile that only comes after tears, like sun rising from behind the clouds after a thunderstorm. Sniffling and smiling wanly, she wiped her eyes hurriedly on the sleeve of her flimsy dress and scurried away to help her fellow captives.

I relaxed my stance and crossed my arms behind my head as I smiled broadly, content in the success of one part of the plan.

By now, at least one of the assembled curs would have sent out a message to the higher-ranked officers…and seeing as how these nobles were apparently high-value individuals, the upper echelons of the Marines would be sent after me. Even now, Shanks and Buggy would have incited a riot at the docks by now, engulfing the lower levels of the marines in the ensuing confrontation, which would allow Silvers ample distractions to infiltrate the prison and organize a breakout and get away with it unmolested.

After this, Silvers and his motley crew would take advantage of the enfolding chaos to take over the ship. Once they succeeded, they were going to fire volleys upon the prison, which would be the signal for me, Buggy and Shanks to make good our escape.

So for now, I had to wait…wait and prepare for the imminent attack. And sure enough, there it was.

The walls broke apart as a tall, muscular man charged in. Impressed, I looked over the man, with equal parts curiosity and interest. He was powerful, certainly, and possessed enough natural strength to tear down walls by merely knocking them down with his shoulders. Despite this feat of strength, he didn't look the slightest bit exhausted.

"I…don't know you?" the man half-asked, returning my curious stare with one of his own. "Who the hell are you?" he asked bluntly.

It was a question I was glad to give an answer to. None should be withheld from knowing the glory of the king.

"I am Iskandar, the King of Conquerors!" I rejoined, striking a powerful image as I crossed my arms over my chest grandly.

"No, doesn't ring a bell."

I gritted my teeth in the face of such blunt ignorance.

"That doesn't matter anyway. I'm supposed to save these guy from a big brute who is holding them hostage…that you?"

Again. I was called a big brute again. Notwithstanding the fact that the man before me was just as tall and heavily built. It must be the scars. Or maybe my unkempt mane of hair.

By the Olympians! My mother was right all along, wasn't she?

"Hostage? No. A hostage implies that I am withholding their release in exchange for something valuable…but from what I can see, they are so worthless that I wouldn't be able to get a thimble full of manure in exchange for the lot."

The man laughed, "Hah, I like you. But you are also setting these prisoners free. Like it or not, they are the property of the Government, and I cannot simply allow you to take them."

"We will see about that." I replied, scratching my beard as I mulled his words over.

"Tahira!" I commanded the dancer girl, "hurry up and take the back exits and move straight to the docks. Stay out of sight. At least one of my friends will meet you there. Now hurry!"

The girl nodded furtively and seemed to double her speed at opening locks after my command. Leaving her to the task, I straightened and let my hands fall to the sides.

"The docks, eh? Just what are you planning?" The man asked me. Naturally, I didn't reply and instead summoned both my swords in each hand. If he was canny at all, my message was loud and clear.

"So that's how it is. You are either brave or a fool if you think you can challenge me and get away with it. I am Monkey D. Garp , and I am going to bring you in. If I defeat you, I am going to beat you down so badly that the only thing you will conquer is a hospital bad."

I grinned in response and just said a single word, "If."

The man's bloodthirsty smirk seemed to increase to truly inhuman proportions as he readied his fist.

And with that, our battle began.

~oO Silvers Oo~

The breakout had gotten off without a hitch, and had yielded results better than Silvers' conservative estimates. After being broken out, several prisoners had run off on their own. They were the fools, as there was no escape route off the island and they would all soon be reprehended. The cannier prisoners knew that their best bet was to go along with Silvers. Once he had revealed his identity, the weight of his and his captain's legend was enough to obtain cooperation.

Off the lot, there were about four dozen experienced sailors, who could be counted on when the seas got too rough. Another few dozen were familiar enough with ships that they could perform the minor tasks with ease. The rest were just riff-raff, useless for all but as additional cannon fodder, but right now they would do.

They did make for an odd sight as they stalked through the outskirts of the city. The locals, who had all barricaded themselves in after hearing the commotion at the docks, did not notice the large coterie pass through their city.

Amidst the desperate melee ensuing between the smugglers and the marines, no one took notice when men started to board the Adamant in twos and threes from the opposite end.

Silvers ordered some of the intimidating sailors to start getting the ship ready to sail, they only had about half an hour before the tides changed, allowing the ship to sail away safely from the shallow harbor. As the sailors prepared the riggings and the sails, the common bandits and assorted troublemakers raided the armory below deck and started to pass the numerous muskets, pistols and swords around. A few began to load the cannons with powder and shot, readying themselves according to Silvers' instructions.

Seeing that the preparations were well underway and no longer needing his supervision, Silvers snuck back down to quell the dwindling skirmish, which now resembled a petty squabble. With barely an exertion, the belligerent parties were all decked out on the wharf, knocked out cold.

With that, the docks were emptied of all personnel, except the ones brought by Silvers. A few minutes later, the two boys returned, pulling along the slaves rescued by Iskandar. While the rest of them hurried away towards the ship, one of them, a tall graceful girl remained behind long enough to pass on the message to Silvers: that Vice Admiral Garp was now battling her red-haired savior, Iskandar.

Trusting in the ability of his friend, Silvers could do nothing but wait.

~oO Iskandar Oo~

"What the hell do you eat? That last punch had had to hurt!" the man known as Garp barked out at me, before he once more tried to grapple me to get under my guard.

Snarling, I lashed out with a kick to loosen his grip and smashed the hilt of my sword against his nose, breaking it.

"You are one to talk, you haven't even bled freely yet!" I shouted back as the man regained his bearings from the sudden shock.

"Hate to say it, but whoever you are, you are damn fun to fight against!"

"I told you already, my name is Iskandar! Remember it!" I retorted and lashed out with a flurry of furious, relentless sword strikes. Impossibly enough, the man weathered them all using naught but his fists.

We had been fighting back and forth like this for what seemed like hours now, though in reality only minutes had passed. Our initial trading of blows had leveled the auction house around us, and even as we took it outside, the simpering nobles and the slaves made good their escape. I didn't spare a thought for either of them; my sole focus was on the man before me.

If I had to compare the man, he would be like the Berserker of the Grail War. No matter what you did, he just didn't stay down and got back up, taking advantage of every opening that he could find. Judging from the semi-insane grin and the battle-frenzy in his eyes, this man before me wasn't too far from that state either.

Eyes clouded in chaos, mind caged in madness.

Whenever I increased the intensity of my strikes, his punches increased in viciousness and brutality. At the level that we were now fighting, the force of his punches was so great that their passing tore up the ground below. Even a single hit was capable of leveling entire buildings. On my part, I wasn't holding anything back either. Despite the man's best efforts, not a single one of his attacks met their mark.

At least until he started throwing the cannonballs.

My last slash had thrown the man clear, crashing him into a building, which turned out to be the marine armory. There he gathered up the heavy ammunition and began throwing them towards me.

His actions had seemed ridiculous to me until one of the cannonballs hit my leg dead-on, crushing the bones with blunt force trauma. Somehow, the man was able to throw the missiles with a speed and a force greater than what could be achieved by cannon.

One of my legs might have been rendered useless, but I was not so easily defeated. Now that I knew what to expect, it was just a question of dodging and deflecting. Gaining ground steadily albeit slowly, I closed the distance between the two of us. As soon as I was near enough, I tackled the man down with all of my remaining strength and held him in a headlock. Bringing up my knee, I smashed the man's face, dislodging several of his teeth, but cracking my own kneecap as well.

Even after this, the man was still not down. Roaring at the top of my lungs, I grabbed his head and brought it down against a cannon. Again and again and again.

At last, his struggles stopped as he slumped in my grip. Slackening my hold on him, I let him drop, his face covered in blood. It actually looked worse than what it probably was. His chest was still rising and falling, which meant that he was still breathing…but for now, he was dealt with.

Lying amongst the shattered piles of metal, powder and blades, I was treated to the view of the prison exploding spectacularly, vaporized by the continuous volley of the mighty cannons of the Adamant.

It was my cue to leave, the signal that the ship was departing for the harbor…but for the life of me, I couldn't muster up the energy to walk away on my broken feet.

~oO Silvers Oo~

By now, the alarms had started to blare all over Loguetown, brought about after the prison had been blasted apart. The tides had started to swell in, and the sails were being unfurled, readying the ship for departure. Shanks had already claimed the crow's nest while Buggy was inspecting the numerous cannons and armaments of the ship with slack-jawed wonder. The slaves were hiding below deck and were being fed, while the ruffians had taken up positions along the bow and the stern, covering all possible bases of a surprise attack. All that was missing was Iskandar.

And if he didn't make it in the next few minutes, he would be left behind.

A silent minute passed, then another.

From atop his perch, Shanks shouted out that all the marine forces were now heading towards the wharf.

Another minute passed.

The sailors began to mutter and shout, begging Silvers to give his permission to haul away the anchor.

Another minute passed.

Silvers came to a decision.

"You call yourselves sailors? Brave men and women of the sea? Don't you know the first rule of any ship? We are nothing, without our Captain." He climbed atop the deck and spoke loud enough for all to hear.

"When the Captain raises the flag, he makes a pledge, a sacred oath of commitment…to the ship and to all who sail on it. And then, so do we all. When we sail under the black flag, we made the choice to walk alongside death. We made the choice to give our all to sailing free and proud upon these endless oceans. But what is a ship without a rudder, and what is a crew without its captain?"

"Your Captain…" he paused, and took a deep breath, "Our Captain is coming. Put your faith in him. He will come, and we will escape. If he doesn't, then we stand our ground, and we fight and we die. But we are NOT leaving without him. Any yellow-bellied coward wants to disagree, leave now. If you hesitate later, I'll shoot you down myself."

No one moved. Not a single person.

Silvers nodded in satisfaction and shouted up to Shanks, "It's time now, raise the black flag. Hoist those colors high!"

With a great cheer, the marine's flag was cut down, and in it's place Iskandar's flag: a skull surmounted by eight bones, resembling a starburst around a gruesome, morbid sun, was raised.

"Now we sing! For the ship, for the crew and for the Captain! Whatever end may come, we will face it with a smile on our face and a song in our hearts! Sing for Iskandar!"

The men cheered, and Silvers himself lead the song, a song once sung by the Roger Pirates, set to a tune that every sailor worth his salt knew.

"The King and his men, we woke the Three from their beds! We bound them in their bonds.

The seas were ours, and by those powers, where we willed, we roamed."

"Yo! Ho! Haul together! Hoist the colors high!

Heave ho! Thieves and beggars! Never shall we die!"

Some men lay dead, Some are alive, others sailed on to sea.

With the keys to their rage, and the Dragons to cage,

We lay on to fiddlers green!

"Yo! Ho! Haul together! Hoist the colors high!

Heave ho! Thieves and beggars! Never shall we die!"

And so they sang, though hope seemed lost and there was no sign of Iskandar, still they sang, their uplifted voices echoing among the crashing waves.

"Marines approaching! Too many, far too many in number!" Shanks shouted in alarm, shaking them from their reverie. Grimly, every man prepared himself for the imminent fight. Only Silvers was undeterred, arms crossed as he stared grimly towards the city. Suddenly, he smirked and straightened, and bellowed out.

"Prepare for departure! Cast away the anchor! Double time it lads! Hurry! He is here! Iskandar is coming!"

In bemused joy, the crew followed the orders wordlessly.

The noises of the marines' approach seemed to grow louder with every passing moment, spurring them on to work even faster. Just as the ship began to pull out of the harbor, the entirety of the marine garrison could be seen, closing ranks as they hurried onwards. The ship was still in firing range when the marines began to take up positions to fire. Just as the captain was about to give the order to fire, their ranks dispersed as they were unceremoniously tossed away by a man charging onwards on a magnificent horse. Silvers and Shanks immediately recognized the stately figure on the horse as Iskandar and began to cheer, followed by rest of the crew.

Iskandar held his sword aloft, gleaming golden in the bright sun, as the horse jumped. Midway across the jump, the mighty steed disappeared and Iskandar fell in a trajectory, falling down hard on the deck.

"Lend me a hand, will you?" Iskandar asked, grinning sardonically towards Silvers, "I am Iskandar, the King of Conquerors."

"Is that so? I am Silvers Rayleigh, known by some as the Dark King, First Mate aboard the Adamant."

"No, not the Adamant." Iskandar corrected, "This ship is the Invictus."

A/N: Lots of stuff happened, so chapter late. Sorry. Will try and do better the next time.

PS: Thank you so much for all the reviews and favs and follows. Really grateful for all the love shown.

Notes:-

1. Iskandar defeating Garp: to be honest, Garp was not all that enthused for the fight. Roger's request to adopt his unborn son already weighed heavily on his mind, while Shiki's attack on Marineford had occured not even two weeks ago for him. Despite how superhuman he can be, Garp was severely injured in the fight and hadn't got the chance to regroup and heal. Also, the fight was sudden and unexpected. Everytime that we have seen him, Garp has been the one to set the stage for the conflict. He plans out attacks, prepares for them and plots out how to use the terrain and surroundings to his advantage. In short, every battle that Garp fights, he fights on his own terms. Here, Iskandar held all the cards, and still he was injured enough to not be able to even move after their intense battle.

2. Garp's name issue: This is one thing that even I am not too sure about. According to the wikia, the dubs and the merchandise available, Garp's name's translation into English is kept as Monkey D. Garp only. I realize that his first name is Garp and his family name is Monkey, but in respect to the conventions being followed in the dubbed anime, I am going to continue with Monkey D. Garp only.
Besides, names like Nico Robin, Nefertari Vivi, Roronoa Zoro etc float off the tongue far easier than Robin Nico, Zoro Roronoa or Vivi Nefertari.
I am welcome to any discussions or arguments if any disagree. Feel free to PM me.

3. Bucephalus' Manifestation: Iskandar's reality marble is irregular...it is dependent on the Ionioi Hetairoi's soldiers who fuel the marble from within after Iskandar invokes it, as Iskandar is not a mage himself. And their manifestation within Iskandar's mind is dependent on his Name and his Status as the King of Conquerors. the greater his legend, the better he can wield the RM. This has limits in the Nasuverse due to the whole Alaya and Gaia thing...but in OP world, there are no such limits. Theoretically speaking, Iskandar has the potential to manifest the entire 50,000 strong army. Theoretically speaking, of course.

Characters and Objects background:-

1. Iskandar's Gambit is partly based on Howell Davis' capture of Gambia Fort, off the coast of Africa in 1718. He too posed as a Slave merchant and gained access to the Castle Commander. Then he took the man hostage while his men looted and sacked the castle. The pirates made off with a score of over 2000 pounds of silver.

2. Lvneel, Goa and Dressrosa are all actual Kingdoms in One Piece Canon.

3. Tahira means Good or Pure. She is partly based on Pascia, a canon slave at Sabaody.

4. Cutlass is a common seafaring weapon, based on the French word Couteau, meaning knife. It was a heavy, broad weapon, as ideal for cutting through ropes and hemps as through flesh. It was also relatively easy to use, and wasn't as cumbersome as the longswords.

5. Tartarus was the greek Dungeon O' Torment and Doom for the Titans and the truly wicked. Iskandar apparently thinks that the Nobles of the One Piece world belong in there.

6. Go to the crows was a serious insult in Ancient Greece. The Greeks were all gung-ho about proper cremation and burials. To tell someone to 'Go to the Crows' meant that you hoped that their body will be consumed by the scavenging crows rather than receiving proper funerary rites. Ouch.

7. Iskandar's threat 'You exist because I allow it, you will die because I demand it' was lifted word for word from Sovereign's Speech from Mass Effect 1. A completely unforgettable moment in the game

8. Strawberry and Pudding-Pudding are actual canon characters too. Pudding was a Commodore of the 77th Divison, and was killed after he foolishly attacked Arlong head-on. Strawberry is a Vice-Admiral and is first seen during the Enies Lobby arc. Knowing Garp's penchant for destruction and waywardness, it's plausible that Sengoku foisted the two off on him, in a bid to make Garp more responsible. Besides, Strawberry, Pudding was just too good a pun to pass up.

9. Shiki's attack on Marineford is canon too. He had stormed the HQ, angered when he heard that they had managed to 'capture' Roger. There, he slaughtered countless soldiers until he was accosted by Sengoku and Garp. After a long and hard-fought battle, Shiki was defeated and imprisoned.

10. The Thracian Rebellion was the 16 year old Alexander's first taste of war. While Phillip was off gallivanting and being a general dick, the Thracians rose up in arms. Alexander, who was the regent at the time, quelled them easily. Then in a display of colossal arrogance, he renamed the defeated city as Alexandropolis, just like his father had done ages ago. Alexander had a lot of Daddy issues.

11. Bucephalus was the loyal horse and lifelong companion of Alexander. He died in the battle of Hydaspes, a few months before his master's demise.

12. Olympia was the mother of Alexander. She was a member of the cult of Dionysus…that is to say, imagine Chandler Bing's mom and ramp up the sexuality by a factor of hundred. Needless to say, Alexander had a bunch of Mommy Issues too.

13. The 'IF' quip was an actual historical incident too. Phillip, father of Alexander had planned to invade Laconia, better known as Sparta. He sent them a threatening missive saying that: 'If I enter Sparta, I will level it to the ground.' The Spartans sent back a message saying: 'If'. After such a massive zinger, Phillip and later Alexander, both left the Spartans well alone.

14. The song being sung by Silvers is called 'Hoist the Colors', and is composed by Hans Zimmer for the third Pirates of the Carribean movie. The lyrics are changed somewhat. Silvers' version is based on the Roger Pirates' own adventures, and refers to the Three Weapons: Pluton, Uranus and Poseidon, that Roger likely unearthed or discovered by understanding the Poneglyphs. With the power of that knowledge backing them, it is no surprise that they ruled the seas. It also sneaks in a reference to the Will of D, it being the key to the Celestial Dragaons' rage, and being their natural enemy, the Bearers of the Will of D are also the Dragons' cage.

15. Bucephalus was indeed manifested as a part of Iskandar's Reality Marble. With the crew backing him, and his soon to be infamous deeds, he regained enough of a name to manifest his oldest and most loyal friend, if only for a very short time.

16. Adamant was said to be a mineral with properties similar to a diamond, or a lodestone. As a noun, Adamant refers to something that is immovable, unshakable and inflexible…on the other hand, Invictus is something or someone that can never be conquered. No matter what adversity, no matter what trials or tribulations, that which doesn't bow can rightfully be called Invictus. A fitting name for Iskandar's ship.

That's all for now. Next chapter: New plans are laid down, bounties are accrued and enemies are made.

Coming soon...