Sorry for the wait, everyone! Exams have been going on lately and I haven't had much time at all to write anything! Please forgive me! I know it's not the best I can do at the moment, but I did my best, so let's see what you think. R&R

Chapter 3 - Darkness

Luffy

Nami and Luffy raced side by side, their feet hitting the ground in unison. He couldn't remember old chef guy's directions for the life of him, but luckily, Nami's memory was clean as a dime and led them in the right direction. Although she did lose count on turns once, and they had to turn around once or twice, right into another group of marines. She blamed it on her lack of a compass.

These guys are persistent, Luffy thought as he quickly dealt with them. Can't they see I just wanna leave and go on more adventures?

He could see from the corner of his eye, Nami watching him, her gaze unreadable. He didn't quite understand why, but he suddenly wanted to hug her. The look in her eyes was... mah, he couldn't find the right word for it. Luffy had a pounding headache as it was, and he didn't want to burden myself with any more thoughts than need be.

"Gaah!" The last marine collapsed on the floor, Luffy's fist buried in his stomach.

His arm snapped back into place. "Alright, Nami! Which way next?"

Nami looked to the left. "This way!"

They continued running. There were still no signs of the stairs old chef guy had mentioned. That was the only thing Luffy remembered… go up. Two floors, he thought it was. Ow… head hurts. Luffy didn't want to think about anything except captain-guy's room. That would be where all the crew's stuff is. And his hat! If those bastards even thought about laying a finger on his hat, he was going to bring this entire place to the ground.

Something hit the floor behind Luffy, and let out a small squeal. He skidded to a stop, turning. He was stunned to see Nami sitting on the floor, clutching her ankle with trembling fingers. Her face was twisted, biting her lip, trying not to cry.

"Nami! Are you alright?" Luffy knelt beside his navigator, staring intently at her.

Nami's face turned red. "I-I'm okay, just tripped. Help me up."

He was skeptical, but gripped her hand and pulled her to her feet. She seemed fine, though her hands were shaking, so they continued on. However, after one step, she was on the floor again, her fingers wrapped tightly around the same ankle. She inhaled sharply, refusing to cry out. Luffy admired her for that, just a little. But then again, she was always a very strong woman. Since when did he have those thoughts?

"You're not okay, are you?" Luffy said, putting a hand on her injured ankle. Luffy was the farthest thing from doctor possible, but even he could tell something was wrong. "It's swollen."

"I told you, I'm fine!"

Luffy sighed and made his decision. He maneuvered his position a bit, and put one hand behind Nami's back, and the other arm under her knees, picking her up and holding her tight against his chest. A sharp pain exploded in his chest as he suddenly remembered the bullet he had taken for her. He ignored it. "You'll have to direct me where we're going, 'cause I have no idea."

Nami beat her fist against the side of Luffy's head. It didn't hurt, but it was still painful. "Put me down right now!" she ordered.

"No! Captain's order: lead me to the vault!"

Nami stopped struggling. Luffy could feel her body relax slightly. She rested her head on his shoulder, the wounded one. "Keep going straight until I say stop."

"Okay!" Luffy ran forward, determination pounding in his heart so loud and so fast, he was positive Nami could hear it.

XXX

Nami

Nami was sure Luffy would hear the violent pounding of her heart as she directed him through the marine stronghold. She wrapped her arm around his back, gripping hard to the ripped fabric of his bloodstained signature red vest. If she held still, her fingers would slide along scrapes and cuts along his shoulder blades. The feeling sent shivers down her back. Every time she touched one, Luffy would rotate his shoulders uncomfortably, and she tried to stop touching them. However, her fingers found the bullet wound in his left shoulder, and she tried hard not to look at it.

"Take a left here!"

Luffy swung to the right.

"No, other left!"

She had tripped on a patch of water some careless janitor had left behind and twisted her ankle. Her foot throbbed painfully. It was an embarrassing scene, and she wished Chopper was with her, to take care of Luffy first of course, because a bullet is worse than a twisted ankle. But quite frankly, Luffy's solution to the problem was a valid one. It was the one Sanji would have suggested. Maybe the pervert was rubbing off on him.

Nami rested her head lightly on Luffy's shoulder for most of the run, trying to inflict the least amount of pain possible. If she tuned out the rhythmic slap-slap of Luffy's sandals, she could faintly hear the pounding of his heart. For some reason, that sound comforted her. When you look at a person, you don't immediately look at their chest to see their heart, the source of their life. Sometimes she wondered if people even had a heart. It was comforting to know her captain had one, in more ways than a beating muscle in his chest. She wanted to fall asleep, right there, but she forced herself to remain awake. This idiot would get lost without her.

"Stop!"

Luffy skidded to a halt, his sandals sliding on the slick floor. "What?"

"This is it. This is the room. Now put me down!"

Luffy lowered the arm hooked under her legs and lowered her slowly to the ground. She kept one hand on his shoulder for support, but was otherwise normal – well, as normal as you could get after not being fed for a week, on top of a twisted ankle. Luffy looked up. The two pirates stood side by side, staring at the ornate double doors set into the wall. A name plate resting above them read, Captain Ramius, 56th Division.

"This is it," Nami said.

Luffy reached for the gold doorknob. He turned it, and the door clicked. He pushed his way into the room, Nami stumbling along behind him.

The captain's room was fairly large, though still not as spacious as the kitchen. Flags displaying the insignia of the World Government hung from the walls. Various pieces of furniture were scattered around the room: chairs, tables, couches, the entire lot. Another small door made of a thick metal stood against the back wall, a small dial in the place a knob would be. However, the most noticeable thing in the room was the tall man sitting at his desk, writing something on a paper. An half-eaten plate of steamed vegetables and pasta sat by his hand.

He looked up as the pirates entered the room. The man had a large dark goatee covering his face. Dark brown hair peeked through the marine cap he wore on his head. The coat of a Marine Captain hung over the back of his chair, the word Justice emblazoned upon it. His eyes were a light blue color, but they were the hard blue of a sky just before a storm. His hand was poised in a writing position, but it didn't move as Captain Ramius eyed them.

"Monkey D. Luffy," He said after a long pause. "And Cat Burglar Nami."

Nami reached for the knife tucked to her belt. "Please, sir, we only want the combination to the weapons vault and we won't harm you!"

"Hey, captain-guy!" Luffy stepped forward. "Where's my hat? I'll kick your ass if you don't talk!"

Captain Ramius raised his eyebrows and slowly lowered his pen to the table. He rested his elbows on the surface, interlacing his fingers together. "You want your weapons back. Your weapons back."

Nami resisted the urge to giggle. Captain Ramius had spoken normally, his voice low and firm. However, his second sentence almost sounded like an echo of the first, softer and slowly fading away by the last word.

"That's right!"

"Shut up, Luffy," Nami shushed him. "Let me be the diplomat here."

"What's a diplomat?"

Nami ignored him and stepped forward, taking her hand from Luffy's shoulder and standing up straight. She refused to acknowledge the sudden wave of pain from her ankle. "Captain Ramius," she said, as if she had rehearsed it. "Our captain has a three hundred million bounty on his head. Unless you want your men to be utterly defeated, and your stronghold completely razed to the ground, please hand us the combination to the vault behind us."

Nami was certain the door with the dial knob was the safe. A thief's intuition, she supposed. And maybe he even keeps some gold in there! She thought maliciously to herself.

"You want your weapons back Your weapons back." Captain Ramius repeated.

Nami was losing her patience. "Yes. The combination please."

"You don't have to keep repeating yourself. Repeating yourself." Captain Ramius blinked slowly. Nami scoffed at the irony. "I understand you want your weapons back. Your weapons back. When will you learn you can't always get what you want? Not what you want?"

Luffy snapped. He stepped forward, despite Nami's attempts to stop him, though she herself was ready to sock the captain as well. Luffy's voice was filled with anger. "Listen here, captain-guy! I'm the man who's gonna be King of the Pirates! And nothing you say will change my mind! I will be king!"

Captain Ramius said nothing as he slowly stood up. "Straw Hat, this world is too vast to conquer. Vast to conquer. What makes you different from all the other pirates who I've captured and executed? Captured and executed?"

"I have ambition." Luffy's retort was short, hard, and seething with anger.

Captain Ramius chuckled. "Ambition?"

Nami suddenly had a wonderful, crazy, dangerous, stupid, and risky idea. It would require Luffy being a distraction, but he didn't appear to notice her, already following through with her plan without even knowing. His gaze was fixed on the captain's, and the captain's on his. She slowly backed away from the two men and inched her way to the locked vault.

"Ambition?" Captain Ramius was laughing aloud by now.

"That's right, ambition! I'll use that to rescue my crew, and escape from this fortress!"

Nami had reached the door. She knelt by the dial and held her ear to the cold metal. Putting her lock-picking skills to the test, she closed her eyes and turned the dial, listening for the telltale sound of a click inside the mechanism. Meanwhile, the two men were still going back and forth, talking about the Grand Line, the New World, Gold Roger, and other such things Nami didn't need to concern herself with at present time. Though she was concerned as to why Captain Ramius had not raised the alarm. Two pirates infiltrating his office, and no sign of a single marine!

The first click. Nami's heart raced, her body temperature rising.

Time slowed; Nami's hands grew slick with sweat. Her ankle throbbed harder.

The second click. She bit her lip, casting a quick glance back at the men. Luffy was nearing the breaking point. His voice rose in volume with every word, but Captain Ramius wasn't backing down either. It wouldn't be long until one of them attacked.

The third click. Yes!

The door swung inward on silent hinges. Despite the quiet, Captain Ramius chose that precise moment to turn his head in the direction of the vault. His eyes found the opening door, and Nami kneeling on the ground, massaging her aching foot.

"Cat Burglar! Burglar! How dare you! How dare you!"

"Hey, captain-guy! Listen when I'm talking to you!" Luffy threw back his arm. "Gomu gomu no… pistol!"

Captain Ramius raised his hand and caught Luffy's fist just before it was to connect to his face. "Straw Hat. You're not a match for me. Not a match for me."

Nami scrambled into the vault, watching the light slowly spread among its contents. "Luffy! Keep him busy!"

"Right!" Luffy yelled, and began to attack the captain, knocking him back into the couch resting right in front of his desk.

Nami's writhing had knocked the three katana to the floor, the Wado Ichimonji conking her on the head. "Ow…" She had sat on a pair black shoes. Her hand struck an eerie chord on a light expanded. It sparkled off the two cans of cola lying haphazard on the floor. It glinted off the light blue of a long rod with three balls attached to it. Hanging from the tip of the blue rod was a weathered hat made of straw, a red cloth tied around the brim. That was enough convincing of her to know she had stuck gold. All the Straw Hat weapons, including Luffy's hat, were strewn all around her.

"Luffy! I found them! Luffy!"

The light dimmed. It moved into a tiny sliver, just barely enough to see by. "Luffy?" Nami turned around, just in time to see the door of the vault swing shut. Her last thought before the navigator was plunged into total darkness, was one hoping Luffy would notice her absence.

Nami had been locked inside the weapons vault with no light to see by, no way of communication, and no idea how to get free.

A lot of this chapter was completely spontaneous, so I'm not exactly sure how it'll look to you. I appreciate any help/support you can give me, and I hope you'll forgive me for not making it a bit longer. :)

Coming Up: Chapter 4 - Lightning