A/N:
This chapter is dedicated to Krissum and alguien22792 who both guessed right about Ray ;)
I apologize for the lateness of this chapter. These last few weeks were incredibly hectic with juggling a new job, several mid-term exams and a mind-numbing amount of term papers that were due. However, I am now free until Christmas(for the most part) and will continue to update weekly. :D
"Flying.
Whatever any other organism has been able
to do man should surely be able to do also,
though he may go a different way about it."
- Samuel Butler
Late into the morning Zoro found himself out among the forest, bow in hand as he watched the late September sun slowly crest over the mountains to the east. The snow line was getting further toward the valley and he was certain that in a few weeks there would be a light frosty layer down on the forest floor as well.
Franky did buy a lot of their supplies and food, but with Luffy's stomach and a base full of nine it was hard to keep the place stocked and not draw attention from Jaya with how much they purchased. That was why as much as they could find out here in the mountains was also used. A deer, a few fish from the creek or even a bear was easily usable.
With all of his senses on high alert he ducked and wove through the trees making sure not to make a sound. Not even a crack of a branch was heard under his soft yet purposeful strides. Hunting took his mind off any problems he might be having – being too focused on stalking his prey – it left little room for him to be contemplating anything else. And at the moment he had a lot of things going through his mind. Namely things about Sanji, and last night.
The last thing he had intended to do was to spill his entire sob story to the man, and yet Sanji had sat there and listened respectfully and Zoro hadn't been able to stop himself. The weight that he had been carrying for years finally felt a little lighter as he explained his life for the first time. And the more time he had spent talking to the blond the more he had realized he enjoyed Sanji's company. Sanji had been cheerful, and respectful, joking and apologetic. Apologetic! How was that even in Sanji's repertoire of emotions? Before Zoro even knew what he was doing he was ruffling Sanji's hair and jokingly pushing him off the bed; he didn't have an excuse for his actions – which was a bit of a problem.
And when he had woken up in the morning that had been a new problem altogether. Finding himself sleeping a foot away from the snoring blond who had haphazardly covered them both with his wing. He had felt nervous and clammy and excited all at once and had fallen out of bed trying to get away from Sanji in his embarrassment. He had sat on the floor for some time contemplating the very things he was now, but when he had gotten the urge to climb back into bed and sleep beside the blond undisturbed, that – more than anything – had him on his feet, bow in hand as he rushed from the room.
Even now he was still confused by his own behaviour but as he heard a faint sound Zoro shoved aside the thoughts and focused solely on the task at hand. Zoro paused and kept his back flush against a tree, the bow held carefully in his right hand, his fingers gently stroking the feathers on the arrow.
It would be easy to simply strangle the creature, but an internal part of him didn't feel up to snapping a creature's neck with his hands. Sure there were a select few people that he would love to get his hands on and hurt in the most cruel way possible, but he had no grudge against these animals; he just needed to survive. Besides, chasing down an animal and simple hitting it over the head wasn't nearly as challenging nor interesting as hunting them.
Zoro carefully leaned forward to glance around the tree and found the deer he had been tracking for the past hour. She had an elegant long neck that lead to delicate head that was nibbling lightly on some shrubs. Her ears were broad and stretched out listening for any sign of a predator, and her tail was perked up cutely. Her body had a wonderful beige coat that was littered with faded spots and was significantly fatter due to her storing up for the winter.
He raised the bow expertly, wood creaking lightly as he drew back the string. The deer's ear twitched but she remained oblivious as she continued munching on some willows, her jaw rotating in exaggerated movements as she chewed the waxy saplings. Breathing gently on the string, he centred the bow accurately; lining the arrow up with her heart.
She moved ever-so-slightly as she shifted her weight back and forth on her hind legs, the strong muscles in her haunches flexing. Zoro watched critically at each movement she made, not moving a single one of his own muscles and as soon as her fidgeting ended Zoro released the arrow.
It whizzed through the air, slicing through the trees silently before imbedding sharply in her body. She jerked at the pain but the fatal hit had her collapsing instantly. The body fell to the ground in a heap and a few twitches finally had her laying completely still.
Zoro lowered the bow with a smug grin before making his way over to the carcass and kneeling beside her, placing a hand on her haunch before wrenching the arrow out of her body. He wiped it clean on his pant leg before putting it in the quiver on his back.
Respectfully, he inspected the doe and noted that she had an extremely thick coat, the fur was soft and warm underneath his cold hands. She was also just as plump as he had assumed upon his tracking of her and she would probably last about a week, at the rate of Luffy's hunger. Making sure the wound wouldn't bleed out onto himself, he hefted the deer onto his shoulder. He had barely made it five feet when a cheerful voice called down on him.
"Very nice, Robin Hood."
Zoro glanced up to see the object of his previous thoughts sitting on the branch of an oak, legs swinging childishly beneath him as his wings fluttered lightly. He watched Zoro with a cheeky grin and Zoro felt his stomach do a stupid sort of flip-flop. Brushing the feeling off as nothing more than probably hunger he baited Sanji, "Think you could do better?"
From the twitch in Sanji's eye he could tell the blond desperately wanted to claim that he could but instead reluctantly informed, "Never used one."
"Want to try?" Zoro offered with a challenging smile. He knew the blond would take the challenge, it was just in his nature. After spending so long confused by the blond's split personality he had soon figured out some of the easier whims of the man. Granted, Sanji was still one confusing nut.
Sanji noted Zoro's challenge, pushed himself off from the branch and landed before Zoro barely making a sound. He was oddly dressed for the chilly mid-morning; his thin cotton zip up shirt and pair of shorts hardly looked warm, but the blond seemed unperturbed.
"Love to."
Zoro deposited the deer on the ground and glanced around the small clearing for an acceptable tree. A large red caught his attention and he snatched an arrow from his quiver, strung it up, and raised the bow as he steadied his breathing. He gave Sanji a small chance to note his stance and technique before releasing the arrow. It imbedded into the tree with a thunk and Zoro handed the bow and an arrow off to Sanji.
"Try getting as close to the arrow as possible."
"Alright." Sanji took the bow in his left and strung up the arrow, fumbling a little until finally getting the arrow on the rest and drawing the string back with little difficulty. He stood with the bow loaded but at this point looked a little lost. "What do I do now?"
"Well first you should be facing me, not the target."
Sanji lowered the bow slightly, the muscles in his arms still staying tense, "That makes no sense."
"Yes it does. Here." Zoro took a hold of Sanji shoulders and turned the man to face him, trying to ignore the heat radiating from the man that warmed his chilled fingers. "You want the side of your body facing the target; it'll give you better aim."
"Okay..." Sanji brought the bow up once more and looked along his shoulder and the line of his bowarm at the tree. "It feels weird."
"Yeah. It does at first." Zoro gently took Sanji's arm and bent it slightly, "You don't want your arm straight otherwise the string is going to slap your arm and it hurts like a bitch."
Sanji allowed his arm to be bent and Zoro quietly noted that it was probably the first time Sanji had went along willingly with anything Zoro had ever said or done. Sanji adjusted his grip to compensate for the odd bend in his arm and then looked at Zoro for the next clue.
"Feet should be shoulder width apart." Zoro instructed and Sanji adjusted his stance, "Now have the bow high enough that the arrow is eye level. Take aim then slowly release your hold."
Sanji turned his attention to the tree and frowned in concentration, he took a deep breath like Sanji had observed Zoro do then released it as his fingers let go. The string snapped and the arrow was launched and before the arrow even hit the tree Sanji swore loudly.
The arrow hit near the base of the tree – a good three to four feet off – but otherwise good for a first time. Zoro tilted his head slightly, "It's okay. It wasn't that bad for a first time."
"No." Sanji scowled and rubbed his left arm vigorously, "The damn string got me."
Zoro laughed and snatched up Sanji's left arm noting the large oblong red mark that was beginning to swell on Sanji's inner forearm, "Yeah, that'll bruise."
"Fuck, that hurt."
"I did warn you."
"Yeah, well I learned my lesson now didn't I?" Sanji muttered sarcastically before reaching over Zoro's shoulder and grabbing another arrow and stringing it up. Zoro watched in light amusement as Sanji strung up the second arrow, and exaggeratedly bent his arm out of harms way.
"Help me with my aim now would you?" Sanji asked glanced down at himself to make sure he was standing properly. "I swear I aimed right."
"Well, it did hit your arm so that threw it off. And..." Zoro stepped forward and leaned close to stare along the line of Sanji's arrow, lifting the blonds back arm slightly to adjust the angle. Zoro glanced quickly at Sanji as the blond was still occupied with staring at his target.
Sanji's brows were furrowed in concentration, the expression causing a cute scrunch in his slender nose and his eyes to narrow slightly; highlighting the blond lashes and the bright blue of his eyes. Sanji's tongue was sticking out slightly as he focused and Zoro noted the stubble that was staring on the man's chin and up the blond's strong jaw. Zoro swallowed slowly as he realized just how close he actually was to the blond and that he could smell Sanji's alluring musk.
He felt a wave of nervousness hit him like a bag of bricks to the stomach.
Sanji flipped his hair lightly but the bangs fell back into place regardless, covering his curly eyebrows and found himself wanting to ruffle Sanji's hair again. The stark blue eyes shifted to him and Zoro knew Sanji asked something but couldn't do anything than stare back into those hypnotizing blue pools.
"Huh?" He managed hoarsely.
"And...?" Sanji coaxed, an eyebrow arching in question at Zoro's behaviour. Sanji probably didn't know, but whenever he gave that questioning look his head always tilted slightly to the left causing his bangs to swing precariously and reveal that other blue eye.
"You – uh..." Zoro coughed lightly when his voice caught. "You gotta gauge how much the arrow will drop and interferences... like wind."
"Okay." Sanji muttered, indifferent to the racing thoughts whizzing through Zoro's head. "So aim a little high?"
"Basically." Zoro managed before turning away and purposefully staring off into the trees. The intricate placing of them had the eye looking on forever between the infinite gaps between the trunks and every so often an area was lit up with glorious golden rays that bathed the ground in an autumn hue. But even the stunning beauty of the current season couldn't stop the sudden realization that hit him.
Holy fuck...
Out of all the times Sanji had shoved his face into Zoro's personal space and yelled vulgarities not once had he actually observed Sanji as anything other than a blond-haired idiot. But past that... Sanji was attractive. Fuck that; he was drop dead gorgeous.
Zoro wished he could pinpoint the exact moment when he could say that his view of the blond had shifted from annoying curly-eyebrowed idiot to blond-haired, blue-eyed gorgeous dumbshit, but he honestly couldn't decide. Sure, when the blond had woken up Zoro could admit that he was good looking but as he began spewing insults and had a heated temper Zoro had realized what an annoying person this man must be.
But...
But as he had spent more time with him he couldn't understand when he had dropped his guard. At what point had he deemed this man so trustworthy as to spill his entire life for the man to know. And yet he had. And as much as alcohol would be lovely to blame, Zoro knew he was only kidding himself. He had wanted Sanji to know.
Maybe it had been watching Sanji fly that had at first made him come to terms with what kind of person he was. Nothing defined a person more than the actions they took while under the impression that they were alone. Sanji had barely been a spec on the sky as he flew about in no orderly pattern; dropping suddenly when he pulled his wings into his body, and racing toward the clouds as he viciously beat his wings. And while Zoro had stood out on that cliff and watched Sanji fly he knew that there were probably more intricacies and quirks to the man than he could probably ever figure out.
When he had grasped the man's hand in his he wasn't quite sure what had come over him, but he had known that the feeling was one that he had liked. At the time he hadn't understood his actions, but now they seemed painfully obvious as Sanji stalked toward the tree and snatched the arrow from the trunk, grumbling because of his miss.
He liked Sanji.
Zoro didn't now what exactly that encompassed but it was there and now that he knew it was he felt every single one of his actions and observations motivated it. He certainly wasn't opposed to the male gender, and at the moment he had no impulse to kiss the man, nor do anything intimate. But as Sanji strung up the bow and once more focused in on the tree, Zoro knew that at that moment he just wanted the blond near. He wanted the stupid arguments, the snarky comments that kept him on his toes, and the few moments of uncommon niceness from the blond.
Zoro palmed his mouth as he let out a quiet, distressed noise.
He glanced down at the black bandana still tied securely around his injured hand; remembering the gentleness in Sanji's hands as he had wrapped up the wound. Sanji had been uncommonly civil and dare he say nice, during their time together last night. Surely he wasn't the only one with these racing thoughts that were making his brain hurt?
The arrow landed with a thunk in the tree and Sanji made an annoyed noise. Zoro glanced up and broke himself out of his train of thought, "What's wrong?"
Sanji gestured with an annoyed hand toward the arrow that was still low on the tree, "That wasn't where I was aiming for at all."
"Yeah, well." Zoro smirked, "It takes practice."
"One more time?"
Zoro shrugged lightly, "By all means. I have nothing else to do."
"Shouldn't you be off stealing from King John?"
"Fuck off."
Sanji just laughed before stringing up the bow once more and taking aim. There was one more thing that could possibly be the problem with Sanji's aim, but he wasn't sure if his want to point out was due to his newest revelation about Sanji, or just because he wanted to help.
Fuck it, Zoro thought vaguely as he motioned at Sanji to hold fire.
Zoro reached out – desperately hoping that Sanji wouldn't note anything about his behaviour as weird – and completely brushed the bangs aside and hooked them behind an ear. Sanji raised an eyebrow at Zoro and for a moment Zoro was scared that he had crossed a line.
"What's that for?"
"Keep both eyes open." Zoro explained, "You're throwing off your aim with your hair in the way."
Sanji seemed to accept the answer and turned back to the tree, biting his lower lip as he forcefully kept both eyes open. He seemed to take a few moments to get used to both eyes focusing instead of one, but his lip was soon released from his teeth and then the arrow was sharply fired.
The arrow pegged itself into the tree a couple inches from Zoro's arrow and Sanji turned to Zoro with a large smile, his face uncharacteristically boyish in his glee. Zoro found a blush creeping up his cheeks at the expression and bent down to pick up the deer to hide his face.
"Good job, Little John. Now let's get back to Sherwood."
Sanji looked affronted but Zoro just grinned and turned to make his way back through the forest. He heard Sanji run to the tree to retrieve the arrows before his footsteps quickened as he ran to catch up to Zoro.
"Oi. There's no fucking way I'd be your side-kick."
~X~
Sanji stared in shock at the man who walked through the door, looking exactly as he did the day he had left Impel Down. Granted he had obviously had a shower and a shave, and had gotten clean clothes, but there he stood. Being greeted happily by everyone, laughing cheerfully.
Once everyone had calmed down, Ray looked at Sanji, that twinkle ever present. He walked over to Sanji and held out his hand, "I believe I haven't properly introduced myself; I'm Rayleigh Silvers."
Sanji tentatively reached out and took it, shaking firmly, "Sanji Black."
Rayleigh smiled happily, "So you escaped after all."
"You're the one who told me to."
"Well, I'm very glad it worked out."
"That's why you were in there." Sanji realized sharply, "You were getting intelligence."
"That I was. But I assume you're very confused by all this." He gestured to the large stone table, "How about we take a seat and explain everything?"
Luffy grinned before jumping on Sanji, wrapping his legs and arms around the blond several times in his form of a hug. "Yay! You hear that Sanji; we get to keep you!"
Sanji chuckled as he attempted to sit down while disentangling himself from the rubber boy. An arm was successfully pulled off, but the boy's legs had a boa constrictor mimicry going on around Sanji's waist. A few tugs that proved pointless had Sanji giving up.
"That was it?" Sanji asked in confusion, looking over at Rayleigh, even though his other hand was still on Luffy's cheek as he tried to pry the boy away.
"Indeed." Rayleigh tapped the side of his nose, "That's why I befriended you in Impel. Many have lost the will to fight, and many are too weak to carry on. But you, I saw you and I knew were a kind person. What you did for that girl..."
Sanji blushed and rubbed at the back of his neck, "Anyone would've done that."
"No, not anyone. And that's what makes you different. That is what makes you belong here."
Luffy finally let go and climbed up into his seat. He swung an arm around Sanji's shoulder amiably, "Knew from the start you belonged here. Your cooking was the decision maker."
Sanji chuckled, "Well, I just hope that I can be of some use."
"Everyone is key if we are to make this work. And I trust you to be able to accomplish whatever task you're given."
Sanji grinned in gratitude, "I will sir."
"Now," Rayleigh said assertively while stroking thoughtfully at his whitening beard, "I guess I'll have to begin with what Impel is exactly-"
"Zoro told me most of it." Sanji conceded as he grinned over at the green-haired man.
"Really?" Nami raised a brow in interest.
"I told him about the government." Zoro interjected quickly. "That was it."
Everyone seemed a little shocked by this, but Zoro must've had some sort of authority because this was quickly brushed off as acceptable. But Sanji still caught the surprised look Nami sent Zoro's way and the returned scowl of annoyance and vulgar gesture.
"Well," Rayleigh chuckled, "That certainly saves me some time. Let's get right to the point then. As a smart boy like you has probably already figured out; we're breaking into Impel."
"I guessed so, yeah." Sanji acceded, "But I honestly don't know how you're going to."
"Well this project has been in the works for the past three years. You actually arrived at a very exciting time; we have set the date of invasion for a month from now on October 24th."
"Three years?"
"Something as delicate as this needs to be handled carefully. We can't just go barging in and make a mess of things. We've taken this time to do covert operations and find out as much as we can about its interior. When we do finally attack it needs to be perfect. We don't have the option of making mistakes."
"Nami." He nodded in silent request to the woman, who returned the head gesture with a grin before turning to the huge table. She laid out several blueprints, each one was done with a amazing detail as though they were the original designs for the building, down to the last measurement and doorway. Each map seemed devoted to different portions of the interior and then Nami placed the largest of them all right in the centre.
Seeing the side cut view of Impel was interesting and it finally put into light exactly what the testing facility looked like. It had a shape of a triangle; the top barely poking out of the ground and the further it dropped the larger the body became. The base of the entire structure was at least a hundred times larger than the top and a scribbled note on the blue print put the bottom level at almost a kilometre underground.
"Wow." Sanji muttered on a breath.
"We've been working on the maps for a while." Nami explained professionally, "But I've finally gotten enough information to create a full, reliable map of the entire layout of Impel. There are exactly 150 levels. Each floor is set out in a cyclical pattern. This one is the bird's eye view perspective." Nami pulled out a large binder and placed it in front of Sanji. "It will make more sense."
Sanji flipped it open to a random page and true enough the structure was laid out in a circle; all the halls and corridors also seemed to be arranged in accordance to the circular pattern. He noted the top page said "Floor 49" and began flipping through finding that all 150 floors were accounted for.
"Nami, this is incredible."
"Thank you." Nami accepted the compliment with a proud smile and handed Sanji another large binder, "This is filled with all that we know so far. I had a feeling you might want to review it yourself."
Sanji flipped open the binder and found the tab labelled "Maps" and flipped it open to that page. A detailed longitudinal diagram of Impel was immediately shown as well as a legend on the side which organized the floors into several main categories.
FLOORS
Floors 1-10 – Blugory Barracks
Floors 11-20 – Housing Units
Floors 21-30 – Documentation
Floors 31-40 – Chemical Engineering
Floors 41-50 – Hospital and Patient Recovery
Floors 51-60 – Cleaning and Sterilization Clinic
Floors 61-70 – Gymnasium, Aquarium, and Practice Facilities
Floors 71-80 – Physical Testing Ward
Floors 81-90 – Mental Testing Ward
Floors 91-100 – Mortuary and Deceased Clinic
Floors 101-150 – Cells
After the opening map there was a page of each floor and details accounting for most of what was located on that floor as well as the dimensions and other notes.
"I hope you'll study up." Rayleigh smiled as he brought out a small notepad from his pocket, "I want you to be in the loop but there's only so much time I have to get everything ready."
"You don't have to worry." Sanji placed his hand on the open binder, "This means a lot to me; I won't take it lightly."
"I know you won't." Rayleigh nodded happily, "Now I'd like you officially meet the leaders of each essential component of our invasion. Luffy and Zoro; head captains for invasion and offensive. Nami, Usopp and Brooke; our retrieval squad. Chopper; head doctor, Robin; head of document recovery and Franky; our head engineer and demolition expert."
Each gave a wave or a nod when their title was announced and Sanji felt a little weird having them introduced to him a second time. But another part of him was elated; a thrum of energy pulsing through him at the knowledge that he was finally a part of this plan. Finally, he was going to be able to make a difference in something that truly mattered.
"So, Sanji." Rayleigh addressed the blond as he began flipping through his notepad, "I need to finalize some details but when we are done just ask any questions you need to."
"Okay." Sanji nodded.
The old man seemed to finally find the page he was looking for. "Franky." Rayleigh turned to the cyborg, "You and Bege have been working on the explosives. How are they coming?"
"We finished up and it's all stored at Bege's base."
"Good." Rayleigh nodded, producing a pen and making a small note, "Now I'll be having his team and you set up the detonators once we get inside. The structural weaknesses are here," He pulled out a blueprint from the pile and pointed to an intersecting point that had been circled in white, "And here." He pointed to another that appeared in an opposite location on the map. "I'll need you to study these thoroughly with Bege's team and make sure that when you actually get in you'll be able to set up and get out in the minimal amount of time."
"Way ahead of you boss." Franky grinned broadly, "We're going for a Pancake Effect[1]. Destroy the base and weaken the internal structure and have the whole thing collapse level at a time. The ground will collapse in around it and there will essentially be nothing left but a small hole in the ground."
"Will you have enough time?"
"More than enough." Franky waved a hand, "And with the way it's built it'll come down easy. Anything else you need?"
"Small hand detonators." Rayleigh tore a page out of his book that from afar looked to have a diagram of a small hand held device as well as several notes on the side and gave it to Franky, "We can't waste time with keys, so we'll need small controlled explosives for opening doors. As many as you can make in time."
Franky whistled lightly, "Alrighty. Bege and I will get started right away."
Rayleigh nodded gratefully, "Thank you."
As the two of them had been talking Sanji had opened his binder and been curiously flipping through. There was an uncanny amount of multicoloured dividers that separated the documents into all sorts of different divisions, and at the beginning there was a three page long index that listed all the contents of the file. Sanji flipped open to a chapter that had caught his attention labelled "Captains" and immediately noted everyone from the crew was amongst the top.
CAPTAINS
Luffy D. Monkey
Code Name: Straw Hat
Captain: Offensive
Ability: Permanent transformation of body into rubber.
Zoro Roronoa
Code Name: Hunter
Captain: Offensive
Ability: Up-graded muscle.
Nami Mikan
Code Name: Burglar
Captain: Retrieval
Ability: Body permanently electricalized.
Usopp Soge
Code Name: Sogeking
Captain: Retrieval
Ability: Partial cyborg.
Tony Tony Chopper
Code Name: Tonaki
Captain: Doctor
Ability: Mind transplant; deer.
Robin Nico
Code Name: Fleur
Captain: Documental Recovery
Ability: Epidermal control and morphing.
Cutty Flam; Franky
Code Name: Cyborg
Captain: Demolition
Ability: Cyborg.
Brooke Rumbar
Code Name: Dead Bones
Captain: Retrieval
Ability: Skeletal strengthening. Side affect; glowing.
Sanji noted the explanations of all his companions with interest, never really having known exactly what some of his friends full names were or what had happened to change their bodies. The nicknames deeply interested him and he wanted to know the story behind each one.
Further down the page was even more names; but were of people he hadn't heard of.
Kidd Eustass
Code Name: Magnet
Captain: Offensive
Ability: Body magnetized.
Killer
Code Name: Killer
Captain: Offensive
Ability: Partial cyborg; arms.
Drake X.
Code Name: Rex
Captain: Retrieval
Ability: Partial body transplant; lizard.
Urouge
Code Name: Giant
Captain: Retrieval
Ability: Extreme body growth.
Law Trafalgar
Code Name: Ope
Captain: Doctor
Ability: Heightened intelligence. Side affect; tendency towards psychopathic behaviour.
Basil Hawkins
Code Name: Voodoo
Captain: Documental Recovery
Ability: Organic constituency in flesh. Fast recovery speed.
Bege Capone
Code Name: Fortress
Captain: Demolition
Ability: Cyborg; weaponry.
Apoo Scratchmen
Code Name: Sound
Captain: Retrieval
Ability: Partial cyborg; instruments.
The names continued on but were no longer under the header of "Captain" and were instead underneath each Captain's name; a list of every occupant that was supposedly at their base. Some names were honestly giving, but then there were the few – like Killer – who seemed to want to keep their identity a complete secret.
Sanji backtracked to Law's profile and noted 'Ope', vaguely remembering Luffy having using the name on a previous occasion. An interesting way to address everyone – by a nickname – but he assumed that when this was all said and done names would not want to be remembered.
"Robin?" Rayleigh turned to the ebony haired woman, flipping to another page in his notebook.
"The storage area you requested is completed and has been redesigned to keep it from getting damp or moist." Robin reported coolly, "There should be more than enough space for the estimate amount of documents recovered."
"That'll be more than enough." Rayleigh muttered, "More than half those documents will be on the already deceased. We will want all we can on the living so that we can hopefully cure all that we can."
"I'd actually like to quickly discuss with you and Basil on how to file everything." Chopper quipped, "Law and I will need everything well organized so we can get to work quickly. Some will even be in critical condition. We won't have time to go through a million files."
"Don't worry." Rayleigh replied, "A lot of their data is on an electronic mainframe. We'll get as much as we can on electronic files so it will be easier for you and Law. But I agree that you and Robin need to talk about how to get the organization easier for both. I'll leave that up to you two."
Chopper nodded happily.
"For now," Rayleigh continued, "I need you and Basil to work on a system to best get the documents out safely."
He handed Robin her own blue print, "I'd suggest skipping the elevator all together. Blast through all the housing units and have a relay system to get everything out. It will give you more time to shuttle everything back to base."
Robin's lip raised lightly in a small smile, "We were actually thinking of something along those lines. Basil is also assembling some trucks at his base so we can get to the base faster."
"Brilliant." Rayleigh smiled, "I love how little work you all make me do."
Sanji looked back at the book and then noted another divider that was labelled "Assignments". He flipped it to the first page that gave a simple index;
ASSIGNMENTS
Offensive: Luffy, Zoro, Kidd, Killer – Page 34
Human Retrieval: Nami, Usopp, Brooke, Drake, Urouge, Apoo – Page 49
Document Recovery: Robin, Basil – Page 66
Demolition: Franky, Bege – Page 81
As Sanji quickly skimmed through each task he noted just how detailed each plan was. Each section was filled with maps, graphs and the hypothetical explanation of how they planned to achieve their goal. The Human Retrieval section was very elaborate; noting everything from level of floors to be evacuated all the way up to the organization of patients once they were brought back to base.
"Nami, Usopp, Brooke?"
"The evacuation trails are almost complete. We've kept them fairly hidden but are easily identifiable for when we need to traffic people to the bases. There are three trails, one to each of our accompanying bases." Nami glanced over at Robin, "We are also assembling some vehicles for patients that will be unable to walk, or are injured. We estimate the number to be in the thousands, so are preparing for that possibility."
"And how are the housing quarters coming along?"
"Completed." Nami informed, "There will be a level of pandemonium and hysteria so we are going to have a supply of morphine and other sedatives on hand to calm people down until we can start to organize and treat patients."
Rayleigh nodded reluctantly, "I do not want to use force, nor drug people more than they already have been, but with such a large number of people we cannot risk a riot. I trust you to handle the situation accordingly. Now the most important thing I'll need you to focus on is food and water supplies for when we get them here."
"Any suggestions?" Usopp asked hopefully.
"I have some contacts that are supportive of our cause and are going to donate a large amount. I'll give you the number to contact them, the hard part will be getting the supplies here without arising suspicion. But I trust you can handle it."
"Fair enough." Brooke chuckled.
"Luffy. Zoro. I trust everything is still under control?"
"Plan hasn't changed." Zoro informed, "Though we have thought of a way to buy you some more time."
"Yes?"
"Kidd wants permission to use his skill to shutdown the entire electrical mainframe of the building so they can't call for back-up right away. Then he'd restart the system so the elevators can be used."
"Interesting." Rayleigh mumbled as he glanced down at his notes, "You sure he won't erase any of the data on the mainframe."
"He tested it. It'll be fine."
Rayleigh's grin broadened, "Good. The more time we have the better."
Luffy started bouncing in his seat, "I can't wait!"
"What's our time frame?" Sanji asked suddenly, "Surely the government isn't going to stand by and let this happen."
"You are correct." Rayleigh admitted, "They are going to want to protect it as best they can – they won't want to lose all that valuable data. With that in mind we have about an hour between the start of the attack and before fighter jets and Black Ops will be called in. That means we all have to be out and done within fifty minutes. My hope is for us to be completely hidden and back at base before anyone shows up."
"I'm assuming there will be a lock down until the government stops patrolling the area?"
Rayleigh nodded in confirmation, "That's why it's essential to have everything we need here before the attack. We don't know how long we'll be stuck here." He glanced at the Retrieval team, "Food will be a large issue."
"Gotchya covered boss." Usopp reassured happily.
Conversation then turned over to Chopper who began to discuss the medical supplies that they had stored up and the large clinic they had developed for once the patients were at the base. Sanji continued to flip through the binder knowing that he wouldn't be of much use if he didn't have a deeper understanding of what was going on. The final chapter at the back was labelled "History" and was a good 50 pages thick. He had barely gotten into the first paragraph when Rayleigh had happily adjourned the meeting.
Rayleigh stood with finality and turned to the group, "That's all I want to discuss. We will have a final meeting with everyone a week before the attack. For now I trust you to you to continue work with your bases."
Once dismissed by Rayleigh the rambunctious behaviour of the crew returned and everyone began to head their separate ways to begin on the tasks they had been assigned. Sanji watched as everyone collected various notes and binders from off the table before heading out toward different doors.
"Ah, Sanji." Rayleigh called for the blond's attention, "I'd like you to go along with Usopp."
"So I'm on Retrieval?" Sanji asked as he stood, tucking the binder under his arm.
"I haven't quite decided yet." Rayleigh admitted, "But I think you'll find a visit to Urouge interesting."
Sanji raised an eyebrow but at Rayleigh's smirk knew that asking wouldn't get him an answer. Instead opting for the one that he had wanted an answer to since he had first escaped from Impel. Rayleigh seemed to read Sanji's expression.
"You have a question?"
"Just one." Sanji held up the binder, "The rest I'll answer with this."
"Alright. What can I do for you?"
"You seem to know a lot about what's going on inside; do you know what happened to that little girl; Apis?"
At this Rayleigh's face fell, "I'm afraid I don't know. There are so many people in there it is hard to track them down. There are some areas that she could be being held though."
"So she could be alive?"
"Yes. She could." Though Sanji could tell from his tone that he wanted Sanji to understand not to be too optimistic, "I'll keep my ears open for any information though."
"Thank you." Sanji extended his hand and once more shook Rayleigh's, he gave the man an appreciated nod and went to meet Usopp at the door by the fireplace before following him out and into the maze of tunnels beyond.
~X~
"I bet this is all a bit over-whelming for you, huh?"
"Kind of." Sanji shrugged lightly, "It's pretty simple when you look at the basics of it, but when it comes to all the individual intricacies I do find myself a little lost."
"Well, as Zoro told me; if everyone sticks to their own task then we can't go wrong."
Sanji smirked lightly, "Sounds about right."
Zoro.
Now that was a subject that was a little over-whelming. At this point he found himself not only extremely confused by the man, but also intrigued. Their relationship had definitely started off rough, with each of them having a side that had made it hard to accepted the other. After discovering so much about Zoro's past he felt guilty about being so demanding of the man's trust. Though that conflict seemed behind them now if their behaviour was anything to go by, they had even been civil toward each other all morning.
Well... As civil as they could be if you ignored their constant bickering and goading. But Sanji assumed that their arguing was just always going to be a part of their relationship; partially because it just seemed the norm now, and also because it was just too fun to annoy the man.
Zoro had seemed a little off though. Not in any usual way, but he had gone quiet on some occasions and even acted a little kind which was a different emotion from the man. It wasn't unwanted, but it was different, and Sanji couldn't help but feel a little happy that maybe he was finally being treated like everyone else by Zoro.
The torches guiding them eventually ended and Usopp pulled out a flashlight, shining it into the blackness of the tunnel ahead of them. The stream of light shook lightly as Usopp directed it toward the ceiling and then back to the floor and Sanji grinned at Usopp's expression as he tried to keep a brave face. He hadn't realized Usopp was afraid of the dark.
"So who exactly is this Urouge guy that we're going to see?" Sanji asked, hoping the conversation would take Usopp's mind off the dark.
"One of the Supernovas." Usopp muttered, he seemed to be trying to pull off a brave facade but Sanji still heard the slight tremor in his voice.
"What?"
"Oh right." Usopp glanced at Sanji, "You don't know about the Supernova Breakout do you?"
Sanji shook his head.
"It was the biggest breakout that Impel had ever had." Usopp explained, an air of awe to his voice, "Just about three years ago eleven of the most high level security test subjects escaped. All of them had been locked up in solitary confinement at the base of Impel; one night they all broke out at once."
Sanji was quiet for a moment as he recalled the breakout he had remembered being mentioned before. They sounded oddly similar.
"So Zoro...?"
"Yup. And Luffy." Usopp nodded, "They are both insane. Zoro for obvious reasons, but Luffy... You wouldn't think rubber could be lethal but I think that Luffy is even stronger than Zoro because of it."
Sanji laughed at that, "I believe it. That kid is full of surprises."
Usopp nodded cheerfully before making a sound of relief and pointed far ahead of him where a small lantern could be seen hanging off the post on the wall. "That's the place."
The rustic old lamp swung gently on its metal hook casting flickering waves of orange to dance across the stone walls and light up the broad door that muffled distant laughter. The large wooden door didn't have a handle from their side, looking just like a plank of wood placed in the wall. There was a small slot near eye height that was probably for inspecting visitors.
"They like the control." Usopp muttered quietly, gesturing to the door before reaching up and pounding the side of his fist against the wood loudly. "Sogeking here."
The eye slot slide open abruptly and a pair of green eyes stared out and studied the two. There was a pause before a voice spoke, "Who's the bird?"
Sanji growled, "I'll show you a bird yo-"
"He's been cleared by Rayleigh." Usopp quickly interjected as he noticed Sanji's annoyance at the nickname.
The eyes seemed to inspect Sanji for a moment before rolling in what looked like annoyance. The tiny eye slot slide shut, there was the dull sound of several locks and deadbolts being unlocked and then the door opened swiftly to reveal the large rambunctious room inside.
It was just as vastly decorated as their base was and had a good feeling of home. The ceiling was higher though, and there was a vastly larger amount of people. It actually didn't feel like a room of people that were getting ready for war, but he assumed that keeping optimistic was their way of getting ready.
"Temper that one has." The auburn-haired doorman noted with a slight sneer.
Sanji's shoved his hands deep into his pockets and followed Usopp into the room, his wing flicked out and accidentally smacked the man in the face, as he continued by calmly. The man gave an indignant shout but immediately quieted as a large man made his way toward the entrance.
Usopp laughed happily, running over to the man, "Urouge, how's it going?" Giving him a friendly hug before stepping back and waving to Sanji, "This here's Sanji Black. Broke out all on his own."
"Good to meet ya." Urouge rumbled, "Always good to have new allies. The name's Urouge."
Urouge extended his hand and Sanji numbly took it, barely registering the firm shake as he stood in shock as he looked up at the man. He was tall, at least twice Sanji's height, and he looked to have the strength to easily break a brick wall, but that wasn't what had him staring up in awe. It was the wings on the man's back. Granted they were small compared to the man's size, and looked less developed, but they were there. Clear as day.
Urouge watched Sanji with a levelled stare, seemingly knowing what was going on in Sanji's mind before he gestured to Usopp, "I supposed the plans have been confirmed," He inclined his head behind him, "Let us go discuss it over some ale."
They made their way into a back room with not much more than a table and a few chairs. The giant produced a bottle of wine from an ice box, and set down three large mugs. Pouring one for Sanji and Usopp before serving himself. Sanji politely sipped the wine and smiled at the rick oaky flavour. The man had good taste.
As Usopp bustled about, getting all of the replicated maps and plans out of his bag Urouge looked at Sanji with a levelled stare, "So you're the finished product I take it?"
Sanji wasn't quite sure if the man's tone was that of envy or sincerity.
"I take it the same things happened to you?"
Urouge shrugged, "I wasn't always the size of a giant." He chuckled, "But I suppose it could be worse. There are worse things that have happened to people in that place."
Sanji nodded quietly in agreement, his hand tightening on the brass handle of the tankard.
"Although my size has nothing to do with the wings." Urouge continued, "I had originally been average size when they had put me in for aerial testing. They had transplanted them onto me, but when my nervous system rejected them, I was of no further use so I was taken to a different department. That's where this happened." He vaguely gestured to himself, indicating his size.
And suddenly the reason why Rayleigh had wanted him to come here was so obvious. He wanted Sanji to be grateful. Thankful for the luck he had to not have been a failed experiment, and that he didn't have to walk around everyday carrying a burden on his back that was of no use and just a painful reminder. He had wanted Sanji to understand how lucky he truly was.
"But it looks like something different happened to you..." Urouge casually inspected Sanji's wings with a glance.
"I – I'm still not quite sure how they did it..." Sanji trailed off as he looked back at his wings. Oddly enough they had become such a dramatic part of himself that he often forgot they were there. Just like any other limb he had begun to take them for granted.
"What they are doing is not right." Urouge nodded solemnly before taking a large gulp of the wine. He swallowed and exhaled happily before asking, "So you can fly?"
Sanji noted a slight tone of jealousy and the guilt hit him hard as he realized that their positions could have easily been switched. If Urouge had broken out only three years ago then they would've been in Impel at the same time, and they could've easily been in each others shoes at this very moment. Sanji swallowed thickly as he realized the reality of the situation.
Sanji nodded humbly, still feeling a little numb from his realization, "It was how I escaped."
Urouge chuckled, "I bet they were seething with anger. After finally getting results, you run off. Although I'm sure some other poor sap will be given the same treatment. But," Urouge shrugged, "People are all different, so they might never get the same results as they did with you."
Sanji gave a half-hearted smile of agreement.
"Everything will get better." Usopp offered as he took a seat, all of the charts and other miscellaneous had been laid out. "But let's get started, shall we?"
TBC...
A/N:
[1] The Pancake Effect is a way in which a building collapses. The most famous example of this would be the World Trade Centers.
Bleargh. I'm sorry about the horrendous amount of dialogue these past two chapters but this information needs to get out there! From now on there will be significantly less talking(yes, that can be taken in a dirty sense). XP