"This is a very dark place, isn't it?"
"Indeed, it is. Are you sure you want to do this, sir? You're not even officially a Marine yet, although Akainu seems to like you."
The old man glanced at his side, awaiting an answer from the mysterious man who seemed so bent on helping them for nothing in return. Whether it was recklessness, bravery, or stupidity, it was too soon to tell.
"I do. I just saw those bastards wrecking a entire village as if it meant nothing..." the young one closed his hand into a fist, fighting his own emotions and memories, "the last time I saw something like that, it was done by a demon, not humans."
The old man chuckled, wiping some water drops from his bushy moustache and chewing on his tooth – or at least it seemed like that's what he was doing. He looked back, to the water, the impossibly huge walls and impenetrable gates.
It really did seem like they were in hell. The place's energy was sour, dark, tragic and deadly. Happiness and joy felt like distant emotions, like they had been locked outside of the gates, and couldn't penetrate.
It's the worst place on Earth, they used to say.
"It's certainly easier to blame the sins of the world on demons and devils," the old man said after they spent a while in tense silence. They had to wait until someone came to receive them, so they might as well find a way to make the time go by a bit faster, "I guess that is why men came up with the idea of good and bad people. If you're not a bad person, you can rest easily at night, even if some of your actions aren't exactly kind-hearted, right?"
"Well, sometimes, to deal with the devil, one must be willing to become something closer to a devil itself, old man," was the answer he got.
"Perhaps," he didn't disagree, although his distant gaze showed he probably didn't agree, either, "or perhaps that's just the easier road. Either way, it seems like our paths are about to separate, youngling," he added as the doors to the place finally opened, revealing a large, weird-looking man. "Akainu is sending someone to wait for you, so good luck."
Saying that, the old man returned to his ship and ordered the crew to set sail, whereas the young one turned to face the man at the door.
"Welcome to Impel Down, lad. I am the Warden, Magellan, and Akainu informs me you're here to help returning prisoners to their places and with fixing the prison, is that correct?"
The young man nodded, a serious expression on his face.
"Anything to help keep those monsters locked up," he agreed, and flashes of what he saw when he first arrived passed by his eyes: men with swords, guns and strange powers ravaging a village, destroying everything, killing men and children, hurting women… he then remembered his childhood, watching a demon destroy everything he held dear, watching the one person who took care of him dying because of that same demon…
He wouldn't let anyone else suffer that. He wouldn't allow those monsters to roam free if he could help avoid it – and he could. According to the Marines, the people hunting the monsters, he could help by helping with the prison.
"Oh my, Sadie likes the view," a weird woman chanted when they entered the place, making a strange pose as she stared at him.
The prisoners in the first level weren't as pleased. They all bellowed curses and threats.
"Who is that uptight guy?"
"Guy? Look at his skin! Looks more like a princess!"
"A pervy one, he's naked!"
"What?!" Only then he realized he didn't have his clothes on anymore. "When did this happen?"
"You arrived naked, sir," a guard informed him, quickly moving to shut up the prisoners.
"Akainu said you had talents similar to Aokiji's," Magellan spoke, and he stopped walking for a moment, pointing at a huge hole on a cell, "maybe you should prove yourself before you go any lower."
He nodded, already expecting that, and focused on the hole.
"Ice Make…"
Xx
Xx
Find me, Enchantress.
"Not again," she cried, opening her eyes in panic. Both Nami and Charle woke up and took fighting stances before realizing nothing was there, "I'm sorry Charle, Nami-san…"
"Still with that nightmare?" Charle asked, concerned.
If only it were truly just a nightmare, she thought, but simply nodded instead.
"How's your motion sickness?" Nami asked, and Wendy whined, returning to her previous position to try and relieve the sickness. Oddly, the nightmare seemed to send it a way temporarily, but she didn't really know which she hated most.
At least the motion sickness means I'm a true dragon slayer now, she thought, trying to see a silver lining.
She wished she could cast Troia on herself, but it never seemed to work. Probably because it wasn't exactly an enchant, as Vernier and Arms, but more of a cure, and those she couldn't use on herself.
"I'm sorry we can't help you," Nami apologized, feeling sorry for the young girl, "maybe Chopper could make you something, but until we find him, there's nothing we can do."
"What is a Chopper?" Charle asked, and Wendy tried to remember seeing a poster with that name in the middle of the ones Shanks had given her, but there wasn't any.
"He's our crew's doctor," Nami explained, "although I suppose you're a doctor too, right?"
Wendy shook her head negatively.
"My healing powers are just a part of my magic, but I'm not a doctor, and I can't use them on myself," she explained with some difficulty to talk, she felt like hurling all the time.
"That sucks," Ace spoke, startling Nami and Charle. His face appeared in the open window then, "a Devil Fruit that gives motion sickness is the worst."
"What the hell are you doing spying on us?!" Both Nami and Charle yelled, startling him.
He grumbled.
"I have to stay hidden, and the only other hidden place besides yours is this tiny room with a window to your room," he complained, and Wendy wanted to giggle. He sounded like a grounded teenager then, "besides, I'm keeping an eye on her."
"She's not a damsel in distress you know," Nami told him, "we've seen her fighting."
His face – and silence – made it clear that he didn't believe that, but didn't want to say so in order not to hurt her feelings.
"I-It's ok, N-Nami-san, C-Charle," Wendy spoke, now feeling greenish, "I don't mind, but you don't have to protect me, Ace-san. I helped because I wanted to."
He shrugged.
"Now I'm your ally cause I want to," he spoke back, before his face disappeared from the window, and they suddenly heard snoring.
"How can someone fall asleep like that? How rude!"
That came from Charle, whereas Wendy wanted to laugh and Nami simply sighed.
"Oi, Nami! I think we're approaching an island!"
"Finally!" Ace, suddenly awake again, shouted back as Nami hurried to the deck to see what Zoro was talking about.
Their ship wasn't a huge one, nor the fastest, but it was the best Zoro could steal and it was definitely an improvement over their previous one - though Wendy only caught a glimpse of it when it was under attack. It had two small rooms, one occupied by the girls and the other by Ace – who could only stay on deck when Wendy did as well, so she could warn him in case she heard anyone approaching. They didn't want the world finding out that he survived, much less that he was with two of the Strawhats, since that would make the group a target and, as Nami stated, they were not going up against the whole marine force without their full crew.
Definitely not without their captain – who also should be the first one to hear the News, not the last one.
Nami gave them directions on how to properly approach the island – apparently going straight ahead would lead them to a dangerous current and they didn't want that. When they finally docked, Wendy was the first one out of the ship, recovering instantly as soon as her feet hit the steady ground. She breathed in relieved, then turned to the others.
She started giggling instantly.
Ace had a sack of potatoes wrapped around his head, leaving only his eyes visible, and a weird cape was thrown around his shoulders to hide his chest, back and arms – thus hiding his tattoos. Nami finished up dressing him in disguises and looked proudly at her work.
"I am not walking around in this!"
Both Zoro and Wendy laughed at the sight of him.
"You are or you'll stay on the ship," Nami spoke back in a tone that left no room for discussion.
"You're not my captain y'know, you can't tell me what to do..."
"Please, Ace-san," Wendy asked, now in a serious tone, "we'll look for better clothes in the island," she suggested, as a Peace-making offer, and he pondered on it for a while before nodding grumpily, ending their discussion.
They entered the island, but it didn't seem to have a large civilization - Wendy began to think that was a pattern in that world: many islands, few people. It had forests, and weird huge animals - though they didn't seem harmful - but after a while walking among trees, they gave up and decided to find a glade to rest.
"Can't we rest on the ship?" Nami asked in a fearful voice, just as they found a suitable space. It was still in the middle of the forest, but there was a wide area for them to set up camp, and they could even see the moon and the stars.
"Why? Wendy'd be sick there," Charle protested, "besides, it's fun to camp out."
"There's nothing fun about staying in the middle of a forest! We're easy prey to whatever comes at us!"
Zoro and Ace both looked pleased at the prospect of fighting, which only made the navigator even more scared. Wendy smiled.
"I can hear people approaching us," she warned, focusing on her senses, then frowned, "though I can't smell people."
"I'll go check!" Charle spoke, flying up before Wendy could protest, and the white exceed made a quick back-and-forth flight before returning, "it's a Reindeer and a bunch of creatures! The Reindeer seems to talk and…"
"Found them!"
Charle turned just in time to see a meteor falling from the sky towards her. She dodged, and so did the others on the ground, with it missing Nami by an inch.
Another followed, and a third one. It wasn't as fiery and big as they imagined Meteors would be, but it still could do quite some damage.
As they dodged, Wendy caught the scent of a feline and human just as she heard quick footsteps from behind. She turned around, and as she was about to warn them about it, a cat-looking woman appeared behind Nami and hit the navigator hard in the head.
"Nami!" Zoro moved to catch her before she hit the ground, but the cat-girl took the opportunity to hit him - or try to, for his reflexes were better than she assumed, and he blocked her with one sword, "who the fuck are you?"
The girl smiled, revealing feline fangs, and kicked again, this time aiming for Zoro's sword, sending him a dozen steps backwards. Grunting, he launched, now to attack, not defend, and slashed the air as she practically disappeared.
"She's changing from place to place instantly?" Nami asked, rubbing the back of her head and moving out of the battle way.
"No, she's running," Wendy and Ace spoke in unison, "Zoro-san, I'll help you catch up. Vernier."
As the bluenette cast the enchantment, Zoro's speed increased enough for him to suddenly run as fast as the girl – and then it seemed like both of them were disappearing and reappearing in different places.
"A-Amazing," Nami commented, then her eyes fell on Wendy, "what did you do?"
"I can enchant people," she explained timidly, just as another scent and sound caught her attention. She pushed Ace down to the ground, and a metal boomerang-looking weapon crossed the place where his neck previously were.
"Oh? Nice dodge," a man, looking around his mid-thirties, with a square scar around his left eye and a strange burnt mark on his chin, entered the glade, "you're fast for a girl."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Nami asked annoyed, grabbing her staff in a fighting stance.
Wendy and Ace both stood up, and the latter immediately flamed up, just as the man seemed about to attack again: his weapon was, indeed, a boomerang, meaning it returned to his hand soon after Wendy's dodge.
Ace's flames, however, looked and felt a lot scarier than a simple boomerang. Wendy stepped away, feeling the heat intensity, and having a strange sense of deja-vu.
Natsu-san…
"That Fruit…" The Boomerang man spoke, now spooked, "that's impossible… how…?"
The potato sack burned to a crisp, along with the rest of the clothes, save for Ace's usual shorts, revealing his appearance.
"Firefist?" The cat-woman stopped, distracted and seemingly terrified, and Zoro managed to hit her, taking her down. "Crap! Square, get out of here!"
Square shook his head, focusing on Ace.
"We came here to complete a mission," he spoke, preparing to fight, "we must not leave without taking the two with us."
"Again?" Nami asked, exasperated, "why are we being hunted down?! Zoro, what did you do?"
"WHY WOULD IT BE MY FAULT?"
"Who else's?" She hit him in the head. Cat-girl took the opportunity to stand up, but Nami swirled her staff and thunder suddenly hit the adversary, who fell back to the ground.
"You're the one who goes around stealing people! Maybe you stole something from them!"
"I don't steal from dangerous people!"
"Liar! You stole from Buggy and Luffy once!"
"I didn't know Luffy was dangerous!"
"Ah… Guys?" Wendy called, approaching them carefully.
"WHAT?!"
"Why don't we ask them instead of bickering?" Ace suggested, and both pirates turned to see Square tied to a tree with an ugly burn on his arms. His boomerang was now a pool of melted metal. Firefist kick Square's legs before asking, "why are you hunting them?"
"We're not," he spit the answer, and Ace's fist flamed up.
"Wanna try that again?"
"He's not lying," Wendy interrupted, attracting attention to herself, "I… I can hear his heartbeat. I learned a little bit about how heartbeats change when someone lies, and his didn't. I could be wrong though…"
"We are not after the married couple," cat-girl spoke from her place, "we… OUCH! STOP HITTING ME!"
"WE'RE NOT MARRIED!"
"N-Nami-san is scary…" Wendy whispered to Charle, who watched the scene in silence.
"The other attackers…" Charle spoke, ignoring Nami and Cat-girl's discussion, "they were also saying something about capturing the two, right?"
Zoro nodded.
"Maybe they really weren't after Zoro and Nami," she continued, "what if they were after us?"
"Us? Why, Charle? We weren't on the ship."
"Lucy and Happy were, though, and it's weird that they never crossed paths with the strawhats before, and just as we arrive in this world, they come hunting them down? That makes no sense, not unless we're the target."
"Why would they want you?" Ace asked, not dismissing the theory.
"Because," Square spoke again, this time looking darker, creepier, "we need them to resurrect the sea devil, Mizuchi."
xx
xx
Author's Note: Thank you all again for the support, it means more than I can convey in words. I won't go on name by name cause I want to finish this note soon so I can post the chapter, but really, guys, thank you so much!
As for the ship battles going on in the comments, all I'll say now is that, despite the ship being NaLu (one of them), this story isn't a romance (I guess it's kinda obvious by now, right? xD) soooooooo the ships shouldn't play any major parts here, kay? (whether it's good or bad is up to you, lovely readers!) :3