The Gate Master

Chapter 3

Three Days Later…

It had been three days since Luffy and Dawn shared their first real kiss on the roof of the Baratie. The next morning Luffy introduced Dawn to his nakama and she spent the day getting to know them whilst Luffy worked. Luffy had apparently collected two bounty hunters on his travels as they were on the Going Merry as well. The two bounty hunters were Zoro's friends and they told her all kinds of stories of Zoro when he was a pirate hunter. The three pirates on the other hand had been really surprised when Luffy introduced her to them, and Dawn discovered that they hadn't believed her to be a real person.

She had used a glamour charm on her ring so that only she and Luffy could see it. Luffy wanted to tell everyone, but agreed that he would keep quiet about it until she was ready for others to know. He was just happy knowing she agreed to marry him.

Usopp told fantastic stories, not all of them possible, but he spent hours talking about his home and how he had met Luffy. Nami had Sanji wrapped around her little finger as he kept giving her free food; as such she was almost always inside the restaurant whilst the boys remained on the Merry. At first Zoro had been distant with her, preferring to watch her than to join in with the others, but as the days passed he became more vocal around her. She knew that he was measuring her up, watching to see if she would be a threat to his captain or nakama. Dawn did the same thing so she wasn't insulted, merely pleased that her fiancé had found a loyal crew.

In the afternoons she would talk with Zeff on the Baratie about the state of the world and read the newspapers he had collected to see if there was any clue about Sirius' whereabouts. It was on the third morning that she found even a hint of Sirius' whereabouts, and that was in the middle of the paper, a footnote off to the side that she wouldn't have noticed if it hadn't been for a picture of her godfather next to it.

Apparently the Veil in her world led to a prison in this world, a place known as Impel Down. The Veil depleted the magical core of any witch or wizard that was thrown through so that there wouldn't be any chance of escape from the prison. They Veil hadn't been used in many years, but every so often a prisoner would appear and they would usually die within the year. Dawn went pale after reading that and hoped that Sirius would still be alive when she broke him out. If he died before that she would find a way to bring him back just to kill him herself.

She didn't tell anyone about what she had found, but she did ask to keep the paper. Zeff allowed it and she dropped it into her expander-bag instantly. Outside a fog had rolled in, and Hedwig had taken to sitting on her shoulder instead of flying around. Dawn often cast a cooling charm on the owl as her feathers weren't suitable for the climate.

Approaching the afternoon a giant ship that looked like it was falling apart came into view. As Dawn was with Zeff at the time she was the only one who heard him identify the ship as the Dreadnaught Sabre, the flagship of Don Krieg. The pirate from a few days earlier had been one of Don Krieg's henchmen. Zeff nodded at her at her whispered "I knew it" before slowly making his way to the dining room to greet the oncoming pirates.

Dawn followed him but instead of going to the dining room she went to the Going Merry where the Straw-hat Pirates and two bounty hunters were waiting. She nodded to everyone as she appeared on the ship's railings and watched as the ship got closer. Zoro and Usopp left the Merry to provide back-up for Luffy if he needed it, not that anyone believed that he would. Johnny and Yosaku, the two bounty hunters, remained behind and Dawn had to wonder about how they had become bounty hunters in the first place. They were true cowards at heart. Nami also remained, but her attention was focused more on a bounty poster she had nicked from Johnny and Yosaku than the approaching events.

After several minutes of silence there was a stampede of customers hurrying to escape the Baratie, and Dawn wondered distantly if any of them had paid for the food they had consumed. She doubted it, but as she didn't own the restaurant it didn't concern her. The skin on the back of her neck prickled and she turned her gaze from the Baratie to the open ocean. A small boat was approaching calmly, and on it one man sat. She shivered for some reason and turned to ask Nami who she thought the newcomer was, only to see her pushing the two bounty hunters into the water.

The Navigator's eyes fell on her, and Dawn wondered what was running through her mind.

"I need this ship, and I'd prefer not to take anyone with me, so I can either throw you overboard or you can get off yourself."

Dawn nodded and brought Hedwig to her arm. She whispered that she wanted her to follow the ship and when Nami arrived at wherever she was going, come back and report. For good measure she cast another cooling charm that would last a while and let the owl fly off. With that done she walked to the railing to jump off, but before she did she turned to Nami.

"I don't know what you're afraid of, but Luffy considers you his nakama. Wherever you go, he will follow you and bring you back. When you agreed to travel with Luffy, you also agreed to let him protect you no matter what. Remember that wherever you're going."

With those words of wisdom she leapt onto her broom that she had pulled from her expander-bag and flew to the deck of the Baratie. When she looked back at Nami, she saw that the older girl had tears in her eyes but also a determined stance. They would be seeing each other again.

Two minutes later, as Johnny and Yosaku swam towards the restaurant, the Dreadnaught Sabre capsized violently. The ensuring winds knocked her off her feet as the waves did their best to also bring the Baratie to the bottom of the ocean. Screams from the men who were onboard the flagship outweighed the sounds from the explosions, and Dawn tried to stand to see what she could do to help. She saw the small boat from earlier had come a lot closer.

"Dawn! Are you alright? Where's the Merry?"

Dawn turned to see Luffy running towards her and allowed him to pull her into his arms. She pointed to where the Merry was and then down into the water where Johnny and Yosaku were struggling against the waves. Luffy used his rubber abilities to grab the two men and they in turn told the story of how Nami stole the ship. Dawn nodded when they were done to show that she agreed with their tale. Since the boat that Johnny and Yosaku used was still tied to the Baratie, Luffy ordered all the males to go after Nami, but requested that Dawn stay with him so that he would know where to go once he had finished with the other pirates.

That plan was agreed to, until Zoro saw who had destroyed the Dreadnaught Sabre. The green-haired swordsman had been looking for the Greatest Swordsman in the world, and that was the identity of the man in the small boat…Dracule Mihawk. Zoro loosened his three swords on his waist in preparation for the upcoming fight. Dawn held Luffy's hand tightly in her own as he watched his nakama get slaughtered. Luffy would never interfere, but that didn't mean he didn't care.

"This is his choice," she whispered so that only Luffy and Sanji who was also nearby could hear her. "He will never get stronger unless he sees exactly how far he has to go until he can be the best. Give him this chance."

Usopp, Johnny and Yosaku all boarded the small boat and started to head to where Zoro was fighting, no one stopped them. However, once Zoro was struck down and fell into the water, it was then that Luffy demonstrated his Devil Fruit powers and flew over to where Mihawk was. Johnny and Yosaku pulled Zoro from the water and pronounced him alive, much to everyone's relief. After that the four boys sailed off after Nami, and Mihawk disappeared back to the Grand Line.

That was when things really got interesting.

While Zoro had been fighting, the henchmen of Don Krieg had regrouped with the intention of taking the Baratie as their new ship. Luffy rocketed over to Zeff and proposed a new agreement, one where he would beat the pirates and he would be free to go. Zeff looked quickly at Dawn before nodding his agreement. Sanji ordered the fins to be lifted from the water so that they would have somewhere to fight that wasn't inside the restaurant.

The Baratie was a floating restaurant for fighting cooks. They weren't afraid to use their fists against people who insulted their cooking skills or pirates who didn't know how to take no for an answer. However, the pirates they were used to fighting were obviously significantly weaker than Don Krieg's pirates as the cooks were all defeated soundly. Dawn stayed back with Zeff, her wand in her hand, and watched with intrigue.

Sanji then chose to demonstrate his own unique fighting style by easily defeating the pirates with his feet. She was impressed with the cook's acrobatics and his leg strength. It would have taken him years to train his body to fight in that way without injuring himself. His skills were further tested when a fat man crawled up onto the deck wearing the most ridiculous armor that Dawn had ever seen. His name was Pearl. Luffy had gotten himself up the mast of what was left of Don Krieg's flagship and was focused on watching Sanji, instead of Krieg who he was supposed to be fighting. With his inattention Krieg broke the mast that Luffy was on and sent the straw hat wearing boy flying towards the Baratie.

Dawn took his hat from his head, ignoring his frown, and told him that she didn't want to have to listen to him whine about a tear he had gotten in it because it had gotten in the way during the fight. His frown disappeared and he nodded at her before turning back to Pearl, who had gotten a nose bleed from where Luffy had landed on him. The fat man decided that it was a war-wound and set himself on fire in his rage. Dawn ducked out of the way, standing next to Zeff once again with a shield spell on her lips, waiting to be cast.

As attentive as she was of the fight in front of her, she never considered anyone coming up behind her. She only survived because at the last second she turned to see who was sneaking up on her. She was sent flying as the shot from a gun echoed around the suddenly silent battle field. She staggered forward and dropped to her knees, blood dripping from her arm where the bullet had lodged itself, instead of in the center of her chest where it had originally been aimed. Zeff was also sent flying to the ground and the gun pointed at his head.

Dawn wished she knew some healing spells, but her education had only taken her to fifth year. Healing spells were all NEWT level and she would have started them if she planned on going back to school. As such she didn't plan on ever returning. She turned to look at the man who had shot her, and recognised him as the pirate from several days ago. Sanji called him Gin.

"Dawn!"

"I'm alright! Don't worry about me!"

Dawn sat up straight, her right hand covering her wound. She stared up at Gin and wondered how much damage she could inflict on him without killing him. Luffy had spent hours telling her about how he would run his pirate crew, and how much it irritated him that other pirates didn't care about their nakama. Killing would always be a last resort. With than in mind Dawn pointed her wand at the man and sent a slug-belching curse at him. Unlike when Ron had tried it in their second year at school, this one actually worked at Gin was forced to stumble backwards as slugs started to crawl up his throat from his stomach.

"Oh that's gross," Sanji muttered.

"Commander!"

"What was that?"

"Where'd those slugs come from?"

"Gin!"

"Nasty," Luffy commented, his tongue sticking out. "You couldn't think of anything else Dawn?"

"He shot me," Dawn replied. "Focus on your own fight. I got things covered over here."

Luffy nodded and turned back to Krieg who was staring at Gin in horror. The man's gaze snapped to Dawn as she stood up and helped Zeff stand as well. In that instant he decided that Dawn would be a part of his crew no matter what he had to do to bend her to his will. His grin had Luffy narrowing his eyes but before those two could fight Sanji demonstrated the power of his legs by knocking Pearl unconscious and cracking his armor. The cook relit his cigarette and stared at Krieg curiously, wondering what he was going to do next.

"She will be mine," Krieg declared. "A girl with power like that! I will make her a part of my crew and together we'll rule all the oceans of the world!"

"She'll never work for you!" Luffy snapped back. "She's already a part of my crew! She's my nakama!"

"I'll kill you first Straw-hat," Krieg continued. "My power will reach all the corners of the world, and with her by my side no one will be able to beat me!"

Luffy refuted this by charging across the fallen mast with the intent to break Krieg's nose with his fist. Krieg chucked a few bombs into the water to obscure Luffy's vision before sending spike-bullets at him. Dawn winced as several spike-bullets connected with Luffy's body but turned her attention back to Gin and canceled the spell on him. He gasped, finally able to breathe without a slug resting in his throat.

"I don't like being shot, especially from behind."

He looked up at her and flinched from her cold stare. She aimed her wand at him again and sent a levicorpus at his body. Instantly he was hanging upside-down from his ankles and the fear in his eyes was clear. She grinned at him and directed his body over the water before canceling the spell and letting him fall. The resounding splash made her feel better.

While she was cursing Gin, Krieg had decided to torture Luffy by sending a gas bomb at the Baratie where Dawn was. Everyone had about five seconds warning before the small bomb cartridge was fired and poison gas was expelled over the ship and its occupants. Dawn and Luffy locked eyes briefly before she jumped in front of Zeff and Sanji and raised her wand. The gas then hid everyone from view.

The poison took a while to clear, but when it did it was to find that all the cooks had leapt into the ocean to escape, while Zeff, Sanji and Dawn were the only people still on the deck. Surrounding the three of them was a pale shield that acted much like a bubble-head charm in that it only allowed clean air to pass through. All poisonous and non-air substances like water would be unable to touch those who were protected by it. Dawn had found it when she was studying for the Triwizard tournament the year before but had never had to cast it before.

"It worked," she muttered in slight surprise. "Wasn't sure it would. Never done that spell before."

"Incredible," Sanji added. "Who are you?"

"I'm Dawn, and I guess you could say that one day I'm going to be the Queen of the Pirates."

Her seriousness took Sanji aback, but before he could ask any more questions there was an explosion on the other side of the field. All eyes snapped to where Luffy and Don Krieg were, and to the massive spear that Don Krieg held in his hands. The explosion had been caused by the spear as whenever it hit something it would explode. Over and over again Krieg hit Luffy, creating an explosion each time. Dawn gripped Luffy's hat in her hands tightly, her eyes fixated on what she hoped was another of Luffy's spur-of-the-moment plans. Zeff was explaining to Sanji about the type of person that Luffy was and Dawn found she had to agree, to a certain point.

"He does know fear," she whispered to them. "He fears for all the lives he has to protect as he hates seeing anyone hurt. It's that determination to protect what he sees as his that allows him to fight at his best. It's not that he doesn't know fear; it's that he can use his fear to be the best. For as long as I can remember he's been like that."

"Is it instinct, or all a plan?" Zeff mused as they continued to watch Luffy tackle with the exploding spear.

"A combination of both. His instincts form his plans, and while they're not always the best, it always works out in the end."

With that said Luffy destroyed the end of the spear, making it nothing more than a bomb on a stick. The next plan of attack was obviously to break Krieg's golden armor. With confidence in his armor, Krieg didn't move from Luffy's attack and allowed the bloodied fists to fall on him. Despite herself Dawn was impressed that such armor could exist, Luffy's punches were strong and for anything to hold up under that meant that it was near impenetrable.

"Be careful Luffy," Dawn whispered. "You still have to go and get your Navigator back."

Krieg coaxed Luffy up to the top of what used to be a mast, dropping bombs on the way to mess with Luffy's balance and his sight. Yet despite his best attempts, Luffy still landed a solid hit on him and shattered the golden armor. Dawn felt like cheering as the two of them started to fall towards the ocean far below, until Krieg revealed another weapon and trapped Luffy in a wire net. Dawn thought that that was a stupid move as now the two of them were connected. Luffy twisted his body through the wire and wrapped his feet around Krieg's head.

"GIANT HAMMER!"

Krieg smashed into deck, finally unconscious and defeated, while Luffy, still trapped in the net, disappeared under the surface of the water. Dawn discarded her cape, shoes and dropped Luffy's hat instantly so that she could dive in after him. Part of her training with Luffy and Ace had been learning to swim, well, Ace had taught her to swim and Luffy had sat on the shore watching. She applied a bubblehead charm around her face so that she could breathe before swimming down after the net.

She had done this before; Ace had thrown Luffy into the river and ordered her to get him, to see how much she had learnt. That time she hadn't had the bubblehead charm but she had still succeeded. There was no reason that she couldn't this time. She grabbed the net with her left hand and silently cast diffindo on the wire with her wand. Luffy was pretty much a dead weight in the water so she had to really work to get him up before he drowned. A second pair of hands suddenly grabbed Luffy's other side and she looked across to see Sanji smiling at her. She pointed up and together they dragged the Devil Fruit user to the surface.

"He's done that before I gather?" Sanji asked as they reached the surface. He pulled Luffy up onto the deck while she exited the water on her own.

"Yeah, it was accidents like that that taught me to swim as well as I can."

That said she knelt by Luffy's side and pressed her ear to his chest to listen for a heartbeat. Not hearing one she pressed down on his chest, starting CPR and waited for him to show that he was still alive. The seventeen year old coughed up a bit of water before drifting off to sleep. Dawn shook her head and stood to grab her belongings and the straw hat. Her arm was sore but she wanted to make sure that Luffy was comfortable before doing anything else.

Sanji carried him inside and helped her patch up his wounds, and then he cleaned her shoulder and put a bandage on it. She thanked him before lying down on Luffy's side and going to sleep. She had a feeling that she would need all her energy soon. As she closed her eyes she noticed Sanji leaving to go and see to the pirates.

Just before she blacked out Luffy's arm wrapped around her waist. Even unconscious he knew that she was nearby. She went to sleep.

Dawn woke up to Luffy's scream for his hat. With a sigh she punched his shoulder and thrust his hat at him, eyes still closed. Luffy thanked her before turning to Sanji, who was also in the room again, and talking to him about joining his pirate crew. Knowing that she wouldn't be going back to sleep any time soon Dawn sat up and slipped her boots on. She left her cape behind and instead went outside to search for any sign of Hedwig. She let Luffy know where she was going but before she could leave completely he bounced over to her and kissed her cheek lightly.

"I'm glad you're with me, my Princess."

"Princess?" Dawn smiled at the new endearment.

"Yeah, if I'm going to be King, and you're going to be my Queen, until then you're a princess aren't you?"

"I guess. But that also means that you're a prince," Dawn giggled and leant up to kiss his cheek. "I'm going to look for Hedwig, my Prince. I'll meet you in the dining room shortly."

She could hear Sanji's disappointed sigh after seeing how they acted together, but she wasn't too concerned with that as she had spotted her beloved owl heading towards her. Her smile was bright as she darted into the kitchen where last minute preparations were being made for a late lunch. She spotted Zeff and informed him of Hedwig's return and asking if there were any dead mice waiting to be thrown out. Zeff let her know that he'd get her some and shooed her off. She darted away, but not before grabbing a dish of water.

Outside she didn't have to wait long before Hedwig landed on her arm. By her estimate Hedwig had been flying for about four hours and was more than likely hungry and thirsty. She held up the dish for Hedwig to drink out of, something she did eagerly enough, before asking if she knew where Nami was going. Hedwig nodded and indicated with her wing which direction the Navigator had gone. Dawn explained how the fight had gone as she walked back towards the dining room.

Sanji and Luffy entered before her, and all three of them could only see one empty seat. Sanji and Luffy offered to sit on the floor, and Dawn was shooed away to sit at the table next to Zeff. She made sure that Hedwig was able to enjoy her mice before turning to her own food, and after a whispered warning from Zeff didn't go for the soup. He quickly explained that there would be some bad acting during the meal, but it was all a plan so she shouldn't be alarmed.

Confused, Dawn stuck to the bread, salads and fish and watched the drama unfold. Her appetite disappeared after hearing the cooks tear into Sanji's cooking abilities, and she couldn't help but jump in shock when Zeff punched Sanji. The suit-wearing cook ran off angrily, and all the cooks went to the window to watch what he was doing.

"That was harsh," Dawn commented. Hedwig hooted her agreement. "What were you trying to achieve?"

"He completely snapped," one of the cooks commented softly.

"I've never seen that before, seen him angry, but…"

"Maybe he'll want to leave now."

Dawn shook her head. She could think of many ways a person could be encouraged to leave, and most of them were less hurtful than what she had just witnessed. Luffy appeared at her side to try the soup for himself and commented that he had no problem force-feeding her if she wouldn't eat on her own. Dawn shook her head and put some more food in her mouth. Luffy had carried through with that threat before and she didn't want him to do so again. Her mouth wasn't that big.

The mastermind behind the plan was Zeff, and he had done it because he had seen Sanji explaining to Luffy about the All Blue. He had never seen Sanji happier than when he had been explaining his dream, and it was his belief that the All Blue existed on the Grand Line. He wanted Luffy to take Sanji with him, but Luffy once again demonstrated how much he cared about others. He would never take anyone with him against their will; they had to want to come with him. Unless Sanji asked to come along, then Luffy wouldn't force him.

Zeff agreed with that and Dawn could see the wheels turning in his mind as he tried to think of a way for Sanji to ask to leave. Mere seconds later a pan shark and a man broke through the dining room doors, landing on top of Sanji who had been sitting at the door listening to every word that had been said. The man inside the pan shark was Yosaku, and he brought news of Nami. On her shoulder, Hedwig hooted softly. If Dawn could speak owl she was sure that Hedwig was saying "Oh yeah, forgot about him."

Yosaku begged Luffy to come with him as he believed that Nami was in terrible danger. Luffy agreed and stood to leave. He took Dawn's hand and as they started to leave Sanji stopped them by asking to come with them. He was instantly accepted and then they were all grabbing what they needed for a voyage at sea. Luffy went to the kitchens for the food, and Dawn followed him to make sure that they had what they needed, not what Luffy wanted.

She ordered Luffy to stop packing meat and ask for some other food, before telling the cooks that if they gave him more meat she would make them belch slugs for a day. Zeff appeared behind them with his Log Book, and it was then that Dawn discovered he had documented his journey through the Grand Line. Luffy declined the offer of the Log Book, and when Zeff turned to Dawn she smiled and said:

"Unless you have a detailed description of Impel Down in there, I'm good."

"Why would you want to go to Impel Down?" Zeff asked.

"I'll explain," she said. Over her shoulder she spoke again to the cooks. "If I see that there is any more meat in there I am going to kick your butts. Not everyone eats like a vacuum."

With that done she linked her arm with Zeff's and led him away from the kitchen. She explained the newspaper article she had found, and her theory of the Veil. She also mentioned that she had at most one year before Sirius died in that place, and she wanted to break him out. Zeff nodded thoughtfully before changing direction and leading her to his room. He pulled a chest out from under his bed and opened it to reveal several rolled up charts. He grabbed a thick bundle and passed it over. Opening it, she couldn't help but gasp at the detailed blueprints of Impel Down.

"How did you get these?" she asked as she ran her fingers over the lines. She spread out the charts on the floor, her eyes searching for a sign of where the Veil led.

"When I was a pirate I was attacked constantly by marines. This was one of the treasures I…acquired…from them. I doubt I'd miss them. To be honest I'd forgotten about them until you expressed your interest in going there." Zeff stared at his finger nails before looking back at the girl who had settled on the floor. "However, as I know you don't accept charity, how about you fix my door and we'll call ourselves even?"

"Deal," Dawn muttered. "Ha! There is where I need to get!"

She was pointing to a section on the chart labeled "Level 6". Zeff asked how she knew and she pointed to the ruin just above her finger. She explained that the ruin said "portal" and how it was the only place where there was a ruin like that. The Veil was covered in ruins like that.

"So you can read Poneglyphs then? The World Government finds out about that and you'll be dead as soon as they find you."

"There is a class in my world that teaches us how to read this. Few take it as not everyone is interested in it, but those who can read it would be able to recognise this instantly."

Zeff nodded at that and watched as she rolled up the charts and dropped them into her expander-bag. She then walked out the door and returned to the dining room where she went about fixing the doors that the pan shark and Yosaku had damaged. Behind her Zeff watched silently.

"One more thing," he started once she was done. "I would like you to look after Sanji for me, and I would like an invite to your wedding."

Dawn grinned at him before remarking that "I was thinking of having the reception at this restaurant. You think you and your cooks could handle serving the future Pirate King and his crew? And don't worry about your boy. He'll be fine with us."

Zeff laughed at her and sent her out. Luffy and Yosaku had managed to get the food on board and were just waiting for her and Sanji. Luffy took her hand when she was close enough to him and she smiled up at him. While they were waiting Dawn whispered her wedding conversation to him and he agreed to her idea. By the time Sanji arrived they were more than ready to go.

"Let's go and find Nami!"

I'm thrilled with the reviews that I've gotten for this fic so far. I've got quite a few ideas about what I want to happen next, but if you guys have an ideas or you want to see something specific, I'd like to hear it.