Chapter 11: Survival and regrouping

As everyone stopped screaming their lungs out while encouraging Luffy to not give up and to live on, the Straw Hat Captain's own screams came to a sudden halt. From underneath the door, a puddle of blood began to flow and everyone held their breath.

"Blood…" someone murmured.

The silence at the cave's entrance could be cut with a knife as everyone stared at the wooden, chained off surface.

"His voice…" Mr. 2 gasped as he watched the door in disbelief, as if he couldn't believe that his friend had really passed away.

"The pain never stops when they're recovering," Ivankov said as if thinking out loud. "So if he's stopped screaming and two days haven't passed…"

Bon Kurei looked at her with betrayal, as if the mere thought that his best friend had just given up was something that couldn't be said out loud. Because he sure knew Luffy, and he wasn't one of those who gave up that easily, not when so much was at stake.

It's a pity… But twenty hours you've fought, and you've done it well, the Revolutionary Okama Queen thought as he shut his eyes in solemnity.

"Straw-chan…"

However he could, Luffy got rid of the chains keeping him restrained against the stone table and fell on his knees as he tried to stand up, gasping for air and still sore from all the pain he'd gone through and all the blood he had lost while fighting off the poison running through his system.

He pulled in as much air as he possibly could and let it all out in a demanding scream. "FOOD!"

Outside none of the people waiting could even believe what they were hearing. They had all assumed that the worst had happened and that yell, that demand swept them all off their feet.

"It… it can't be…!" Iva-san yelped. "What's going on here?! It hasn't even been a full day…!"

"Straw-boy!"

The food was rolling in and only empty plates coming out of the cave. Everyone was stressing about, bringing more stuff for what seemed a bottomless pit. None could still believe such a miracle, especially Ivankov who had seen this procedure enough times to know that this one was the biggest phenomenon he'd witnessed so far.

"Bring more food!"

"Keep it coming! It doesn't matter it it's raw, we just need more!"

"Wow, it's disappearing as if it's going into an ant lion pit!" someone said with awe.

"How long's he goin' to eat?" someone else said.

"It's been this way for about thirty minutes by now…" another pointed out.

"That's worth seven days of provisions for the Okama Land down the drain, for sure…"

"This Straw-boy… he surely has an incredible will to live…" Ivankov said with some kind of pride.

"Oh! Here he comes!" a man said as the silhouette began to define itself in the doorway.

"He doesn't look human at all!" another yelped.

Luffy, on the other hand, stretched enough to get back to his normal shape and sighed as he came out of the hellish cave he'd been stuck for twenty hours trying to survive.

"I'm fine!" he yelled as he threw his fists in the air.

The people that had been waiting outside ran to him and began to toss him in the air chanting that he had survived Magellan's poison and all of it in just twenty hours.

"It's a miracle… No, wait, that word doesn't even describe this events.

"Oh! Bon-chan! You're okay!"

"Y-you idiot! Don't joke around! That's my line, you~!"

But right then, Mr. 2 collapsed and Luffy got off the bunch of people that were cheering on and ran to his friend.

"Bon-chan… Hey! Are you okay?! Hang in there!"

"Don't worry, Straw-boy. He's just exhausted. This isn't about his wounds."

"Ah, Iva-chan," Luffy said bluntly.

"I-Iva-chan!?" the others exclaimed in disbelief.

"Thanks to you we're alive. Thanks for saving us!"

"No need for that. If you have to, then you should be thanking Mr. 2 Bon Kurei. I only lent you some of my own strength using my powers, but he…" The Okama Queen pointed at the okama laying on the floor. "For hours and hours and hours, even as his throat grew hoarse and coughed up blood, he stood here, in front of the door, suffering alongside you." Luffy looked from Iva to Bon Kurei bewildered. "He yelled non-stop telling you to live." A smile crossed Ivankov's face. "I can't imagine that it didn't have any effect on you pulling through.

"I see…" Luffy murmured, touched, remembering how Bon-chan had come to get him out of that freezing cell. "Bon-chan, thank you!" he said bowing at him. "I'm in your debt!"

Inazuma approached Luffy. "Here are your hat and your clothes. You've only barely survived so you should rest a few more days, or else you won't really recover."

"I don't have time to rest, this has already taken too much time as it is," the raven-haired boy answered as he took the garments he was being given.

Once he was all dressed up and his hat was on its rightful place, he turned to Ivankov. "Sorry, can you take care of Bon-chan? I'll definitely come back to get him. Wha~" He wobbled and almost fell as he still felt slightly weak from what he had gone through.

"Watch out!" someone yelled. "Look, you're still too exhausted to go around!"

"Well, it's your life. You can do whatever you please. I'm sure you want to save your brother despite the fact that you just revived…"

Luffy sat down on the floor for a second, trying to regain his balance and looked up to the Revolutionary Queen. "You know, Bon-chan came here to help you get out."

"What are you saying? Bon-boy came to help me?" He laughed. "Is that so? How very cute of him. Even though I appreciate his thoughtfulness, it's not my time to escape yet. We know what the situation is out there. The conflict between the Marines and the Whitebeard Pirates will certainly impact the world greatly…" Ivankov said. "But that man won't make his move just yet. The man pulling the strings behind all the Revolutionaries in the world, my compatriot… "Dragon the Revolutionary!"

"Oh. That's my dad," Luffy said as he was picking at his nose.

"Yes, that's right. When your dad marshals his army… I will escape from here and once again throw myself into the world's flow. If I recklessly tried to escape right now, they would just capture me again out there."

Ivankov stopped on his tracks and the words Luffy had spouted downed on him. "DAD?! Are you joking!? You're Dragon's son?! I didn't even know he had a son!"

"Ah. Sorry, I guess I wasn't supposed to say that. Well, whatever. Grandpa said it too, so it's fine." Luffy giggled. "I don't really know him either, and neither do I remember his face."

Iva got lost in her thoughts, remembering things from a pretty far past. "Where were you born?"

"East Blue."

If this boy's Dragon's son, then there's still a probability that Ace-boy's also his. It would be disgraceful if anything happened to any of them… "Inazuma! Find out the plans for Ace-boy's departure!"

"Right away!"

"Straw-boy. Do you have any means to know if Ace-boy's still down?"

"Ah, yeah. I got his vivre card." Luffy pulled out the piece of burning paper from his hat and held it on his hand. "It's still pointing down," he confirmed.

"Good, he hasn't been moved yet. I'll go with Strawhat-boy to Level 6 now!"

"Eh, you'll show me the way? Thanks! Let's go!"

Ivankov, Inazuma and Luffy ran all the way down to Level 6, defending themselves from the guards and also getting them out of their way but it all ended being in vain. Once they got to the holding cell where Ace had been imprisoned, they found it empty but for one person. "The Knight of the Sea" Jimbei was still in it, having refused to join the World Government in their war against Whitebeard.

"Ace…" Luffy murmured. "He's… he's not here…"

"There's no mistake, right? This is his cell!" Ivankov asked at the guard that guided them there.

"No mistake! T-There's no mistake in it!"

"It seems we were one step too late…" Inazuma pointed out.

"Are you Straw Hat Luffy?" Jimbei asked.

"Yeah…"

"They just came a moment ago! Go after them! They took Ace up the lift!"

"Jimbei…" Luffy mumbled under his breath.

"Hurry up! You can still make it!" He yelled. "Go!"

"Damn it." I was late, again! And as he thought that, he bowed slightly to the fishman and turned around to go to the lift but once there he remembered that those in the surveillance room had just prevented them from using it. "Oh, damn it!"

Once that happened and they rushed to the stairs, Luffy stopped on his tracks as the barriers were lifted down to imprison them in Level 6.

"Oh, God…" he cussed as he jumped a few steps away from there. "And now they are going to…" He didn't even have to finish the sentence when the sleeping gas was released.

"Is it poison?" Inazuma asked.

"No, it's just sleeping gas," Luffy said as he lifted his arm to his nose to try and not inhale it.

"Hey, hey! I don't know who you are, but don't come and bring your problems to us!"

"Shut up, Level 6!"

Meanwhile on the Entrance Floor, Ace was being led to the ship that would bring him to Marineford. He now knew the truth, that Luffy had really been there as Hancock had told him and that he had escaped a certain death but was about to be captured for sure. Thinking back, his little brother had always been too reckless and made him worry way too much.

At first he had disliked him, thought of him as nothing but a reckless, weak kid who could do nothing by himself, but after Sabo's death he had become his friend, the brother he didn't really had had. Now, knowing that he might be in trouble, that he had come all the way to this Hell to save him despite it being dangerous for he himself... He just couldn't abandon him to his own luck.

In a desperate attempt he attacked the guards that were guiding him and tried to run back in and help his little nuisance of a brother but before he could take even two more steps, Magellan smashed him to the floor.

"LUFFY!"

"It's as you've heard. Stop your futile resistance. Your brother is also a pirate. There's no way out for him, either!"

I so hoped it wasn't true… Why have you come here, Luffy!?

Just like so many years ago, just like the very first time he had infiltrated Impel Down, now he was stuck in Level 6 again. He didn't want to do this but he knew that he'd have to rely on Crocodile again. As much as he hated this situation, there was no other way.

"We have to calm down and think. We won't be able to make it in time since Ace is being taken to the surface by lift. We have enemies blocking our way and the Marine Convoy will be fast. Take a look at the vivre card."

"It's pointing straight up."

"He's probably being transferred to the Marines as we speak, right about now." Ivankov crossed his arms over his chest. "I respect your feelings, and I will help you escape this prison unharmed if possible. But Ace-boy is already in the Marine's custody. Give it up… or rather leave it to Whitebeard and his crew."

"Well then. I'm going to the Marine Headquarters."

"Don't be a fool! This is going to be a war between the strongest powers in the world!" Iva-san scolded him. "Do you really understand how strong Whitebeard is?! Do you know how strong the Marine Admirals and Vice Admirals and the Shichibukai are?! How many lives do you think you have?!"

"If I give up now! If I think for a single second that I can't make it! Nothing will change! I'll regret it forever! I won't let anyone die if I can prevent it! I'm going!"

This feeling… I know it! It feels like arguing with Dragon again!

"You're not going anywhere. If we don't get out of this floor first."

"If you want to escape here, then release me…" Luffy felt a chill run up his spine. That voice again… "I can open a hole in the ceiling. What do you say, Straw Hat?"

"You…!" the raven-haired boy hissed.

"I didn't think there was anything interesting on the outside anymore, but a war between Whitebeard and the Marines? I never imagined a chance to take the old man's head would come anytime soon." Luffy just stared at him. He really didn't want to do this again, but there was no other choice. "I'm interested in the war, with my powers, I can get all of us out of here." Crocodile smirked. "Not a big deal, right? We both get what we want."

"Don't screw with me! You know how bad you messed up Vivi's country!"

"That's so old. I'm not interested in that country anymore."

"Let's release him, Straw-boy," Ivankov proposed. "He'll be a great help to us, especially if you're planning on going to Marineford."

Luffy gritted his teeth.

"Ivankov…"

"It's been a while, Croc-boy. Back when you were a rookie… It's alright, if, by any chance, he tries to betray us, I'll take him out. He can't really be trusted, but… I know one of his weaknesses. But if he behaves and cooperates with us I won't say anything about it. Hiha!"

"You bastard…"

The other ones in the cells began to provoke a ruckus right away but Ivankov silenced them with one of his Death Winks.

"I'm begging you!" Jimbei yelled. "Take me as well! I will definitely be of use! Ace… I've known him since he joined the Whitebeard Pirates. He's told me plenty about his little brother! I'm in here because I was opposed to this war! I want to save Ace! Please, give me a good place to die!"

"Release him too." Luffy was dead serious as he said those words.

"Are you sure? We don't know anything about how dangerous he is or what he's like."

"It's fine, let him out. I know who he is and how strong he really is and he will definitely be of help."

"I am forever in your debt!"

So, here we are on a new chapter. Next one will be the arrival to Marineford, not only for him but also Sabo will show up!

Hope you enjoyed it and thanks again for your lovely reviews, your favorites and follows! They're all very appreciated!