Chapter 17: The Alliance in Chaos! Return to Marineford!

Marineford was buzzing. The trainees were all trying their hardest to get a glimpse of the Fleet Admiral's office. Every time a group would run past, like clockwork, they would slow and crane their necks at the windows, which were all tightly covered. Then the lieutenants would yell about getting back to work, and the recruits would scramble to pick up their pace without tripping over one another, while the lieutenants secretly moved just the tiniest bit closer to the windows themselves hoping to get a peek at the legendary men and women behind the shutters.

It was all to no avail though, because on the other side of those windows, the glass was lined with some rather impressive people, all of them using their bodies to block what little the blinds didn't. To one side of the room sat the Pirates that sailed under the Strawhat flag, and to the other side sat the Parliament of the Revolution. All of these superpowers were gathered together for one reason... to keep their leaders from breaking the Alliance.

"What do you mean I can't just go get him!?"

The King of the Pirates was already pushing his boundaries, his first mate and his shipwright holding him back from charging at the Fleet Admiral, seated behind the impressive desk in the middle of the room. In front of him were two chairs. Only one of them was actually being used. The serious, quiet leader of the Revolution was glaring at the uproar his son was causing, but he said nothing, because though he couldn't afford to speak his mind, he agreed with the Pirate King.

The Fleet Admiral slammed his hand on the desk, face hard and stern with the backbone he'd grown all those years ago. "First of all, Luffy, I love you. You are my brother. But goddamn it, you cannot just go to Jaya, in the middle of Marine territory, and start busting things up and killing people! Regardless if they need to die, the Marines do not believe in killing if there is the possibility of imprisonment instead. Bellamy is a nasty little bug, but he's a fairly weak little bug, and can easily be captured and imprisoned! He'll suffer much longer in our prison than if you kill him."

The rubber man let out a roar of impatience. He'd never anticipated needing to convince Coby to let them pass, but it was the agreement they'd all come to when the three factions had allied to take on the Tenryuubito and the World Government in the Great War. So, to honor the innocents who had fallen thanks to the previous world order's corruption, Luffy knew he needed to uphold this treaty. He just didn't understand what was so difficult about taking down someone they all agreed had to be punished for what he'd done. Of course, therein was the trouble, the petulant snot had done it within Marine territory, and was hiding in Marine territory. So, technically Luffy didn't have jurisdiction to just go smashing things up and it drove him crazy because no matter how much he wanted to, he'd never break his word to his younger brother, the boy who'd risked his life to get the rubber man off Alvida's ship so long ago.

"Perhaps, part of the problem, if you'll pardon my intrusion, Fleet Admiral," the mellow baritone of the Strawhats' cook broke through the animalistic noises his captain was making, "is that Bellamy appears to not be as weak as we thought he was. True, Usopp and his crew weren't seasoned pirates, but Law and Kidd are, and somehow they were just as decimated. If I understand the report correctly, Kidd is still having trouble adjusting his shoulder mount." He glanced for confirmation from the red-headed co-Captain of the Neverland Pirates.

The color of pale the co-Captain was turned the slightest bit pinker with residual anger. "...My shoulder mount was crushed to shrapnel. I've had to rebuild it from scratch and I couldn't use the old one to give me proper blueprints. I haven't even finished properly rebuildin' it yet, much less gettin' it installed."

Coby sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "...point. But still, it's just not right to go in killing and ripping and roaring. Much as I'm sure you'd love to. Much as I'd love you to. We all know things aren't always what they seem, and who's to say that isn't true here?! I'd much rather you capture than kill!"

"And what do you want me to capture him with? My fingers!?" Luffy flailed wildly with one arm. "We destroyed the seastone, remember? The only intact bits left are the ones keeping Him contained at the base of Impel Down." Shaking himself free of his crewmates, the captain stalked up to the edge of the desk, a dangerous glare on his face, his next words more growled than spoken. "And you should very well know my opinion about that."

Proof that he could be restrained when necessary rotted away in a special cell, carved below Level 6, and lined entirely with seastone. If there was one person on the entire planet that Pirate King wanted to kill more than Bellamy, it was that man. Yet, once again, the treaty forbade him from doing so, as he was the previous Fleet Admiral, the last one under the World Government. Therefore punishment for the crimes he committed fell solely under the Marines' responsibility. Though, Luffy had made just as deadly a promise that should said former admiral ever see the light of day again, the rubber man would forego the treaty and take his head as slowly and as painfully as possible. It was the closest anyone had ever seen the normally jovial man get to being evil.

"And you know just as well exactly how I feel about that man, Luffy." Coby's voice was quiet and lined with steel and pain.

He'd had to be physically restrained, more than once, from allowing seawater into that room to drown the son of a bitch. Not that Luffy would know that, or anyone other than his trusted command second, Helmeppo.

It was, surprisingly enough, Kidd who saw it. Who read it in the Admiral's face and recognized it for what it was. "...You did it, didn't you? You hid some—no," his voice steadily rose in pitch and volume and he bolted to his feet. "You remade them! Didn't you, you half-pint son of a bitch?!"

The Fleet Admiral's voice was quiet and vicious. "No. We did not unearth any more seastone or remake the old cuffs. But there were certain weapons that could not be safely decommissioned, only hidden away."

Kidd was bristled to his full height and there was death in his wine-red eyes. "LIKE FUCKING WHAT?!"

Coby's glasses glinted as he looked straight at Robin. "...Like Mars."

The Strawhat archaeologist's eyes widened a fraction and she stepped forward. "The Mars Project was completed?"

"And successful. We discovered it months after the treaty and the Great War; ready to be used to wipe out all opposition."

"Mars Project?" Luffy was confused, which drained his anger for the moment, as he looked back and forth between the Fleet Admiral and his archeologist.

The quiet, angry voice from his right brought him whipping his head around, but the tattooed man was frowning with suspicion at the third World Leader. "Why was this information kept secret? It was part of the agreement that knowledge of all weapons and techniques be exchanged among us so there was no cause for distrust. Tell me, Fleet Admiral, what else have you been hiding and why I shouldn't take this offense as cause to enact the dissolution of our alliance?"

Coby stood, hands behind his back as he leveled his gaze at the older Monkey in the room. "Frankly, Mr. Dragon, because information this sensitive can only be given very carefully, face to face. The walls have ears. Here. In other places. Even in your stronghold. The only way information like this can be conveyed is by way of a face-to-face meeting. This meeting. Here. Now. And I will not be describing the project. Ms. Robin knows the details and they do not bear speaking aloud."

The stoic woman nodded, mouth a hard, thin line. "And I assume... because of the particular manner in which it is powered... you cannot disconnect it. That was supposed to be one of the 'safeguards' after all."

The Fleet Admiral's lip curled in a sneer. "Yes. And all other such sensitive topics have also been kept under the rug, as it were. Like the Cage."

This time it was Zoro who stiffened, hand falling to his swords. "The fucking H-Cage?"

"Yes. 'The fucking H-Cage'." Coby nodded, mimicking the green haired Supernova's speech.

The swordsman's thumb popped Wadou before anyone could stop him and it was out. "Why does it exist? Why shouldn't I gut you where you stand?"

"Because, as you know, Haki explodes when you break the current," The pink-haired male barked, "and even just the Cage would take out nearly a fourth of the Grand Line!" Taking a moment to calm himself as the clashing personalities in the room made the air heavy and straining. He rubbed his temple, taking a drink from the glass of water Helmeppo had at the ready with a grateful smile. Then he continued, more calmly, "We've been looking for ways to decommission, but... the conduits cannot be interrupted. And the H-Cage was kept strictly for a situation like this."

"Precisely what Coby-boy means, Zoro-boy," The voice of the Okama Queen's voice drew attention to him, "is that because we can't use seastone to capture the distasteful urchin, we can use the H-Cage. We just need to get him into position, and I'm sure Mugiwara-boy can do that, provided he's allowed to get there."

The subtle hint Ivankov gave was accompanied by the curl of his lips and a finger on his chin in what was surprisingly a very adorable gesture. Luffy grinned heartily at the man who'd saved his life more times than he could count. A murmur of agreement rumbled around the room and it seemed that both factions were discussing the proposal amongst themselves for the moment. Even the King of Pirates and the Revolutionary President seemed to be considering the possibility of using that method.

Again Dragon spoke, "It would require all three of us be there to maintain it against his defiance."

"Actually... we can't use the H-Cage. L-look, just-" The Fleet Admiral raised both hands against the resulting uproar. "LOOK! The cage isn't kept here, we'd have to go get it, and transporting the blasted thing is nearly as dangerous because if any conduit takes damage and breaks, it goes 'boom', got it?! That remote possibility is a last resort only, okay?! Actually, I shouldn't have mentioned it, because that cage is also the perfect way to take every single one of us out! While we're maintaining the cage against Bellamy, all one of his crew has to do is chip one bar, one fucking bar, and we're all blown to Hell and chaos and murder will reign again!"

Even Kidd subsided at that, a general murmur of deference running through the gathered super powers. It was true. Bellamy and all his crew would gladly sacrifice themselves and everyone nearby to take out all the world's ruling bodies at once.

"So, we're back to what do we do? I can't catch him, your soldiers can't catch him, you won't let me kill him, and he can't stay loose doing whatever the Hell he wants! Kami only knows who he'll go after next!" Luffy flung his arms out and flopped down in his chair, exasperated.

Behind him, Sanji lit a new cigarette, Usopp found his kabuto's strings suddenly very interesting, and various others shifted uncomfortably as the weight of what had just been revealed pressed in on them. Someone broke out a flask of rum and it started making its way around the room, as the meeting seemed to have ground to a halt. The more rambunctious of the assembly were mollified by the alcohol and the more patient lost in their own thoughts about how to solve the problem. It just seemed like nothing else could possibly make the situation worse.

Then the door slammed open to admit a bruised, battered, hat—and most of the rest of his clothes—missing, bleeding, Rob Lucci. One eye was blackened and swollen shut, and his mouth had been curled into a perpetual snarl he didn't seem aware he was even making anymore. He was shaking where he stood, and his tail hang limply at a broken angle. For being in his largest form, he suddenly looked frighteningly small and frail.

"Wha—"

"The fuck—?!"

"Is that—?"

A blurry amber gaze swept the room before finding the man it sought. It focused on Luffy with more force than it had even all those years ago when they were fighting each other to the death. The man stumbled several steps towards the Pirate King to the sound of audible gasps, and was able to force one growled sentence past his split lips before he collapsed.

"He has Her."

The rubber man frowned in confusion for a minute, then his eyes went wide and ice settled into his spine. Then he spoke, cold and quiet, "Coby, you have to let me get him!"

Coby was confused, head whipping back and forth between the bleeding Zoan-user and his almost-brother. "Wait… what? Luffy, what did he mean? Who has who?!"

Slamming both hands on the desk, the rubber man was breathing heavily. "BELLAMY HAS MY WIFE!"

The entire room went silent, all eyes focused on the center, and even out into the training grounds around the office, all movement stopped. The air was thick, heavy with tension, and the color drained from most of the faces around the gathered crowd. Though not all in the congregation supported the fact that the Pirate King was married, or who he was married to, they all understood the weight of such an implication. Ivankov fell back into his chair, Inazuma fanning him quickly to avoid the Okama Queen passing out under the stress. Sanji shuddered, wrapping his arms around his ribs. Usopp looked to the floor, the shadow of his hat hiding his deep glare. Smoker, who had been one of the marines guarding the door, ran a hand through hair with a heavy exhale. Dragon was suddenly very glad he'd decided to leave his second-in-command with the civilians. Lord only knew what Sabo would do if he knew the whereabouts of his sister-in-law.

Even the fact that she was Luffy's wife was one thing—and bad enough given how many allies he had—but more importantly, Bellamy had kidnapped the Pirate Queen. The ramifications of that rocked the entire meeting room.

Surprisingly the first voice to break the pressing silence was one that at its core despised the woman who'd stolen the rubber man's heart. One, former Shichibukai, and empress of Amazon Lily, Boa Hancock, self-proclaimed true love of the man Monkey D. Luffy.

Her voice shook, "L-Luffy... this may not be the time to bring it up, but perhaps with N-her captured it would be best to clear it up. There is a rumor that she's pregnant. Is she?"

"Yeah." Luffy hung his head, his shoulders sagging, as those who didn't know gasped.

"I-IVA-SAMA!" Inazuma cried, as the large Okama fainted.

Coby's hands had turned into tight fists. His shoulders were stiff. And when his voice emerged, it was a snarl. "Smoker. Bring me the collars."

What he meant specifically were Doflamingo's decommissioned slave collars. With Haki so unstable, they were the best way to subjugate a difficult prisoner. Especially since a little known fact was that most of them had a trace of seastone in them. Just enough to prevent escape should the wearer have a Devil Fruit power.

The aging Marine stepped out of the room in a plume of his namesake to delegate the task to Tashigi, knowing full well how volatile things could get should the balance of power be shifted in any way off center. Then he re-entered the room to wait for his second-in-command, and rumbled, with decades of tobacco use roughening his voice.

"On their way, Sir. But, if I may speak freely?"

Coby nodded to Smoker. "Permission granted, as always, Admiral."

"Perhaps, this once, Sir, we should let Mugiwara have his way." The older man cleared his throat, a bit embarrassed by the fact that he was even thinking about agreeing with the Pirate who had been the bane of his existence under the old regime. "There is only so far one can control a man when his wife and child are in danger."

The pink haired man's eyes cut to Smoker with shock. Then he sank into his chair with a heavy thud and rubbed his forehead. "I... fuck. Fine. Fine!"

Kidd had his face buried in his hand when a thought occurred. His voice was raspy and thick. "...Law?"

"I believe it is time the plaything paid for his transgression against my father." The Surgeon of Death spoke quietly, and in the din of the commotion about the room only those seated closest to him could hear his deadly words.

"No, Law, you're—you're missing it," Kidd rasped, grabbing his lover by the lapels, voice low and his eyes suddenly bright and wild. "Bellamy was the old man's plaything. He's a broken toy. What was Don's Number fucking one Rule?"

"I haven't missed it, Eustass." Law hissed, and repeated. "As I said, he needs to pay for his transgressions against my father." The emphasis was clear that time.

"Does it count as a transgression when he's only followin' the fuckin' rules?"

Law stilled, as color drained from his face and he looked vaguely like he was going to be sick.

Robin touched the redhead's shoulder. "Which rules, Kidd-san?"

The co-captain's voice rose so the whole room could hear, "Doflamingo's Rules. Specifically, One and Two: Never harm a kid and adopt them as yer own!" There was a beat of confused silence. Then the master of magnetism elaborated, "He's going to steal Nami's baby!"

Again silence descended on the room, and the suddenly looming presence of the Pirate King was all the warning he got before the rubber man pulled the redhead up by his shirt, "He's gonna do WHAT with my son?!"