"Usopp, don't look at the screen!"

Usopp jumped in response to Jinbe's shouting through the earpiece, and he came dangerously close to dropping it. The fishman was feverishly pounding on the window, motioning for him to not look at the screens behind him. "Don't look!"

"What… why?" When he turned around and saw Franky on the feed, he stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh."

"Usopp, what's going on?" Luffy asked, his voice raising an octave. "Are you okay?"

"It's Franky, he... " The constriction Usopp felt in his throat caused him to cough. "I don't think he's okay." Usopp leaned over Limejuice and typed in a key phrase, focusing the den den in front of him on Franky. "I… I can't see everything, but he's missing his arms and a significant portion of his front is gone."

Usopp typed again, bringing the screens' focus back on Luffy. Luffy had pulled his knees up to his face and taken a deep breath to compose himself before answering. "Next steps?"

"Hm," Usopp said, running his hand through his hair. "He looks to be in the medical lab on the second floor." Usopp typed in a few more phrases and waited as the feed to the front of the medical rooms loaded. "There doesn't seem to be anyone on that floor, so we might be able to have Chopper check on him before we get the rest of you. At least to let him know we are here. He isn't answering through the earpiece."

"Can you get anyone else on the earpiece?"

Usopp shook his head, saying, "No one else is answering, but that could be because they fell out of the raid. They aren't meant to fall out so easily, but the way the Marines were jostling Zoro and Sanji, I wouldn't be surprised if they had fallen out of their ears." Usopp closed his eyes and rubbed a hand through his hair, saying, "Which is a whole other problem, but I can deal with that back on the Sunny.

"While I have you, Luffy, we need somewhere to put everyone once they are released. We can't just have everyone running together as a group."

"Floor 5.5 is still up and running. The Marines don't know about it. I think Bon-chan is leading it now." Luffy said after a moment of thought. "I'm sure he will let us meet up there."

Usopp groaned through the receiver. "Lovely, he never leaves me alone."

Luffy snickered, "He thinks you're pretty."

"I am pretty," was Usopp's bratty reply. He clapped his hands together. "Okay, we will have everyone meet up on floor 5.5. Also, if anybody else has Zoro, please keep a close eye on him and don't let him out of your sight. He is so dimwitted that he's been known to get lost walking on a straight path."

"OI!"

Usopp blinked rapidly and said, "Zoro, what the hell!? I've been trying to contact you for nearly an hour!"

"I was sleeping," Zoro muttered.

Usopp rubbed his forehead, where a throbbing pain began to make itself known. "Where are you?"

"I was on the fifth floor, but they brought me down to the sixth floor about two hours ago."

"Did you get into a fight with Sanji, and they decided to separate you?"

"I bet they were fucking, and that was why they decided to bring Zoro down here." Luffy said bluntly.

"They could have been fight fucking," Usopp offered. "They've—ooh, Zoro is in the next cell over Luffy."

"For the last time, the princess and I do not sleep together!"

"Eh, Zoro, you're so loud," Luffy complained.

"More important than Zoro and Sanji's sex lives, Zoro, can you tell me who else was on the fifth floor with you?"

"There was the pervert cook and two other guys. One was a sniper, I think the other was a doctor."

"Those other two are likely from Shanks' crew. Do you remember the cell block you were in? I'm trying to properly locate everyone before I start getting you guys out."

"Why not just smash the walls down?"

"Why not just smash the walls down," Usopp mocked. "Fat load of good that did you, no, Zoro? I'm the one that wasn't caught, so we are doing it my way. Once you get your swords back, you can Hulk-smash as much as your little heart desires."

Zoro scoffed. He never approved of the way Usopp and some of the others had to plan out every single detail, but Usopp supposed it was easy for men like Zoro and Luffy to not worry about those details. They were so powerful they could destroy everything in their path, Usopp had to outsmart whatever came his way.

"Placement?"

"Pervert Cook was with me in cell block eight. Those two guys were in the cell across from us."

"So, we have found Yasopp and Hongo, but still need to find Shanks and Monster." Limejuice exhaled deeply as he thought as he watched Usopp write down notes on the notepad he pulled from the desk drawer. "Shanks is probably on floor 6 with Luffy."

"All the Straw Hats have been located." Usopp pressed a button, pulling up images from all of the den den mushi on the sixth floor and nudged Limejuice, "Do you see your captain anywhere?"

Limejuice folded his arms across his chest, a frown playing on his lips. "I don't think so…"

"Oi, Shanks, are you here!?" Luffy called loudly.

Zoro, Usopp and Jinbe all yanked their earpieces from their ears, the ringing from Luffy's voice causing them discomfort. "Luffy, warn us before you scream like that!" Usopp chastised, holding his ear. "You could have deafened us."

"Eh, Where are you!?" Luffy asked. Usopp, Jinbe and Limejuice watched through the feed as Luffy tried to stretch his head forward, but fell face first in a puddle of dirty water instead. "Ugh, so weak."

"Usopp, Shanks is in cell block 3," Luffy said, pulling up his head weakly.

Usopp typed in a code and brought up cell block three. "Is that him, Limejuice?"

Limejuice nodded and said, "That's the idiot all right."

"That leaves us with finding Monster." Usopp ran a hand through his hair as he frowned. "I don't think I even remember that crew member, can you describe him a bit, Limejuice?"

"He's a monkey."

"Okay, so he shouldn't be so hard to find." Usopp turned and took a red, blue and green marker from the jar on Hannyabal's desk. He spread out the impel down blueprints and opened the red marker. "I will grab Chopper from the kitchen next door." Usopp marked 'Chopper' on the plans and drew a red line from Hannyabal's office to the kitchens. "I'll bring him here, and we will all go up to the second floor using the elevator.

"Once on the second floor, Limejuice, you can take the elevator down to the fifth floor. They do checks hourly and it takes about fifteen minutes. So once it is 18:20, you should be able to go through the floor unseen."

Usopp drew a green line marking the elevator on the fifth floor, writing Limejuice going to the fifth floor. He flipped to the fifth floor blueprint. "Now, Zoro said that they were on cell block eight, so you will want to take a left at the elevators, that should lead you straight there." Usopp drew a neat line from the elevator to cell block eight.

"Once you release them, you should bring them to floor 5.5, which is between floors five and six. From what Luffy has told me, you can get there through a secret passageway which is in the base of the large pine tree that is closest to cellblock twenty. There is a fake piece of bark you should be able to move and that will reveal stairs leading to floor 5.5."

"Once I drop Chopper off at floor two, I'll take the elevator down to floor six and get Luffy, Zoro and Shanks out of their cells. Then, I'll lead them up to floor 5.5."

"Jinbe, your job is to find everyone's weapons and meet us on floor 5.5 when you have them."

"I can do that."

Usopp flipped through the blueprints, "According to these blueprints, there is a weapon room on the North side of the first floor." He took the blue marker and circled the weapons room. "Zoro is missing his three swords, Wado, Sandai and Enma. Do not touch Sandai directly if you can help it. Limejuice, is anyone missing weapons from your group?"

"Yasopp had his musket. It's fairly long, with silver on both ends and brown in color. I am missing my staff, it's very long and dark brown— make sure you don't touch it directly, it's electrically charged. Shanks' saber will also be there. It's longer than the average saber, with a long green hilt and a beige guard. It should be in a blue sheathe."

Usopp nodded and wrote down the weapons and their descriptions on the blueprint. He took tape and pasted it to the window for Jinbe to study. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a small device and held it up for Jinbe to see. "Do you have this on you?"

Jinbe gave him a thumbs up and said, "It's in the waterproof bag in my kimono."

"Do you remember how to use it?"

"Attach it to the lock, press the green button, and step back while it blows up the lock?"

"That's its last resort," Usopp said with a roll of his eyes. "The first thing you should do, to avoid an explosion, is attach it to the lock and press the purple button. The purple button will run through all likely combinations and try to open it that way first. Then, if that doesn't work, you use the green button."

Jinbe nodded, focusing all of his attention on the blueprint in front of him and the descriptions of all of the weapons he needed to find.

"Usopp, they look like they are clearing out of the kitchen." Usopp sat back down at the desk and studied the feeds, a frown growing on his face. "Why are they all going upstairs, do they have mandatory training or something?":

"What?" Limejuice returned his gaze to the screens, eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "That's odd, usually the night shift would be there to take the day shift's places, but I don't see anyone at the usual posts."

Usopp huffed out a breath. "I'm not going to worry about it. The fewer of them there are, the better for us."

"Why don't you go get your crewmate, and I'll finish up these maps?" Limejuice suggested.

Usopp stood and stretched, moaning slightly when his back cracked. "Okay, I got this. Go in, grab Chopper, and get out." he muttered to himself while walking towards the door. He took a deep breath, his hand shaking as it met the warm doorknob.

He gulped and opened the door a crack, peering outside into the flickering red light of the flames surrounding the fourth floor. He cautiously slipped out, closing the door firmly behind him. Usopp tiptoed to the kitchen door, pressed himself up against the side, and peered into the gated window.

Chopper was still on the table, in front of the pot of boiling vegetables, dozing off amid a heap of candy wrappers. "Ugh, I really hope they didn't drug him."

A look to the left showed Usopp that in the farthest corner of the kitchen, there were still several Marines there, stacking and stowing away all of the pots, plates, and cutlery used for the evening meal.

"You're sneaky, you're stealthy, you got this!" Usopp whispered to himself and went down on all fours. He lightly pushed the door, and crept into the kitchen, stopping only when he was safely under the closest table. He sat below it, holding his breath as a set of feet neared him and stopped. He was worried he was caught until the sound of plates and cups being thrown into a bin sounded above his head.

"Hey, Ioki, do you think the rumors are true?"

"Hm? Which rumors are you referring to?"

The Marine moved to the table beside his, and Usopp took that moment to quickly slide out from the table he was hiding under, around the table in front of it and just made it under the table that was halfway between the door to the kitchen and Chopper's table. He had just pulled his foot clear of the oncoming Marine as the man reached the table to clear that one off as well.

"That all of those Red Haired and Straw Hat Pirates are being executed tonight?"

"Bro, they're executing everyone tonight. Nothing will be left come morning." The man paused to accept the bin of dirty dishes from his peer. "Not that we will be here to witness it."

Usopp halted, his eyebrows furrowing in bewilderment. "What are they talking about?" he muttered to himself. He gritted his teeth and sprinted out from under the table, pausing only when he was under the table Chopper was sleeping on.

He nibbled on his lip as he pondered what the men were talking about. An execution made sense, especially for those on level six. That was the reason they were there after all, but what did that guy mean about 'nothing being left come morning'. He ignored the dropping of his stomach and instead reached above his head, feeling for Chopper. He seized a hoof and pulled, holding out his arms, when Chopper rolled off the table. Usopp put his hand firmly on Chopper's muzzle to stop him from yelling and giving away their location.

Chopper wriggled about in Usopp's arms, pushing against his hands and wrists as they held him firm against Usopp's chest. Usopp was about to put Chopper down as he looked to be claiming, but then the reindeer bit him. "Ow! It's me, Chopper."

"U-Usopp!?"

"Shh, you're going to give us away." Usopp stuck his bleeding finger into his mouth and leaned forward to get a better look at the Marines. He pulled back and motioned for Chopper to stay quiet as the Marine cleaning off the tables wiped down the table and bench they were under.

"That's a shame," muttered the young Marine. "I was really looking forward to venison when we got off shift tonight." He threw his rag into the bucket of grey water and wiped his hands on his apron. "Why exactly are we doing these dishes then? We should go get packed."

Ioki paused for a moment before throwing the plate in his hands into the sink. "You're right."

The two men took off their aprons, throwing them haphazardly on the table before exiting the kitchen. They turned off the lights, plunging Usopp and Chopper into darkness.

After a minute of complete silence, Usopp nodded. "I think we are good now. Let's go, Chopper."

"Where are we going?"

Usopp crawled out from beneath the table and paused briefly to allow Chopper to jump on his shoulder before continuing to the exit. "Next door to Hannyabal's office, and then up to the second floor to check up on Franky."

"What's wrong with Franky?"

Usopp didn't answer him as they approached the door. He opened it slightly and peered outside, listening carefully. No one was in the corridors, so he carefully slipped out of the kitchen to Hannyabal's office. He closed the door to the office firmly behind him, sighing in relief. "How did you fair?"

Limejuice waved the blueprints in his hand and said, "I mapped out everyone except Monster." I haven't been able to find him yet."

"Who's Monster?

"He's a monkey on our crew. One of our officers and musicians."

"Oh! Does he have brown hair, a white stomach, and his hair tied up like a pineapple?"

Limejuice raised both of his eyebrows, "Yes actually. Do you know where he is?"

"He's on the second floor in one of the medical bays. They had him in the cage next to mine before they brought me down to the kitchens to give me dinner."

"You mean to fatten you, You do know they wanted to eat you, right Chopper?"

"Wah, Usopp, you're so mean!"

Usopp sighed in frustration. He pressed a button causing all of the feeds to open up. "The Marines are all in their rooms, packing, so we should go up now to the second floor and see what we can find."

"I'll go up to the weapon's room now." Jinbe said before disappearing in a wave of bubbles.

Usopp pointed towards the now empty window. "Jinbe is going up to find the weapons, and we are taking this elevator here to the second floor. If these blueprints are accurate, we should be let off in the main medical lab."

Limejuice pressed the button to call for the elevator while Usopp gathered their blueprints, he stared at the feeds, his frown deepening.

"Usopp, are you okay?" Chopper asked, pulling on his hair to get his attention.

"Something's just not adding up. Where are all the Marines going?" Usopp growled in frustration. "There's something we are missing."

"Elevators here," Limejuice called, holding his hand in front of the door to keep it from closing.

Usopp and Chopper piled in beside him. Usopp leaned back against the wall, breathing heavily through his nose. "Something isn't adding up, I don't like this." He pulled at the strands of his hair, stopping only when Chopper tapped his hands.

"The plan is solid, I think you're worrying too much." Limejuice commented as he stepped out of the elevator and waited for the other two to follow him into the dark medical lab.

"This doesn't look weird to you?" Usopp hissed, flinging his hand out to showcase the room. "What big time medical lab is closed at six in the evening?"

"It is a bit odd," Chopper admitted with a frown. "None of the equipment is working either." He jumped off Usopp's shoulder and scurried towards a large fridge that held vials of blood. "This isn't even on, that means that the blood samples are useless for any testing they would be doing. Why would they just waste blood like that?"

"Chopper, do you know where you were caged?" Limejuice asked, walking around the room himself.

Chopper paused in his rant to close his eyes and sniff the air. "Behind that door over there." He said this while pointing his hoof to the metal door on the right. Limejuice nodded and left the room to check the area.

"We should follow him," Usopp said with a sigh. He slipped through the door, holding it open for Chopper with his foot, before allowing it to shut behind him.

He shook his head and sighed heavily as he studied the room around him. That room, too, looked as if everyone had pulled the plug on all of their experiments and just left them to rot. "It's like Impel Down is being abandoned."

"That's insane; why would one of the strongest Marine bases in the entire world be abandoned?" Chopper asked, "That doesn't make any sense."

Usopp held up his hands, "All I know is that this is how my mother left the Revolutionary laboratory that we abandoned back when I was five." He turned to smile at Limejuice, "I see you found Monster."

Limejuice put Monster on the floor and Chopper ran up to him, talking to him and looking him over. Chopper looked over his shoulder to the two men. "Let me look over Monster, you go find Franky."

There was a muffled sound coming from the wall of closed doors. "Is this… do they keep dead bodies in here?" Usopp shook his head and closed his eyes tightly. "Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. I am not reliving Thriller Bark. Do NOT open that door."

"U…sopp."

"It's calling my name!" Tears rolled down his face, "I can't handle this."

Limejuice opened the door where Usopp's name was coming from and pulled on the rolling bed, revealing Franky.

"Franky!" Usopp and Chopper cried.

Usopp ran over to him, eyes roving over the cyborg's body. "What did they do to you!?"

"Usopp-bro! You made it." Franky grinned at him, but it was unnerving and caused Usopp to pause uncertainly by the bed.

"Erm, Franky… what happened your face?" Usopp asked shakily.

"Oh, they removed it."

Usopp turned, pulling Chopper into his arms. "I can't look at him, he's freaking me out." He took a deep shaky breath, "And and and… where would your face be?"

"They cut it apart for sampling."

"So… you're going to be like this until we can find you new faux skin?" Usopp squeaked.

"If we can find new faux skin, it's hard to come by."

"Oh, great." Usopp turned to hide his tears. "This is another fifteen years on the couch."

"Where are the rest of your parts?" Limejuice asked, "Maybe we can help put you back together?"

"A lot of it was taken apart so they could study it. They don't get access to high tech cyborgs very often. He looked towards his feet, indicating with his chin. "Some of my pieces, a leg and arm, should still be over there, but not much is left."

"There's not much I can do," Chopper said, eyes watering. "I'm sorry, Franky!"

"It's okay, little-bro, no need to cry. I have a lot of spare parts back at the ship. I'll be good as new soon enough, you'll see." Franky said brightly.

"Okay," Usopp slapped his thighs. "Chopper, you are going to finish looking over Monster and then you and Monster are going to put Franky back together again, as best as you can. Perhaps, just enough where he won't lose any extra parts, and if you can get him where he can walk we will be okay.

"Limejuice and I are going downstairs to release the others. I will have Jinbe come collect you when he is done retrieving the weapons and then we will all meet on floor 5.5. Does anyone have any questions?"

"Got it!" Chopper gave him a salute and turned to chat with Monster, gesturing wildly with his hands.

Monster gave him a grin and a thumbs up before answering Chopper's question, his own hands moving wildly as they spoke.

"Aww, looks like they'll be best friends. That's so sweet!" Franky cried.

"Franky, don't cry! We don't want you to short circuit!" Usopp warned, holding up his hands and refusing to look at Franky's face. He turned to Limejuice and motioned with his head. "Let's get going, it's already 18:35, if we don't leave now we will run into the next patrol."

Usopp was gone from the room in a flash. Limejuice followed after him, stopping at the door to look at Monster. He pointed, "Behave yourself, Monster. Chopper and Franky are in charge."

Monster released an angry noise in protest.

"None of that," Limejuice chastised. "Or no more bananas for you."

Monster stuck out his tongue, causing Limejuice to roll his eyes and slam the door shut behind him. He jogged over to the elevator as Usopp was holding it open for him.

"Nervous?" Limejuice asked, watching as the male next to him twitched. "It's okay to be scared."

"I'm not scared. Something is going on and I don't like that I don't understand what it is. Something isn't—"

Red lights flashed, momentarily blinding them.

"W-what's going on, did they find us out!?"

"Attention all staff, attention all staff. You are requested to leave the grounds IMMEDIATELY. The ships are leaving Impel Down in fifteen minutes, the Buster Call in is one hour. I repeat. Attention all staff, attention all staff. You are requested to leave the grounds IMMEDIATELY. The ships are leaving Impel Down in fifteen minutes, the Buster Call is one hour."

I've tried to write a smart Usopp, but as I, myself, am quite the dumbass, I am sure a lot of it got lost. Be gentle with me T.T

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Only one more left. Let me know what you think!

All the best,

Chandlure