O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.

Percy had once told Annabeth that she was a control freak.

At the time, she'd clobbered him and stormed off, of course; they hadn't started dating yet and Percy was still too annoying to even think about as more than a friend.

Now, though she'd never admit it to Percy, she had to admit that he kind of had a point. Annabeth loved making plans; it was part of her Athenian charm. Other people's plans? Not so much.

But after hours of pouring over Carina's notes, Annabeth knew that Carina's plan was a solid one; with Percy's life on the line, it had to be.

Still, looking out over the entire ship from her precarious position on Franky's back, Annabeth had to question once again why she, of all people, volunteered to scale a golden tower with Luffy and Franky instead of taking the easy route up the stairs with the others.

"You still there, Annabeth-sis?"

"Yeah!" Annabeth squeaked as Franky whipped himself upward another 20 meters, "Are we there yet?"

"With this device Usopp, Leo and I built, we'll be there in no time," Franky said confidently.

It was at that moment when Luffy decided to be an idiot, in Annabeth's opinion, and take a nosedive off the tower. Before Annabeth could protest, Franky had done the same in an attempt to catch their captain.

"FRANKY!" Franky ignored her screaming and scooped Luffy under his arm before, and Annabeth kids you not, farting his way back up the tower. Finally, the infiltration team made it to the entry point and collapsed, winded, but alive.

"If Tesoro doesn't kill us," Annabeth said between pants, "I'll kill you myself."

"That was fun!" Luffy grinned, "Let's do it again!"

Annabeth grabbed his face and pulled it towards her, "Save. Percy and Zoro. First."

That sobered Luffy up quickly. He wrapped his rubbery arms round and round her waist as Franky handed her the Den Den Mushi.

"You remember what to do?" asked Franky.

"Of course I do," said Annabeth, clutching her cap in her other hand. Leo had added a ghastly chin strap to the cap which, though ugly as Hephaestus himself, would keep it on her head as Luffy lowered her down, "Don't drop me, Sencho," she saw fit to add as she secured the cap on her head and vanished.

Luffy gave her a salute, causing both Annabeth and Franky to hiss at him for letting Annabeth go already. Once they were ready once again, Luffy leaned carefully out of the hatch and, while Franky held his feet in place, slowly lowered Annabeth down into the Control Room.

It was Annabeth's own fault, if she thought about it, for thinking that maybe, they were actually going to pull it off.

Because of course Luffy fumbled and dropped her before snapping back up into the hatch. The Den Den Mushi was in place, but Annabeth had no escape route without taking off her cap so that Luffy could see her. Luffy sprung down anyway, intent on using his observation haki to find his nakama, but it was at that moment that the guard turned around.

"Fuck."

P.E.R.C.Y. J.A.C.K.S.O.N.

Carina had spent months crafting the perfect plan to make her the richest woman in the world. Her plan was foolproof, even (especially) with the three pieces of information she learned the night before about Nami and her friends. 1) Nami had the same power as Piper, her long lost sister. 2) Annabeth had a magic hat that turned her invisible when she wore it. 3) The talking skeleton's devil fruit powers gave him control over something he kept calling the 'Mist'.

Carina didn't really understand these mysterious powers; all she knew was that when Chopper fell out of Dice's cup he, Sanji, Leo, Nami, Brook and Robin were hiding in, all it took was a few choice words from Piper and a swirling mass of actual mist for the guards accompanying them to forget all about seeing the little reindeer. Even Carina had trouble following what was going on, but she wasn't complaining; they were already through to the staircase.

Which was where they now stood, watching a pop-up screen showing Franky, Luffy and Annabeth evading gunfire. They seemed ready to retreat when a golden tendril speared Franky through the shoulder.

"Such audacious guests. Don't you want to save your lovers?"

Tesoro and Tanaka rose from the floor with identical, evil smirks.

Annabeth froze halfway through examining Franky's shoulder wound, "W-what?"

Tesoro snapped and a screen popped up above them. A spotlight shone down on two, identical golden statues. Zoro snarled at the den den mushi inches from his face. Percy was unresponsive.

"Well, Strawhat? You ready to laugh for me?" Tesoro asked giddily, "I have all the money, so I have all the power. It's entertainment! Come on, Strawhat, laugh!"

Annabeth was breathing very rapidly and pulling at her hair. Luffy, on the other hand, looked livid. His skin began to steam and glow.

"I'LL LAUGH WHEN I KICK YOUR ASS!" he roared, springing at Tesoro with speeds impossible to follow with an untrained eye.

It was useless though; Tesoro encased Luffy's fists in a bauble of molten gold, causing the Strawhat Captain to howl in pain. A black hole bloomed in the floor. Luffy roared more obscenities, Franky shouted in alarm and Annabeth cried out for Percy.

Then, they disappeared out of sight through the hole.

"Shit, they must've screwed up!" Usopp hissed.

"What do we do now?" Chopper wailed.

"We run!" said Piper, already dashing up the stairs. The owls squaked angrily as they ran past, but they no longer cared. A horde of guards waited for them at the end of the hall, but Sanji and Leo made quick work of them and they fell in a hail of fire and steel.

Poele à frire!

"Uh…hammer wacky wacky?"

Piper almost tripped over her feet as she guffawed at Leo, "Gods, I've missed you."

"You too, Pipes," Leo winked, "But we have more incoming!"

"This way!" called Nami, charging off in the opposite direction. Carina threw a smoke bomb and Piper peppered the ground at the guards' feet with bullets to ensure they stayed put.

"Come on!" Sanji shouted, grabbing the two girls by their arms and pulling them through the ornate double doors into a grand, empty hall.

"Ok, I'll bite," said Usopp, "Where are we?"

"This is the Heavenly Suite where the Celestial Dragons stay," said Carina.

"And they're here to collect their tribute," Piper hissed, "This is bad!"

The soft clip, clop of feet hitting the marble floor in the distance gave Nami an idea.

"Usopp, you're about to give the performance of a lifetime."

O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.

Annabeth decided, while falling through a bottomless pit once again, that if the Fates kept doing this to her, she would actually develop a fear of heights.

Fortunately, Hazel had already taught her how to fall properly, so as the shimmering sand grew nearer, she tucked and rolled, landing safely on the hot ground. She barely had time to let out an eep! before her captain landed just inches to her left, spraying hot sand in her face.

"Shit," Franky cursed, scrambling to his feet while clutching the wound in his shoulder, "That was some fall."

"We need to get out of here," Annabeth said firmly, "Where's the exit?"

"Water…"

"Please…we need water…"

"Are those zombies?" Franky asked no one in particular.

But they weren't zombies; it was much worse than that. Dozens of emaciated men, with grey and sallow skin, were staggering towards them as if they were an oasis.

"Please," one of the men begged, holding up an armful of golden treasure, "We can pay you…do you have water?"

"Sorry, fresh out," said Annabeth, eyeing them wearily.

The men collapsed onto their knees. Some burst into tears, others cursed violently.

Luffy didn't care; he was too busy running around, looking for an exit.

"ZORO! Hey, zombie guys, where's the exit?"

"There isn't one," a brown-haired man with cracked glasses said with despair, "We're all doomed to die down here."

"That's impossible," said Annabeth, pacing frantically in circles around Franky, "If we got in here, there must be a way out. We just need to get Tanaka to open it again."

"Good luck with that."

The Strawhats paused. A tiny man with blue hair and a cowboy hat not unlike Luffy's, stepped out of the shadows.

"Of course, luck's in short supply down here."

"Who're you, weird guy?" said Luffy, but Franky gasped.

"I know you," he said excitedly, "You're Raise Max!"

"Who?" Annabeth and Luffy said flatly.

"Annabeth I can excuse, but Luffy-bro, how have you not heard of him?" Franky continued, gesturing at the odd man waddling his way towards them, "He was a legendary gambler. Last I heard, he joined the Revolutionary Army."

"Then maybe you can help us," said Annabeth, "We're part of Nico Robin's crew. You know her, right? She and our friends are in danger."

That got Max to pause, "Robin's a good girl. I'd help ya if I could, but I took the-,"

"The gamble of life and ended up here," Franky interrupted him, "Yeah, that's not helpful."

"AAARGH! JUST TELL ME HOW TO GET OUT OF HERE SO I CAN SAVE ZORO!"

Annabeth tried muttering "and Percy," to Luffy, but the man was inconsolable. She finally stepped in when Luffy started trying to gnaw off the gold on his hands with his teeth.

"Stop! You know that sea water's the only thing that's gonna break that."

"How do you know that, miss?"

Annabeth's fists tightened. She felt her breath quicken and the ringing in her ears reach a deafening roar before she remembered what Robin kept telling her. With a deep breath, Annabeth counted all her fingers and toes before answering a scraggly-looking man in a faded-blue suit, "Tesoro's about to execute two of our nakama. Tesoro took my boyfriend because he can control sea water."

"Then your crew mates are already dead," said Max, "It's just the luck of the draw. You're better off waiting to die here in hell with the rest of us."

She marched up to the man in the suit. He was at least two feet shorter than her, but Annabeth didn't care; she had bigger problems to deal with.

"You think this is Hell?" she said in a low voice. The men nearest her began to back away slowly, suddenly acutely aware of the drakon-bone sword somehow still attached to her hip, "I've walked through actual Hell. I've seen monsters commit atrocities that your simple little brains are incapable of imagining."

Luffy and Franky were watching her in shock, but Annabeth was too far gone to care, "I've faced the Devil himself and escaped alive. I did it all with Percy. We have survived too much in our lives," she said through gritted teeth, "To be killed by a mortal with a few party tricks. So where. is. the. exit?"

"There's a pipe over there that leads to the pump room!" one of the men shouted in terror, "It converts sea water to fresh water; you can get sea water there!"

"You'd never make it there alive," Max said loudly, "The beast'll make sure of that."

"Luffy? Luffy, is that you? Help me, Luffy!"

Luffy's face went white at the voice coming out of the pipe, "Z-Zoro?"

Annabeth grabbed Max's arm, "What is this beast?"

"Looks like a giant bear," Max said gruffly, "It's a good mimic, too. But of course, you and I know the truth, isn't that right, Miss Demigod?"

Annabeth threw herself backwards, sword at the ready, "You're a-,"

"Son of Fortuna, at your service," he bowed, "Now you know what's down there, right?"

"ZORO!"

"Luffy, NO!" Annabeth cried, but it was too late; Luffy had already hurled himself down the pipe.

"What's down there?" Franky asked urgently, "Does Luffy need backup?"

Annabeth was already sprinting towards the pipe, "Against a Cyclops? He'll need all the help he can get."

P.E.R.C.Y. J.A.C.K.S.O.N.

"I really must thank you, Roronoa Zoro. Tickets to your execution are selling like hotcakes."

Zoro had to refrain from rolling his eye at his captor. Why wouldn't this pompous buffoon leave him alone?

"Why don't you get a little closer and say that again?" he said with a feral grin, "I didn't quite hear you the first time."

Tesoro's sinister smirk widened, "If you insist."

Zoro waited until he could count every individual freckle on Tesoro's nose before lashing out and sinking his teeth into his captor's shoulder. Tesoro's scream of terror, the metallic taste of blood that wasn't his in his mouth and the crunch of foreign bone breaking under Zoro's powerful jaw was well worth what came next.

Tesoro pushed himself off the Pirate Hunter, clutching his shoulder and glaring at Zoro with unbridled rage.

"You animal," he hissed, "How dare you ruin my best suit?"

Zoro spat out a glob of blood and skin, "Bleh! You taste terrible."

Before Zoro could protest, Tesoro had bloomed more gold to cover his mouth, effectively muzzling him.

Tesoro took a moment to compose himself, straightening, smoothing the wrinkles in his suit and rolling his shoulder experimentally which, to Zoro's immense satisfaction, he was unable to do without wincing in pain.

Tesoro leaned in and whispered in Zoro's ear, "They won't get the money in time. You're all mine to do with as I please. Do you know what I want to do to you, Roronoa Zoro?"

Tesoro dug his hand into Zoro's chest, cackling in mad delight as he felt another rib crack under his fingers and Zoro let out a muffled howl of pain.

"I want to stain this glorious gold with your blood," he said calmly, "I want the world to watch as the light leaves your eyes and your friends finally understand that money is the ultimate power; not hope."

A groan to Zoro's right caused Tesoro to flinch. Percy's eyes were rolling erratically, desperately trying to focus on anything at all and for a moment, Zoro could see the terror on Tesoro's face. It vanished as soon as both men realized that Percy was still unconscious.

"Money is the ultimate power, huh?" Zoro tried saying through the gold covering his mouth. Tesoro glared at him. The gold around Zoro's arms began to sizzle and turn red.

Finally, Zoro screamed.

Tesoro couldn't stop laughing.

O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.

Without the stash of Imperial Gold that Max had scavenged from the prison, Annabeth was fairly certain they wouldn't have made it past the Cyclops.

She wasn't talking a Tyson-sized cyclops, either; this one was at least the size of the Sunny. It had succeeded in luring Luffy down the pipe, but that was where it's luck ran out. True, Luffy was unable to do any damage with the regular gold on his hands, but he was too fast for the cyclops to catch either.

"Hold still!" the cyclops whined, "Snacks shouldn't be this wiggly!"

"Since when do monsters speak Japanese?" Franky asked Annabeth. She ignored him.

"Hi there!" she called to the cyclops, "Nice day, isn't it? I'm Annabeth, what's your name?"

The cyclops stopped trying to squish Luffy and sniffed the air violently, "I smell demigods," it said in delight, "Demigods are much tastier than rubber! Layla's gonna eat good tonight!"

The men from the prison were backing up slowly, whimpering in terror, but Annabeth stood her ground.

"Yes, indeed, I must taste delicious," she agreed with the cyclops, thanking her lucky stars that Franky had thought to grab Luffy and keep him quiet, "When was the last time you got to eat, Layla?"

Layla frowned, deep in thought, "Someone drops a sheep down here every few days, but that's not enough! Layla's so hungry!"

"Only one sheep every few days?" Annabeth cried in outrage, "They're starving you!"

Layla nodded vigorously, "Yeah! Yeah!"

"And of course, you could eat us now," said Annabeth, "But Max and I are probably the only tasty ones here. My captain is rubber, my friend here is metal, and the others are all skin and bones. You'd hardly get much of a meal at all."

Layla's bottom lip trembled and Annabeth sent a silent prayer to her mother that the others would continue to stay quiet while she worked.

"Or…" she said slowly, "Or you could come with us and escape. There are lots of humans above us. You'd eat for days."

"Days?" Layla gave Annabeth a hopeful look, "And I can still eat you?"

"Oh, yes," said Annabeth, "We'd be more than happy to let you eat us when we get to the deck, right guys?"

Luffy's muffled shouts of protest were hastily drowned out by the enthusiastic chorus of yeses behind Annabeth.

"In fact, Max has a present for you that'll show just how committed we are to helping you eat," said Annabeth, trodding pointedly on Max's leather boot.

"Sure do, lil' miss," said Max, "Close yer eye and hold out yer hands."

"Why does Layla have to close her eye?" Layla pouted.

"So you don't spoil the surprise, of course," said Annabeth, "Surprises make everything more exciting, don't they Layla?"

Layla didn't need telling twice. Annabeth crept backwards silently as Layla scrunched up her eye and held out her hands expectantly. Max, wasting no time, hauled an Imperial Gold RPG over his shoulder, took aim and fired. Layla never stood a chance. The cyclops exploded immediately in a cloud of golden dust.

"Come on!" Annabeth shouted, "We're wasting time!"

"So this is the way in, huh?" Franky said over the chorus of questions being aimed all at once at the daughter of Athena, "How do we break that?"

"You don't," Max shouted over the roar of the fan below them, "You can't stop it either; best bet is to make it between the blades."

"There's no way to time that perfectly on the first try," said Annabeth, "We'd be killed!"

"SCREW THAT!"

Annabeth flinched at Luffy's roar. Max attempted to stop him, but with another battle cry of his swordsman's name, Luffy flung himself down the chute at the fan.

"Franky, you have to grab him," Annabeth tugged on the cyborg's black sleeve, "He's just gonna keep bouncing around until he knocks himself unconscious."

"Yeah, I got him," Franky agreed, already pulling their captain back up to safety, "Yo, Luffy-bro, that's not gonna work. Maybe we should go back and think of another-,"

"No!" Luffy snapped with a desperate look on his face, "There's no time! I'm gonna try again! I have to save Zoro!"

"You're a crazy SOB, you know that, Strawhat?"

Max adjusted the hat on his head and patted Annabeth comfortingly on the shoulder before addressing Luffy, "I once knew what it meant to gamble on love. You love this boy, right?"

"Of course I do! Franky, lemme go!"

"Then you be sure to tell him that when you rescue him," said Max, "Here goes my ultimate gamble. Lady Fortuna, this is for you."

Then, before anyone could stop him, Max did a swan dive down the chute.

Annabeth cursed, "He's gonna get himself killed!"

But he wasn't; Max had managed to latch on to the edge of a giant fan blade, but he wasn't strong enough to stop it.

"Yah!"

With a battle cry, the prisoners charged off the edge, landed on the fan and helped Max hold the fan in place.

"Our families are working as slaves because of our debts!"

"It's time to save them!"

"Tesoro's going down!"

"We just wanna be free!"

Franky wasted no time in grabbing Luffy in one arm, Annabeth in the other, and jumping between the blades.