Luffia stares at one of the pictures of their parents available in the Baltigo castle. Their smiles are bright, shining like a diamond... This only serves as a reminder that they will never see them again, that they can only reminisce about the memories they used to share with them.
Once again, she can feel her tears falling. There's no point in preventing herself from crying. Even if she does not, her heart is.
"We can't stay here any longer." Ann said, voice full of conviction as she looks at her sisters. "The longer we wait, the more our people will die."
"They will pay for what they did." Sab agreed.
There are no better words that can describe how much pain the three of them are going through. No words from their friends can quench this pain and hatred.
"Going to Cresta right at this moment is dangerous. That's what they want. They want the three of you out of your hiding so they can attack you." Nami argued.
All those words fell to deaf ears. None of them cares anymore what happens next. All they want is to get back their kingdom and kill the usurpers.
"Nami is right." Shanks added. "Going to war hastily without definite information - "
"Isn't that why we are gathered here? To go to war and take back our kingdom?" Luffia's challenging all of their allies by looking at them straight in their eyes, daring them to refute her words. But there's none. They could not find the right words to argue with her.
"What difference does it make if we attack earlier than we planned? If we don't act now, more people will die. By the time that we arrive in Cresta, there will be no people to save." Sab added while clenching her hands as if to prevent herself from breaking down.
It wasn't even a week since they learned of their parents' deaths. Even though there are no dead bodies as proof, they can feel that it is true.
After the sudden Denden Mushi announcement, the three of them spent a few days just wallowing in their sorrows. Even now, they are still in pain but they must go on and move forward. They cannot stay useless. Their parents did not raise them to quit in the middle of the fight.
They will fight for as long as they can... That's why they must act now.
"With our allies already here, we can take back Cresta. Traveling to Cresta within a week should not be a problem." Sab said. "Our allies have been waiting for too long. We will send the message to Vivi to convene our messages to the others."
"I still think this is reckless." Shanks insisted. He was about to say more but when he saw the look in the sisters' eyes, he knows that his words will not do anything. Their decision will not sway at all, stubbornly resisting any words of advice.
If none of the allies will support them, they will go back to Cresta even if it means going there alone. That's how determined they are.
There's nothing they can do but to adhere to their decisions. They will attack and take back Cresta.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
Shouts of men can be heard all over the place. All of them carrying a weapon of their choice while they train themselves in a fight. Akainu stands on his balcony, nodding with a smirk on his face looking at a hundred thousand soldiers and thousands of dark magic practitioners surrounding his palace.
It is in that time that a crow landed on his shoulder, on its feet is a paper that contains a message. Without hesitation, he opens the letter. The message contains something he is waiting for. A sinister smile graces his lips while burning the paper.
"It looks like Roger's daughters have come out of hiding to play with me. Now, this is what I have been waiting for…"
His men might have failed to kill the daughters, but this time, Akainu will be certain to capture them.
"Is it time for me to make my move? Zehahaha!"
"We have no use for them. You can go ahead and tell your men to kill them however they like."
"Zehahaha! Now, that's something I'd like to see."
"If you'd like to play with them for a while, go ahead. I do not care but we will leave today. This palace is of no use to me." Akainu said.
This place is not big enough to accommodate his army at all. Besides, with his plans set to commence in the next few months, it's not practical of him to be staying near the Dark Forest where there's a risk of surprise attacks from Raftelians should they confirm that he is here in Cresta.
With the damages that they inflicted after freeing the prisoners from the Blazing Inferno, there's no doubt that the rulers of Raftel are thinking that he's nearby.
"Do not worry. I'll just leave as soon as I play with them a ."
Akainu just nodded before signaling the others to follow him as they leave Cresta's grounds.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
Luffia feels that something is not right. They are 3 days away from Cresta. To avoid detection from enemies, they decided to split their forces and take different routes.
Their journey towards Cresta is calm. Even the weather is perfect for them to sail. It's too calm for her liking.
Calm before the storm… she thinks. She wants to tell her sisters about it, but she does not have any explanation at all. With that thought, she wills herself to sleep…
In her slumber, she finds herself standing at the balcony, looking at the vast ocean before her, and in the sky echoes the roar of a green dragon.
Zoro… She told herself. As if hearing her call, the green dragon descended from the sky, landing right in front of her. It extended its neck, encouraging her to get on it. Without hesitation, she leaped from her balcony into its neck, but before she can safely land on him, she finds herself falling in a cliff of darkness.
Bottomless darkness.
Go back to Raftel… Come to us… the same voice she heard when they were in the cave in Purgatory echoes. She tries to find the source, but all she sees is eternal darkness.
Go back before it is too late… The voice said.
"Who are you?!"
Return to Raftel…
Before Luffia can ask again who the voice is, the dream ended, and she wakes by the sound of their ship being attacked. She has no time to ponder on her dream. Her instincts worked fast before her mind can… Willing her body to move and know what is going on outside.
The sight in front of her made her heartbeats go faster, sensing the dangers of what the black ship in front of them brings. Luffia finds her sisters and the rest of the crew on deck, trying to defend from the black ship.
As Luffia looks around, she can't help but notice how the clouds gather around them, its colors resembling black smoke, the air around them feels as if it is going to suffocate them anytime.
"Nami!" she called out.
Before the orange-haired woman can answer, they all lost their balance, huge waves crashing against their damaged ship. They all struggled to find their footing or somewhere to hold on to.
"Zehahaha. I will give you a chance to get away alive if you give me the three princesses at once!"
Their questions are answered by the statement of the man from the black ship. He stands at the Figurehead, unafraid of the possible attacks the other ship may do. He stands there, sinister smile on his face that brings fear to the hearts of the crew in Thousand Sunny ship.
He raised his hands, black smoke surrounding it. Such action tells them that this man is a Dark magic practitioner working for Akainu. Looking at his dark right hand, it feels like they are looking into a pit of darkness, ready to swallow them.
Swallowing a lump of her throat, Ann forces herself to regain her footing, reaching out for the bows and arrows aiming at the man himself.
She shot three at the same time, but because of the waves crashing against them, the aim is slightly off, missing the man by a hair's breadth. The arrows gained the man's attention, finding it amusing that they have the guts to try fighting back.
"Time to retrieve the princesses, men." He said. In the next second, four people boarded Thousand Sunny. Sanji is quick to attack the tall muscled man wearing gladiator's clothes.
Luffia did not waste her time to also attack the woman wearing pieces of jewelry while smiling like a monster. She might as well be, given how her punch broke Luffia's ribs.
Sab took her pipe, attacking the person with a sword. She barely manages to avoid deep cuts. This man is too strong and even if she managed to land hits, it will not be enough to defeat him, not with the cuts he gave her, not even with Koala's assistance.
Usopp is trying his best to match the other party's sniper, but with his limited weapons, it is proving to be a very difficult task.
While everyone is fighting the people who boarded their ship, Ann is quick to launch an attack against the leader, a reckless move without a doubt, but she has no choice but to fight.
"You are one feisty princess." The man punched Ann, something she barely avoided, which gave her a chance to kick the man to the mast. This earned quite a mockery from the man's allies, but he did not falter, instead, the man is amused to see them fighting back. His eyes look as if he is looking at something entertaining.
Ann trembled a little by the revelation, but she cannot falter, not when their lives are at stake, so she gathered all courage she can muster to fight back.
Luffia, with broken ribs, stood, ignoring the jab of pain inside her. It is a small matter, what matters now is to defeat the enemies and get away as soon as possible. She willed herself to focus, her back burning more than ever as if a surge of energy penetrated her bones, giving her strength to fight again.
She managed to launch herself to the woman she is fighting, landing a punch on her face and a kick to her stomach. Even with consecutive hits, she does not want to stop hitting the enemy, for fear that the enemy will find a way to retaliate now that she is gaining her advantage.
"These people are tempting us to slaughter them!" The woman Luffia is fighting stood up, defending from Luffia's attacks. "Teach! Can I kill this little devil?" she shouted.
This alarmed everyone in Thousand Sunny, but they cannot divert the attention as they are also fighting for their lives. No wonder they did not encounter any enemies for the last 2 days. It turns out that Akainu sent his elite men to retrieve the princesses.
As for how they managed to find their location, no one knows. The timing of their attacks against Thousand Sunny is perfect because their allies are not nearby. Splitting their forces was a wrong choice and they are paying for it.
"Foolish Devon! We need that one alive." The leader named Teach responded. "At least leave the two of them alive because it looks like this one is already dead."
The words linger for a moment, Sab and Luffia's eyes turn to where the leader of the enemies is. Their eyes stood still for a moment before the truth hit them, strong as the waves that clashes on their ship.
"Ann!"
Teach laughed before tossing a bloody Ann into the air then sends an earth-shattering punch to the eldest princess, sending her back to the mast of Thousand Sunny. Witnessing their sister falling, almost lifeless, Sab and Luffia forgot that they are still fighting. A moment of distraction opened an advantage for their enemies to strike.
Devon seized Luffia's hand, pulling her before sending another punch to her stomach. As for the swordsman, with Sab's back turned against him, this allowed him to slice her, enough to cause damage for her to lose strength.
Everyone in the Thousand Sunny Ship does not know how to react at all. The enemies were quick on their feet, carrying an unconscious Luffia and a beaten Sab back to their black ship.
"You are not taking them away!" Sanji tried to retrieve them but someone shot his knees, preventing him from pursuing the two princesses.
"Boss! I spotted a ship. We better leave now."
"Che! It looks like fun is over. Zehahaha. I am sure two princesses will suffice, seeing the other one is dead already. We will have fun executing these two."
With these last words, the black ship sailed as fast as possible to get away from the Thousand Sunny Ship.
The crew stayed still for a moment, looking at the black ship sailing away from them. They have no chance of pursuing them, not when their ship is heavily damaged and can barely sail.
"Ann!" Nami was the first one to react, ignoring her injuries to look at the eldest princess. This seems to have woken up everyone aboard. "She still has a pulse, but it is weak." Nami is panicking, not knowing what to do.
None of them are specialized doctors and the best they can do is to apply the primary medicinal cure, and even with that, they are not sure Ann will make it.
"She lost too much blood." Sanji said. "Let's move her to the infirmary." He winced when he tried to carry Ann, but his injuries are nothing compared to what Ann has. There are so many wounds and with the punch she received from their enemy, they are sure that her internal organs are damaged as well.
"The ship! It's Shanks!" Usopp shouted then sends a signal to the other ship to come over. They have a doctor on board that might be able to help, and that is what they needed the most if they want to save Ann from death.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
Base on the expressions of the people onboard, Shanks can tell how grave the situation is. Usopp is quick to ask for their doctor.
As soon as Shanks saw Ann's state, he clenches his fist in frustration.
"I am not sure if I can still save her, but I will try." The doctor gravely said before attending to Ann. He asked everyone but his nurses to get out of the room, so they can attend to her.
"I am assuming they took Luffia and Sab." The atmosphere is heavy for everyone else. With Ann on her deathbed, Luffia, and Sab on enemies' hands, things are worse than they initially thought. "What exactly happened?"
Nami and Koala took turns in explaining to Shanks what happened. They planned to meet up in a few hours on a nearby island before continuing their journey towards Cresta.
"And how are we going to get them back? Unless we have powerful allies to counterattack Akainu and his men, we have no chance at all." Koala voiced out, losing hope every minute they stay in the ship, doing nothing.
"We've been played. I know this is reckless and should have insisted on preventing the three of them to make rash decisions." Shanks started blaming himself.
"We all agreed to their plans. Even if we don't, they will find a way to get what they wanted. There's nothing we can do but proceed with the plan to take Cresta."
"I heard that t-they are going to execute the two of them. So, most likely, it will be in Cresta."
They all fell silent, frowning at the things happening. Even if they want to take back Luffia and Sab, there's no way they can. The enemies are expecting their arrival.
For now, they must focus on hoping Ann's survival.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
"Are you certain?" Robin asks the princess of Alabasta.
"Yes, I am certain. They are planning to take Cresta in a week. They are on their way back to Cresta so we speak."
"Thank you for that information, Vivi. It is deeply appreciated. I will convene these words to the High Princes."
As soon as the High Princes heard of the news, they instantly wanted to fly to search for them.
"You cannot. They are still days away from Cresta." Izou was quick to prevent them from doing anything reckless at all. She is there to remind them that blindly flying out there will only put dangers to the princesses.
"And what are we supposed to do?" Kidd is not patient enough to sit still. He's been anxious for days already.
"We will wait until they are nearby. We have to stop them from going to Cresta." Izou explained. What happened in the Blazing Inferno serves as a warning that the enemies in Cresta are not as simple as they initially thought.
If it is Akainu, should the princesses decide to attack, they are walking a path to death. That is what the High Princes will prevent.
Instead of flying, they decided to leave Raftel and set sail once more. They gave Killer the task to constantly search for his mate who is with the princesses.
"They are not far from here and she is hurt." Killer suddenly said to all of them. One sentence can have several meanings to it. A lot of thoughts came to everyone's minds, yet no one dared to speak anything for fear of worsening the situation.
"If we speed this ship Northeast, we should be close to them."
Marco is quick to direct the crew to start speeding the ship. He stands at the figurehead, ready to fly any moment he senses Ann. Later, Kidd and Zoro joined him, alert for any ships in the vicinity. Half an hour passed by, and within the horizon, they see a glimpse of several ships. The three looked at Killer to confirm if he senses something.
"That must be their ship."
The moment he heard those words, Marco began to transform to his beast form to fly, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him from doing so.
"I know you are eager to see how she is, but I advise you not to fly and reveal your form. We are in broad daylight and anyone might see you or the other ship might be an enemy and you are going to risk being exposed and blunder their safety. We have to be cautious."
Marco growls, disliking Thatch's point of view, but even if he dislikes it, he has no rebuttals whatsoever. Neither does Kidd and Zoro.
Time passes by… slowly they approach the two ships and approaching a piece of shocking news to them…
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
Shanks' men were the first ones to notify them of the ship sailing to their direction. They quickly informed Shanks and the rest of the crew to be on standby in case the ship approaching them is an enemy.
The person in crow's nest spotted three men standing in the ship's figurehead and a white flag raised to inform them that they are not hostile. Regardless, that did not prevent Shanks and his men to be on guard in case the people approaching are enemies.
"There's a ship approaching us." Usopp told Koala who is sitting on Sab's bed.
"Are they enemies?"
"According to my father, it seems not."
Koala stood up, wiping her tears as she decided to go to the deck to see who it is. It might be an ally that can help them retrieve Sab and Luffia.
On the deck, she sees Shanks' men, weapons out, and assessing the ship approaching. It is understandable, considering what they went through against the dark magician.
Shanks and his men fired a warning shot to the ship approaching.
Her eyes landed on the ship and as soon as she saw who was on the figurehead, suddenly, a glimmer of hope engulfs her crumbling mind. She recognizes who they are and if they are here, it can mean one thing: They are looking for the princesses.
"They are not enemies. Let them onboard!" She shouted to everyone else.
Shanks' men stopped their cannons, allowing the unknown ship to come closer to where they are. The other ships nearby also stopped their warning attacks.
As soon as they are close enough to the ship, Marco, Kidd, and Zoro jumped in without hesitation, startling the men on board. Usopp, as well as Sanji, recognized them.
With cold eyes, the three domineering men assessed the state of their surroundings. With a frown, they turned to Koala for an explanation.
"Koala…" Shanks called out, but he is ignored.
Koala swallowed the lump in her throat, willing herself to look directly to Marco's coldblooded blue eyes.
"It's Ann… She's…" Upon the mention of the name, Marco's aura turned cold, skin flaring with blue and orange flames, shocking everyone on board of Thousand Sunny.
Without a word, Koala urged Marco to follow her.
Shanks' ship doctor is trying his best to fix Ann's wounds, but as time passes by with her losing blood, he knows that she is near the end, she is near death. Her body slowly turns cold, her pulse almost nonexistent and her heartbeat is slowly diminishing.
Nami refused to leave Ann, she stands there, crying while looking at an almost lifeless Ann. Never had she felt so useless in her whole life. Here she is, standing in front of her dying friend, unable to do anything.
The doctor is trying to revive her, his hands pushing her chest as if willing her heart to start functioning. It was at this moment that the door burst open, revealing Koala followed by Marco. Upon seeing Marco, Nami's hopeless eyes brightened.
Marco paid no attention to anyone in his vicinity. His eyes remained still at the sight in front of him. His mate lay on the bed, blood all over her body and lifeless.
"Wait, what - " Before the doctor can even say anything, Marco shoved him out of the way.
"Ann…" He mutters. How could he let this happen? How can he fail to protect her?
Marco is beyond angry at this point. Angry at himself, at their situation, and angry at whoever dared to hurt Ann. But those are thoughts he needs to get out of his mind. The most important thing right now is to save her.
Without a word, he cut his palm open, blood gushing out of the deep wound. He placed his wounded hand in front of her mouth, making sure that his blood will go through her mouth.
"What is he doing?" The doctor asked but no one answered. They are all intent in watching what exactly the blond man is doing.
Not too long, Kidd, Zoro, and Shanks arrived with Chopper not far behind. They all watched as Marco let Ann drink his blood.
"Please… live Ann…" Marco whispers to himself, tears falling down his cheeks. He keeps mutter her name, silently praying she survives.
Everyone in the room notices how Ann's pale complex almost return to normal, her chest that starts to rise and fall. Proof that she is breathing. Loud gasps filled the room as soon as they heard Ann cough.
Chopper is quick to act, running to the bed's other side.
"Your Highness, it is not good for her to have this much blood when you are not…" Chopper's words trailed off a little, warning Marco of the consequences for a human to consume Marco's blood.
Yes, Marco's blood contains healing properties, only if the recipient is his destined mate, however, he and Ann have not bonded. His blood may cause more harm than good if he continues to feed it to her.
With a nod, he healed his wound and let Chopper examine Ann. He remained on her side holding her hand. Marco cannot explain how relieved he is now that he is out of death's door. His eyes roam freely on her badly beaten body, then one object caught his attention.
The object that prevents him from sensing where she is. Had it not been on Ann's body, he could have sensed that she is in danger and protect her. Without any word, he ripped the object off her neck, destroying it ushing his palms.
"It looks like the internal damage has healed, but she needs to rest. She still has external wounds that I have to heal, and the state of her body just came back from the brink of death."
"Is she alright now?" Nami asked, not believing what she just witnessed.
"Yes, she should be out of danger."
Most of them sighed in relief, but not Kidd and Zoro. They remained silent, preventing themselves from asking such a crucial question in respect to Marco while he is healing his mate. Now that she is out of danger, Kidd opened his mouth to ask.
"Where is she?" his voice resonates in the room, garnering the attention of everyone. He noticed when they arrived that Sab is not there, neither is the annoying little sister of hers.
His inner thoughts are shouting about the possibilities, but he restrained himself from going berserk without knowing what really happened.
"Judging from what happened here, you all must be from Raftel." It was Shanks who spoke. "Let us all talk, but not here. Ann needs her rest."
Everyone followed Shanks to the navigation room of Thousand Sunny where they can talk without hesitation. Marco also followed, but before going out of the room, he asked Chopper to take care of Ann. For now, he needs to know more about what is happening for this attack to happen. He will show no mercy to whoever is responsible for hurting Ann.
"I have little patience left, now start talking and tell where she is." Kidd's voice is solemn, cold, and dangerous. Even Benn – Shanks' right-hand man – felt it. This red-haired man is dangerous.
"Akainu's men took Sab and Luffia. They attacked us and took them."
Kidd's hands started to transform into claws, startling Shanks, and Benn in the room. Even Nami fears the red-haired High Prince. He is one of the most dangerous creatures in this world, and one of the few people you should not mess with.
"Where did they take them?" Zoro appears to be calm, but make no mistake, he is not. His hand is resting on top of his three swords, any moment he can draw them and slice an enemy open.
"Akainu and his men occupied Cresta's Royal Palace. They may have brought the princesses in the Palace." Shanks can think of other places Akainu might be using to hold his hostages, but they cannot afford in selecting any of those places for fear of them being wrong. The more time Luffia and Sab spend in the hands of Akainu's men, the more danger they are facing.
"So are you telling me to wait until we have further information? Are you all telling me to sit still, do nothing and hold to that little possibility? Is that what you are asking me?!" Kidd's voice rises, his voice holds venom that made the people around twitch. Benn stands there, smoking his cigarette, eyes glaring at the red-haired High Prince. He does not need further explanation to guess who the three men are.
"Their safety comes first and without information, we cannot barge in looking for them. There's too much risk at hand and instead of catching them, we might scare them off to avoid encounter and bring the princesses to someplace we are not aware." Benn said which earns him another glare from Kidd.
"Do you have any method we can use to locate them?" Nami asked Marco. She does not have enough courage to ask a raging Kidd and even if the Green-haired High Prince is staying silent in the corner most of the time, she knows it is more dangerous disturbing a quiet dragon.
"You noticed how the three of them are wearing stone necklaces. They are magical objects that prevented us from finding them. It will be hard to sense them at all." Marco answered. "But I will ask our best trackers to find them at all cost."
Kidd left the room without a word, fuming in anger. Zoro followed as well. No one tried to stop them from leaving.
Koala was about to walk away as well, but a very tall man stopped her. His stature serves as a barrier for her, preventing her from leaving. She looked up, finding the familiar mask man that infuriates her even when they were in Raftel.
The man said nothing, just staring at her as if contemplating whether she is a human or an insect that he needs to smack.
"W-What do you want?!" That almost came out as a whimper. The man said nothing as he reached for her arms, dragging her out of the room.
"W-wait! Where are you taking me?! Oi! Hey!"
No one have the energy to help her. They let her be dragged away, complaining as loud as she can to no avail.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
Luffia's eyes flutter, consciousness back as she tries to consolidate her current situation. Small movement on her body sends shocks of pain that she almost fell unconscious again.
Where is she?
A pathetic groan escaped her mouth, her brain started to work, piece by piece the memories coming back to her. They were attacked, the memory of Ann being tossed in the air, receiving a punch on her stomach, and then… And then everything was a blur. She vaguely registered the pain from another enemy attack, then everything is black.
"Ann… Sab…"
Luffia's head move in search for her sisters. This made her realize the current situation she is in, hands tied up in the air by sturdy chains, her surroundings smells of rotten death, darkness surrounds the small room and metal bars right in front of her.
On her right side, she sees Sab, bloody and unconscious. The blond princess' breath is almost nonexistent.
"Sab…" Luffia calls out. It is a wonder how she is still alive considering her ribs are broken and some might have pierced her lungs, but that is the least of her worries. They must get out of here. "Sab…"
"Ugh…" Sab groans as she forces her senses to come back. Her eyes are dropping, telling her that she is far too weak to be awake at this point. "Lu…" Hoarse voice answered Luffia. She feels pain all over her body, her back is sore, and bleeding and she knows she lost too much blood that should render her dead in any second, yet her resilience to stay alive barely wins. She cannot fall, not today.
"The sleeping beauties are awake. Good. It is almost time for you to be of use!" The woman Luffia fought on the ship laughed. She stands outside of what seems like a dungeon cell where the princesses are.
Luffia winces while trying to answer her, but what came out is nothing but groans of pain. Her eyes remained still, assessing this enemy. She can't help but notice the new sets of jewelries on her and her eyes widen in realization.
"Those jewelries! Give them back!"
"Oh, this? Ah, your mother have a lot of collection that suits my taste. Such a shame she won't be alive for long to use it, so I think these jewelries will be useful to me instead."
"You scoundrel! I-I swear, you will receive no mercy from us once we get out of here!"
"As if you will ever get out." Devon turned her back on the princesses as she smirks.
Teach went back to their headquarters to report. He left four of his men to execute the princesses in Cresta. He gave them strict orders to execute the princesses publicly before leaving Cresta's grounds. All of their important soldiers have been rellocated to their main headquarters and what is left of Cresta are useless fools.
"Burgess, prepare the Cresta's execution grounds. I believe it is only fitting for the princess to die in Cresta's lands." That's what Teach told him.
"Wiihahaha. That sounds interesting. Which one should I kill first?"
"Send the blond one. It is only befitting that the second oldest should follow the steps of the eldest child."
The man named Burgess entered the princesses' cell, dragging Sab away by the chains wrapped around her arms while Luffia is shouting for her sister.
Devon dragged Luffia as well, telling her that she should witness the death of her sister.
The public execution is about to happen.
