A/N: I'm honestly flowing with ideas at the moment, and I'm thoroughly enjoying writing them all down. Hopefully you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Ulpia had decided to travel with him, Koala and Hack, stating that she wanted to know this world better and staying in one place wasn't going to get her that knowledge no matter how many maps she saw or newspapers she read. Saalem had opted to stay behind at Baltigo, and was in constant correspondence to his newly adopted sister, making plans for the future than involved piracy and fanboying apparently?
Sabo wasn't sure what that last bit was about, but whatever Saalem had seen in Ebony's mind had stuck with the kid and cemented itself as a fully fledged idea.
Koala and Hack were only travelling with him part way, as they had their own mission to go off on, but Ulpia was sticking with him.
"Chief! There's a crow on the horizon!"
That could have meant anything, from a random bird flying towards them to Karasu sending a message.
He, however, hadn't been expecting to receive a letter from Ebony via a crow that had been very obviously trained.
'Salue friend,
I'll get straight to the point. Considering I've got a little bit of sway in the information game, I figured that you may have a use for some of the things that I've been hearing.
Joker is looking for a particular fruit that was once close to his heart. It's been an on and off search, and nothing really constant, but beware if you do get your hands on this before he does. He will not hesitate to murder his way to getting it back. For what reason, no one is sure. May be for bait.
There are three underground rings that I know of operating out of two different islands, give these to your boss. They may help with raids, but the information is yours to use as you please. I don't have the manpower to do a single thing about them, unfortunately. But those that have been freed have been able to say this much; artificial fruits are in development.'
Listed below this comment was a series of coordinates that Sabo itched to send immediately to Dragon, on the off chance that the Revolutionary Army hadn't already known about them.
'There's rumours of a mill that houses Outliers, but my sources haven't come up with a location just yet, only that there were whispers of the Golden Lion surrounding it. If that's the case, then the crew will more than likely come across them at one point or another, but I will let you know if that changes.'
The Golden Lion? The name was familiar, but due to his amnesia any associations with the name were slipping through his fingers, but Sabo knew that it would come to him eventually.
'There have been more Outliers arriving here in the last ten years than the twenty years previously, and no one has been able to work out why.
On a happier note, Baroque Works will no longer be an issue after the Princess arrives back in Alabasta, but it might be a good idea to see if you can snap up any of the brokers that provided information to them. They're probably not all good people, but I know the Rooster has his eyes on a few.'
I hope that we can meet again, and that we'll get along!
The Morrigan
(E.)'
The rest of the letter didn't contain a lot of information useful to the Revs, but was nice enough information to learn about someone whom his brothers were close to. Even though they hadn't spent a lot of time together, he could tell that they were going to get along just fine.
"What was that?"
Koala, ever curious about his business piped up, leaning on the railing of the small boat they were sailing on.
"Just a letter from a friend, Ulpia knows her. She had some information Dragon may want to hear."
Koala nodded, smiling mischievously, "It's nice to see you having friends!"
Sabo knew immediately where that was going, and pulled a face, "No, not like that."
She made a sad face, "Ruin my fun, I was just teasing."
Sabo rolled his eyes, "I know, and the one you should be teasing is Ace."
She lit up at this, "Oh! That'll be fun! Can't wait to meet him then, and begin the teasing immediately!"
Hack, who had been quiet up until that point sighed and shook his head, "Your first instinct is to tease the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates? Why does that not surprise me? Ulpia, can you believe this?"
The other woman laughed, her odd accent charming the Fishman if the sappy look on his face was anything to go by, "I can, because that's my first instinct as well. I'll be teasing Ebony about this the next time we meet about this myself."
Koala pushed her fist in the other woman's direction. Ulpia had clearly never seen someone give another person a fist bump before, as she followed the unspoken instructions warily. But smiled slightly when Koala cheered.
The Baratie hadn't changed all that much since he had been there last, though there were clear signs of remodelling. The fight that had damaged the place must have been pretty significant, but that didn't surprise Buggy considering it had more than likely involved Straw Hat.
"Doke no Buggy! What brings you to our humble restaurant?"
The doorman was always genial, though there was an air of relief and happiness about him that wasn't there previously.
"Here to see the old man, is he available?"
The doorman nodded, "Take a seat, he'll be with you shortly."
Buggy made his way down the stairs, taking a seat as close to an escape route as he could. He was nothing if not paranoid, and he hadn't survived as long as he had by not taking precautions.
He didn't have to wait long, as the telltale sound of a wooden peg leg hitting the ground was heard coming towards him.
"Brat, what brings you here?"
Apparently it didn't matter how old he got, he would always be a brat to those who had sailed during the time of Roger. (What made it only slightly better was that Shanks, no matter how strong and powerful he had become, would also be treated the same way.)
"I've got a den den number to give you, a friend may thought that you'd like to occasionally hear from your little eggplant. Her words, not mine."
Zeff made a face of surprise, that was quickly covered by something else. Maybe happiness? Joy? Buggy wasn't too sure, but handed the slip of paper over that had the number written on it.
"This just for him, or the whole crew?"
Buggy shrugged, "It was just Ebony's, but it goes for the whole Straw Hat crew now I guess."
Zeff made another face, before calling over one of his waiters and ordering them to get the pair of them some food and a bottle of wine. "Ebony? She your brat?"
Now it was Buggy's turn to make a face, "Not really? Sort of? I taught her a few things with a knife, and she saved my life and now she won't let me go."
Zeff laughed, "That's how it happens, brat. What's she like?"
"Smart, though she doesn't think it. Although, not that smart when she joined up with Straw Hat, but all kids make mistakes."
The waiter that Zeff had called over before placed two glasses and a bottle of red down on the table, before hurrying off to the kitchen to grab the meals that had been ordered. Buggy honestly didn't mind whatever he was given, Zeff had always fed him well and nothing he had ever made strayed far from being delicious.
"But she's a good kid, got all her ducks lined up before she left and has some good ideas on how to improve stuff for people like us."
Zeff sat there, pouring the pair of them a drink, just listening as Buggy spoke about Ebony.
"One thing I know is that she fits in far too well with that crew, and from the rumours I've heard has sort of taken your kid under her wing."
"How so?"
The answer to that question was interrupted by plates being placed in front of them.
The Baratie chefs had gone all out that afternoon, because the array of seafood was very obviously the best quality available and the vegetables very, very fresh.
The two ate in silence, before Buggy answered Zeff's original question.
"Treats him like a little brother, and they do look similar enough that they could probably be mistaken for it."
If he hadn't been looking deeply, then Buggy wouldn't have seen Zeff's initial flash of panic before it smoothed out. Apparently sibling relationships were a touchy subject when the eggplant was involved and Buggy did not want to get involved with that, so he changed the subject.
"All I know is that as much as the rest of that crew annoys me, Ebony and your kid have a good lot at their backs."
Zeff nodded, a grin making its way across his face, "I know that they do, just wanted to make sure you knew it too."
Getting to the exchange had been easier than expected, possibly far too easy in the trios opinion. For some reason, the teller valued the gold at a much higher price than what Ebony had originally said that it would go for, but Nami had pointed out that was because of the multiple gemstones that Ebony had snuck into their hoard without their knowledge.
(Apparently the island that she had landed on when arriving in their world had a small cove filled with precious stones and jewellery, which she had hidden in her bag upon her rescue and had summarily kept for herself as an assurance for the future.)
The plan had been to not separate, but unfortunately Luffy there had been a scuffle that had made sticking together difficult, even with Luffy's abilities to wrap himself around his crew several times over.
Usopp had been lost in the fray, but considering he only had one of the five briefcases on him it was not as serious as it could have been. Luffy was still incredibly unhappy, whenever plans were made they never, ever, seemed to go right. Falling apart at the seems before they were even started, which is why he never planned things if he could help it.
But Nami and Ebony insisted on at least attempting to stick with a rough plan of action before things did fall apart.
(Luffy was the type of person who would go up to someone and say 'I told you so', but he didn't want to see either Nami or Ebony's faces should he attempt it, let alone Sanji's.)
"Nami! Go to the docks! I'll find Usopp!"
She shook her head, "I'll go, you have to be there. You're the Captain, and if they speak to anyone other than the captain it'll undermine you."
He was now the one hating that she was right, it wouldn't look good for him as a Captain for someone else to speak on his and the crew's behalf.
"Then we go to Dock One, and I'll get Ebony and Zoro to go after Usopp."
He wasn't going to send a single one of his crew members out alone, not until CP9 had been dealt with.
(Not until the flag had been burnt to ashes, and Enies Lobby raised to the ground.)
He didn't want to leave Usopp by himself, but he had to have faith that Usopp would come back safe, and that what had happened in the 'canon' timeline wouldn't come to pass. Luffy knew that it wouldn't because they all knew before hand that the Going Merry likely wouldn't survive past this island and that the complaints box had been created and used for the first time had hopefully helped to resolve any underlying issues that may have been within the crew.
Nami was in agreement, but she looked scared, and was trying to reassure herself.
"Usopp is stronger than he thinks he is. He'll be fine."
Luffy only hoped that he wasn't lying to Nami, or himself.
Moving the Going Merry to Dock One wasn't difficult once the last off the Franky Family had been either thrown off of the caravel, or had taken off once they awoke to either Merry, Zoro or my own grinning faces above their previously unconscious bodies.
"Reckon the others are there yet?"
Zoro shrugged, "They should be, Nami would be keeping an eye on Luffy and Usopp and Robin knows what's at stake."
Zoro still hadn't entirely warmed up Robin, but the icy veneer was beginning to crack even just slightly. He wasn't happy about the crew being dragged into an issue that wasn't there own, but knowing Luffy they would have helped regardless.
They didn't have to wait for long, as Luffy and Nami showed up, with Robin (wearing one of my hooded jackets), Sanji and Chopper following shortly thereafter. Only Usopp was missing.
Zoro and Merry noticed at the same time as I had, each of us sharing very colourful language before Zoro and I made our way over to the Captain.
"Where's Usopp?"
Luffy shook his head, eyes angry. "There was a massive fight outside the exchange, and Usopp got separated from us."
Zoro, brow furrowed, looked down at our Captain and Navigator, "Did you want one of us to go after him?"
Luffy nodded, "Both of you go after him."
Looking at each other, Zoro and I were of one mind, "Both of us?"
"I don't want any of us to get separated at this moment."
"Alright Captain, we'll both go after him."
Doke no Buggy had left an hour previously, which was his own good luck, Zeff couldn't help but privately think as Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp walked into the Baratie as though he owned the place. Or at least was owed a decent meal.
(Zeff would have been in shock at the amount of food chore boy ate, but since his Grandfather ate far more he wasn't. Just in shock at the speed.)
Before Garp had even ordered, Zeff had shouted for the kitchen to make several medium rare steaks and had wandered behind the bar to grab a bottle of the oldest whiskey that the restaurant had on hand.
"What brings the Marine Hero to the Baratie this evening?"
It paid to be polite to the man who had caught the Pirate King after all, and he had been a pirate before his retirement and a decently notorious one at that.
"Just following up on a lead, nothing more, nothing less."
Zeff didn't have to guess at what that particular lead was, knowing the mans reputation.
"Whilst you're here, at least have a meal on the house."
Garp looked at him as though he knew exactly what he was trying to do, but didn't say a word. Bogard, the swordsman who never left the Vice Admirals side shook his head, knowing that Garp would never turn down a good meal and one cooked by Red-Leg Zeff? Even amongst the marines it was known that the former Captain of the Cook Pirates was very good at his job as a chef.
Zeff hoped that he would be able to keep Garp long enough for Buggy to at least get a far enough distance away, because he knew that Garp would not hesitate to arrest a former cabin boy to Gol D. Roger.
Zoro knew that he had a pretty shitty sense of direction, but he would never admit to it if he could help it, however he was very good at following his instincts and his current instinct was telling him that the goons that Merry had beaten up were the sole reason for Usopp being missing in the first place. They just had to now find wherever that goon hideout was.
And hopefully find whomever the boss was in the first place, regardless of who he may be to them in the future, he was currently an unknown and a danger to the crew. He wouldn't let that stand.
"Usopp shouldn't be too far."
Zoro often wondered if Ebony was prophetic, even after learning about her being an Outlier and a version of their world being a story in hers, because whenever she said something like that she wasn't generally wrong.
They had almost ran past Usopp, who had been positively punched in the face if the bruising around his eye was any indication.
"Usopp! Are you okay?"
The sharpshooter turned to the pair of them sharply, and lowered his eyes. "No! I'm useless, the briefcase got stollen!"
Ebony walked up to Usopp and pulled him into a gentle hug, "You're not useless. As my dad used to tell me, shit happens. As long as you're alive and well, we can get that money back."
"She's right, you're not useless." Zoro patted the other on the shoulder, albeit awkwardly, and added as an afterthought. "Just need a little more training is all."
Ebony, still hugging Usopp laughed, "Zoro we all need a little more training. We'll be fine up until we get to the entrance of the New World and then that's when we'll all get a reality check. But that's then, and this is now. We can do this."
Usopp shook, but it was with laughter and not anxiety, "Why do you always drop stuff like that on us? You're right though, it's here and now and now lets go get our money."
Ebony let go of Usopp, stepping up beside him with Zoro on her other side.
"We go to the Franky House, if the boss isn't there we take what's ours and mess things up. If the boss is there, we do the same thing and then drag him to Merry."
Usopp looked at Ebony, curious as to what Merry would want with the boss.
Zoro took pity and explained, "Merry took great pleasure in beating the shit out of those supposed bounty hunters and then threatened their boss. She wants to have a word with him apparently."
Usopp shook his head, "That's her plan to get him onboard? Threatening him?"
Ebony laughed, head tilting back. "It worked for Robin in the can, didn't it?"
That had been another thing they'd discussed, to call the 'canon' timeline 'can' in public wherever they would be overheard. (Zoro thought it sounded stupid, but if it worked it worked and it wasn't like they'd be talking often about it in public anyway.)
"Whatever Merry is planning will work, she's got all our brains and her own, remember?"
A/N: Garp has officially entered the story, and no this has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I rewatched the live-action last night. Nothing at all. (Okay, just a little. I loved Zeff and Garp's interaction and Bogard makes me happy!)
Stay safe and hydrate everyone!
Translations
salue meaning hello