This Captain Wears Red

by OPWonders

Luffy's finally embarked on his own adventure! With his past weighing heavy on his shoulders, he'll move forward towards his dream of becoming Pirate King. He'll gather a crew that rivals Whitebeards and show all those marines who held him captive for so long what happens when you mess with a D. (Sequel to my story 'The Devil Wears White')

33. Straight to the Croc

Chapter 33: Straight to the Croc

When the crew reached Rainbase, the sun was still high in the sky. There was an attempt at strategizing, but as usual when it comes to Luffy, that attempt was quickly ignored as he and Usopp ran off into the town in search of water, leaving the rest of the crew behind.

Thanks to Luffys nose the two were able to find a cafe relatively quickly, the two of them storming inside and demanding water from the old woman behind the bar counter. It didn't take long for Luffys nose to pick up another scent though, one familiar to him.

Smoke.

Usopp and Luffy both turned wide eyes toward the marine and his companion- also a marine if Luffy remembered correctly- and their newly acquired water that they'd been drinking by the barrel was suddenly being spit into the two marines' faces. Before they could react, Luffy and Usopp grabbed the other barrels they'd ordered and ran.

"Why's the Navy here again?!" Luffy yelled as he and Usopp ran, annoyed that the stupid marines were ruining his fun once again. Behind them there were a lot more than two marines chasing them now, the horde of them toting guns and swords as they charged after the two pirates.

"How should I know?! Just run!" Usopp shouted back fearfully, tears streaming from his eyes as he ran for his life. Doing as told, Luffy both saw, and smelled, the rest of the crew up ahead.

"Hey guys, the Navy's after us again!" Luffy called over to them, watching as they all jolted up and began running away.

"You keep bringing them here!" Zoro barked back in annoyance.

"Catch 'em for sure this time!" A marine shouted from behind, only motivating them all to run faster.

"This isn't a good idea! Baroque Works is gonna spot us if we run through the city!" Usopp shouted, referring to their earlier planning that had been cut short. Nami had attempted to tell them all how they should watch out for the agents of Baroque Works seeing as they'd run into Mr. 2 which meant that there was no doubt everyone knew they were here.

"I think it's too late for that," Zoro said, noticing the shady groups they were running past, all of them overly interested in the crew running haphazardly through the streets.

"Then it's decided! Let's go to where Crocodile is! Right, Vivi?!" Luffy asked, unperturbed at being spotted by not only the marines but also the enemy they were supposed to be keeping out of sight from.

"Yes! Do you see that alligator roof building up ahead?! That's the casino Crocodile runs, Raindinners!" She called, pointing to said building straight ahead of them.

"That place, huh? That's where Crocodile is?" Luffy asked quietly, eyes narrowing as he took in the sight of the building. Already, he could feel the excitement of a good fight building up in him and he was eager to head there right away and fight the Warlord.

"It'd be best if we split up!" Sanji suggested, noticing the marines were closing in behind them.

"It looks that way!" Zoro agreed, having also noticed the marines.

"Alright! See you later!" Luffy yelled, not needing to be told twice as he ran straight ahead to a building. While the crew took the opportunity to split up, half going left, half going right of the building, Luffy instead jumped straight into the air, bouncing off the awning and onto the building's roof.

"Let's meet at the alligator house!" Luffy shouted out to them before running off, still carrying two barrels of water on his shoulders.

"They split up!"

"Follow them!"

"Follow me if you can Smokey!" Luffy taunted, sticking his tongue out to the marine that he easily spotted in the crowd.

He did it partly so that the man wouldn't go after his crew, but mostly because he was childish.

It got the desired reaction though as Smoker rose to the bait, chasing after Luffy while the rest of the marines split up to go after his crew, but Luffy wasn't worried. He knew that his crew could handle them, just as he knew he could handle Smoker.

"White Vine!" Snapped out of his thoughts, Luffy felt the smoke constrict around his waist as if it were an arm, but Luffy blew himself up into a balloon, forcing the smoke to expand with his body and billow out around him.

Recovering quickly, Luffy released the air needed to balloon his body and started running again, not waiting for Smoker to recover before he did so.

Besides, he really didn't want to take the time to fight Smoker right now. Not when he had to fight Crocodile first.

Keeping the alligator building in his sights, Luffy ignored the marine still following after him in favor of thinking about fighting Crocodile, and in no time he spotted Nami, Vivi, and Usopp ahead, waiting for him at the bridge that would take them to Raindinners.

"Run guys! Smokeys here!" Luffy shouted to them, opting to run straight in rather than fight the marine.

"We're just going in?!" Nami shouted, but seeing Smoker chasing Luffy so adamantly, she didn't argue more than that. The four Straw Hats ran across the bridge, Luffy yelling once more how he was going to kick Crocodiles ass, but the other three crewmembers were worried about the fact that Smoker was still following them.

Running across the bridge, the marine was joined by a group of millions from Baroque Works, all of them shooting at the straw hats in an attempt at being the ones to stop them. Luffy was oblivious to the shooting as he continued yelling out how he was going to fight Crocodile, but Zoro was annoyed by one too many bullets firing too close for comfort and turned around to meet them.

Nami, Usopp, and Luffy didn't wait for Zoro to catch up and instead ran into the casino where Luffy continued his yelling on repeat.

"Croco-!"

"That's not gonna make him come out here!" Nami barked as she and Usopp hit Luffy on the head in an attempt to get him to stop yelling.

"We're dealing with this country's hero! Are you trying to make the patrons hate us too?" Usopp asked chastising as Zoro walked in and joined them.

"Alright, then what do we do?" Luffy asked, fists raised in anticipation.

"H-hold on! Without Vivi, we won't know who Crocodile is!" Usopp said, raising a hand in a gesture for Luffy to calm down, noticing that there were still a few customers eyeing them warily after all of Luffys shouting. He did not doubt that they recognized Luffy and he was nervous that they were going to get kicked out before they could even do anything.

"Speaking of which, where is Vivi?!" Nami asked suddenly, looking around for the princess but not spotting her. They didn't have a chance to start a thorough search because Smoker was running up behind them, still intent on capturing them.

"Straw Hat! I won't let you go scampering about!" Smoker yelled, making Usopp and Nami jumped in surprise and fear.

"It's Smokey!" Luffy yelled, spinning on his heels to run through the casino, ignoring the indignant shouts from the patrons as they shoved past them.

"Damn! What's that smoke freak doing here in Rainbase?!" Usopp asked, not liking how much running for their lives they were doing in such a short amount of time.

"I'd say he's taken quite a liking to Luffy." Zoro joked with a grin as he glanced back at the white-haired marine glaring at them.

"This building is surrounded by a lake! There's nowhere to run!" Smoker yelled, ignoring the conversation they were having amongst themselves.

"He's stubborn!" Luffy yelled in mild annoyance, still more focused on looking for Crocodile and Vivi as he ran through the place.

"I don't have time to fight that guy right now!" Luffy muttered, unknowingly running down three guards who had attempted to stop Luffy.

"Hey, look!" Usopp yelled, all of them noticing that up ahead there was a large black and gold door with the title VIP above it, the staff of the casino smiling cheerfully and throwing petals on the red carpet.

"Thank you for coming! Right, this way! This is the VIP room!" They said just as cheerfully as their smiles.

"VIP room?!" Usopp asked in disbelief.

"Could it mean, 'Bring it on'?!" Nami questioned, neither of them understanding why they would be allowed into such a room when they were obviously causing a commotion.

"This guy gets right to the point!" Zoro said, still grinning as his own anticipation grew.

"Alright! Let's go!" Luffy said in determination, huffing out a breath through his nose as he sped up slightly.

Behind them, Smoker chased as well, questioning how the Straw Hats knew Crocodile well enough to be offered the VIP room.

"But wait, what's a VIP room?" Luffy asked as an afterthought, not even knowing where they were headed.

"Hey, look, the hall splits! VIPs go to the left!" Usopp pointed out as they ran.

"And it says pirates go this way!" Nami said next.

"Which way do we go?!" Luffy asked in confusion, still trying to figure out what a VIP room was in the first place.

"Hurry and decide!" Nami yelled as she glanced back and saw Smoker gaining on them.

"VIPs! VIPs go left!" Usopp yelled.

"But we're pirates! Pirates go this way!" Luffy countered, not waiting for a response as he turned right.

"Yeah! You got a point there!" Usopp conceded, following after his captain without hesitation.

"Wait..." Luffy said, stopping abruptly as he was met with a wall. A dead end.

"Straw Hat!" Smoker yelled as he rounded the corner, only to stop as well with the rest of the crew.

"Huh?" Usopp asked, confused why the hall was even designed like this in the first place. Before they could even think to turn around and go the other way, the floor opened up from beneath their feet and they all started falling.

"What in the world is going on?!" Smoker yelled in annoyance and frustration as he fell.

"I can't believe we fell for that trick," Zoro muttered, sitting cross-legged as he fell and shook his head.

"My 'I wind up swimming when falling in the Darkness' disease!" Usopp said, doing as implied and attempting to swim as he fell. Nami didn't bother saying anything, opting instead to scream as she fell into the darkness, her eyes wide with fright.

"A trapdoor!" Luffy shouted, not sure if he was angry or in awe at a real-life trapdoor. Looking to where they were falling, Luffy noticed that the darkness was clearing to show a stone floor that would definitely hurt his crew should they land on it. Due to this, Luffy wasted no time in wrapping them in his arms and expanding himself into a balloon again, cushioning them from the impact that would most likely cause injury. To the side, he ignored the puff of smoke as Smoker changed form to prevent his own injury from the fall.

"Thanks, Luffy," Usopp said gratefully, wiping the sweat from his head as he took in their surroundings. Luffy joined him, the two walking up to the front of the cage they were now locked in. Behind him, Nami was sitting on the ground, still trying to recover herself from the fright and Zoro was sitting disinterestedly against the wall.

"A clever trap," Luffy said monotonously, keeping his face blank.

"Yeah. It wasn't our fault." Usopp agreed, neither of them willing to admit they'd fallen for the- admittedly obvious- trap.

"We could have avoided it! You did exactly what the enemy wanted! I can't believe how stupid you are!" Nami shouted as she jumped up off the ground. Ignoring the shouting, Luffy moved to grab onto the cage only to flinch back away from it the second he touched it.

"You alright Luffy?" Usopp asked, surprised at the reaction. He had been holding the cage since he'd walked up to it and he wasn't having such a violent reaction.

Backing away from the cage with a grim frown, Luffy was stopped from answering when his haki screamed at him to duck.

"Luffy!" Zoro called in warning, though Luffy was already ducking under the swing of Smokers jutte.

"At the tip of this jutte is a material known as kairoseki." Smoker said as he pointed the tip toward Luffy as the rubber man took another step back at that information, his frown deepening.

"The cage is made of kairoseki too," Luffy responded, watching as Smoker's eyes glanced over to the cage Luffy had had such a violent reaction to.

"Kairoseki? What's that?" Nami asked which focused Luffys attention to his crew briefly. Usopp was shaking fearfully at Smoker's sudden aggression while Nami was in a guarded stance and Zoro had his hand at the ready to pull out his swords, crouched in preparation for a fight.

"It's a stone that has the same effect as the ocean. It makes devil fruit users weak." Luffy explained curtly as he focused back on Smoker, eyeing his jutte warily. The brief feeling of weakness he'd felt from touching the cage hadn't been pleasant, especially in combination with the fact that they were trapped in a cage. All of it was far too reminiscent of the facility for Luffy's liking and he was already trying to fight the flashes of memory prying their way to the forefront of his mind.

"If this cage weren't made of kairoseki I would've been long gone, after making sure pirates like you didn't roam the seas again." Smoker bit out, still glaring. Luffy could feel the marines sense of justice burning inside of him, his loyalty to the government clear as day.

"And what about me then?" Luffy asked evenly, wondering what would happen should he ever be caught by marines. He already knew that they would most likely send him straight back to a facility, but did Smoker know about them? If he did, his loyalty to the government despite knowing their dealings in facilities would show his true character, because even though his aura was blue- no hints of black or grey- if he was helping the government-run facilities Luffy would immediately put the man on the list of people he didn't like.

"You, 11097, are wanted alive which means you'll be going with me to the higher-ups. What they do with you after that is none of my business." Smoker replied without hesitation. The crew continued to watch on in a tense silence, not enjoying the fact that they were trapped in a cage with a marine dead set on fighting them.

"Oh? Are you sure it's none of your business?" There was a shift in Luffy now that everyone noticed. They couldn't quite figure out what it was that had changed in him- maybe the spark in his eyes, maybe the barely contained rage hidden in his tone- but it was enough to make them all falter in surprise.

"What if I told you the government you're so busy protecting wasn't as high and mighty as you believed it to be? What if I told you that they're just as bad- worse even- than most pirates? What would you say then?" Luffy asked, taking a step closer to the jutte despite the kairoseki on it. Smoker watched, eyes still hard, but he didn't move the few centimeters that it would take to touch Luffy with the weapon.

"I'd say you were full of it." Smoker answered easily. At his words Luffy smiled wryly, a bubble of laughter rising in his chest that he barely contained.

"Why? Because I'm a pirate? A criminal? A monster? I'm only what the government- a government that you defend blindly- made me. Do you think I wanted to k-" Luffy cut himself off abruptly, realizing that, in his anger, he'd nearly said too much.

Stumbling back away from the jutte he'd nearly touched, Luffy blinked furiously for a second, trying to clear his head. He wasn't quite sure what had gotten into him, why he'd said so much- and to a marine no less. Maybe it was the cage, maybe it was the kairoseki, maybe it was the fact that he was keyed up to fight crocodile and the man just wouldn't show up.

Whatever it was, it was dangerous. Luffy had to get a better control of himself before he told the wrong people the wrong information.

"Luffy?" Usopp asked hesitantly, his crew watching him with nervous eyes. Zoro was hiding it better than Nami and Usopp were, but Luffy could feel the emotions as clear as day in the swordsman, the worry and confusion as strong as both Namis and Usopp's.

"Sorry. I'm fine. It's the cage." Luffy said, only confusing them more as they watched him glance around at the cage they were still stuck in for the time being.

Looking back to the marine, Luffy noticed that the man's righteous fury had simmered down to an uneasiness, his arm holding the jutte not as tense as it had been earlier as he eyed Luffy carefully.

"Do you want to fight me? Because I'm telling you right now that I'll win." Luffy said without hesitation. His words seemed to rile the man up again, and for a second Luffy thought that he would actually want to fight regardless, but then it simmered down again into calm. He opened his mouth to answer, but a new voice interrupted him, all of their heads swiveling to watch the new arrival.

"I don't think there's a need for that. You're all going to die together, so why not get along first?" The voice, a mans, said. They watched as the chair behind the desk turned to reveal a man with sleeked back hair, a cigar in his mouth. Luffy's glare deepened at the black aura surrounding the man, having no doubt in his mind about who this was.

"Crocodile." Smoker spit the name out with such contempt Luffy felt the emotion swirl around inside of himself for a moment before he cast it out. He had enough issues at the moment, he didn't need to worry about being influenced at a time like this.

Hearing his name, Crocodile stood from the chair, a smile on his face as he watched them calmly.

"So he's one of the Seven Warlords?" Zoro asked, eyeing the man as he continued to stand in his battle-ready position.

"Looks as despicable as I thought." Smoker said with a sneer.

"Oh, you really are the wild dog I've heard about, Smoker-kun. It seems you never once believed that I was on your side. But yes, you're correct. Smoker, I think I'll have you die an 'accidental' death. I'll inform the government that you fought well against the monstrous 11097." Crocodile said, continuing to smile as he walked closer to their cage.

"I don't know why you've come to this country, but I assume you're on your own. The government would never have sent you here. Because everyone trusts me as a Warlord of the Sea." Crocodile said, his emotions as calm and confident as his outward appearance showed.

"So you're Crocodile then," Luffy said, stepping as close to the cage as he could without touching the kairoseki.

"And you're the infamous 11097. I will admit, I'm curious as to what the likes of you are doing here, but it doesn't much matter now. I'll take pleasure in killing off one of that man's precious sons." Crocodile said, his smile only widening as Luffy bristled. He knew that there was no way Crocodile could know about Dragon being his dad, so the next logical conclusion was that he was talking about Whitebeard, but as far as he knew, Whitebeard had never mentioned Crocodile before.

"Sadly, that'll have to wait a while longer until our guest of honor arrives." Crocodile continued, leaving no time for Luffy to find a connection between Whitebeard and Crocodile.

"Guest of honor?" Nami asked hesitantly, fearfully.

"I just sent my partner to pick her up." Crocodile answered menacingly causing the rest of the crew to bristle. The Warlord didn't wait for a response, turning to walk toward a table set up with food and sitting at the head of it. Luffy watched him carefully, taking in the man's every emotion, the color of his aura, and coming to the easy, obvious conclusion.

"He's a bad guy," Luffy said, Nami and Usopp facepalming.

"We knew that already!" They yelled simultaneously.

"Seeing as we have some time to kill, I've got to know 11097," Crocodile started, raising a glass of wine to his lips and taking a sip, watching Luffy out of the corner of his eye.

"What is it that you know about the government that most don't?" He asked curiously.

Again, the creeping, itching feeling of being in a cage, surrounded by kairoseki, with these high-keyed emotions threw Luffy back to the facility, his eyes flashing at the memories, but he pushed them down once more.

When they got out of this he was definitely going to have to talk to Whiskey.

"Why would I tell you?" Luffy asked evenly, sitting down cross-legged on the ground. Behind him, his crew and Smoker listened intently, just as curious.

"Call it a dying man's last words if you wish. Passing on the knowledge to those who will survive." Crocodile mocked with a smirk.

"Your partner seemed to have a clue about it," Luffy said carefully, wondering just how much the boss knew if his partner- Miss All Sunday- seemed to know a lot.

"My partner knows a lot about a lot. Maybe I should have asked her more about you then." Crocodile said, his smile falling for only a fraction of a second, clearly not having known that Miss All Sunday knew more than she was letting on.

"So what is it, hm? A secret weapon? Plans to annihilate us all? Don't keep us in suspense." Crocodile said in good humor, raising his glass as he smiled in their direction. Luffy refused to say anymore though, breathing deeply multiple times to keep away the anxiety clawing its way through his defenses.

"Shame. Seems I'll just have to wait and see if another numbered child reveals the government's dirty laundry. Unless, of course, you'd like to join me. Someone like you on my side? Well, the government won't know what hit 'em." He said, his smile turning malicious at the thought.

"No thanks," Luffy said easily, his voice still even despite the war going on with his emotions.

"Hm. Well, that's too bad." Crocodile said, taking another sip of his wine. Just as he lowered the glass to the table Luffy picked up a familiar smell- two familiar smells.

"Crocodile!" Vivi's voice rang out loud and clear in the cavernous room, the princess standing on the steps across from the table.

"Vivi!" Usopp and Nami said in surprise, moving closer to see the princess.

At her arrival, Crocodile stood and greeted her, though the princess was anything but pleased to see him. Despite Luffy yelling at the woman to open the cage and let them out, she instead attempted fighting Crocodile which had no impact due to his devil fruit keeping him safe from harm. Vivi was forced to sit at one of the chairs at the table, Miss All Sunday standing ominously at her shoulder, while Crocodile began explaining Operation Utopia to all of them which only further enraged Vivi and the crew. When given the ultimatum of saving the crew trapped in the cage or chasing after Crocodile and Miss All Sunday in an attempt to stop their plans though, Luffy could feel Vivi's determination to somehow manage both.

This was easier said than done however as Crocodile continued playing games with them, dropping the key to the cage in a nest of bananawani's. The princess watched as one of them ate it, relaying the information to the crew who were unable to see it for themselves.

"Well, then. We must be going a little earlier than you. Also, this room will be destroyed automatically in one hour's time. This secret underground room I've used as Baroque Works president is no longer of use. It will fill with water and be submerged in Rainbase's lake. One million innocent citizens or a mere four pirates with no future? Only one choice can be saved, though the odds are low for both. Your feelings are your ante, Miss Wednesday. Do you like gambling?" Crocodile asked with another laugh as Vivi stared down at the bananawani.

"With so many fooled in this country, this was such an easy job. The juvenile rebels and the old man digging in Yuba, for example." Crocodile said, revealing that he was the one sending all the sandstorms at the town. This only further enraged Luffy, as if he wasn't already angry enough, and he couldn't stop the growl that rumbled in his chest, his fists shaking now with how tightly they were clenched.

"I'm going to kick your ass!" The venom in the words were enough to make Usopp tremble in fear despite the fact that they weren't even aimed at him. The gloriously angry glare on his captain's face coupled with the rage in his voice were enough that Usopp was sure he'd die on the spot if they had been directed his way. Even Crocodile's perpetual smile dropped at the look, he and Luffy staring at each other for a moment.

Without saying anything more, Crocodile turned, he and Miss All Sunday stepping out of the room and into the hall, Vivi watching as they walked. The second they were out of the room water sprung up from the ground, immediately starting to flood the floor.

"W-waters leaking in! The whole rooms gonna be flooded if we don't do something!" Usopp shouted as if the others couldn't see it for themselves, more and more spouts of water popping up throughout the room.

"Vivi! Help! Do something! I don't want only one hour to live!" Usopp cried, clinging to the bars as he pleaded to the princess for help.

"Quit freaking out," Zoro said, his tone implying that he wasn't taking the situation seriously at all.

"Are you crazy, Zoro?! How can I not freak out at a time like this?! We're gonna die if we don't do something! Don't you understand?!" Usopp shouted in outrage. Vivi stared at Crocodile and Miss All Sunday's backs, Luffy feeling her outrage, her fear, her worry, watched as she shook and tears filled her eyes, watched as she shouted at Crocodile that he wouldn't let her live either way.

"Vivi! Get us out of here!" Luffy said, his voice sharp and stern as he watched the princess.

"Finally starting to beg for your life, Straw Hat Luffy? But it's only natural. Everyone is afraid of dying." Crocodile asked, he and Miss All Sunday pausing to look back at them.

"I've done the dying thing before. I'm not afraid of it. But if we die, then whos going to kick your ass?!" Luffy asked, his voice growing louder with each word until it was echoing around the room. Everyone stared at him in shock except for Crocodile who only smirked.

"Don't flatter yourself." Crocodile muttered as he snapped his fingers, opening up the ground yet again to reveal a bananawani that started climbing out of it.

"Well, this is your chance to abandon them, Miss Wednesday. If you wish to stop the rebellion that is." Crocodile said with a laugh as the bananawani towered over Vivi, the creature larger than the cage the crew was trapped in.

"Is huge..." Vivi said, standing with her peacock slashers at the ready, her fear palpable.

"Alright! Beat it, Vivi!" Luffy shouted in encouragement, anger still on his face as he wished he could be the one to fight.

"That's crazy! It's too huge!" Usopp barked.

"Vivi! Run! You can't beat it! But help us!" Usopp said, tacking on the last bit hastily.

"You're one to talk!" Nami chastised.

"Look out the window. We're pretty much their treats." Zoro said nonchalantly, gesturing to the bananawanis waiting their turn to get into the room.

"We're all gonna be in their stomachs in an hour?!" Usopp cried, tears pouring down his face.

The crew watched helplessly as Vivi tried fighting, or even just dodging the bananawani in front of her, but the creature was too large, too strong, and just when it was about to swallow her the sound of a snail phone ringing stopped it.

"Someone's calling." Miss All Sunday said as nonchalantly as Zoro had, pulling the snail out and answering.

"Hello? Hello? Can you hear me?" A familiar voice asked.

"Yes, I hear you. You're a millions, yes?" She asked.

"Oi, does this thing work? I've never used a mini-transponder snail before." The voice said, seemingly to someone else.

"Yes, everything is fine. You can talk just as you are." A new voice, unfamiliar, said.

"What do you want?" Miss All Sunday asked, wanting them to get to the point.

"Hurry and state your business! What happened?!" Crocodile asked impatiently.

"Oh, I've heard that voice before. Heya. You've called the Damn Restaurant." The familiar voice said.

"The damn restaurant?" Crocodile questioned.

"Oh, it sounds like you remember me. That's great." The voice said calmly.

"I'm certain we have all four Straw Hat pirates inside that cell. All that's left is their pet. Does this mean there are still others?" Crocodile asked himself while Usopp and Nami whispered amongst themselves that the voice was Sanji. It seemed Crocodile didn't know he was a part of their crew due to the fact that he was in his room when Mr. 2 had shown up.

"Just who are you?" Crocodile asked.

"Me? I'm... Mr. Prince." Sanji replied after a second of thought.

"I see. Mr. Prince. Where are you?" Crocodile continued to question.

"'Fraid I can't say. If I did, you'd come get rid of me. Though, setting aside whether or not you can get rid of me, I'm not so stupid as to give up information so easily. Unlike you, Mr. 0." Sanji said, his voice still even and calm.

"Prince! Help! We've been caught! There's not time! Mr. Prince! Help me!" Usopp sang out loud enough for the snail to pick up. Luffy felt his rage slowly decrease as Usopps hope and happiness filled him, his hands unclenching from the tight fists they'd been earlier.

"Sounds like my crew's right by your side. In that case, I'm gonna-" Sanjis voice was cut off by a bang and a noise of pain, someone else picking up the snail now. Usopp's singing abruptly stopped at the sound, he and Nami paling.

"Troublesome bastard! We've caught him! What should we do with this strange man?!" The new voice asked.

"Where are you? Tell me." Crocodile demanded.

"T-The front gate of the casino in Rainbase named Raindinners!" The voice answered diligently.

"That useless moron! That bastard better be alive!" Zoro said, gritting his teeth in annoyance and nearly facepalming. Behind him Usopp was spinning in circles, yelling for a completely different reason as he held his head.

"Our hope..." Nami cried, holding her hands together. The snail phone hung up and Crocodile laughed quietly to himself, his smile back as he turned his back once more to them.

"This is great. Let's go to the front gate." He said.

"Is that wise? The Millions don't know who their boss is." Miss All Sunday said, still holding the snail phone out in her hand.

"I won't be going as their boss. Aside from the Number Agents, no one knows who you and I are. What's so strange about Crocodile, the owner of the casino, going to see what has happened in front of his building?" Crocodile asked his confidence back despite the minor hiccup.

Vivi, however, suddenly turned and ran toward the stairs which were now in a crumpled heap thanks to one of the bananawanis bites. Climbing up the debris she shouted to the crew that she was going to try and get help from the outside, namely Sanji and Chopper seeing as they were supposedly so close by.

She had barely gotten up from the rubble though when a pillar of sand shot towards her, knocking her back off the rubble and onto the ground beside the bananawani.

"Enough of your nonsense!" Crocodile said in annoyance, the sand returning back to become his hand.

"Vivi! Wake up! Vivi!" Luffy shouted, his anger back as he shouted for the princess- who had fallen unconscious- to wake up. Water was starting to pool on the ground enough now that it was nearly creeping into their cage from the edges of the room it had been pooling. Despite their yelling though, Vivi remained unconscious, the water seeping around their cage. Thankfully, the cage's floor was tall enough that the water wasn't enough to come in yet, but if they didn't get out soon, they would definitely be in trouble.

As Usopp and Luffy continued yelling, Luffy felt the shift from unconsciousness to consciousness as Vivi woke up. It was just in time as well as the bananawani attempted once more to eat her, but she skillfully jumped out of the way, dodging the jaws to the best of her ability.

While she was doing this, however, the windows in the room shattered, more water pouring in and filling it faster than before.

"The waters filling the room! Now, there's less than 20 minutes until we're submerged!" Nami shouted frightfully.

"Everyone! Hang in there a little longer!" Vivi shouted, drawing their attention to the fact that she had climbed the stairs again, the rubble too dispersed for the bananawani to follow her.

"I will bring back help! I promise I won't abandon you!" Vivi continued, her determination clear.

"Right! We believe in you Vivi!" Usopp and Luffy shouted. Their encouragement only lasted as long as it took for the princess to run out of the room before they once again realized the trouble they were in.

"The waters gonna get in! Ah! We're gonna drown!" They shouted in unison.

"Hey, you stupid gator! Come and get me!" Nami shouted, sticking her hand out through the bars and waving it temptingly.

"Nami! What's gotten into you?!" Usopp shrieked, thinking she'd gone crazy. A clang made him jump back in fear as the gator slammed its face into the bars, Nami retracting her hand back so fast she nearly fell.

"I'm making that guy mad, to get him to bite the cage apart!" Nami told them determinedly.

"Good idea! Come and get me, you stupid banana! You rotten banana!" Luffy taunted.

"No, that's wrong! He's basically an alligator with a banana on his head!" Usopp corrected. This immediately devolved into an argument between Luffy and Usopp on whether the bananawani were bananas or alligators, but they were interrupted when the bananawani clamped its jaws around the entire cage. There was a moment of panic in Usopp and Nami, but when the gator retracted to show its broken teeth they felt simultaneously relieved and fearful all over again.

"It's no use, the cage is too tough!" Nami cried out, the water now rushing into their cage and covering their feet. Luffy was quick to jump onto one of the beds in the cage in a vain attempt at staying away from the water as long as possible. Across from him, Smoker was sitting cross-legged on another bed, his emotions relatively calm for the predicament they were in.

Around him, Nami, Usopp, and Zoro were trying to think of some way they could get out, but Luffy ignored them, taking more deep breaths as he watched the water continue flooding in, nearly reminiscent of all that time ago when the fire had engulfed the facility. He and his brothers had pressed themselves in the corner of their cell in an attempt at staying away from it, and now Luffy was getting as high as he could to avoid the water.

Blinking those memories away, Luffy realized that Smoker had asked what they knew about Crocodile and what he was after.

"That woman at his side," Smoker continued when no one answered him. This caught Luffys attention further, his back straightening at the mention of Miss All Sunday, the woman who seemed to know about facilities.

"She's had a price on her head by the World Government for 20 years. The price was over 70 million last I recall." Smoker told them, Luffy's frown reappearing on his face at the information.

"S-seventy million?!" Usopp shouted.

"That's the same price as Crocodile!" Nami said, equally surprised.

"The second those two joined up, this became more than a coup. This can only develop into a matter that the whole world will get dragged into if they're left to it." Smoker said ominously, only unsettling Nami and Usopp further.

Luffy did his best to ignore the fact that the water was reaching the edge of the bed he sat on.

"The whole world? What do you mean?" Nami asked, trying not to let her own thoughts get too out of control at the words. Smoker ignored her though, continuing on without even a slight acknowledgment of the navigators words.

"And now you're here as well, 11097. Some kid who seems to know something we don't about the government. Am I meant to believe that that's coincidence?" Smoker asked, finally raising his head to stare at Luffy with narrowed eyes. A scowl quickly formed as Luffy stared right back at the marine unflinchingly.

"I don't care what you think. I'm here to kick Crocodiles ass, that's it." Luffy told him firmly, annoyed that everyone was so obsessed about what he knew about the facility, especially when he was doing his best to think about anything other than the facility at the moment.

"What is it that you know then? Must be something big if Crocodile was interested." Smoker pushed, his righteous indignation back. It took everything in Luffy not to snarl back at the man that it was none of his business, telling himself that he was only testy because of their circumstances.

He knew Smoker wasn't all that bad a guy, marine or no, and he didn't deserve Luffy's rage, but at the same time he did. He was a marine and, unknowingly or not, he was helping run things like the facility. The facility that still haunted Luffy's thoughts and dreams. The facility that had tested on him for seven whole years. The facility that had pushed him and his brothers to their limits time and again. The facility that fed him garbage soup and left him to sleep on the cold concrete ground.

And suddenly he wasn't in the cage in Raindinners. He wasn't in Alabasta on a mission to kick a warlord's ass and help a princess save her kingdom. Suddenly he was back in that pristine white room, Haru stood in front of him with two other doctors at his sides. Ace was next to him and there was another doctor behind him, and then he was pushed forward into the cold water of the tank and told to move. To swim.

But he's a devil fruit user, and so is Ace, so it shouldn't have been a surprise that they both sank to the bottom, the air leaving their lungs as bubbles as they began inhaling water instead. And then they were being dragged out, and pushed back in, Haru demanding that they swim, that they keep their heads above the water.

And yet they sank. Over and over, the feeling of drowning, of losing consciousness, only to be saved, only to be pushed back in again, only to start drowning all over again.

Over and over and over and over and over and over and-

"Luffy?" The sound of his name surprised him. Haru had never called him by his name before, and neither had any of the other doctors in the facility.

"Luffy!" Ace and Sabo called him Luffy, but Ace was drowning in the tank beside him and Sabo was back in their cell, so there was no way that they were the ones calling him. But if it wasn't his brothers or the doctors, then who was it? No one else here knew his name, and no one who knew his name other than them should be in the facility.

"Luffy!" Blinking hard in surprise, the white lab melted away to the cage back in Raindinners, his crew stood in front of him with varying looks of worry on their faces. Behind them Smoker was watching him as well, his eyes no longer narrowed accusingly, but instead curiously, as if Luffy had done something baffling, yet Luffy had no idea what had happened.

Looking around Luffy saw that the water was still coming in, still rising, and there were no doctors. No tanks. No labs or needles. He was waiting for Vivi to come get them out- because he knew for a fact that she would come back- and Smoker had been asking him about the facility and then he'd-

"Luffy? Are you alright?" Zoro asked cautiously, eyeing Luffy carefully as if the teen would suddenly collapse.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine, I'm-" Luffy cut himself off, his mind still reeling with the memories.

"I'm- I'm fine, it's just- Its this stupid cage, and this stupid water and- and you! You asking me about the government and the facility and-!" Luffy once again stopped himself, reminded of earlier when he'd lost his head and nearly said too much. It seemed he'd managed to do so once again as he saw- and felt- Smoker's curiosity grow.

"The facility?" He asked, and the only relieving thing out of this whole situation was that Smoker was genuinely confused as to what the facility was.

Luffys lips thinned though as he practically saw the new questions forming in the marines mind. Cursing himself quietly for letting out so much information- to a marine- Luffy focused back on his crew who were still watching him, their worry only increasing at his obvious distress.

"I'll be fine once we're out of here," Luffy told them firmly, taking another look at the water's progress. It seemed Zoro was going to say something to that, but a familiar scent filled Luffy's nose and relief filled him.

"Bad Manners Course!" Sanjis voice rang out loud and clear as he kicked the bananawani aside, sending the water toward their cage in a wave, soaking them all.

It took everything in Luffy to not fall back into the flashback trying to get its claws back in him.

"Hey there. Been waiting long?" Sanji asked calmly.

"Prince!" Usopp cried cheerfully.

"Thank goodness," Nami said gratefully.

"Stop goofing around and find the key already!" Zoro barked, thoroughly annoyed with Sanjis theatrics.

"Nami-san! L-Love me now?" Sanji asked, wiggling in place as he stared admiringly at Nami, completely disregarding everyone else.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm in love, now hurry and open this up!" Nami said with a sigh, her own annoyance rising.

"This guy's an idiot, isn't he?" Zoro asked under his breath.

"Vivi, way to go!" Luffy called out to the princess watching from the top of the stairs, a smile on her face as she gave him a thumbs up. Now that their release seemed imminent, Luffy felt much better. Surrounded by his crew- minus Chopper, Luffy hadn't seen him in a while, but he smelled the reindeer all over Sanji so the two of them had been together until just recently- it was much easier to push thoughts of the facility away, and it helped that Smoker wasn't questioning him any more.

They watched as three more bananawani came into the room and Smoker pointed out that the third one had eaten the key- claiming that the growls were the same as the one who'd eaten the key, but Luffy and Usopp couldn't tell a difference. Sanji attacked the aforementioned gator, but instead of a key, it spit up a wax ball to reveal Mr. 3 who was nearly skin and bones. After drinking some of the water he looked much better, telling them about how Crocodile had nearly killed him.

As he said this though, he both spotted and then picked up the key to their cage. When he realized what the situation seemed to be, he threw the key across the room toward three more bananawani, spinning into a battle stance to take on Sanji.

Only for Usopp to point out that Mr. 3 could use his wax powers to make a new key.

With this new information, Sanji coerced Mr. 3 into using said powers through means of kicking, and when the door swung open Luffy was the first to run out in unbridled joy, he and Zoro quickly finishing off the remaining bananawani before they became an issue.

Just as they all started getting ready to leave, the walls started crumbling- and then the room was being flooded entirely with water.

"Oi, Zoro, save him!" Luffy yelled over the roaring waves coming in, gesturing over to Smoker who'd already been engulfed by the water.

"Huh?! He's our enemy! Leave him be!" Zoro yelled back, mindful of the very short time limit they had as the wave grew closer.

"If we leave him here, he's gonna die, you know! He can't swim!" Luffy retorted. He may not like the marine, but he wasn't a bad guy. He had a good aura and a good moral compass, he just happened to be on the side that Luffy wasn't.

"Yeah, well, I know that, but he's..." Zoro was cut off as the waves crashed over him. Luffy managed to get a deep breath in when he saw the wave coming his way next, but he nearly lost it regardless when the force of the wave hit him.

Opening his eyes he saw as they were all pulled along with the flow of the water out into the lake surrounding Raindinners and was relieved when Sanji swam his way, grabbing him before he had to worry about the water effects paralyzing him.

Sanji swam as fast as he could to the surface of the lake, dragging Luffy with him, and when they finally broke through to the surface they both heaved in as much air as they could.

"Hey, you still alive, Luffy?" Sanji asked as he laid the now limp teen down on the ground, having moved them to the edge of the lake.

"Yeah, thanks Sanji," Luffy said, pulling himself the rest of the way onto the ground, shivering slightly- though not because he was cold.

"Man, you guys and your abilities sure bear some hard risks, huh?" Sanji asked, referring to the oceans curse. Luffy didn't answer though, more focused on Zoro pulling both himself and Smoker out of the water now.

"Oi, Zoro, what are you doing bringing the enemy along for?!" Sanji asked in disbelief.

"Back off! I didn't want to. He was this close to dying, after all." Zoro said with a glare.

"Whatever. Let's just hurry on ahead. We've lost quite a bit of time. Vivi-chan, can we still make it?" Sanji asked, all of them ignoring the marine gasping for air.

"I don't know..." Vivi admitted, wringing out her robe the best she could.

"Nami-san, do you still have that perfume I bought you in Nanohana?" Sanji asked next.

"Huh? Yeah, why?" She asked.

"Put some of it on," Sanji told her, immediately cooing as she did so. Luffy was only just getting his bearings back when he felt Smoker's sudden rage, Luffys haki telling him the man was about to attack.

"Roronoa!" The crew froze as Smoker yelled, stabbing out his jutte, only for Zoro to block it with his sword.

"Why did you save my life?" Smoker demanded to know, glaring harshly at the swordsman. Zoro lowered his sword, Smoker doing the same with his jutte.

"I was just following the captain's orders. I don't think you necessarily have to thank me." Zoro answered calmly, though he was frowning deeply at the marine. The swordsman had no clue what had happened to Luffy in the past, but he did know that it seemed to be tied to the government and whatever the facility was- which he also knew wasn't the least bit good. After being stuck in the cage with Luffy and Smoker, he'd seen just how much of an effect the situation had had on his captain and he had to admit he had been more than a little surprised that Luffy had told him to save Smoker. From what he'd seen, Luffy didn't like the guy in the slightest, but then again, it was Luffy.

"What?" Smoker asked, turning to look to Luffy who matched his gaze with an indescribable look on his face.

"And why would you have him save me, 11097?" Smoker asked Luffy, his eyes narrowing dangerously. Luffy frowned a little now, annoyed at the accusatory tone and emotions.

"You're a good guy. Besides, you would have died." Luffy said with a shrug as he stood up. It seemed that that hadn't been the answer Smoker was looking for, but he didn't question him any more than that on the subject.

"Then, you'd have no gripes with me carrying out my duties here, right?" Smoker asked.

"See? Didn't I tell you? That's what you get for saving a marine." Sanji said in an 'I told you so' manner.

"Do you want to fight me? I'll still be the one that wins. Anyway, I don't have time to fight you right now, I have to go kick that Crocs ass." Luffy said, repeating his earlier words from when they were locked in the cage. There was a tense moment as Marine and pirate stared each other down, but eventually, Smoker sighed.

"Go. But this is the only time I'm letting you off. Next time we meet, I will catch you." Smoker said, smiles lighting up on the crew's faces at his words. It was just in time too as Marines started running in, all shouting about how they were going to take the pirates down.

"Come on, let's go. The marines are coming. Which way is Alubarna?" Sanji asked with a smile.

"Over there! Straight to the East!" Vivi told them gleefully, pointing in the direction they needed to go. As the crew began to run off, Zoro paused, realizing Luffy had yet to follow.

"Hey, Luffy, hurry! What are you doing?!" Zoro asked, turning to watch his captain who was still staring at Smoker with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Yeah..." Luffy said distantly, taking in Smoker's aura and emotions one more time. While the aura had been blue before it had been more of a sapphire or navy blue, but as he looked it over now he saw that the color had lightened a few shades. Luffy hadn't seen someone's aura getting lighter before, only darker, and it made him curious as to what had caused the change.

"You are a good guy, Smokey. Maybe one of the best marines I've met." Luffy said honestly, still tracking the blue aura carefully. He nearly missed the fluster of emotion from the Marine- extremely similar to the way Ace gets whenever he gets complimented- and then Smoker was attacking.

"Get going, already!" Smoker shouted, surprising Luffy from his observations.

"Shishishi, just like Ace!" Luffy laughed, running over to Zoro who was smiling as well. The two of them turned and ran through the streets, Luffy following the scent of his crew.

"All right guys! Head straight for Alubarna!" Luffy yelled as he began outrunning them.

"Yeah!"

---

And I'm back! Hello once again everyone!

While my trip was a ton of fun and I made some great memories, I have to say that I'm immensely grateful to be back and updating this story again. I've missed it more than I thought I would and found myself thinking of new ideas and twists that I could implement while I was out camping. It was nice to have the break though and hang out with some friends for a while and I'm nice and refreshed and ready to continue writing!

This chapter was a doozy of a chapter for me to write. I wrote and edited most of it before I left and I did some final edits today once I was home, but if anything is off just let me know! I didn't get to pay this chapter the full attention I wanted to, but I hope it's still enjoyable to read!

Also, thank you all for the favorites, follows and reviews while I was gone! I haven't had the chance to read any of the reviews yet, but I will be getting on that as soon as this chapter is up! The support from you guys is always uplifting and I can't thank you all enough for it!

With that said, I'll leave this off here for now. Chapters will return to the biweekly updates on Thursdays that you all are used to, so I will be seeing you all in two weeks with chapter 34!