Earlier that day
Mantax may have been patient, but that didn't necessarily mean he enjoyed waiting. First, he followed Robin as she went along with the masked man. Then, he watched as they met up with a blond woman with glasses, a bearded man with a pigeon on his shoulder, and a man with a long nose. 'So those are the CP9 agents?' he thought to himself. 'I wonder if the long-nosed one is related to our crew's sniper.'
The black Barraki wanted to enter the room to listen to what they were talking about, but he was getting a certain feeling about this bunch: a feeling that they were sharp enough to detect him if he got too close.
And so, he found himself following Robin and the masked man once again. Things got serious when they got close enough to a building that said "Galley-La" on it. The masked man opened a door in thin air, which he and Robin walked through. 'So that's the Door-Man the skeleton talked about. He could be trouble.'
Apparently, this building was where the shooting the skeleton mentioned would take place. Needing answers fast, Mantax snatched up a random civilian and whisked him away onto a rooftop. "You." he lightly batted the guy in the head with his pincer to stop his panicked sputtering. "Answer my questions and you don't get hurt." The black Barraki pointed to the building, "What room is Iceburg most likely in?" Once he got the intel he needed, Mantax numbed the guy with a shallow poke from one of his knee spikes before roofhopping his way to the manor.
Before sneaking inside, he took a few seconds to stand incredibly still, causing him to become invisible to the naked eye. 'How ironic. Not even a year ago, I'd be infiltrating for the sake of assassination. Now, it looks like I'm about to save a VIP,' he thought as he dashed through the halls to find his intended room.
He opened the door just in time to find Robin aiming a gun at Iceburg. Acting fast, Mantax kicked Robin in the back, throwing off her shot, while wrapping his tail around the masked man's neck and electrocuting him.
The masked man wasn't completely stopped by the shock he received and grabbed Mantax's tail.
In response, Mantax spun and threw the man against the wall. The black Barraki kicked Robin again before she could try and shoot again, before refocusing on the masked man.
The two fighters thrust their arms at each other, Mantax with his pincer, the masked man with his index finger. Mantax caught the finger with his mandibles while his pincer pierced the man's neck.
Robin and Iceburg looked on in shock as the masked man fell. As he hit the floor, his mask fell off, revealing him to be a bearded man with hair styled to resemble bull horns.
"You…Do you have any idea what you've done!?" Robin asked, a manic tone to her voice.
"Yes, I do." Mantax pointed his pincer at the woman. "You're coming back to the ship."
"How did you even-" Robin cut herself off. "Of course. That's it. I can still make this work." She used her powers to restrain Mantax long enough to leap out the window and make an escape.
Iceburg, shocked by everything that had just gone down, struggled to find any words, "What? Why-" he looked at the dead man on the ground, "Blueno-"
"If you want answers, ask the Straw Hats," Mantax said. With that, he leapt out the window after Robin.
And so, I find myself tied up and at the mercy of three CP9 agents: Kaku, Kalifa, and Lucci. I wasn't quite sure where Blueno was at the moment.
"Robin, what the h-"
I was cut off as Robin clamped my mouth shut.
"And you're sure he has the information we want?" Lucci asked.
"Yes, and I know he values his life enough to tell you," Robin looked at me. "Right?"
You've gotta be kidding me. What the hell had happened that made Robin decide to squeeze me for info?
"We don't have all night, so I suggest you start talking now," Kalifa ordered. She grabbed my nasal bones with her index finger and thumb and flicked her wrist, crudely breaking those bones.
"Shit!" I flinched.
Unbothered by my pain, she insisted, "The blueprints for Pluton. Where are they?"
My mind raced as I thought about what to say. They'd probably kill me if I said nothing and I doubt they'd let me go either way. "Franky has them!" I blurted.
Kaku smiled, patting me on the shoulder, "See? That wasn't so hard now, was it?"
"You two go and confirm what he just said," Lucci ordered. "If it's true, we can leave ahead of schedule."
His compatriots nodded and sped away, leaving the rest of us alone.
'Where are you, Nico?' Mantax thought to himself as he ran about searching. How could she have gotten out of sight so quickly? Then again, he'd heard that she'd been on the run for years, so maybe it was just practice.
"Whoa there, big guy. What's the rush?"
Mantax stopped in his tracks to avoid running into a certain old woman and her grand kid. "Aren't you that hag we met earlier today?"
Kokoro laughed despite the rude wording, "You sure don't mince words, do you, big guy? So, where's the fire?"
"I don't have time for th-" Mantax stopped as his mind began racing, connecting dots.
"You okay there, stingray guy?" Chimney asked.
"When I talked to the skeleton about the details of my assignment, he brought up the worst-case scenario," Mantax muttered to himself before addressing the two. "You were mentioned in it. Would you happen to know of a second sea train?"
Kokoro's eyes widened and her smile dropped a bit, "I-I do know about that, but…How could the skeleton know-"
"Then show it to me. Time is of the essence," Mantax demanded, "And while we're at it, we'll have to get at least a few shipwrights to help us prepare."
"Woah now, don't you think you're jumping the gun there?" Kokoro asked.
Mantax leaned in, growling, "Just do it. That worst case scenario I mentioned is beginning to take shape.
Kokoro and Chimney glanced at each other for a second before Kokoro beckoned for him to come along.
As he walked, Mantax heard a strange noise. "Hm?"
All across the city, the Straw Hat pirates heard the same noise as Mantax.
"Is that…Merry?" Usopp wondered aloud.
"A remote command to return to the ship? Can't say I expected that," Pridak commented.
"Why do I get the feeling that this is a bad thing?" Nami wondered out loud.
The crew assembled back on the ship in no time where they found two of their comrades still unconscious.
"What? Fencer!" Usopp ran over and picked up the fire ferret, gently shaking her.
The Barraki weren't so tactful with their teammate. Kalmah slapped Ehlek with his tentacle to wake him up.
"Uh, what?" Fencer's eyes slowly opened. She quickly woke all the way up, writhing in pain, "Ah, fuck, my chest!"
"What happened to you guys?" Luffy asked.
"And where's Declan?" Zoro asked, looking around.
"We were ambushed, that's what happened," Ehlek answered as he got up. "I'm not sure what happened to the skeleton, though."
"Ca…ed."
The sound of a new voice made everyone perk up. They glanced all around but saw nothing.
"What…What was that?" Chopper asked.
"M-Me."
And just like that, a small, ghostly figure flickered into existence among the group, shocking them all. The figure had no face, was in a raincoat and carried a wooden hammer.
Chopper leapt into Nami's arms, "AAAAH, A GHOST!"
Usopp's eyes widened, "Wait, Merry?"
"Why are you manifesting at a time like this?" Ehlek asked.
"Because we've got an emergency! Declan got captured!" Merry reported.
Before any of the crew could say anything, they heard a shout from nearby, "Ahoy there!"
Sanji walked to the edge of the deck with a glare, "Not now! We're in the middle of-" he stopped when he saw who it was.
"I have some questions for you and your crew," Iceberg said with a frown. "And before you try sending me away, it pertains to Nico Robin."
Merry answered before anyone else, "Dammit, just get on board so everyone can explain everything! We may not have long!"
"You. Sold me. OUT!?" Franky shouted angrily.
"I'm sorry, okay!? I panicked!" I spat out.
"Be quiet," Lucci ordered us. He addressed his colleagues, "And you're sure he has the blueprints?"
"If he doesn't, then we're sure he knows where they are," Kaku reported.
Lucci nodded, "Then it's time for us to make our departure." He and the other agents began guiding us through the shadows toward the train station.
Robin's eyes widened, "Wait, why are we taking the skeleton? You only wanted me and Franky!"
Kalifa answered her, "True, but this skeleton somehow knew that Franky had Pluton's blueprints. Who knows what other secrets he may be carrying?"
"But that wasn't our deal!" Robin protested, making Franky raise an eyebrow.
"We're altering the deal. Pray we don't alter it any further," Lucci warned as we continued walking.
That set off some obvious alarm bells. They were taking me anyway!? Fuck that! We were getting closer to the train station, making me panic on the inside. I had to get out of here but what could I do? Even if I summoned Skeleton Buddy, we wouldn't be a match for all three agents at once…Wait, Skeleton Buddy!
I leaned over to my fellow captive, "Hey, Franky, if me and my crew can bust you out of this within the next 24 hours, will you let the whole 'sell-out' thing slide?"
"You think I'm gonna bargain with you after this?" the cyborg asked rhetorically.
Okay, he got me there. "Well then, I guess we'll just have to save you anyway." In an instant, I summoned Skeleton Buddy, who grabbed and threw me as hard as he could.
Being sent flying gave me a beautiful view of the city. Said view included Rob fucking Lucci zipping through the air straight torward me. With my arms still bound, I pointed a foot at him and fired my toe bones at him.
The agent simply crossed his arms and let the bones bounce off him. Stupid Iron Body technique.
My next move was to resummon SB in front of me as a distraction. He and Lucci exchanged blows like something out of a Dragon Ball episode, allowing me to plummet out of sight.
I shattered to pieces upon hitting the ground, both to reduce the pain of impact and to get free of the ropes I was tied in. After reassembling myself, I thought about my next move. As far as I could tell, Lucci wasn't following me anymore. I wasn't the one he was here for in the first place, so he may have just cut his losses. That meant he'd be taking off with Robin and Franky anytime now.
I'd better find the crew and tell them about what's been going down. I rushed back to the ship, only to bump into my captain. "Luffy?"
"Declan?" We separated as he looked at me over, "Wow, we rescued you faster than I thought."
"You're back? How'd you get free?"
I knew that voice. At a time like this? Taking a look at our ship, I saw a familiar figure standing on the railing. "Merry?"
"Just tell us your side of things already," the klabautermann ordered.
"Uh, okay. I escaped CP9 but I maaaay have gotten Franky captured," I admitted sheepishly.
"But the only reason they'd be interested in him is-" Iceburg stopped as he worked it out. "You told them he had Pluton's blueprints?!"
That took me by surprise, "You're just saying that for all to hear?"
"We all had a nice, big exchange of info before you showed up," Zoro clarified.
"Oh," I nodded. Looking back to Iceburg, I explained myself, "Don't worry. I didn't tell them where Franky kept the blueprints, and once we rescue him, they'll be as safe as they ever were."
"You do have a plan on how to rescue him, right? 'Cause as it stands, it's your fault he's captured," Nami stated, with Usopp nodding in agreement.
"Fortunately, that matter's been settled."
We all turned to see Mantax, Kokoro, and Chimney arriving on the scene, not to mention the Franky Family.
"If you're all assembled for the reason I'm guessing, then you'll be happy to know I've arranged a transport for us," Mantax informed us.
"We also ran into these guys, and they want our help in getting their boss back!" Chimney followed up, gesturing to the Franky Family members.
Sanji smiled and took a drag from his cigarette, "So we've got backup for this journey? That's handy."
Mantax beckoned for us, "Come along. The sooner we get moving, the better."
As everyone began moving, I struck out on my own. "You guys go on without me. There're a few things I need to take care of."
Finding the store I was looking for was difficult. It was a big city after all, and I didn't know my way around.
"Dude, if you're lost, just ask around," Fencer pointed out.
That actually made me stop dead in my tracks. "That's…actually a good point." And so I asked for directions. Amusingly, one family fainted at the mere sight of me. Such is the price I pay for being a living skeleton. But eventually, I got directions to a Transponder Snail shop.
"Welcome. What can I help y-" the shop owner cut himself off when he saw me.
"Uh, hi," I waved awkwardly, hoping to ease the tension. "Do you happen to carry that new type of snail I heard about?"
The owner perked up, "You're here for that? Uh, sure." He walked away, holding up a finger to signal me to wait. 10 seconds later, he returned with a reddish-orange snail with a black shell. "Presenting the new Recording Transponder Snail."
"...You didn't sound very happy about that," I pointed out.
"Don't take it personally," the owner assured. "I just wasn't sure I'd sell one of these things. I've had a couple of them for a week now but whenever I offer them, buyers are like 'We already have a perfectly good camera.'"
I nodded in understanding, "Yeah, some people don't like change."
Once the guy got my money, he gave me an instruction pamphlet for the snail and asked, "Anything special you plan on capturing with this?"
Oh, if only I could still smile, I would've given him one hell of a grin, "Something big." I then turned around and began moving for the exit, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need a new wardrobe."
"Okay, you look good and all, dude, but why bother with clothes at all?" Fencer asked.
"If you wanna conduct a raid, you've gotta dress for it," I justified. My new (shoplifted) attire consisted of a gray T-shirt under a black jacket, some grayish blue jeans, and some generic sneakers just like the star of the Raid 2.
My fire ferret sniffed the air, "Take a left."
Hurrying along, we made it to the prototype sea train, Rocket Man, which was just beginning to depart.
When Pridak saw us enter the train car, he beckoned us over, leading to me huddling with the Barraki.
"I never thought we of all people would ever huddle," Ehlek commented.
"Quiet," Mantax told him. "Now, skeleton, just what kind of place is Enies Lobby?"
That made me sigh, "You guys just love prying for details…Well, here goes."
The Barraki listened in silence as I went over what I could remember from the Enies Lobby arc. When I was done, they rudely shoved me out of the huddle and began whispering amongst themselves. After a minute or two, they broke the huddle and Pridak and Kalmah hopped out of the train into the ocean.
"What was that about?" Sanji asked.
"They actually didn't tell me," I shrugged.
Ehlek wrapped an arm around me, "Well, as long as we're waiting to arrive, there's something you and I should discuss, skeleton." He hustled me into a corner of the car. "I think it's time you went all out."