The Gate Master

Chapter 6

On the Going Merry…

"I think we should write to your grandfather, let him know of the engagement."

Luffy grimaced. He and Dawn were the only conscious crew members, everyone else was still sleeping and the moon was just setting. It had been their intention to watch the sunrise together and contemplate their future. They didn't have a date for their wedding, it could be years away still and Dawn was only sixteen, but they still wanted to have some kind of plan.

"Wouldn't it be better for him to hear it now from us than to hear it from the marine grapevine?"

"Do you know where he is at this moment?" Luffy asked his fiancé.

"No, but I'm sure I'll be able to find him in the newspaper after Nami's read it. He is a pretty popular and famous marine. Once we have his location Hedwig will be able to find him. He might want to come to the wedding."

"Maybe he will, maybe he won't. How is Hedwig? Don't you want her searching for your godfather, let him know that we're coming?"

"She's recovering," Dawn sighed and settled more comfortably against Luffy's shoulder. They were on the figurehead of the Going Merry and the sky was slowly lightening around them. "We don't know where Sirius is, he could be on the other side of the world and in this climate Hedwig wouldn't be able to make the journey. This world is also mostly water and she wouldn't be able stop and rest when she needed it. By having a specific location, preferably in the East Blue like us, Hedwig would be able to make the journey, rest, and return unharmed."

"Will Sirius be at our wedding?"

"If he's still alive…I would like him to be there. The same for your grandfather and Ace, I can't wait to see him and tell him that you finally proposed. Do you know where he is?"

"Nope, and your godfather is still alive. Don't give up hope."

"Prisoners don't tend to last more than a year," Dawn whispered. "I don't even know where Impel Down is. All I have is a map of the complex, but without a world map I wouldn't have a clue where to go…unless I ask your grandfather."

"We'll find it, and we'll be the first pirates to break in and out. You'll see."

"I trust you Captain."

Silence fell on the two of them as the sun appeared on the horizon, lighting up the sky with many different colours and showing the way forward. The smattering of clouds glowed pink, red and yellow, slowly brightening to white. Behind them, Sanji made an appearance but being half asleep as he was he didn't notice the two on the figurehead. Zoro was sleeping against the mast, and Sanji kicked him on the way to wake him up. And with that move the silence was broken.

Dawn giggled lightly as Nami's voice echoed from the girls' cabin, yelling at the boys for waking her up. Luffy laughed as well, but made no attempt to move from his comfortable position. Dawn sighed and called Hedwig down to her. The wound was healing, but Dawn knew that the injury caused Hedwig pain.

"Hey girl," Dawn whispered. "Do you think you're up to a delivery? I don't have a location yet, but once I do I would like you to take a letter to Luffy's grandfather. We want to let him know about our engagement."

Hedwig hooted, and Dawn knew that her owl wouldn't let her down when the time came. She hugged Hedwig to her chest before standing up so that she could make her way to the kitchen for something to eat.

"Luffy, I'm going to be working on the letter today, so whatever mischief you want to get up to could you make sure that the noise is kept down?"

"Sure thing Princess. Now go and eat something. I'll be there in a minute."

Dawn nodded and went off to see what Sanji had prepared for them, knowing that she and Nami would have slightly better quality food than the boys. Being a girl sometimes had excellent benefits. Usopp nearly collided with her as he ran to escape the boys' room in his eagerness to eat, but missed due to Dawn sidestepping at the right moment. He was prattling on about a new weapon he dreamed about and wanted to spend the day creating, something along the lines of hot sauce.

Sanji served her breakfast with a smile as she sat down next to Nami. The older girl was eating slowly as she woke up, her gaze drifting to where her tangerine trees were planted. The day before Luffy had expressed interest in the little orange fruits, and it seemed that only now was Nami remembering. She spoke before thinking, and Sanji dashed to her rescue promising to protect the trees from their captain. Dawn smiled as she fed Hedwig fruits from her plate, with that challenge in place she knew where Luffy would be for the rest of the day.

A few hours later Dawn was relaxing on the deck with some parchment scattered around her. Nami was waiting on the railing for her newspaper flown in by bird, Usopp was mixing and matching different explosives for his new attack weapon, Zoro was sleeping again, and Sanji and Luffy were wrestling near the tangerine trees. It was only a matter of time before the chaos started. Hedwig hooted her disapproval at the newspaper bird when it arrived, and Dawn spent several moments ensuring that her owl understood that she would never use anyone other than her to deliver mail. Placated, Hedwig allowed Dawn to focus again on her work in time for Usopp to scream out in agony from getting sauce in his eyes as Luffy crashed into him.

"That must be my cue to stop working," Dawn told her owl. Hedwig hooted as Dawn gathered her belongings and took them back to her room. Before returning she grabbed a container of fresh water and a washcloth so that she could help Usopp. The sharpshooter was ordered to lie down so that Dawn could rest the cold cloth on his eyes to alleviate the burning sensation. Nami had pulled out her sun lounge so that she could read the paper comfortably, and Luffy was arguing with Sanji now that the wrestling match was over.

"The world sure is a turbulent place," Nami muttered. "They just had another coup in Villa."

Dawn turned to look at her as two slips of paper fell out of the paper. She wondered what they were as Luffy's eyes had gone wide as he glimpsed the picture. Nami dropped her paper and screamed as the two papers landed face up on the deck. Usopp removed the washcloth so that he could see just as Zoro bounded over with his swords drawn, not quite awake but not completely asleep. Dawn moved closer so that she could see the pictures and gasped as she registered what was in front of her.

"Bounty posters?" she asked. "Luffy I can understand, but why is there one of me?"

"You were pretty intimidating at Arlong Park," Zoro told her as he sheathed his swords. "That marine guy said that he would make you pay."

"They're going to call me Dark Witch for the rest of my life," Dawn stated sadly. The poster in her hands showed her pushing her hair back off her face and smiling off camera. There was only one person she would smile at like that, so the camera man must have taken the photo when she was staring at Luffy. Further down the poster were her new title, Dark Witch Dawn, and her bounty of 25 Million. Zoro stood over her shoulder and whistled at the bounty. Dawn handed the poster to Luffy so that he could look at it while she stared at his.

"Monkey D Luffy, wanted dead or alive, 30 Million," she read aloud. "Why didn't they give you a title?"

"He's going to be known as Straw-Hat Luffy for the rest of his life," Zoro told her reassuringly. "Even if that isn't printed on his bounty poster, everyone we've met so far has called him Straw-Hat."

"You look beautiful Princess," Luffy announced as he stared at the poster in his hands. "Now everyone will know of your beauty."

"They'll also know that she's spoken for," Usopp added. "Your ring is there for everyone to see."

Luffy took his poster back and held the two of them side by side so that everyone could stare at them. He was so excited to be finally identified as a wanted criminal, and Usopp was excited that the back of his head was seen in Luffy's poster. Whilst the boys celebrated, Dawn went and sat next to Nami who was panicking a little at the prospect of bounty hunters on their trail. She nudged the older girl and smiled reassuringly.

"Luffy would have been disappointed not to have a bounty before entering the Grand Line. This way he knows that we're on the right path."

"We're going to be hunted down by bounty hunters," Nami insisted. "This is no time to be relaxing in the East Blue. I'm going to pull out my sea charts and find the fastest route to Lougetown."

Dawn watched her leave, and in her absence relaxed on the sun lounge. The only thing she was disappointed about was being called a Dark Witch, she was sure it was because of her clothes and hair, but in her own world being called Dark was paramount to being sentenced to Azkaban for the rest of her life. She scratched Hedwig's chin softly and decided to focus on other matters. She would definitely need to send a letter to Vice-Admiral Monkey D Garp now; even he would notice that she was engaged.

"You're still an angel to me," Luffy whispered in her ear. Dawn looked up at him and smiled. "Don't listen to what others say, how we think of you is all that matters. We're your family now."

"Love you Luffy."

"Love you too," Luffy kissed the top of her head. "Let me know when you're finished with grandpa's letter, I want to add something to it as well."

Dawn nodded but made no move to get up and get her supplies. She was comfortable doing nothing. Luffy nodded to her before returning to the other boys and dancing around in excitement. Dawn watched him for a while before closing her eyes. She would try to sleep for a few hours and then go back to work. She wanted the letter done before they reached Lougetown.

Dawn woke at lunchtime, or what she assumed was lunchtime. The smell of Sanji's cooking penetrated her senses, but so did angry yells and the sound of another ship. Luffy was critiquing the other ship, and from his tone Dawn knew that there was no threat.

"Are you guys blind? Have you forgotten the face of Ironfist Fullbody?"

Dawn approached Luffy and Usopp and stared at a battered marine vessel. The man who was yelling at them had red rimmed eyes, rosy cheeks from drinking, and his suit was rumpled from lack of proper care. She wrinkled her nose at his appearance.

"Oh yeah!" Luffy cried happily, pointing at him. "You're that marine guy I saw one time! Are you stranded? Need some help?"

"Quit fooling around!" Ironfist Fullbody snapped. "Our meeting here spells the end for you! Monkey D Luffy, you're under arrest!"

"Oh, he's a bounty hunter," Dawn muttered through a yawn.

"Yep, that's me alright!" Luffy cried. "You got one of Dawn as well?"

"I'm not interested in the Witch!" Ironfist snapped again. "It's you who ruined my life! Take aim, men!"

The sound of a cannon being aimed at them echoed loudly and Nami's voice complaining from the other side of the ship reached them. Usopp started to panic, but Luffy and Dawn merely stood there and watched curiously.

"They're aiming right at us! This is bad!" Usopp cried, drawing Zoro's attention. The swordsman stood up with his sword unsheathed and politely asked Luffy if he could handle the marines. Usopp was quick to agree and pulled Luffy out of the way, muttering about how Luffy would only mess things up. Dawn remained near the railing, but at Zoro's curious look she gave a brief wave before walking over to where Luffy was being dragged. The cannon fired, but the cannonball never hit the Going Merry, it split into two parts upon meeting Zoro's sword and exploded harmlessly above the water behind them.

"I was trying to take a nap," Zoro growled at the marines as he put his sword back into its sheath. Awe, amazement and fear were felt from all witnesses, and Dawn gave a brief clap in support for the performance. The marines got ready to fire another cannonball.

"Oh this is bad, real bad," Luffy stated. Dawn followed his gaze and tilted her head to the side in confusion. There was no fear in Luffy's voice, so therefore she felt no fear either.

"What is? What's bad?" Usopp asked fearfully. The cannon in front of them fired, but the cannonball never made it out of the cannon as it had exploded prematurely. Dawn shook her head slightly to remove the ringing and was able to hear Luffy's casual remark about how the cannon had cracks in it. The marine's vessel bumped up against the Merry and the marines prepared to board for battle.

Dawn pulled Usopp out of the way so that Luffy could fight and blow off some energy. Ironfist tried to punch him, clearly not knowing or forgetting about Luffy's rubber abilities. Luffy gave the marine a head-butt, Sanji appeared in his pink apron with a hot frying pan in his hand, terrifying the marines and causing them to jump ship. Luffy readjusted his hat on his head as Nami's voice once again berated them for making too much noise. Dawn walked over to see where the other girl was, noticing that she had brought out another sun lounge.

"Nami!" Sanji called at the sound of her voice. "I have finished preparing you a delicious meal! There's some for you as well Dawn!"

"Oh! I'm starving!" Luffy cried at the mention of food. Dawn laughed and hooked her arm around Luffy's, leading him to the kitchen.

"So that was the first bounty hunter," Dawn noted as she sat down to eat. "How many more do you reckon we'll meet before making it to the Grand Line?"

"I don't know, ten…maybe."

"I hope not!" Nami shrieked.

"How far to the Grand Line?" Dawn asked before Nami could continue on her spiel of devastation if anyone else came looking for their bounties. Nami paused before standing to grab on of the maps on the shelf. She spread it out in the middle of the table so that everyone could see as they ate.

"Soon, I should think. The only way I can see to enter the Grand Line is through this place here, Reverse Mountain," the Navigator pointed to a particular spot on the map but Dawn was unable to make heads or tails of what was in front of her.

"What a pain," Zoro muttered. "There's got to be some way around that thing."

"There's not," Sanji stated as he put the last plate on the table. "From what the Old Man told me, that's the only place to enter."

"Well how come?" Usopp asked.

"Cause it's really dangerous."

"Yeah, but how come?"

"I told you everything I know! Gees!"

"See the reason–" Nami began before Luffy cut her off.

"Hey! I got an idea! Why don't we just sail straight into it?"

Dawn slapped her head at the comment. She may not have grown up in the same world as Luffy, but she knew enough stories and history to know that no ship could "just sail straight into it".

"Are you really that clueless?" Nami asked with a glare.

"My way sounds a lot funner!" Luffy declared. "Plus it would feel so much better to just dive right into it, you know?"

Dawn snagged a piece of meat from the table and threw it at Luffy to distract him. His eyes followed it intently before he caught it with his mouth. Dawn smiled at Nami and continued to eat her lunch, Hedwig laughing on her shoulder.

"Talking to you drives me completely insane," Nami growled. Dawn giggled at the comment but didn't say anything as Luffy jumped right back into the conversation.

"First off, we need to stop at an island, time to pick up some meat. Need meat!"

Dawn agreed with the decision, as did Nami as she pointed to a small dot on her map that may have been an island. Everyone crowded around to get a better look at the map.

"There's a famous city on this island, known as Lougetown."

"I'm pretty sure I've heard of it before. It's the city of the Beginning and the End," Zoro stated. Luffy nodded and gave a quick look to Dawn. Garp had told them all about Lougetown and how it was where the former Pirate King Gold Roger had been born and executed. Ever since hearing that story Luffy had wanted to go so that he could stand in the same spot as the former King, see what he had seen before his life had ended.

"It's the town where the old King of the Pirates, Gold Roger, was born, and killed," Nami explained. The boys looked on grimly, and Luffy repeated what he imagined was the most important information.

"It's where the King of the Pirates died."

"Well?" Nami asked, smiling as she already knew the answer to the question.

"Yeah," Luffy said. "Let's do it. This was the man who had the One Piece, everything the world has to offer. I need to see where he was born and executed."

Dawn finished her letter the Monkey D Garp just before dinner, but didn't give it to Luffy until after everyone had gone their separate ways after the evening meal. Luffy accepted it and put it aside so that he could work on it when he couldn't sleep. The anchor was dropped and Luffy disappeared. Dawn joined Nami in their room and for the first time was able to have some quality girl time with the Navigator.

The two of them spoke about their pasts, Dawn about her relatives, Nami about Arlong. The two even found time to talk about Luffy, and how they met. It felt good to talk to another girl, and when Dawn finally retired for the night she was happy. No matter what would happen in the future she would be prepared.

The next day Dawn learnt where her future grandfather-in-law was, and was pleased that he was in the East Blue. Luffy explained the story of Captain Morgan to her, and that was how she understood why Garp was nearby. By lunchtime Hedwig had disappeared with a letter clutched in her talons, searching for Vice-Admiral Garp. Dawn watched her go with only a little worry. She had reapplied the cooling charm before Hedwig left, but the weather was far from ideal for her. Luffy briefly stood by her side, his silent presence reassuring her in a way that words alone couldn't, before retreating back to the rest of the crew to muck around. She could tell that they were curious about where Hedwig was going, and the strap of paper in her talons, but neither she nor Luffy gave an explanation.

Shortly after that they docked off to the side of the harbor, mainly because of Nami's paranoia, but also because pirates couldn't just dock where merchants and marines docked. Personally, Dawn didn't care and just wanted to stretch her legs on solid ground that didn't move. The others must have had a similar desire to her, for barely a minute had passed between docking and walking ashore. Luffy led the way, with Dawn holding his right hand, and Nami walking behind his left shoulder. Usopp was walking behind Dawn, and bringing up the rear were Zoro and Sanji, for once not bickering with each other.

"Woo! This is going to be so fun!" Luffy announced, his eyes going wide as he read the sign at the entrance to the town.

"Every pirate headed to the Grand Line docks here to resupply," Nami explained. "It has everything you could possibly need."

"If that's the case then I'm going to go on a shopping spree," Usopp declared, already mentally cataloging everything he needed and wanted. "I'll bet they have all sorts of stuff here."

"I'll be able to stock up on fresh produce," Sanji added, before a sly smile appeared on his face. "And fresh women."

Dawn shook her head before looking over her shoulder.

"Do you think they have strawberries here?" she asked him. Sanji's gaze turned thoughtful. He promised her he would look into it, before turning to Nami to ask if she had any preferences. Nami shook her head with a smile.

"You think there'd be a Swords Smith around here?" Zoro mused. Nami, who he was standing next to, turned at that comment with a greedy look in her eyes.

"I thought you were broke? Are you going to steal a sword?"

"I have some gold if you would like to borrow some Zoro," Dawn interrupted, flashing a quick grin in Nami's direction. "I don't charge interest."

Nami glared at her, but all the glare did was cause Dawn to laugh. She'd had worse glares directed at her from Professor Snape. Zoro jumped at the offer so Dawn let go of Luffy's hand so that she could pull a few bars of gold from her expander-bag. At the sight of the gold Nami dropped her glare and instead started to swoon in excitement.

"Well, I'm going to find out where they kill people!" Luffy declared. "I've got to see where the King of the Pirates was executed!"

Dawn looked up briefly as Luffy disappeared, a frown on her face for a moment, before she returned her attention to her gold bars.

"Hey wait! We have to pick a meeting place!" Usopp called after the retreating figure. "Oh, that's not good."

"I'm not sure how much these are worth, but I think you should be able to get a sword for some of these," Dawn explained as she handed over three bars to the swordsman. She pretty much ignored Usopp, but the movement of the bars drew everyone's attention back to her and away from their captain.

"Are you kidding?" Nami asked her. "Can I see one? Please?"

Dawn handed over a gold bar easily enough. She did have a couple hundred in her bag, letting Nami borrow one wouldn't cause any harm. The Navigator held the bar as if it were the most precious substance in the world, analysing it from every angle.

"This bar alone must be worth 1,000,000 Berries," she explained. "The weight, the presentation, the size…where did you get this? How many do you have?"

"Um, a lot?" Dawn replied nervously. "When I decided that I was coming here, I brought half my fortune with me so that any problem I encountered wouldn't be a monetary problem. That, and I know how much Luffy eats. My bank manager was very considerate when I asked for the coins to be melted down into bars."

"You, are my new best friend," Nami declared. "Can I have one?"

"Nami!" Usopp scolded. "That's Dawn's money."

"Swap it for Berries," Dawn told her, ignoring Usopp's gob-smacked expression. "And buy me something nice. These are the only clothes that I have."

Nami looked horrified at the thought of only one outfit, before expertly sizing up Dawn so that she could buy everything in her size. Sanji disappeared after that to the market place for food, Usopp left shaking his head in being unable to understand girls, Zoro followed Nami to get the bars swapped for Berries, and Dawn turned and followed the path Luffy had taken. She felt Zoro watching her as she left, making sure that she would be alright, but otherwise started to hum as she looked for her fiancé.

She decided that she would follow the noise, for Luffy was usually the centre of attention. She somehow ended up on the docks, and staring at another pirate crew. Her nose wrinkled in disgust and she backpedaled slowly to try another direction. She wasn't able to go far when the captain of the crew, or the man she assumed was the captain, spotted her and had his men grab her. She sighed in annoyance but allowed herself to be dragged around.

"Well aren't you a beauty?" the captain leered. Dawn raised an eyebrow at him, unimpressed.

"When did you last bathe?" she asked carelessly. The captain looked at her in shock, before snarling in anger. His hair was greying rapidly, except for his long but narrow mustache, and the underside of his long and curved beard. His nose was horrible pointed, narrowing to a sharp point, and his breath smelt something awful. He leant in close so that she was almost whispering in Dawn's ear.

"You won't be so cocky when I'm through with you," he murmured, before straightening and addressing his crew. "Put her in the brig! How about it boys! No need to be shy on my account. I, Gally the Crescent hereby proclaim all of your food to be of service to the future King of the Pirates! So don't bother trying to hide anything!"

Dawn rolled her eyes. There was no way that this old fool would ever make it as the King of the Pirates. At the rate he was going he wouldn't even make it to Reverse Mountain. His men started to drag her off and she considered making a fuss, but from the corner of her eye she spotted a man smoking two cigars at the same time. He had a stance about him that just screamed "I'm a Marine!" so she remained calm and waited for him to make his mood.

"Hey," he said, his voice low and gruff. "Who's in charge here?"

"I think you need to leave!" Gally told him rudely. His eyes had been watching Dawn with confusion, but the entrance of another unwelcomed guest distracted him.

"You're Monkey D Luffy?" the Marine asked, a touch of disbelief in his tone. Dawn's eyes widened slightly. Word spread fast if the Marines were already looking for their crew when they hadn't been in town for long. Yet even with the touch of disbelief that the Marine had in his question, Dawn couldn't help but giggle at the thought of Gally being mistaken for her captain.

"You're not worth thirty million," the Marine continued, his eyes flickering to Dawn briefly. "I'd guess you're worth about as my grandma's false teeth."

At that Dawn did laugh. Gally looked at her in annoyance before giving her a back-handed slap across her face. Her laughter died instantly and she stared at Gally with unwavering green eyes. He wasn't looking at her, but his crew could see the cold anger in her eyes and unconsciously stepped away.

"Don't you dare speak to me that way!" Gally cried, ignoring his crew. "Got it?!"

Dawn's eyes remained fastened on Gally's form, but once his expression turned to horrified she turned to look at the Marine in time to see smoke ooze from his body. She deduced that he had the power of a Devil Fruit, clearly one that turned his body to smoke, and her mind started to analyse the best way to defeat a man who could essentially become air at a thought. Gally and his men didn't stand a chance, and while they tried to run they were captured in the smoke and tied up shortly after. A thicker cloud of smoke lifted Dawn from the fighting, and though she didn't fight it she did remain tense until she was put back onto solid ground.

Once Gally and his men were defeated and the Marine had become completely solid again, she bowed to him and whispered her gratitude.

"Are you alright?" the Marine asked in concern. Dawn looked up and smiled at him. When his eyes rested on her right cheek she lifted her hand to feel the damage.

"He hits like a girl," she told him honestly. "My uncle used to hit me harder. What's your name?"

"Captain Smoker," the Marine told her, his eyes darkening at the thought of hitting a child. For that was what Dawn was to him. She didn't look like the sixteen year old she was, she looked years younger, barely old enough to be on her own.

"Why'd you call that man Monkey D Luffy?" she asked him.

"I heard that he and his crew were in Lougetown," Smoker replied. "It is my duty as a Marine to uphold the law and prevent filthy pirates like him from corrupting the innocent. His mere existence as a pirate is an offence and I intend to be the one to put him down."

Dawn's eyes went wide as she heard the passion in the man's voice. He clearly had never met a "good pirate", if such a thing existed, but he clearly believed in what he was doing and as such he was a formidable opponent. A young Marine, this one far more impressionable, appeared behind Smoker with awe in his eyes and when he spoke Dawn felt like kicking him.

"That's amazing captain, you captured Luffy all by yourself."

"You're a complete idiot," Smoker told him, without turning to face him. The young Marine's expression dropped from being insulted by his idol, to confused as he tried to understand what he was being told. Dawn did her best to keep her expression neutral, but she knew she must have failed as Smoker smirked at her in agreement.

"This isn't Luffy, any one could tell that. If this pirate was worth thirty million then I'd become a pirate," Smoker continued to explain. "And didn't you tell me before that there was a partner, a woman as dark as night that could kill with just a thought? Where is the woman in this crew?"

"Um," the young Marine looked at Dawn quickly, and then down at the Wanted Poster in his hand. Dawn quickly realised that he was looking at Luffy's poster, for otherwise she would be tied up as well. "So, where's Luffy?"

"And what's your hurry?" Smoker asked. "He'll be here soon enough."

"I'm here."

Dawn, Smoker, and the young Marine turned at the new voice, and Dawn had to physically stop herself from hitting her forehead. The idiot that they were talking about had just appeared in front of them, but from the lack of reaction it was clear that Smoker hadn't ever seen a picture of Luffy. Luffy turned around, confused and lost as usual, before spotting the tied up pirates and the Marines, but not Dawn.

"Hey, can you help me?" he asked Smoker.

"Is he a member of this garbage?" Smoker asked the young Marine.

"No, I don't think so, not him."

"Hi!" Luffy greeted when he was closer. His eyes swept over the group and landed on Dawn. "Angel!" he cried in delight. "What are you doing over here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Dawn replied, glad that he had used one of her many nicknames instead of the name he had blessed her with. Luffy bounded over with a happy grin on his face. Once he was in front of her his smile faded and he looked at her new bruise with anger.

"Who did this?" he asked her softly. Dawn pointed out the tied up Captain Gally, and Luffy wasted no time walking over and punching him. He walked back satisfied and took her hand. His attention returned to Smoker, who had watched the byplay with interest but didn't interrupt.

"Do you know where they execute people around here?" Luffy asked.

"The Execution Platform," Smoker replied.

"Yeah, I know, I just can't seem to find it."

"I haven't seen you before," Smoker continued. Luffy looked at him in confusion, not registering the question at first. Then a smile spread across his face.

"Ha, this is my first time here on the island. The town is a whole lot bigger than Fuusha Village, and it's really spread out too."

"So why go the Platform?"

"Personal quest: to see where the King of the Pirates died."

Dawn tightened her grip on Luffy's hand even though her expression didn't change. She knew that Smoker was smarter than any other person they had come across, but her fiancé didn't appear to be too worried, yet.

"I guess you don't know," Luffy continued after several moments of silence. He returned Dawn's tight grip easily enough and started to drag her away. "Oh well."

"Hold it," Smoker ordered. Dawn and Luffy looked back over their shoulders in time to see the smoke from Smoker's cigars moving against the wind into one of the alleyways next to the docks. "Follow the smoke kid."

"Great! That way?" Luffy cried. "See ya later! Come on Angel!"

"Thanks again Marine Captain!" Dawn called back as she was pulled along. She laughed a little as the wind rushed through her hair. As they ran she explained to Luffy where the others were, and what had happened down on the docks. Luffy was annoyed that his rash actions to run off had led to Dawn getting hurt, but Dawn just smacked his shoulder for thinking that she couldn't look after herself.

"I'm not allowed to worry?" Luffy asked.

"No," Dawn told him. "You tell me not to worry about you all the time, I'm now telling you to return the favor."

Luffy nodded as they slowed to a walk. He looked around for a while, but they were lost again. Luffy sighed in disappointment. They continued to walk, winding in and out of alleyways, up and down stairs, but still they were no closer to finding the execution platform than they were when their ship first docked on this island.

It was Dawn who first noticed the sign. Bar Gold Roger looked rundown and decrypt, but still Luffy insisted on investigating it. The bar was down a winding staircase, but inside was very little light. Only a hand full of candles was lit, and one little old man sat in the corner nursing a glass of alcohol and staring at a large skull with a crack in the forehead. The walls were covered in bounty posters, some really old and some not so old at all. Dawn grinned when she spotted a picture of Ace hidden in the corner where few people would see it.

"Excuse me, do you work here?" Luffy asked, staring at the old man. Dawn turned her attention from the posters so that she could look at the old man as well. "The sign hanging outside said this place was called the Gold Roger. How'd it get that name?"

"Scram," the old man said, offering no explanation. "You should leave. This isn't a place for unaccompanied children. Besides, we're closed for good, starting today."

"You're going under?" Dawn asked sadly.

"I'm not going under!" the man protested. "I decided to shut it down myself. I'm retiring."

"Sorry, I just wanted to know about the name," Luffy told him, walking further into the bar and sitting on one of the dusty old bar stools. Dawn settled next to him, a delighted smile appearing on her face when she realised that the stool she was on could spin.

"You see, I'm looking for the Execution Platform, but we're lost," Luffy continued. "Could you tell us the way?"

Dawn spun the chair all the way around, half an ear on what Luffy was saying, and the other ear on the old man. She was amused when Luffy lost his train of thought as he spotted the giant skull.

"It's a huge skull! That is so cool!"

"Killer Giant, one of the most feared villains to ever haunt the waters of the Grand Line. He sent hundreds of pirates to their deaths over the course of his life. But it only took Gold Roger a single blow to put the behemoth down for good."

"Gold Roger killed him?" Dawn asked, stopping her chair spinning for a moment.

"With lightning speed!" the old man assured her. "You see, Killer Giant was known for using his massive blade, but it didn't matter. The whole fight was over before he could even raise it. And here's the wound that did it."

The old man pointed to the scar on the skull, and both Luffy and Dawn were suitably impressed.

"Killer Giant was a terrible waste of human flesh anyway. But he proclaimed with his dying breath: 'Gold Roger, I take my hat off to you. You will forever be, the King of the Pirates.'"

"Awesome!" Luffy cried, his excitement causing Dawn to smile broadly as well. Hearing stories of a legend, one Luffy had idolized ever since Red-Haired Shanks spoke of him, was more than Luffy had ever hoped he'd get. "Tell me more!"

"Eric Down, the man known as King; Silver Silver, the world's greatest gunman; the giant Gowns Brothers…they were famous for their strength, for they were indestructible demons, feared by everybody."

Luffy was shaking with excitement, and Dawn almost feared that she would have to stun him to get him to calm down. The old man was getting more engaged with his stories, seeing as he had an enthusiastic audience.

"But not Gold Roger." The old man sighed sadly, lifting his glass and staring at the amber liquid. "No one wants to hear my stories anymore."

"But we do!" Luffy protested. "Keep talking!"

"Don't rush me," the old man ordered. "Now, Gold Roger, in those days, I suppose even now, he's the only man I've known not afraid of entering the Grand Line. Back then, the Grand Line was a mysterious place. Those that chose to enter there were never seen or heard from again. It was a sea of evil, that people feared, and few ever considered approaching.

"But Gold Roger, he set out that day as if he were going sightseeing. Then, when I'd heard that he'd conquered the Grand Line I wasn't surprised. I was happy to hear that he was the one to who finally survived those evil seas. On this day twenty-two years ago, Gold Roger died on that platform. And that's how it started. That's when it all began, the so-called Great Pirate Era where everyone with a boat claims to be a pirate. But look around this once great town, I bet you won't be able to find yourself a real pirate. There's no one here but cowards and scum. Men brave enough to take the journey to the Grand Line have all disappeared from these waters. There are no more true pirates left…that's why I'm closing down."

"I'm going to the Grand Line," Luffy told him. "Hell yeah! Gold Roger's so cool! He's exactly how a pirate's supposed to be. That's why I'm here…to go to the Grand Line. Get my hands on the One Piece. And then…be King of the Pirates!"

"Those are some pretty big words, even more so because you're in this bar."

"Luffy's been dreaming of being the King of the Pirates since he was seven," Dawn explained. "To be the freest man in the world, where no one can tell you what to do or who to be, you can be exactly what you want."

"And you're going to be by my side," Luffy told her, smile down at her lovingly.

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be."

The old man stared at the two of them with something approaching wonder and awe in his eyes. It was like he couldn't believe that the two of them were in front of him. Maybe he thought that he was finally hallucinating about real pirates returning to the world.

"Young ones, if there are still people like you out there, should I hold off on closing this place?"

"I don't know. It could just be me," Luffy told him honestly.

"That's right, it could just be you," the old man said with a laugh. "In that case, let's have a drink. I haven't been in this good a mood in some time."

"Um, I don't drink alcohol."

"Neither do I," Dawn added. "It turns people into monsters.

"Hahaha, alright, then how about this?" Three glasses of milk were put onto the bar top. "Let's raise our glasses together, to the eternal King of the Pirates."

"Here's to the king of the pirates!" Luffy cried as he raised his glass. Dawn raised hers as well and clicked it against the other two.

"Here's to living our dreams."

As one the three of them drank their milk in one go. Dawn laughed once her glass was empty and wiped off her milk mustache with her wrist. From that point on the old man was very accommodating to them, going so far as to give them directions to the execution platform. With their hands linked again, Luffy and Dawn bid farewell to the old man and continued their adventure in Lougetown.

"Hey, Luffy, I think this is Main Street," Dawn said as she stared at the wider street they had just appeared on. Luffy grinned.

"Awesome," Luffy said simply as they started to walk down it. "I wonder if Gold Roger ever walked down this street like we are."

"Probably, after all, he was born here," Dawn answered. "And he was probably led down this street on his way to his execution. It is almost a straight line from the platform to the main docks."

"But we weren't at the main docks," Luffy protested, hearing the quip at his inability to tell what direction he was going in. "Nami wanted us to dock somewhere else."

"I know," Dawn told him with a smile. "What do you plan to do once we find the platform?"

"Climb it of course," Luffy declared. "I want to see exactly what Gold Roger saw before he died."

"You realise, of course, that when you become King of the Pirates you may very well be executed in this same spot."

"I know, cool right?"

"I don't want you to die."

"I won't, not for a long time yet. I have too much stuff to do first, and we need to free your godfather."

"Thank you," Dawn whispered.

"You don't need to thank me," Luffy told her. "We're a team, when we work together there will be nothing that can stop us."

The two walked in silence for the rest of the way. Dawn knew instantly when Luffy spotted the platform for he had stopped walking and had an abnormally serious expression on his face. Dawn looked up at the platform as well, and wondered why the World Government had built it so high. It's not like anyone who was about to be executed could go far. She was certain that marines would normally position themselves in the buildings surrounding the square with sniper rifles to prevent an escape. She was also positive that Monkey D Garp had been on one of the buildings during the King's execution so that he could watch but not mingle with the common people gathered to watch.

"This is it," Luffy whispered. "This is where they executed the King of the Pirates. This is where the greatest pirate who ever lived…died."

"And the place where the great pirate age began," Dawn told him.

"Yeah…Well, I'm going to climb it. You want to race?"

"No, I'll wait here for you," Dawn told him. "Have fun!"

Luffy laughed and skipped over to the platform and began to climb the scaffolding. Dawn perched herself on the water fountain and watched in amusement as Luffy didn't think about his rubber abilities and tried to climb it like a normal person. He started to gather an audience. She would have laughed, except for the fact that someone familiar had appeared at her side who wasn't looking to join her in her amusement.

"Hey! You! Kid!" Marine Captain Smoker called up to him. Dawn sighed and reclined even further. She knew that she had little chance of escape at the moment, but maybe she could watch Smoker's fighting abilities she could come up with ways to defend against them. She also wondered what the inside of a marine prison looked like and if it was anything like Impel Down's cells.

"I'm kind of busy right now!" Luffy called down to Smoker. "Can it wait a minute?"

"You're him? The guy with the East Blue's biggest bounty?"

"Yeah, that's me!" Luff said proudly. "Monkey D Luffy. Have you heard of Dawn as well? She doesn't get enough recognition from those we come up against. It's very rude to ignore her."

Smoker looked down to his left where Dawn was sitting. Her face had gone bright red with the attention that Luffy was directing towards her, and her right hand had lifted to hide her mouth and nose, as if to hide her embarrassment.

"I'm Captain Smoker of the Marines," Smoker said, turning his attention back to Luffy and ignoring Dawn. "And I'm in charge of keeping the peace in this town. You're under arrest."

"Arrest?" Luffy asked in disbelief. "Forget that. See, I'm going to the Grand Line so that I can become King of the Pirates. And I refuse to get arrested in this town."

"Then you'll have to go through me," Smoker warned him. "You don't get to enter the Grand Line unless you can beat me first. That's the rule of this town. Of course, that's assuming you'd be stupid enough to fight me."

"Oh boy," Dawn sighed. "This should be interesting."

"So you're saying that I can't get into the Grand Line unless I beat you first?" Luffy asked for clarification. "Well, I guess I'll have to beat you."

"Let's get started," Smoker told him.

Dawn watched as Luffy stretched out his arm and tried to punch Smoker. Unfortunately for him, his legs were tangled up in the scaffolding and all he managed to do was reenact what happens when you stretch a rubber band and let go. He bounced back into the platform with a bang and complained about his legs.

"Hey! Come on! Get down from there!" Smoker ordered him, annoyed.

"I'm not up here because I want to be," Luffy told him.

"Yes you are," Dawn sighed.

"I'm up here because I'm stuck."

Finally, Luffy managed to free himself and launched an attack at Smoker. He then proceeded to get his butt kicked, badly. Smoker didn't even use his Devil-Fruit power for Dawn to analyse. She sighed in frustration, and wondered how bad their situation would get before they got out of it. Smoker taunted Luffy, telling him that he would never make it as the King of the Pirates, which of course Luffy refused to believe and stretched his leg out in his classic leg-whip.

He missed.

His leg shot passed Smoker and Dawn had mere moments to roll to the side as the rubber leg wrapped around the water fountain many times over. And then he was gone, flying through the air as his attack momentum sent him careening from the square. All that could be heard was his fading cry as he flew over streets and houses easily.

"Crap! I missed!"

Dawn watched him go before turning her attention to Smoker. She smiled cheerfully at him, wondering what he would do now that Luffy was gone and she was alone. He glared at her, though she could see that his anger was directed more at her being a pirate than anything else.

"You could have taken care of that other pirate on your own, couldn't you?" he asked her coldly. Dawn nodded.

"Yep, but you were there and I wanted to see what you would do."

"And now?"

"Well, I know that at my current ability level I would be defeated in no time at all," Dawn explained easily. "I need to think of something that can combat the effects of Devil Fruit powers. Smoke is tricky, but if I have enough time I'm sure I could think of something to freeze you in your tracks."

"Will you resist?"

"Not at the moment. I really want to see what a marine prison is like. Are they all the same or is each prison different depending on where it was built? Have you ever been to Impel Down? What are the cells like there?"

"You don't really seem like someone who could kill with a look," Smoker interrupted.

"That's because you haven't made me mad," Dawn said, rocking back on her heels and linking her hands behind her back innocently. "And killing with a look? Who came up with that? At most I could probably make a grown man cry or wet his pants."

Smoker looked at her in disbelief, taking in the bruise on her cheek and child-like appearance. It was clear to her that he couldn't imagine her as a cold blooded killer. Still, she did have a bounty, and it was his duty to uphold the law in the best way he saw fit.

"You, Dark Witch Dawn, are under arrest for disturbing the peace."

Dawn nodded and held her hands out in front of her. She assumed that Smoker would place cuffs on her, but instead he reached forward and lifted her so that she was draped over his shoulder. Aside from the startled scream as she was lifted, Dawn made nary a sound as she was carried through Loguetown to the marine base.

She wondered what prison was like?

I'm alive! My only excuse is that my other fanfiction account was occupying my time. I don't know why I created two, but oh well. If you like my work, you may want to check it out while waiting for updates. Ravenclaw-Girl28 is my other name.

On a side note, are there any parts of the One Piece series that you do or don't want to see? Coming up is the Millenium Dragon Arc, but I'm not sure as to whether or not include it. I will update my other stories, I'm just waiting for the Water 7 Arc to come out on DVD. This month, I think.

Thanks for sticking with me!