Chapter Twenty-Six

Three hours later, the light indicating the operation was underway flickered off. Mizuki was the only one absent from the waiting room, assisting the surgery and learning more from the doctor. Sabo and Ace had long since returned, and were awaiting the results of the operation with the two women. Robin seemed to have full confidence in the doctor and Mizuki, but the others were nervous and unsure.

Noticing the light, Sabo leaped up, one hand on Ace's shoulder. Robin smiled, as did Koala. If it was done by then, nothing bad had happened during the operation. With luck, Yuki would be able to go with them to meet Vivi right away.

"Is it good?" Ace asked, catching Robin's expression.

The dark woman nodded. "The doctor said it should take two to four hours if she didn't encounter any problems. Mizuki was also there, remember? We should be able to see them in a minute or two."

Perfectly on cue, the doors to the operating room swung open. Lying on the gurney was a very groggy, but otherwise alright, Yuki. She was flanked by a nurse and the doctor, with Mizuki pushing the gurney. She flashed them a brief grin before turning away towards the hospital room with the beds.

The doctor paused to talk to them. She looked exhausted, but satisfied. "I found fourteen little stones, each a little piece of cooled lava. I'm not going to say anything about how they got there, we already know that. She should be just fine, and heal quickly with Mizu's ability."

"Mizu...?" Ace muttered, before realizing who she meant. "Oh, that's great!"

Koala pulled the doctor into a tight hug. "Thanks for fixing up our friend, Doc! If there's ever anything you need from the Revolutionaries, send me a letter. I'll see what I can do to help if it's in my power."

"Go," she chuckled. "Your friend is waiting for you."

The young marine stepped up to the Vice-Admiral and greeted, "Vice-Admiral Garp! Fleet Admiral Sengoku would like to see you in his office, sir!" He saluted and handed Garp the papers he brought for him.

Garp scratched his head, turning to walk towards the Fleet Admiral's office. Was this about his resignation? The papers the young man had handed to him were news clippings and reports on pirates during and following the recent war. It left him wondering more and more as he strolled casually to Sengoku's office.

Completely forgetting to knock, he pushed open the door and walked right in. After having time to think about it, he was slightly annoyed at being summoned without being given a reason. After all, he and Sengoku had know each other for a long time. Surely the old marine should have known to give him more of a hint.

"Sengoku! What's this?" Garp snapped, tossing the papers on the Fleet Admiral's desk.

"Garp, close the door. I've got something important to tell you," Sengoku forced, rubbing his neck in an effort to stop his headache from growing. "It's about... your family, I guess."

Garp closed the door again, calmer. "What about my family? Is this about Dragon again? I told you that I don't have contact with my son anymore," he replied. Exhaustion and age laced his voice, and Sengoku could see faint dark circles under his eyes.

Sengoku sighed. "Garp, I know we've known each other for a very long time. It seems like just yesterday when we were fighting with Roger. No, this isn't about Ace. At least, not directly. I recall you had a fondness towards the Stokes girl? "Red Snow", as we call her."

Garp nodded, patiently waiting. Sengoku continued, "This will come as a shock to you, but she's alive. We've been trying to track her movements for the past couple of weeks. "Hawk Eyes" fought her in Alabasta two weeks ago, at the royal palace."

Garp collapsed to the floor. He thought of the delicate little girl being held by Luffy and Ace, a giant gaping hole in her abdomen. She was alive. He felt giddy with relief. He could go hug her, apologize for everything... but...

"Sakazuki...!" he spat angrily. The damned admiral would never let her go.

Sengoku nodded. "Admiral Akainu plans to have her imprisoned in Impel Down, best case scenario. Worst case, a very public execution. The only reason he doesn't want to kill her right away is that he's concerned she'll be revived again."

Garp shot up like a cork, gripping the door handle tightly. With his back to the Fleet Admiral, he added, "If that damned Sakazuki touches one hair on her head, on any of my grandchildren's heads, I will personally put him in the ground!"

With that, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him. Sengoku let out a sigh.

"Well, that went better than it could have. He isn't going to do more than protect his family, after all."

Kenneth Stokes hurried to the training grounds for his unit's daily lesson. If he was late again... they'd probably tie him to a mast and leave him for a day or two. The marines were strict with their soldiers. It wasn't the ideal place for the boy, but he decided to go with it and learn more about his parents' joy, the Navy.

When the boy first met Garp, he had been cold towards the Vice-Admiral. He was the one who left Yuki on Dawn Island in Fuusha village, where she grew to become a pirate with "Straw Hat" and "Fire Fist". Later, after talking with the marine, he learned that whenever Garp visited the children, he pressured them to become great marines. After that revelation, most of the anger Kenneth held towards Garp dissipated.

He and his friends, Jace and Luke, were trained by the Vice-Admiral whenever he had spare time, sharing amusing stories and adventurous tales with each other. Even so, when Kenneth was intercepted on his way to training that day, he was surprised to get a short note from Garp, summoning him to the marine's favorite battleship.

"If I get in trouble for this, you're taking the blame," he muttered under his breath. The peach-haired kid turned in the opposite direction and headed for the docks. Even if it was Garp, ignoring a summons from a Vice-Admiral could be disastrous.

AN:

I'm sorry I took so long to update. ;-;

I had no inspiration to write this at all. I was busy rewriting one

of my other fan fictions, the "Highschool for the Weird and Supernatural"

one. It's going pretty well, but it's going to be completely

different from the original. :P I wish I was better

at doing regular updates.

Again, really sorry. I've got more of a plot laid out now.

-_-"