Yeah... Sorry about the sort of cliffhanger last time. Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece

Chapter 17: Another Unexpected Meeting

"This won't end well."-Johnny Bravo

Law was unsure of how he got into this situation. It truly did baffle him how he ended up searching for Mina with Arthur of all people, but at least the tailor wasn't much in the mood for playful banter. In fact, it was even weirder seeing Arthur act seriously for once. Even while plotting their attack on the King pirates the man didn't take it 100% seriously. Right now his face was like stone, not even a hint of the eccentric man the Heart pirates had come to know remained. Still, the silence was welcome as it gave them both time to concentrate on the task at hand. They had to collect any information they could about Mina. She hadn't told anyone where she was off to, so it was anyone's guess as to the places she visited. Luckily Sarge had given a general area where he last saw her, so there was technically a place to start. However, it was indeterminable how long she had been missing...

So there they were, Law and Arthur were walking towards the outskirts of town looking for any sign of the missing Zoan user. If it wouldn't have drawn attention to him, Arthur probably would've been running ahead. Still, something was bothering Law and it wasn't something he could just ignore.

"Mister Arthur," Law got the tailor's attention. "Does Miss Mina have any connections to the Marines?"

"Marines...?" Arthur repeated the word as he looked towards his captain. "Mina doesn't really care for the Marines all that much. Even at her best, she would always get a dark look whenever they were brought up. She even flat-out snarled at an officer once when he told her to go back to her parents... So I'd say that there's little chance she'd ever go with a Marine willingly."

"You think she's most likely been abducted then," Law filled in the blank.

Arthur merely rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.

"That's really the only option left at this point... As much as I'd hate to say it, she's been kidnapped all right. Don't know why they'd take her of all people though."

The motive behind her capture remained a mystery even to Law. She was a fairly new member of his crew after all, and she really didn't have a bounty on her head. Well, she technically did, but she had been using an alias at the time. Of course, there might be something he was missing...

"If something's happened to her..." Arthur's mutterings got Law's attention. "If they hurt a single hair on her head, I'm going to have to kill a bastard or two."

Law didn't have much to say to that. He figured it was best to let the blond stew for a while longer. It was safe to say that figuring out the motive would have to wait for later.

The two walked on until they reached the outskirts of town. The wooden houses had become sparse and the population on the streets dwindled down to a few people on the road. They were paying no mind to the pirates at this point. Law's grey eyes scanned the road ahead of them for any signs of her or at least anything suspicious enough to give them a hint. The dirt road lined with fences stretched on and on, the only sign of life he could see were the sheep roaming around. Turning away from the road, he saw that his newest subordinate had taken a moment to talk with a local.

"Excuse me, Ma'am?" Arthur found an old lady to speak with.

"What?" The old lady snapped. She seemed to be a bit cranky.

"Is this the only road leading out of town?"

"Of course it is, numbskull. Ya' see any other roads around here?"

With that confirmed, Law gladly tuned out the old woman's tirade about the town. So, this road was theoretically the only place Mina could've been through if she had been taken out of town. With that in mind, the captain decided to get a bit of a closer look. As he stood at the start of the road, something managed to catch his eye. It was a bracelet. The jewelry had fallen by the side of the road into a small patch of grass. Luckily the white beads managed to contrast enough against the greenery. Upon picking it up, Law recognized it immediately. It was Mina's.

"Mister Arthur," He called to the tailor.

Thankfully the old woman had left a moment earlier, so it didn't take long for him to catch up.

"Did you find something?" He asked.

Law presented the bracelet without a word. Arthur stayed silent as he took in the sight. Well, it seems she had been down this road after all.

"Of all things..." Arthur stated softly. "That bracelet was a birthday present from me."

Silence settled over the two men.

"Its time to meet up with the others," Law said as he handed the bracelet to Arthur.

"Aye-aye, Captain," Arthur sounded very subdued as his hand clenched around the item.

With that, they began the walk back to the submarine.

-:-

Meanwhile, Mina wasn't doing so well. Her eyes were on the floor in front of her, her head bowed and hidden by the shadow of her hair. The dimly lit prison cells were illuminated by the barred portholes and the lamp on a table. One of the two Marines on the other side of the bars was leaning against said table. The man was a rather average height and a medium build. He wore the standard uniform of a Marine officer with no particular bells or whistles. His hat was next to him on the table so his teal hair was on full display. There was one other thing about this man in particular... It was his brown eyes. The coldness of his eyes was what unsettled the people around him. His presence was commanding, there was no doubt about it. He may have looked average, and by all accounts he was, but the way he carried himself was what made him stand out.

The other Marine officer on the other hand... He simply looked too nice. Although a much taller man than his coworker and a tad bit more intimidating, there was something about this Marine that made him more amicable. His light green eyes were more... Warm. Although that wasn't taking his fashion sense into account. While this Marine did wear the coat with "justice" written across his back, the green and red polka dotted shirt paired with leopard print pants wasn't the standard Marine attire. If Mina had been in a different situation entirely, she probably would've been laughing her ass off at the sight of that fashion disaster, but she really wasn't in much of a mood to laugh.

"It really has been a while, hasn't it?" The teal haired Marine mused. "How've you been, Mina? You know, other than being lawless pirate scum."

Mina didn't say a word. Her silence caused him to sigh in aggravation. She'd been so shocked earlier, but now neither of them could get a reaction out of her.

"You really shouldn't talk like that, Tobias," The larger Marine sighed. "At this rate you'll just make her start crying."

"Whatever, Joseph. I'll talk to her however I want. The fact that we're family doesn't change the fact that she's a criminal now," Tobias said casually.

Joseph could only shake his head.

"You know big bro doesn't mean any of that, Mina," Joseph said with a gentle smile on his face. "I know you wouldn't become a pirate out of anything but necessity."

"Still, the fact that you became one is what disappoints me," Tobias glared at their captive. "Just think of what the old geezer would say about it. I bet he'd be upset with you."

Tobias continued to say something else, but his words fell on deaf ears. Mina's jaw was set, her fists clenched in her bonds, and the only thing she could hear was the sound of her own heartbeat ringing in her ears. They were just getting so many things wrong and making too many assumptions that they didn't have any right to make. She didn't want to talk to them, she didn't even want to see them anymore. If she just ignored them... They'd get bored and leave. Just like last time. However, one part of Tobias' little speech got through Mina's seething rage:

"We aren't going to send you to Impel Down or anything though. Be grateful that we're just sending you home."

And there it was. The final straw. She felt her nails dig into her palms, but the pain of that wasn't nearly enough to make her snap out of her fury.

"Shut up..." She said in an unwavering voice.

"I don't take-" Tobias began to say something.

"I said shut hell up!" Mina's head snapped up to them. She vaguely heard the sound of splintering wood echo in the room as she lunged forward. Her wrists and arms protested for some reason, but she couldn't be bothered to figure out what the issue was.

It was when she finally looked at them that the two brothers realized that hatred was shining brightly in her eyes. She also nearly pulled the handcuffs out of the floor, but they were more surprised at her sudden outburst.

"We haven't seen each other in ten years," Mina began. She didn't have to raise her voice above normal speaking level, but they could tell that the undercurrent of anger was still there. "You two abandoned me while I slept and you honestly thought that this would be a happy reunion?! How stupid can you be."

Tobias and Joseph were shocked to say the least. This... Was not the eleven year-old they left behind. In fact, that child was nowhere to be seen.

"Yeah, I grew a backbone. Surprised?" Their stupefied faces hadn't gone unnoticed by their captive. "What about you two? Still miss Mommy and Daddy? Sorry I'm not the pirate who killed them, but really, you shouldn't be this surprised that I've turned to a life of crime. You seem to have forgotten where you left me. Hell, you two couldn't stand it, so you ran away. Has the time away from that island really made everything seem nicer than it actually was?"

Mina knew that she was pressing their buttons. Some part of her took pleasure in seeing the shocked looks and the pain in their eyes.

"Y-You're wrong," Tobias tried to deny it.

"No, you just want me to be," Mina said simply as she gave them a twisted smile. "You two don't have the slightest idea of what happened after you left and now you want to send me back to that island? Do me a favor for once in your lives and fuck off! You've got experience in that sort of thing so it shouldn't be too hard, right? "

Silence settled over them. Tobias and Joseph were stunned silent by her words and her sudden anger with them. Without a word, the two brothers began to move to the door. Mina glared at them from her cell as she watched them leave. Only when the door clicked shut did she let out a sigh and lowered her gaze to the floor once more. The air caught in her throat as she recalled the memories of a time long gone. Seeing them again was something never wanted. In fact if it had been up to her, she would have never acknowledged their existence again. Whether she had been aware of it or not, there had been ten years worth of anger festering in her heart towards them. And although it felt good to finally say what she wanted to say to them, it just left her feeling a bit hollow.

-:-

Tobias and Joseph stood in the hallway outside the prison. Neither of them had said a word after they left the room. It was a heavy silence, they were both contemplating on what happened to their little sister to change her so much.

"I... I don't think we should've left her..." Joseph finally spoke with a wavering voice.

"You think?" Tobias said sarcastically. "Too fucking late to change it now."

Joseph clenched his fists at his brother's words.

"Oh don't be like that," Tobias had noticed Joseph's clenched hands. "There's nothing to be done. We can regret it all we want, but the fact that she's a pirate now remains. We're taking her to Impel Down now."

Tobias walked past his younger brother only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder. The teal haired man turned slightly to face Joseph, but the only thing he saw was a fist heading straight for his face. Joseph's right fist connected squarely with Tobias' jaw and sent his brother reeling backwards into the wall from the force behind it.

"What the hell!?" Tobias yelled as he rubbed his jaw.

Joseph didn't say anything. He just stalked off, not saying another word on the matter. Tobias, not one for just taking a punch and letting it go, went after his younger brother.

Sadly, they had both been unaware of the man watching them from the shadows.

-:-

Mina was still a bit out of it after her confrontation with her brothers. Her eyes were on the floorboards and her mind was lost in the past. There was a slight ache in her heart as she recalled those days... The more innocent times left her feeling wistful. In fact, Mina was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she didn't hear the door open again or the footsteps that drew near her cell. Only when a shadow cast across her, did she look up.

And she immediately wished she hadn't.

Fear shot down her spine, feeling like someone dumped ice water on her back as her mind froze in panic. Every fiber of her being screamed to get away. She went to move, to get away, but the chains around her wrists gave her a cruel reminder. She was helpless against him. He let out a low chuckle at the look on her face. The sound made her skin crawl.

"Ah... You look so beautiful like this," He said. "Fear, panic... And that subtle anger in your eyes..."

Mina took a shuddering breath. She needed to calm down a bit. He'd only enjoy it more if she was panicked and upset. Quashing her panic and fear, she schooled her expression into one of indifference.

"And of course you go and ruin your beauty," He remarked dryly.

"What do you want, Ion?" Mina asked flatly.

"Straight to the point as usual. Lovely to see you too, dove," Ion remarked with a lopsided grin.

That stupid "pet" name... How she hated it. How she hated the man in front of her... Still, Mina had a good idea why he was here. Ion was most likely sent to kill her, and if that was the case, she really was dead this time around.

"I've wanted to see you again for so long..." Ion said softly. "I wanted to see the life fade from your eyes, to feel your blood slick against my skin, just to hear your dying gasps would be music to my ears... Oh, there wasn't anything I'd been looking forward to more than that."

Mina tried her best to keep her horror contained.

"The moment I heard you left Alderman was the moment I wanted to find you. Of course he wouldn't send me after you, he just kept sending the idiots; the one's who had no right in killing you. But now... I can't kill you. Alderman's made that very clear to me. You just had to choose them, didn't you? Why? Why them?"

Mina was confused to say the least.

"I... Don't know what you're talking about," She said in a low voice.

Ion said nothing. His dark blue eyes hardened like stone as he fished a key out of his pocket. To Mina's complete horror, the key unlocked her prison cell. No longer protected by the iron bars, she was now at his mercy. Ion moved towards her leisurely, his black cloak fluttering gently behind him. He kneeled in front of her, so they were eye-to-eye. His gauntleted hand tilted her chin up ever so gently. Mina's once controlled breathing became a bit more erratic as she was forced to stare into his eyes. Her palms became sweaty as she clenched her fists, not even the pain of her nails digging into the skin was enough to ground her. Her body was tense, she didn't dare move.

"Oh Mina... You mean they haven't told you? I suppose it's not my place to say then," He sighed, a look of almost pity in his eyes. "I will ask you this one time then: Won't you come with me?"

Mina knew what was going to happen if she said yes. Yes, he would take her away from this prison cell, but he'd take her as a corpse. She also knew what would happen when she said no. Steeling herself for the inevitability, she could only hope that she made it out of this alive.

"No," Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Ion's hand went from her chin to around her throat almost instantaneously. His other hand reached into his pocket again and pulled out another key. He tightened his grip on her throat, forcing Mina to let out a groan when she felt her airway being restricted again. It also didn't help that his gauntlet had sea prism stone embedded in it. He reached around to where her handcuffs were chained to the floor, and unlocked them using that key. Feeling the freedom from her chains, Mina immediately brought her arms around in an attempt to punch him, but before she could even connect her blows, Ion let go of her throat. Air rushed back into her body as she took a breath and began coughing. Redirecting her attempts, she merely clambered away from him. Her back hit the wall behind her and she realized that he didn't free her in an attempt to let her get away...

"You sick fuck..." She gasped.

He didn't even bat an eyelash at that. He heard that remark quite frequently.

"I don't like a target that's already been tied down," He said simply. "Especially if it's you, dove. You know how much I love it when you struggle."

Mina felt completely defeated. She felt helpless against the man in front of her. And she knew that's what he loved the most. She was giving him exactly what he wanted and there wasn't anything she could do to stop it.

"You know, I heard every single word you said to your 'brothers'," He began. "Every single thing you said to me about them was true. They really are the most gullible people I've met in a while. Well, other than Caito of course."

"W-What?" Mina's brain screamed at her not to listen to him, but it was too late.

"Yes, Caito. Remember him?" Ion smiled darkly. "Just a few words about a band of burglars and he was all ready to believe that he'd come under attack. Of course, Alderman had told him about your impending visit and ordered him to kill you, but where would the fun be in that? You're my kill after all, I wasn't about to let some lowlife get the honor."

Mina then understood why Caito had tied her to that chair in the first place. He hadn't known who she was, so there was no way for him to know if she was a random burglar thanks to Ion's machinations or his actual target.

"Of course, I didn't plan on those pirates..." Ion sighed as he stood up from his kneeling position. "I planned to get you away from Alderman, so the moment you left, I could see you again... You always find a way to attract danger."

Mina hauled herself to her feet. It was then that she realized she was barefoot. She vaguely wondered what happened to her sandals, but this really wasn't the time for that.

"With you in the wind, I didn't know where you'd turn up next... Thankfully, once I was able to find you, I knew of two people who would be eager to see you again. Tobias and Joseph... They were most helpful."

"It's all your fault..." She muttered, her hair hiding her expression. "I was so stupid..."

Ion chuckled at her words.

"I hate you," She lifted her face so he could see her eyes burning with hatred.

Those were the words he didn't want to hear, and those were the eyes he wanted to see. He walked towards her, slowly and deliberately. Mina toyed with the thought of running past him, but that probably wouldn't work... Well, she wouldn't know until she tried. Pushing off the wall, she began a sprint to the prison door. She didn't get far before Ion wrapped his hand around her left wrist. His grip was like iron as he pulled her back and just about slammed her into the wall. He pinned her in place by using his own body and the sea prism stone embedded into his gauntlets made her feel too weak to move. His free hand wrapped around her throat again and squeezed. Mina felt her airway being restricted again, and her left wrist felt like it was in a vise. However, he soon let that wrist go, and gently brushed her hair out of her face. He then tightened his grip when he deemed her presentable. Ion watched her reaction to being strangled with the utmost glee. He saw that she was fighting for air. He didn't even feel her hands attempting to pry his hands away from her throat. They merely slipped over his gauntlets in a futile effort to free herself. Mina's lungs ached and burned for air. Her vision started to fade as the world blurred and slowly went black. She felt her consciousness start to slip away as fear took root in her mind.

Ion realized this and let her go. Mina fell to the floor gasping for air and coughing. She couldn't even muster enough strength to push herself onto her knees.

"I can't kill you... Not yet..." Ion said softly. Anger then flitted into his eyes as he suddenly kicked her in the side, further winding her.

She felt lightheaded due to the lack of oxygen, but she still managed remain conscious. She couldn't afford to pass out now.

"Well, as much as I'd love to stay, dove," Ion sighed as he watched her gasp for air. "I have places to be."

He kneeled beside her for a moment to take in the expression on her face. He gently brushed aside her hair and tilted her head so she could see him. She was dazed with her bronze eyes slightly glazed over, her lips parted slightly to take in more air. He chuckled gently to himself at her expression, his thumb tracing over her bottom lip. She flinched away from that gesture of affection and his smile widened.

"Until we meet again," He bade her goodbye.

And with that, Ion was gone.

Mina didn't move for the next five minutes. She just laid there in a daze trying to catch her breath. Her mind was reeling, her emotions were a mess, and her neck was aching. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Letting out a light cough, she sat up. And when she opened her eyes, there was only one thing she could see. The open door. Hauling herself to her feet, she took a shaky step towards the door. She pushed everything in her mind to one side as she focused on one thing: freedom.

"I'm leaving..." She said to herself.

Where fear once was, remained anger. She didn't care that there was an entire unit of Marines between her and the sky. It was time for them to realize how much of a mistake they made by trusting Ion. It was time for the warpath.

Yeah... Part of me wonders if I went a bit too far here, but oh well. For those of you who were unsure about Ion, hopefully this was quite the illuminating chapter. And time for my sign off here... Questions? Comments? Concerns? Leave a review then!