Chapter 6: Chapter 6: Breakout!
Hey guys! Sorry it took a little longer, I wanted to get this part just right! Anyways, the action will continue in the next chapter, so send your requests of what you would like to see happen! I hope you enjoy! Thanks for the reviews, it's what keeps the authros going!
Disclaimer: I don't own Case Closed or One Piece
Conan pretended to be asleep on his cot, waiting for Coby and Helmeppo to come to his cell. After his talk with Ace, the pirate called him crazy and opted to get some much-needed rest. After Conan was sure Ace was asleep, he took out the tools he had managed to bring with him when he was abducted. Before they forced him out of his normal clothes, he extracted his gadgets and hid them in a tiny crevice-space between his bed post and the wall. Besides, it was dark in here, so the Navy couldn't do a proper search in here even if they wanted to. The idiots didn't bother to put lights in here. What he had wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. He had his handy watch, homing glasses, his bow-tie, his sneakers (which he still had on him), his skateboard, and soccer ball, courtesy of his travel belt. He was so glad Agasa had made the skateboard portable, he really was. Forming a plan in his head, he figured the best way to get himself and Ace out would be to destroy the sea stone cuffs. But even if he did that, what good would that do? They were severely outnumbered, and he still didn't know how powerful Ace was compared to the Admirals, but judging by the extreme hierarchy of the Navy, he assumed 4 against 1 was not a good bet here. Their best option was to knock out some Navy members and sneak on a boat. Ace could disguise a Marine, and he could disguise as someone's kid. There was one problem: he still had his friends and family to think about. The Black Organization wasn't a group of idiots; they were expecting him to escape, and looking for an excuse to go after the ones close to him. He had a scenario in mind to collect blackmail and use it against the Navy, but he only had one shot at escape, and he was dead if Ace left without him.
Snapping his head up from the sound, Conan frowned at the guard at the door, his partner should've been with him. "Where's Coby-san?" He asked,
"I've been given orders to move you to a ship, kid. Something big is going to happen today." Helmeppo replied indifferently. The boy noticed the stress in his voice, and decided to venture.
"Why? What's going on, Helmeppo-san?" Conan asked. Suddenly, a voice boomed into the prison quarters, that was no doubt, Sengoku's voice.
"Attention everyone, the execution of Portgas D. Ace, has been moved from three days, to three hours from now. Please have all personnel and weapons accounted for. Whitebeard and his crew will come at us full force, and it is our job as the Navy, to show the world that justice triumph over evil. All scouts and soldiers report to your superiors for further instruction." The announcement ended. Helmeppo sighed at Conan's shocked face. "Let's go kid."
"Why are they pushing the date so early? Helmeppo-san? Why?" The young detective was inwardly cursing; he had to enact his plan now. Feeling his wrist for his watch, Conan readied the stun gun. Conan looked to Ace, who seemed to be too shocked to say anything.
"Why are they executing, Ace-san anyways? I'm scared!" Conan cried. His acting skills scared himself sometimes.
The marine walked into the cell, and gave another sigh. "That's just how it is, you can't do anything about it. Come on, now. It's going to get crazy here, so-" Right as he was about to handcuff Conan, the detective activated his stun gun, and knocked the guard out. Catching Helmeppo, so he wouldn't make any noise falling, Conan set him down and grabbed a pair of keys he was carrying. Seeing how his own cell was unlocked, he ran over towards Ace's.
The pirate didn't even realize the boy was in his cell until he realized that a huge amount of weight was suddenly shifted off him. Ace looked down at himself and noticed he was no longer bound in chains, no longer bound to those damned sea-stone cuffs. Turning towards the child, he breathed. "How-"
"No time to explain!" Conan yelled and grabbed Ace's wrist, pulling him towards the door. Conan growled when Ace didn't move. "We have to move! It's not going to be long until they notice that one of their men hasn't returned to his post, and everyone's too distracted right now to notice such small details!"
"…Ah….you're right." Ace nodded and stood up.
Conan nodded and ran to the entrance of the prison quarters, and just as he thought, it was unlocked. Poking his head to see if there was anyone on patrol, he turned back to Ace. "All clear! Let's go!" Conan ran out the door and into the hallway.
"Oi!" Ace snapped out of his trance and realized the child ran off on his own. Following the younger boy out of his living quarters, he found his crouched down at an intersection of the hallway. They boy turned towards Ace, and motioned him to come beside him. Obeying, Ace crouched beside the detective and waited for Conan to make his next move. Noticing there some marines coming this way, he heated up his fist and prepared to blast him.
"Don't!" Conan whispered, raising his hand for emphasis. Aiming his watch carefully, he shot two pin-drop shots of electricity, effectively knocking the guards out.
Ace was stunned. "How'd you do that?"
"There's a stun gun in my watch, so I'm able to knock people out when I need to." He explained and got out of his corner. Looking at the guards he knocked out, he turned towards Ace. "How fast can you change clothes?"
"…Why?" The pirate didn't like where this was going.
Conan frowned. "You're not stupid person, Ace-san. You know why." His frown deepened at the glare he received. "We're outnumbered, outmatched, and the Navy's scrambling to get everything in order for your execution. In an organized hierarchy like this, it's best to strike when preparations are being made because that's when they're least expecting it, as well as them being arrogant enough to believe we won't be able to escape on our own. If I had allowed you to blast these two men with fire, more soldiers would've come at us, thus alerting the whole Navy we had escaped." Conan sighed. "This isn't the time to be picky; you need to sneak out quietly, not go out like an emergency flare. Now quit complaining and switch clothes with one of these guys!"
After a few moments of glaring, Ace finally complied and did as he was asked. In less than a minute, he was dressed like a normal marine, the problem was, and he wasn't as clean-looking as most of them were. Conan handed him a comb, which he found in one of the soldiers' pockets. "Now what?" Ace frowned at the comb.
"Marines are required to dress professionally as well as look professionally; you're not going to pass as one, if you don't completely look the part." Conan explained as if it was obvious.
"Just so you know, I'm going to kill you, after this is over." Ace glared and took the comb from him. After a few moments, Conan nodded at Ace's disguise, confirming it was good enough. "If Oyaji and the guys see me, they'll never let me this down."
"It's life or pride Ace-san, I recommend choosing wisely." Conan replied plainly, and looked to the ground, trying to think of something he could use to disguise himself, but then he remembered something. People around the naval base had seen him, but very few actually knew he was a prisoner. So statistically speaking, he had a good chance to get to the Fleet Admiral's office without much incident.
"Oi kid!" Ace shook him slightly, snapping Conan out of his thoughts. "Didn't you hear me?"
"What?" Conan blinked, embarrassed that he zoned out.
Ace sighed. "Where to next? We can't stay in this hallway forever."
"To the Fleet Admiral's office." The detective answered evenly.
Ace frowned. "Are you crazy? As you said, we need to get out of here, let's head for a ship!"
"If we sail out now, it'll look suspicious." Conan countered, earning a confused look from Ace. "These people are gearing up for war, which means they're calling back every solidier they have out on the other islands to assist them with this. All naval vessels are coming to dock, not to exit port. It'll look too suspicious, especially if one of the Admirals tries to call us back and we don't respond."
"Then how do we get out of here?" The pirate asked, his frustration being leaked.
"It's as Helmeppo-san said, they're expecting me. However, due to preparation they need to do for the war, no one's going to question Helmeppo's late arrival, nor will they question that another guard has me due to the chaos of their system at the moment. We'll use the ship they've set up for my transport and go from there." The detective explained and started foreword. Turning to Ace, he said, "Come on! I memorized the layout of this place, I know where the Fleet Admiral's office is!"
"This island's huge! How the hell do you expect me to believe you memorized this place in such a short time?" Ace exclaimed but followed the younger boy anyways. Thinking quickly, Ace picked up Conan, earning a surprised yelp, and placed Conan on one of his shoulders. Conan was about to protest, but Ace shut him up. "Your legs are too short, it'll be faster if I just carry you like this. Now which way?" Conan was as embarrassed as hell at the moment, but couldn't argue.
"It's the tall Shinto shrine tower approximately 50 kilos to the left of this building! It's the only building with that design in the area, you can't miss it!" Conan answered.
Adjusting the kid's weight on his shoulder, Ace placed a steadying hand against Conan's body to ensure he wouldn't fall off. "Lead the way, little guy."
10min Later
As much as Ace hated to admit it, Conan's plan was working. They were running through the halls, past marines who thought nothing of it. Ace thought it was strange though. If Conan was a prisoner as well, why was he not in disguise as well? "Left!" Snapping out of his thoughts, Ace turned left down the next hallway, and continued his run. "Right!" Making another turn, Ace was wondering if they were even close to Sengoku's office.
"Hey, kid? How far is the bastard's office from here?" Ace huffed.
"Two lefts and a right down this hallway!" Conan answered.
"Got it!" Ace quickened his pace until he was past all the marines, taking the directions as they came.
The detective frowned as they got closer, it was going to smoothly, but it was too smooth. Perhaps all the Admirals and the few Vice Admirals who knew about him were all out in the field, making preparations. But where was Sengoku? That Garp-person? Coby? Conan was used to winging plans but he usually had the luxury of knowing where everyone was. He was about to adjust his glasses for body-heat signals, but then Ace stopped abruptly. "Ace-san? What's wrong?"
"Got distracted, huh brat?" Grunted a familiar voice. Conan turned slowly to the familiar voice. There was Vice-Admiral Garp staring intently at them in the hallway. The younger boy didn't even have time to reply before being lifted off of Ace's shoulder and being placed behind the teen. "Well, Ace, the uniform looks good on yah; wish you'd put it on for the right reasons, though."
"This wasn't my idea." Ace replied in annoyance, gesturing towards the boy behind him. Conan was inwardly cursing, he should've counted for running into Garp or one of the others. Suddenly, he felt himself being picked up by the collar and being thrown forward. Garp stepped aside, and let Conan crash into the upcoming wall.
"What the hell was that for?" Conan exclaimed rubbing his head.
"You have something to do, don't you?" Ace shot Conan a glare.
"Get going, brat. You're wasting time." Garp shooed him away. Conan stood up and blinked; after a minute, he gave an abrupt bow to both of them and ran off. After seeing the brat run off, Garp turned his attention back to Ace. "I'm not helping a villain; I'm helping a scared little boy get back home. He's not a pirate; he's just a poor soul who got dragged into this mess."
"…Who is that kid, Gramps? Why's he really here?" Ace asked calmly.
Garp sighed. "That isn't you concern, Ace. Just go on and get out of here, you have your chance, now escape."
"You're helping me?" Ace scoffed. "What about me being a villain?"
"I don't see a villain here." Garp replied swiftly. "All I see is a confused marine who doesn't know where his post is. And if he goes down to the docks, there will be a few boats preparing to take off and he'll be assigned properly. He should also cover his face because it looks terrifying."
"Gramps…" The young pirate sighed. "Thanks for the concern, but I'm not leaving without the kid."
"Don't be a fool!" The old marine hissed. "You don't have much time! If the kid's smart enough and has the resources to break you out of a Marineford prison, do you really think he can't break himself out?"
"Maybe. But that doesn't mean I'm leaving him to the sharks like this." Ace clenched his fist and it started to turn red, Garp narrowed his eyes. "Move, Gramps. I need to get that brat and escape before Oyaji and the others show up; Luffy's probably on his way too."
"He obviously has something to do, just be a good soldier and trust your team mate!" Garp clenched his fit and charged at Ace. The pirate dodged and shot a fire ball into his back, though it wasn't as strong as his normal attacks. Garp sighed, when he felt the fire ball dissipate as soon as it touched him. "Listen Ace, to follow that kid, you're gonna have to get through me. And the only way you're gonna win is if you fight seriously." Suddenly, Garp's fist collided with Ace's face and sent the boy flying into the far wall.
Ace growled and wiped blood off his mouth. "Fine then." He heated his fist to flames were bursting. "FIRE FIST!" The pirate knew Garp was down when he didn't bother to dodge it, it was his grandpa's way of saying he approved. With a nod of the head towards his fallen elder, he ran off in the direction Conan had taken.
With Conan
As the confrontation went on, Conan ran the rest of the way towards Sengoku's office. Relief washed over Conan when he discovered it empty. Thinking quickly, Conan readied his bowtie and tried to think back to his research on the Cipher Pole. If he posed as a World government official, it'd be too messy and the figure's authority would be questionable over the Navy. The Admirals were out of the question because they were outside in the midst of the chaos. Deciding that a Cipher Pole would be the best option. Question was, when to broadcast his announcement and how to broadcast it? His head jerked up when he heard voices. Hiding under the desk, he hid himself as best as he could.
"This is a disaster! A complete and utter disaster!" Sengoku slammed the door open, stomping into his office, Akainu and Tsuru following close behind. "Tsuru! How could they have possibly escaped?"
"Perhaps inadequate search? Too much freedom, maybe? I warned you that the boy was extremely inquisitive, and that we hadn't dealt with someone like him before. This was a stupid idea to begin with, and you bringing Fire-Fist Ace here, was too big of a risk." The old woman scolded. "Honestly…are you honestly still going to go through with the broadcast, Sengoku?" Conan's eyes widened at the words.
"We have to!" Akainu exclaimed suddenly. "We have to show the world, justice will ultimately prevail!"
"The only thing we're showing is that the Navy can't keep one pirate in line." She said simply.
"Silence hag!" Akainu barked, causing Tsuru to make a sharp turn to him, effectively turning him into a wet blanket.
"Tsuru!" Sengoku barked. "We don't have time for this!"
"He had it coming." She sighed. "Sit down, Sengoku. Let's discuss for further planning."
Sengoku sighed and obeyed the order. "You're right. Let's calm down and-" Tsuru didn't blink when the Admiral suddenly lost conscious.
Getting out from his hiding place, Conan stood directly in front of the woman. "You knew I was there?"
"This was the most obvious place you'd go." Tsuru replied simply. "You freed Fire-Fist Ace, thus making him your ally because you knew escape would be impossible alone, especially against people with devil fruits. However, you couldn't just leave Mareinford because your family and friends are being used against you. So by setting something up here, you planned to bluff your way out of here using blackmail that the World Government would refuse to negotiate flexibility. You knew that the Black Organization had been using us, but as you suspect, they don't actually have anything over us. They want you alive; you don't need to make some huge speech. Despite what was said, the Black Organization isn't going to make any immediate moves, they need you alive, they need you focused as we do. Don't do anything rash."
"…Are you my ally then?" Conan wasn't sure what to make of this.
"No. As I said to you before, I want what's best for the Navy. Working with terrorists and becoming hypocrites isn't what's best for us. " The old woman explained. "I'm giving you two options: you can escape with Fire-Fist and not make the public announcement using the Fleet Admiral or whatever personnel you planned to impersonate; or make the announcement and have no chance in hell of escaping. The second you say one word against the Navy, I'll bring the entire system down upon your head. Don't underestimate us, boy."
"So essentially, you're willing to offer me complete coverage if I cooperate." Conan confirmed.
Tsuru nodded and looked Conan directly in the eye. "Yes. I'm even willing to provide coverage about yours and Fire-Fist's escape. What do you say boy, do or die?"
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