Chapter Text
Usopp was kneeled on the roof of Impel Down, peering over the edge towards the water below. He gulped audibly, he wouldn’t survive a fall from that height.
“Usopp…”
“Ehh…” Usopp was frozen, eyes wide with fear.
“Usopp!”
Usopp jumped away from the edge nearly tripping over his feet to stand. He hugged himself, turning to glare at the fishman behind him with tears welling up in his eyes. “Jinbe, you scared the hell out of me, you jerk!”
“You need to focus. I was able to find a way that should lead you onto the base undetected. I can do intel from the outside, as their surveillance doesn’t work underwater.”
“They don’t have fishmen doing surveillance?” Usopp looked back down towards the perilous black waters. “Everything I’ve read about Impel Down says that they did.”
“I did not see any, but I will keep an eye out.”
Usopp looked down, uncertain about what they were about to do, his fingers biting into his arm to keep himself from shaking.
“Usopp, you’ll be okay. I will be right outside if you need anything. I can get to you very quickly. You won’t be alone.”
“What if I fail? Then they will—”
“If you do fail, which you won’t, we have a plan B, remember? You’re the one that came up with it.” Jinbe held Usopp’s shoulders and gave him a little shake. “You came up with this plan too. It’s a brilliant one. You’ve got this.”
“But what if—”
“No,” Jinbe said firmly.
Usopp looked up at him with wide, shocked eyes. Jinbe had never spoken to him that way before. Closing his eyes tightly, he took a deep breath to centre himself. Then, after a moment, he nodded and looked up.
He quickly checked his pockets to make sure he had everything. “How do we get in?” Jinbe looked pointedly down, causing Usopp to scoff. “Of course.”
Jinbe grabbed him before he could protest and jumped off the roof. Catapulting through the air, Usopp screamed and hugged Jinbe tightly. “I hate you SO much,” Usopp screamed, tears and snot leaving tracks across his forehead and temples.
“Hold your breath,” Jinbe warned. They hit the water with a loud splash. Usopp pressed his face into Jinbe’s neck clinging tightly while the man quickly swam deeper into the water. He stopped suddenly before making a sharp left. It suddenly went dark, and Usopp gripped tighter to Jinbe’s shoulders.
When they broke through the water, they found themselves on heated steps leading into a deeper, darker part of the base. Usopp wiped the water from his eyes and blinked around owlishly. He could feel the heat bursting from the walls, almost suffocating them with its oppressiveness.
“Where are we?” Usopp whispered. He began to pile his hair high on his head to keep it off his neck and face. “It feels like Alabasta.”
“Alabasta?”
“It’s a desert we visited while helping Princess Vivi,” Usopp calmly explained. He narrowed his eyes, and peered up into the darkness. However, it was no use. He could hear the terrified screams of the inmates and see the flickering flames a bit ahead of him, but the light didn’t go as far down as they were.
Usopp stared dubiously up the stairs, “This looks like a trap.” He said blandly. “The only thing that would make it look more like one was a huge sign saying ‘Come right in!’ etched in blood on the walls.” He caught the sight of something scrawled on the stone walls to his left. “Ah, look. There it is.”
Jinbe rolled his eyes, “That says ‘Infirmary’ that was where they used to house the marines that fell ill or injured on the job before the seas rose on this area.”
“The sea levels used to be lower?”
“Much lower. Only the fifth and sixth floors used to be underwater.” Jinbe shoved him forward, causing Usopp to stumble on the steps. “Now, go. Stay low and move fast. The kitchens are on this floor, so Marines frequent the area despite how hot it is.” With that, Jinbe was gone, jumping back into the water and disappearing out of sight.
Usopp carefully made his way up the stairs, fingers dragging across the warm stone walls. “God, it’s boiling down here.” He complained, peeling off his black sweater and tying it around his waist.
He crouched at the top of the stairs, grimacing as sweat started to bead on his forehead, the water from his impromptu swim with Jinbe drying up as if siphoned from his skin. He leaned forward and peered around the corner, eyes scanning the area. Flames licked the sides of the walkways and stairs, encasing the entire area in a smokey fog of orange and yellow. In the middle of the floor, which he was able to glimpse from his spot, was the large cauldron of boiling blood. ‘Blazing Hell’ then.
He could spot a den den mushi above his head, slow-moving enough that he should be able to stay out of sight if he moved quickly enough. A large four was painted in black on the wall opposite him. In his line of sight were prisoners parading down the corridor with large logs in their arms, making their way towards the fire. On the opposite end were the prisoners marching back to get more firewood. Both groups were flanked by large men in fireproof suits, several of whom had large bastardised morning star and pitchfork weapons dragging behind them against the cobblestone floors.
Usopp peered up, studying the rafters. That will be his primary way of getting around. It should keep him out of sight, but he will definitely have to stay away from the middle of the room where the cauldron of boiling blood resided. As many as forty men were hung from ropes around their stomachs to dangle above the cauldron. Someone had to put them up there, which meant that someone was likely on the rafters keeping an eye on things. He would also have to make sure he was out of sight of the prisoners, as he would be directly in their line of sight depending on the route he went.
“I need to find one of the offices,” he muttered to himself. His first goal was to connect to the surveillance den den mushi and see if he could track down his crew mates. He refused to pull a Luffy and go buck wild in a high-security prison with no plan or idea where he was going. Just the fact that he didn’t know where he was going at that point was enough to make him want to tear his skin off.
“Hannyabal’s office is right by the kitchens,” Usopp muttered to himself. “Hannyabal is on vacation, I doubt anyone will be in there going by reports on his personality.”
Usopp did know that the kitchen was on the East side of the building, but being unable to know his position, that information didn’t help him very much. “Guess I just have to start moving,” Usopp muttered to himself.
He had given the crew small earpieces to wear when they were out on their latest adventure, the one where Luffy and half the crew got caught, but the chances of it working underwater or any of them having the earpieces were slim to none. When he was in a safer spot, he would try and see who he could get in contact with. If nothing else, he could keep Nami updated on what was happening. She had stayed behind on the Sunny.
“Right, just have to get to the office. I can do this,” Usopp said in an attempt to psych himself up. Slowly he leaned forward again and studied the den den mushi above him. He studied the pink creatures movement, watching as it moved back and forth several times until he understood the pattern of movement, and then, he made his move.
In an ideal situation, he would try to blend in with the prisoners or guards, which had been his original plan, especially since the guards had their faces covered which would have made his life so much easier. However, Jinbe had led him to the floor with no preamble, so now he had to work with what he had, which, unfortunately, was not very much.
He quickly made his way down the corridors, ignoring the pleadings from inmates begging to be let out. He wasn’t letting out anyone he didn’t need to. He was not about to be in a crowd of blood-hungry inmates.
Usopp’s mental count hit fifteen, and he pressed himself to the stonewall beside a darkened cell. He scrunched as far away as he could from the bars without exposing himself to the den den mushi above him.
“You’re Yasopp’s boy.”
He froze in shock, wide eyes locking on the long blond-haired man behind the bars beside him. “I’m sorry, who?” He said, playing dumb.
“Usopp, isn’t it? I’m Limejuice. Your father talks about you all the time. I can recognise you just from the stories alone.” The man elaborated.
Usopp wiped the sweat away from his eyes. Luffy had said the same thing when they met. “I’m sorry, Limejuice. While it’s nice to meet you, I have to go. I have to get my crew out of here.”
“He’s here, you know.”
That gave Usopp pause, “My dad is here?” That… might change things.
“Downstairs on the fifth floor, along with a couple more of our members.”
Usopp closed his eyes and cursed. Damn it. He shoved his hands into his bag and pulled out the lockpicking kit Nami had given him. He pointed it directly at the man. “If you get in my way, I’m leaving you. My goal is to get Luffy and the others out of here.”
The man cocked his head to the side as he watched Usopp make quick work of the lock, slowed down only by the den den mushi roving over the area every fifteen seconds. “Fuck, that hurts,” Usopp hissed, licking at his hand. The moved away to allow Limejuice out of the cell when the door popped open. He winced, the screeching from the door hurting his ears.
Limejuice slipped through the gate, picked up the pick, made quick work of his shackles, and then slid it back into Usopp’s bag. “Where were you headed?”
“Hannyabal’s office by the kitchens. It’s on the East side of the building.”
Limejuice sighed heavily, rubbing a hand over his long greasy blond hair. “It’s on the opposite side. You were going the wrong way.”
Usopp’s eyes widened, “Shoot, really? Would you be able to lead us there?”
He gave Usopp a pointed look, “You will have to blend in. We won’t get within ten feet past the cauldron with you dressed that way.”
Usopp looked down at his clothes, “But what could I wear instead?”
Limejuice pointed behind him into the cell. In the back corner, where rats were nibbling on the flesh and bones of a past inmate.
Usopp shook his head, “You can’t be serious. I can’t wear that. God only knows what diseases I will catch from that thing.”
“Hm, that’s fair. You can just get chucked into a vat of boiling blood instead,” Limejuice said nonchalantly.
Usopp sucked on his teeth and walked determinedly towards the body. He reached out before recoiling and reaching out again.
“You said you were on Luffy’s crew?”
Usopp turned to sneer at the man before reaching out a shaking hand and pulling on the ripped black and white striped shirt. The rats scurried away from the body, and the head fell off, rolling past Usopp’s feet. “I want to be boiled alive after this,” he muttered to himself, ignoring the tears welling up in his eyes as he pulled the shirt off the body.
He made quick work of the pants before running back over to Limejuice. “Luffy owes me all of his seconds and thirds for the rest of the year,” Usopp growled and pulled on the prisoner top over his wet tank top and bag. Luckily, the shirt was baggy enough that unless someone was looking at him too closely, he should be able to hide the bag. It was smaller than the one he usually carried. It was one of the things Nami had insisted upon.
Unluckily…
He gagged, retching at the smell of the outfit. Usopp shoved a hand over his nose, the other frantically pawing through his bag to find his nose plugs. “Ah ha!” Usopp wasted no time sliding them in his nose.
He sighed in relief, “That’s better.” He scrunched his nose up, “I’m never going to get that smell out of my hair.” He quickly pulled on the pants over the ones he was wearing. The less skin-to-skin contact the clothes made with him, the less therapy that Usopp would need when this was over.
Usopp shook his head, “The den den moves back and forth. Once it faces one way, we have exactly fifteen seconds before it turns back towards us. As long as we keep count, stay low and keep out of sight when they turn towards us, we should be able to get to the middle of the floor with no issues within a few minutes. My question is, what do we do after that? How do we get into the groups and then out again without being seen?”
“We have two choices the way I see it,” Limejuice said thoughtfully. “We can try and slip in the group that is going to pick up firewood and then try and slip out on the way back.”
Usopp looked up thoughtfully, arms crossed over his chest. “While that seems like the smartest way, they have marines on those groups' front, back and middle. They'll catch us trying to escape. The group isn't large enough to get lost in. Not to mention, they will likely notice that we aren’t chained like the other men. That could bring unneeded attention to us as well.”
Limejuice nodded, “Exactly. The other option is the rafters.”
“That was my initial idea,” Usopp admitted, looking up at the large wooden beams. "I was worried about getting caught by whoever was putting the men in the rafters. Someone has to be observing from up there. I am slightly less worried about being caught by the people attached to the rafters, but if they are loud enough, they will cause a ruckus too.”
“Rafters don’t have den den mushi on them.”
“And wood is a natural insulator. That means it’ll likely be a little cooler up in the rafters, although we will have to contend with the smoke.”
“Smokers Lung, that’ll be fun.”
“It’s better than running through the middle of the floor and getting caught.” He looked down at Limejuice’s feet. “On top of that, your footwear is not ideal for this floor. The closer we get to the fire, the more likely those synthetic fibres will melt into your feet.”
Usopp peered around the corner to the den den mushi and then scaled the jail cell, climbing neatly onto the beams above their heads. Usopp cocked his head to the side, “Are you coming?”
Limejuice chuckled under his breath and swiftly climbed the jail cell, climbing neatly beside Usopp. He crouched, grabbing the beam above them and pulling himself up onto that. “Coming?”
Usopp huffed and followed him up. He paused on the second to last beam and squinted before pulling on his goggles.
“You came prepared,” Limejuice said, impressed.
“Hmm,” Usopp acknowledged. “Not prepared enough, but some. I’ll feel better once I can hack into the security feeds.” He stood and pointed. “We have to go that way, right?”
Limejuice nodded, “That would be the quickest way.”
Usopp nodded, took a deep breath and pulled himself up onto the last beam. He bit his lip, thinking about how to best cross the beam. With a deep breath, he made his descent. He kept low and took slow calculating breaths as he crawled across the wooden beams. A den den scanned passed him, causing him to freeze like a deer in the headlights. It paused for a moment before smoothly moving away again. Usopp sighed in relief and continued towards the other side of the beam. He finally made it and sat down, cocking his head to the side. “Are you coming?”
Limejuice jumped and was over beside Usopp within a second, causing the sniper to press himself against the stone wall. “Did I startle you?” Limejuice smiled.
“Shut up,” Usopp snapped, wiping his sweaty hands on his pants before grimacing. “Ugh, there is another four years in therapy.” He stuck out his tongue and wiped his hands on the beams. He got up and started slowly making his way across the beams, allowing Limejuice to jump ahead of him. They stopped on the final beam before the large vat of blood and prisoners appeared.
Usopp pressed himself to the wall and studied the area around them. “We can’t use the beams over the vat.”
“We could,” Limejuice countered.
“You could,” Usopp said. He pointed to the left, “I am going that way.”
He took a step before Limejuice pulled on his shoulder, causing him to lose his balance. Usopp wrapped his arms tightly around the man’s waist and glared up at him. “What the fuck is your problem!?”
“That way has a broken beam. You have to go the other way,” Usopp shakily let go of Limejuice and followed his finger. There indeed, was a broken beam he wouldn’t have made it across without making a scene of himself.
Limejuice took a step away from him and started making his way the other way. Usopp followed, albeit more shakily. It took ten more minutes of Usopp and Limejuice slowly walking over the beams and one moment of Usopp getting lost in the scene of two men being thrown into the vat of blood to boil alive — “There is another ten years on the couch.” before they finally made it to the last beam above Hannyabal’s office.
Usopp leaned forward and studied the den den mushi that focused on Hannyabal’s door. “These are ten seconds, and it’s out in the open. I need a dis—”
“DINNER!”
Usopp covered his ears and pressed against Limejuice. The corridors were suddenly filled with marines marching into the kitchens. A marine looked up at their hiding spot, suspicion in his eyes, but Limejuice pulled Usopp flush against him and out of the man's sight. “Stay very still.” He whispered hotly in Usopp’s ear, causing the sniper to flush red.
Usopp closed his eyes and relaxed against Limejuice, taking deep breaths until he no longer heard the bustling of hungry marines. Limejuice gave him a squeeze and then let him go. “We should be fine now.”
Usopp nodded and pulled away, looking down to hide his flushing face. He rubbed his hands over his clothes, “You stay here. I’ll get the door open.” He watched the den den mushi, counted under his breath and leaned down, hanging from the rafters from his knees and leaning down to work the lock. Finally, after multiple close calls with the den den mushi, the door popped open. Usopp sighed in relief and jumped down before sliding inside. Limejuice followed him, making sure to firmly shut the door and bolt it when he was safely inside.
“Do you know anything about surveillance den den mushi?” Usopp asked, studying the wall of surveillance den den mushi that covered Hannyabal's office walls.
The room was covered in surveillance den monitors covering every room and floor. “These show much more than I thought,” Usopp muttered to himself.
There was knocking on the glass behind the desk. “Friend of yours” Limejuice asked, pointing towards the fishman outside of the large ornate window behind the desk.
“That’s Jinbe,” Usopp waved, and Jinbe motioned towards his ear, indicating that Usopp should put his earpiece in.
Usopp nodded and slipped it in, turning it on. “Jinbe, do you hear me?”
“Usopp, I see you made it safely.” Jinbe stared down Limejuice, “And you’ve made a friend.”
He looked behind himself to Limejuice, “Ah, he’s on Shanks’ crew with my father. His crew apparently got caught up in a raid like ours.” Usopp scratched at his arms and huffed out a sigh. “Have you been able to locate anyone? We are safe here, and I think I can take my time, but I am all for anything to help us out of here and me out of these clothes quicker.”
“Luffy is on the sixth floor, he’s chained with seastone. I was able to talk to him as he has his earpiece still in. Very good work on those. The marines hadn’t been able to find them.”
Usopp turned his back on Jinbe and started going through the feeds. “Limejuice, can you see if you can find a blueprint or something here? It’ll make it easier to mark where everyone is and make the best plan of action.”
Limejuice nodded and reached out to take the lockpick that Usopp handed him. He started with the filing cabinet and made quick work of it before moving on. “We have files here with the names of inmates. If we can’t find someone, we can take a look in these...”
Usopp nodded and crossed his legs. He typed in several numbers, bringing up all of the den den surveillance for the fifth floor. “Jinbe, are you good? Any fishmen out there?”
“None that I have found. Is there anything I can do on my end?”
Usopp huffed out a sigh. "Let me think for a minute. I want to know where everyone is first before we start making a plan on how to best get everyone out. I think you'd be best utilized getting the people we release to the roof through the fourth floor entrance. Now, that does leave us with the issue of Luffy and Chopper as they have devil fruit powers, but unfortunately, I think we will just have to cross that bridge when we — what the hell, Chopper.” Usopp allowed his head to fall into his hands before he started giggling uncontrollably. “Jinbe, do you see this?” Jinbe floated up until he could clearly see the screen from behind Usopp’s shoulder.
“Is he eating candy?” Jinbe squinted to get a better look at the screen. “What is that behind him?”
“A large pot of boiling water and vegetables with venison seasoning on the counter.”
Jinbe shook his head, a heavy sigh leaving him. “He’s too trusting.”
Limejuice came up behind Usopp and pressed a hand to his shoulder, leaning over him to get a look at the screen. “He’s on your crew?”
Usopp shrugged his hand off, ignoring how the warmth of the other man’s hand brought a blush to his face. The two years of training where he had little to no touch were obviously taking its toll on him. “He’s our doctor. He’s usually brilliant.” Usopp shook his head. “Tends to be blinded by candy, though.”
Usopp pressed his ear bug and closed his eyes, listening to the feed coming in through the earbud. Limejuice tapped his shoulder and shooed Usopp away to take over the security monitoring.
“Hello?” Usopp asked. “Anyone who is not Nami, Brook or Jinbe there?”
“Usopp!”
“Luffy, how are you feeling?” Usopp asked, snapping his fingers at Limejuice and writing the number six in the air.
Limejuice nodded and showed him the sixth-floor feeds. “I’m starving,” Luffy complained, causing Usopp to roll his eyes. “Where are you?”
“Hannyabal’s office,” Usopp said, he looked over the feeds until he found the one he was looking for and enlarged it. Luffy looked to be fine. He was in chains against the wall, and looked a bit dirtier than usual, but otherwise no worse for wear.
“Eh, you’re here? Who else is with you?”
“Yep, I can even see you right now through the den den mushi. Wave for me!" Luffy chuckled and waved at the den den mushi, grinning widely. "Hey!" Usopp giggled and sighed, "Jinbe is with me but he’s running intel outside.” Usopp caught sight of Limejuice, “Oh right, and Limejuice is here too.”
“Limejuice?” Usopp could hear the cogs moving in Luffy’s head, “From Shanks’ crew? What are you doing with him?”
“He was in one of the cells on the fourth floor. He’s helping me get around.”
Luffy's eyebrows furrowed. “Huh, so who else is here?”
“Sanji, Zoro, Franky and Chopper from our side.” Limejuice rattled off some names and Usopp nodded to show he was listening. “Limejuice, Shanks, Yasopp, Hongo and Monster from the Red-Haired Pirates crew.”
“Shanks is here too?” Luffy's eyebrows raised in surprise. "How'd he get caught?"
Usopp shrugged, “I’m assuming the same way you did. I haven't had the chance to ask. We are currently looking at the feeds now so I will see if I can find out who is down on the sixth with you.”
“Have you been able to find anyone else?”
“Well, they are preparing to cook Chopper but other than that—”
“Usopp, don’t look at the screen!” Jinbe yelled through the earpiece, causing Usopp to jump and almost drop it. He turned to glare at the fishman who was knocking frantically on the window. “Don’t look.”
“What… why?” He turned and froze as he caught sight of Franky on the screen. “Oh.”
“Usopp, what’s going on?” Luffy asked, his voice raising an octave as he struggled against his restraints. “Are you okay?”
“It’s Franky, he…”