You don't know what you've got until it's gone (One Piece ff)

8. The Rescure

Crocodile POV:

Dragon kept his word. I was picked up the next day. Now two days later we find ourselves in the middle of nowhere on the sea and waiting for this fish man called Hack. He is supposed to get little Anna out of Impel Down. Hopefully she can do it. She is still quite young. So she should not die.
"Now calm down Croco-Boy. ~ It doesn't do you any good if you run a gutter into the deck here." Ivankov reassures me. That just doesn't help.

I can't just stand here and do nothing while Anna is fighting for her life! That's why I just give an annoyed growl of myself and keep running up and down. I ignore all the glances on me. The Redhair Pirates are not represented, that's a good thing. But there are some revolutionaries here. Many doctors. That's very good. Then Ivankov is here. Sabo, the chief of staff and his colleague are also there. She introduced herself to me as a Koala, but it doesn't matter. I'm not here to make friends! "Please sit down Croco-Boy and-" Ivankov begins, but is interrupted directly by me: "Stop giving me stupid nicknames! I walk up and down here until Anna is finally here and safe! This is about Anna and I can't just sit around stupidly and do nothing!"
You can clearly hear the anger in my voice. People at the bottom of the food chain are taking a few steps back. It's better that way.
"You like the woman. What is so special about her? The Redhair Pirates also reacted just like you." this Koala addresses the word to me. "Anna is a simple woman. Yes, she never exchanged a word with me, but still. She listened to me and made the rest of the time in Impel Down more bearable. She smiled or slightly smirked. Once she even laughed, but didn't make a sound. It looked weird, but it made me happy. She's just herself and that's what makes her special. She does not disguise itself. She's not trying to please anyone or pretends to be someone else. Anna is very loyal. When she is fit again, you will see for yourself. For some of the Redhair Pirates she is a sister and the same goes for me. She is like a sister to me and I want to protect her, come what may! If necessary, I will protect her from you!" I tell and direct my threat to Koala. She seems to be the least likely to suffer Anna.

My gaze falls to a revolutionary who has just come from the inside of the ship. "Hack is in Position." he says calmly. "Well, then it's just a matter of waiting." says Sabo calmly. My gaze glides back to the water. It's the first time I've stopped now. On the one hand I understand the situation of the Redhair Pirates, on the other hand I do not understand how they could not notice that someone is missing!! I still have to talk to them!

"We'll get the little one out of there Croco-Boy.~ Have some trust." Ivankov says to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. I don't feel like answering and I don't have to argue because he gave me such a nickname again. So I just give a hum of myself and look into the sea. Hold something through Anna! Just a little bit!

Anastasia POV:

I'm now more or less sitting on a flatbed between level 5 and level 6. How exactly I got here, I don't know. I have often become unconscious due to the torture of Sadi. This guard actually made me think if it might not be better to scream. But I didn't want to give her that satisfaction. Never in life. I'd rather die.

Right now I'm watching a few people scurrying back and forth. They wear neither navy uniforms nor the typical guard uniforms. I still wear the seastone handcuffs. But my wounds and bruises were actually treated somewhat by these people. Nevertheless.. I don't trust people. Perhaps this is a new method of interrogation of the guards. I would have liked to run away with Crocodile, but I was too weak. Speaking of Crocodile. I miss the guy too. His stories were funny and also interesting. He was defeated by the straw hat boy and has lost his title as Samurai of the Seas. Crocodile kept saying that he hated this boy, but I don't think so. I dare to say that he has a small weak point for the boy. If I ever see him again, I have to tell him that. His reaction is certainly worth its weight in gold. At this thought, I have to giggle slightly.

A movement from the corner of my eye attracts my attention. Immediately my facial expression becomes monotonous again.
A man comes up to me. He's tall and has a cap pulled deep into his face, so I can't see his eyes. Nevertheless, I notice this pitiful facial expression. I hate that kind of thing. I don't need damn pity! "Um.. Anna?" he hesitantly addresses the word to me. My face is still expressionless and I just look at him silently. "So.. Everything is prepared to free you." he says.

Free me? Why should they free me? The brief amazement that could be seen in my face changes to a sinister face. He seems to have understood my unspoken question, because he is taking the floor again. "We are among the revolutionaries and Dragon-san has ordered us to take care of you until the reinforcements arrive and pick you up. You will go out through a secret passage, directly into the sea, there is a comrade of ours waiting for you. Don't worry, this is neither a joke nor a trap. The Redhair Pirates initiated all this." he explains to me.
Immediately my facial features derail completely and my mouth moves by itself. ".. Shanks.... Yasopp.... Lou.... Mouth.... Rupert.... Tobias.... Ben......" I hear my croaky voice say quietly. It's just a little more than a whisper and every word that leaves my lips hurts extremely. I haven't said a single word for over a year now. My vocal cords are a bit rusty. Nevertheless.. the names of my family, my loved ones, literally flow from my lips without me being able to stop it. Even if I could, I wouldn't stop it. I missed these chaotic people all the time!v
My gaze is on the man in front of me all the time. So I only see his shocked reaction and not that everyone on this level looks at me the same way.
"Yes. They were very worried and blame themselves for all this happening to you." I hear another male voice say. But it wasn't the man in front of me. That confuses me. My confused gaze glides through the room and gets stuck on an older man. He wears a wet battle suit, yellow skin, white hair, a white beard, pointed teeth and a grim look. "I am the reinforcement that frees you. Don't worry. The Redhair Pirates will not see your current condition. They are not there, at the request of Sir Crocodile." says the man. "Cro.. codile?.." I ask quietly and croakily. My voice sounds really strange. Creepy.
The man's gaze is very surprised, but shortly afterwards he nods. "Yes. He is waiting for us at the top of the water surface. I'll take you to him. My name is Hack. May I ask you something else Anna?" this hack explains to me. I think for a moment and then nod. Hack slowly comes up to me and looks closely at me. "You haven't talked for over a year, not even with Crocodile. Why now?" he asks confusedly and cautiously. As if he is afraid to cross a line. I look at him closely. Try to find a reason if he wants to hurt me, but I can't find one. He's just curious. ".. mily... They.. are.. my family..... I..... mi... them...". I explain to him, but my voice breaks off again and again. I don't know if he understood what I wanted to tell him. "And Sir Crocodile?" asks Hack. He must have understood me. I think for a moment and look at him again. "Croco.... Friend.... or.." I start, but have to cough. After coughing enough and having air in my lungs again, I end my sentence: ".. Great.. he.. Bro.. ther..."
Then I give Hack a little smile. "So Sir Crocodile is a big brother or a friend to you?" he asks again. With a brief nod, I confirm his question. "That's good. Drink a little more here and then we'll go, okay?" he asks cautiously. I nod again and take the bottle of water from him. Hack sees the handcuffs and takes them off me very carefully. When he sees the wounds that the handcuffs have caused all along, he looks quite angry. He probably doesn't like the handcuffs.
I greedily drink the water from the bottle. It's been a long time since I was able to drink water that wasn't contaminated or stale. Now my throat doesn't feel so extremely painful anymore. Slowly I get up from the flatbed and tumble a bit. "Careful!" says Hack immediately and is next to me shortly afterwards to support me. Of course, I warp my face, because my whole body hurts, there is no place that does not have an open wound. He notices it and his grip immediately becomes much gentler. "Ready?" he asks me. I look up at him and nod confidently with a small smile. Then he leads me to a hidden corridor into which we go, up to a hatch. He gives me a device and explains how to use it. I listen to him, nod and put this little oval device in my mouth. It should help me to breathe. Well, I'm curious.
Behind us a heavy metal door closes and in front of us the hatch opens. Water comes towards us and I claw my way to Hack. I pinch my eyes in fear. Am I now drowning so close to my freedom?...