The Wild Rover. (A One Piece Ace x OC x Shanks Love Story)

Chapter 5: ....And Found.

Something clicks inside of Shanks' head and he rushes forward to grab the two boys by the collars of their shirts just as the ground crumbles beneath the boys' feet.

Shanks sits the boys back on their feet, "Thanks." They both say to the red-headed man.

An indignant cry is heard from the newly exposed hole and an angry feminine voice yells, "Hey! I asked to be rescued not buried alive!"

"Dev!" Ace and Sabo shout happily as they move cautiously to the edge of the hole. "What happened? How long have you been down there? Are you okay?" The two boys start asking the girl questions one after another.

"I'm cold, hungry, and thirsty." Dev whines.

Shanks takes off his black cloak and the canteen full of water provided by Makino. Raising his voice so that Devlin will be able to hear him Shanks says, "Lass, are ye hurt? Anything broken or are ye bleeding?"

"Shanks?! Is that really you?!"

"Aye, Luv. Benn and I are both here. Now I need ta know if yer hurt."

"No...at least nothing major. I have a few cuts and bruises, but they're not serious." Dev falls silent for a moment then says, "I don't know how I only have scrapes and bruises though...I only fell into a pile of dead leaves."

Benn speaks up, "Devlin, do you think that you can manage to start a fire?"

"I don't know...it's kinda damp down here."

Benn reaches into his pocket and pulls out some matches, "Here, captain, add these to the bundle you're making." Shanks takes the matches from his first mate and puts them on his cloak next to the canteen. Benn then turns to Ace and Sabo, who is now pestering and teasing Dev. "Boys, help me gather some kindling, but be sure to stay close to me in case there are more pitfalls around." Benn starts to walk off with the two boys on either side of him.

Meanwhile, Shanks continues to put together a small care package for Dev. He searches his pockets for anything that could be useful. He finds some string, which can be used to bundle the kindling together. He also finds the present he had made for Dev; a silver bracelet with a charm of his jolly roger. He puts the gift back into his pocket for now.

"Hello?! Hello?! Is anyone still there?!" Dev's voice is now panic-stricken, "Don't leave me! Please don't leave me!"

Speaking loudly Shanks answers her, "It's okay, Luv. I'm still here. The others just went ta get some firewood so ye can warm yerself up, okay?" As he's trying to comfort Dev, he rolls up his cloak and ties the ends together. "Devi, I'm sending my cloak down ta ye. Inside ye will find water and some matches. Now, this is very important, Luv, make sure ta sip the water. If ye drink it too fast you'll get sick and throw up and that will make ye even more dehydrated."

"Okay."

"Tell me when it hits the ground." He drops the cloak over the edge of the hole and then waits. "Devi? Luv?"

A soft thud is heard and Dev shouts, "Okay, it hit the ground!"

Shanks furrows his eyebrows and frowns; this situation isn't good but hopefully, he's wrong. Maybe the hole isn't as deep as he thinks it is.

Benn and the boys return each of them carrying an armful of wood. Ben says, "Thought we could make a fire of our own for warmth and to keep the wild animals away." He sees the worried look on his captain's face and asks, "What's wrong?"

"The hole is deeper than we expected," Shanks replies while using the string to tie Sabo and Ace's pile of sticks together.

"How deep?"