Chapter 3: Chapter Three | Every Crew Needs a WitchChapter Text"Eh?" One of the cooks sneered at Gin, a heavyset man with arms as thick as Quinn's thighs. "You got any money?"
"D'you take lead?" Gin laughed, cocking the pistol he'd snatched off the marine and aiming it at the cook's head.
"Oh for- Gin," Quinn interrupted, reaching out with a trembling hand and pushing the pistol down. She pointed up at the ceiling, where a massive, splintered hole gaped down at them. "I fix your ceiling, you able to feed us?"
"Fix it first, you can get some food after."
A foot planted itself against the cook's cheek and in an instant he was launched to the other side of the room. Quinn blinked as the waiter, a blonde man with the strangest eyebrows she'd ever seen was kneeling in front of her, cooing and simpering. "Please ignore my co-worker. He doesn't know how to treat a woman," he effused, stars in his eyes. "I can make something for you this instant, my dear. No payment necessary."
Unimpressed, Quinn raised an eyebrow at the man. "And my friend?"
The waiter looked at Gin as if he'd just noticed him, and his eyes glazed over with resignation. "Of course, my dear. Anything for a beauty such as yourself."
"Alright. Uh- I'm guessing it's mostly seafood here so uh- fuck it. You got anything that's just straight up filling?"
"Of course, of course!" the waiter (cook?) cheered, practically spinning as he flounced towards the kitchen.
"Just our luck they have a pervert workin' here," Gin muttered, winking at her.
"I don't give a shit who feeds me at this point."
"Fair. That other guy would've probably kicked my ass."
"Really?"
Grinning, Gin set the pistol down. "Can barely lift the damn thing. I'da been fucked one way or another."
Someone shuffled over to the table and Quinn looked up to see what she assumed to be a viking in a chef's hat, judging by the braided moustache that fell damn near to his gut. "You said you'll fix that hole in my ceiling?"
"You the head chef?" The man nodded, and Quinn hummed. "Sure thing. Don't have any cash, so I have to find a different way to pay, right?"
"Aye. You'd be doing me a hell of a favour. See those buffoons over there?" he asked, pointing at a far-away table. Sitting at it was a boy in a straw-hat, a red haired woman casually sipping on a glass of wine, a guy with a very, very long nose, and a man with three swords (three?) and dull green hair.
"Yeah, I see 'em."
"Shot a cannon through my bedroom and knocked that hole in the ceiling. That captain of theirs has got his head on alright, but I was going to have him work off the repairs and I have a feeling I'd end up out of pocket if he did."
"Cannon? Pretty sure it was the marines who shot that cannon."
"You don't say?" The chef's lip jutted out in thought, and he frowned at the group. "Thought that straw-hat kid was just pulling my leg."
"Nah. If anyone would know, it's us two," Quinn said, gesturing to herself ang Gin. "Seeing as we were locked up in the brig without food for the last… how long were we down there?"
"Two weeks."
"Two weeks. Jesus. How are we still breathing?"
How am I even conscious right now?
Gin frowned at her, but instead of saying anything he just pointed at the sky, at which Quinn nodded.
"Well, you keep your word after you eat and I'll be more than pleased. Also, the name's Zeff," the chef said, shaking Quinn's hand. "Enjoy your meal."
He hobbled away, and that was when Quinn noticed he had an honest to god peg-leg and all her assumptions about this world were immediately proven true. And as he left, their table was interrupted by not one visitor, but two – the waiter from before dropping two steaming plates of fried rice in front of herself and Gin, and the straw-hat boy she'd spotted pulling out a chair and inviting himself to join them, a massive grin on his face.
"I heard you're gonna' fix the restaurant!" the boy cheered. Quinn just glanced at him, letting out a quiet 'shush' before she began to dig in. The rice, oh my god, the rice. She couldn't help but let out a quiet moan, tearing away at the plate and barely taking the time to breathe between bites. Quinn didn't know if it was because she'd been starving or if the food was just that good, because she couldn't stop shoveling it into the trash compactor that was her mouth.
It took herculean effort to draw her eyes away from the food and look at Gin who, just like herself, had been reduced to an animal as he damn near buried his nose in the plate, just so he could bring the time it took to scoop up the rice and shove it in his face to a minimum.
Okay, the food was just that good.
By the time she'd pushed through the entire plate, Quinn wanted to sob with relief and mourn the fact that she could no longer enjoy the goddamn ambrosia that had been placed in front of her. Either way, Quinn pushed the empty plate away and leaned back, hands across her belly. She looked through half-lidded eyes at Gin, who wore an expression of pure satisfaction that she knew she wore as well.
"Holy shit that was good," she groaned, a blissful sigh escaping her lips.
"You're tellin' me."
"This place's cooking is the best, isn't it?"
"Pretty damn good."
"I know, right!"
Through one eye, she spied the straw-hat kid still grinning at her, arms on the table and his chin nestled between them. "You gonna' keep talking at me or are you gonna' tell me your name?"
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy! I'm going to be the King of the Pirates!"
"Is that so?" she mused, Gin choking on his own spit across from her.
Putting his hand out as if to stop Luffy, Gin gave him a look like that of a concerned parent. "Kid…"
"Yeah?"
"You goin' to the Grand Line?"
"Of course!"
"Don't."
"Eh?" Luffy pouted. "Why?"
"Because it's a goddamn death-trap, kid."
"Pfft. No. I'm gonna' go."
"Seriously, you don't get it. We had five thousand men, five thousand, and they were gone in the blink of an eye."
"He's not lying," Quinn interrupted, looking the kid in the eye. She didn't know how strength worked here, how magic could be wielded, and if the idea of a single man cutting down an entire armada in the span of fifteen minutes hadn't been so absurd she'd have written off this boy entirely. But… there was something in that grin and the sheer, exuberant energy the kid exuded that made her doubt Gin's words.
"I'm gonna' go to the Grand Line." Luffy crossed his arms and for good measure, raised his chin at them indignantly. "And no one can stop me!"
"Seriously, it's- hell. Fuck it. It's your funeral, kid."
"Whatever, whatever. Hey, you! Scary lady."
Quinn pointed at herself. "Scary lady?"
"Yeah! You said you're gonna' fix the old man's restaurant?"
"Oh yeah." Taking out her wand, Quinn pointed it at the ceiling. The restaurant fell silent as the splintered chunks of wood still resting on the floor flew up and fused together, slotting into the jagged mess like it had never been broken in the first place. "Where's the rest of the damage?"
Luffy all but teleported beside her, gaping at Quinn with wonderment. He oohed and aahed as he looked between her and her wand, his smile growing wider and wider until it stretched well past the point any human's mouth could. She pulled away, but Luffy only closed the gap, getting closer and closer to her until he yelped, the red-haired woman he was with yanking him away from Quinn.
"Leave her alone, Luffy."
"But she's so cool!" he whined, grabbing at the air like a greedy toddler. "Scary lady! Join my crew!"
"Is that from a Devil Fruit?" the woman asked, still holding Luffy by the scruff of the neck which- wait she was actually holding him by the scruff, not his shirt.
"Is that from a Devil Fruit?"
"Yeah." She lifted Luffy higher, his pout drooping further with every inch he was raised off the ground. "He's a-"
"I'm a rubber man!"
"-rubber man."
Well, he certainly looked rubbery.
The woman dropped him and Luffy groaned, rubbing his back. "Oi, Nami. Is she your sister?" he asked, pointing at Quinn.
"My what?"
He brought both hands up and grabbed his hair, waving it around. "You're both red."
Quinn felt a hand against her shoulder and looked up to see Gin, the man looking at Luffy with poorly hidden amusement and more than a little pity. "I gotta' get out of here before those marines wake up, but I just wanted to say thanks. That cook woulda' beat the shit out of me if you hadn't stepped in."
"Oh. I should probably-"
"Nah. I don't think you have to go anywhere," he said, pointing over her shoulder at the head chef, Zeff, who was still looking up at the ceiling with astonishment. "Think that guy is gonna' try and hire you to be a handyman or somethin'."
"Been here all of twenty minutes and I've already got a job?"
"Don't sell yourself short, Witch." Gin gave her another clap on the shoulder and wandered away, turning around at the entrance to throw her a jaunty salute before he was swallowed up by the sunlight that poured through the open doors.
It was then that Quinn realized she was completely and utterly alone, something that felt both liberating and more than a little terrifying once it had settled in. Luffy, whether he sensed Quinn's sudden anxiety or if it was just because he was a social bulldozer, launched himself into the seat next to her and laid his head on the table, his grin now reduced to a thin, but no less sincere smile.
"So, you ate a Devil Fruit too?"
"Uh- yeah. I'm a… Witch?"
"That's so cool! So you can do all sorts of witch stuff, right? Can you turn me into a frog?"
"You want me to turn you into a frog?"
Luffy nodded frantically, sitting up straight with his hands planted on his knees, almost vibrating with excitement. "Uh…" She looked at Nami? Nami, and gave her a look as if to say should I? At which, the woman just shrugged. "Sure, I guess."
With a wave of her wand a little frog sat in Luffy's place, ribbitting loudly and almost falling on its back as it tried to look at itself. Another ribbit, this one easily identifiable as pure, exuberant joy, as Frog-Luffy stretched his goddamn arm across the room and poked the long nosed guy in the cheek with his tiny frog hand. The guy then turned, following the arm as it snapped back into place, and it was only when he saw it was a frog that had poked him did he scream.
"Luffy's a frog! Luffy got turned into a frog!" He pointed at Quinn, who still had her wand pointed at Luffy, who still had his little green hand pointed at his crewmate. "That witch turned Luffy into a frog!"
The swordsman next to him took a deep swig from a bottle of wine and set it on the table, and as he stood his thumb flicked at the guard of one of his swords, just barely pushing it out of its sheath.
"Oh, fuck that," Quinn muttered, immediately cancelling the transfiguration.
"Zoro! You jerk! You made her change me back!"
"Eh? You wanted to be a frog?"
"Yeah! Scary lady, turn me into a frog again! And, and- you have to join my crew!"
"Kid- Luffy, I don't even know you. And… I don't know how I feel about going out to sea with an actual child."
"I'm not a kid, I'm seventeen, almost eighteen!"
"Bullshit."
"Ha! You sound just like Ace. I'm really seventeen!" he insisted.
"Nami?"
"Yeah, Scary Lady?"
"It's Quinn."
"If you say so," Nami said, and Quinn could tell she was completely intent on referring to her as Scary Lady for as long as she could.
Maybe Quinn would turn her into a goddamn frog.
And honestly, she wasn't scary! Was she? Sure, Ginny had always said she had… what was it? Angry eyebrows? But she always said it in an affectionate way.
"Is your… Captain? Is he really seventeen? He doesn't act like it."
"Not my captain. And yeah, I'm pretty sure he's not lying. I don't think he actually knows how to lie."
"Not your captain?"
"I'm just along for the ride."
"Nami's my navigator!"
Quinn nodded. "Is she, now?"
"Yup!"
All Nami did was sigh and walk away, snatching the bottle of wine away from Zoro (of course the swordsman's name was Zoro) and topping off her glass, from which she took a hefty gulp.
"Who's the other guy on your crew?" Quinn asked, to which Luffy proudly replied, "Usopp! He's my sniper!"
"So… sniper, navigator, swordsman… if I joined your crew, what would I be?"
"The Witch, obviously." He frowned at Quinn as if she'd just asked him the stupidest question in the world. "And that means you do all sorts of witch things! Like turning people into frogs when they want you to… or when they don't want you to because frogs are really easy to punch. You can do cool magic shows and stuff too, right?"
"Like this?" she asked, waving her wand through the air. A trail of shining sparks was left in its wake, glittering with every colour of the rainbow. At Luffy's awed expression and the way his other crew members looked on, Quinn smiled widely and twirled her wand. The sparks danced, forming the silhouette of a boy in a straw-hat that leapt and danced, bursts of light exploding around him. One of the crew, Usopp, got up and wandered over to her table, his eyes shining with excitement as he sat down next to Luffy and watched Quinn perform, his previous fear of her completely forgotten.
These light shows were something she did for Teddy whenever she stopped by Andromeda's house. A little dancing man prancing through the air, miniature fireworks going off around him with each and every leap. God, the kid loved the shows she put on, and-
The lights went out and Quinn's arm fell, her gaze locked in the distance.
Teddy.
She'd never see the little guy again. Her godson, Andromeda, left all alone and – fuck, she didn't really visit all that often and she should have, she really should have, but she was so busy with work and-
He was turning six in a month. Six years old, more than halfway to Hogwarts, and she'd never see him again.
"I'm sorry," Quinn whispered, monotone. "I need some fresh air."
She stood, wide eyed, and wandered outside the restaurant, hands instantly finding one of the rails as she followed it around the bend of the ship. Quinn walked, slowly, and fumbled at her jacket pocket for a pack of cigarettes that wasn't there. Cursing, she realized the marines had probably nicked them. "Fuckin' scumbags, stole my smokes," she hissed, smacking her palm against the hand-rail.
"If I may?" a voice spoke, and Quinn glanced towards it to see the cook from earlier holding out a cigarette.
"Cheers," Quinn uttered, taking and lighting it with a snap of her fingers.
"A woman of many talents, eh?"
"Not the ones I need to know."
"Please, don't fret my dear, I'm certain I can-"
"Can you shut the fuck up, please?" Sighing, Quinn shook her head. "I'm sorry, just- give it a rest, alright? I'm gay anyways." She raised her hand. "But thank you, you know, for the smoke. Well, actually- where the hell do you get these out on the bloody ocean?"
"Mail order?"
"Ah. Birds?"
"Gulls."
"Huh. Back home they use owls."
The cook smiled at her, none of his previous debonair attitude behind it. "I'm Sanji."
"Quinn," she replied, reaching over and shaking his hand. "Thanks again for the food. Best I've ever had."
"Ah, you're far too kind."
"No, seriously. It was bloody good, and I'm saying that as someone who loves to cook. I've never had anything like it before. Actually-" she pointed at him, taking another drag as she did. "How did you pack that much flavour in the rice? MSG? I've never used it myself but I've heard it can do plenty of heavy lifting when it comes to seasoning."
"MSG? I don't know what that is, Quinn, my friend, my muse. In fact, the special ingredient in all my food is-"
"If you say love I'm going to smack you."
"Lo- lard? Lard. Tallow. Fresh animal fats of all varieties."
"Sounds about right."
They both smirked, and Quinn huffed quietly, turning her gaze back to the ocean. On and on it stretched, an infinite expanse of shining blue that, if she looked closely, she thought she could spot a small boat sailing away in the distance. She pointed at it with her cigarette, her other hand shielding her eyes from the sun. "That my friend sailing away over there?"
"The ruffian? Yes, that'd be him. He said he was going to go look for his captain."
"Good luck with that. He's probably been at the bottom of the ocean these last two weeks."
"Was what he said true?"
"What, about his whole fleet getting taken out?" Sanji nodded. "Every word of it was true. Saw it with my own eyes, actually. Almost got chopped in half by some guy who I couldn't even see, he was so far away."
"The bastard, attacking a woman like that!"
"Seriously, what the hell is your problem?"
"Me?"
"Yeah, you. I'm not some goddamn damsel in distress."
"I never meant anything of the sort! Simply that such beauty shouldn't be marred by-"
"Stuff it."
"If you insist, my dear."
Completely mystified, Quinn shook her head and stubbed out the cigarette, flicking it into the sea. "Seriously, mate. Keep it in your pants, or you'll never get yourself a girlfriend. Acting like that is bloody annoying. You're gonna' get punched in the mouth being disrespectful like that."
"Disrespectful!?"
"Yes, disrespectful! It's fuckin' annoying. It's infantilizing, being treated like a bloody child."
"Hey! Cook guy!" Both Sanji and Quinn turned to see Luffy standing behind them with his arms crossed, not displaying a hint of shame for interrupting their conversation (even though Quinn was plenty happy to have it be interrupted). "Join my crew!"
"I refuse."
"I refuse your refusal!"
Quinn snorted loudly. She was starting to like this kid.
"You can't do that!"
"I just did!"
"You don't even know my name!"
"It's Sanji! I heard you say hi to Qui- Quon? Qwun? Witch lady," he settled on, pointing at Quinn. "You cook and you fight. You'll be a great pirate!"
"Oh, you can remember his name but you can't remember mine?"
"Quinn!" Luffy shouted, fist slamming down into his flat palm.
"'Attaboy."
If it were possible, and it was, Luffy grinned even wider. Really, it should have been frightening to look at but somehow it hardly bothered her. "So, Sanji! You're joining my crew!"
"I'm not!" Sanji shook his head and sighed, flicking his cigarette overboard and letting it drift alongside Quinn's. "I owe that shitty cook Zeff too much to just quit."
"Ah." Nodding sagely, Luffy crooked a finger around his chin. "You're protecting his treasure."
"Yeah, yeah. Something like that. Listen, it was nice chatting with you but I have to get back to work," Sanji said, offering Quinn a short bow and then flitting through a side door, back into the kitchen.
"I like him. Don't you?"
"I could do without the womanizing, but… he seems like an alright guy. Just a bit confused."
"Well, you're my second mate, so you have to like him!"
"I'm your what, now?"
"Second mate! Zoro is my first mate and you're a fighter too, that means you're my second mate."
Before she could muster a retort another voice rang out. "Hey, Witch!"
Oh god, who now?
"Yeah?" She asked, glancing over to see Zeff hobbling around the corner of the restaurant. "Chef."
"Just Zeff is fine," he tutted, waving her off. "Mighty fine work you did with the ceiling there. Never seen anything like it before, and I've seen a lot of things in my life."
"Is it that strange?"
"For the East Blue? Absolutely. For the Grand Line? Not so much."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Eh, so long as you follow this brat I think you'll be in good hands."
"Yeah? What makes you think I'm going with him?"
Zeff gave her a knowing look, his smile wry. "You're on his crew already, you just haven't clued into it yet."
"Whatever. Gin seemed to think you had a job for me. If that's true, I think I might stick around here for a while."
"Well, I could certainly use someone who can fix up this old heap o' scrap when my cooks end up kicking some poor marine through a table. Not to mention, you still haven't worked your magic on the hole in my bedroom wall," he added, pointing at the top level where, from this angle, Quinn could see a gaping, splintered hole that looked distinctly Luffy shaped.
She looked at Luffy, back at the hole, then back to Luffy again. He at least had the decency to look slightly ashamed. "It wasn't my fault," he groused. "That pink-haired bastard shot a cannon at our ship."
"Fullbody?"
"I think that was his name?"
"Yeah, that was the asshole who starved me. I'm not even a pirate and he just took a potshot at the raft I was on. No warning, no nothing."
Clicking his tongue, Zeff swore under his breath. "Sounds like the marines to me. Sanji took care of him, and last I checked Fullbody was still unconscious. He's all yours if you want him."
"Fuck that, I'm not getting on the wrong side of the marines. Fingers crossed that guy just forgets I exist, and it's not as if he'll want to report to his superiors that he let two prisoners go missing after he'd already beaten and starved them."
"Whatever you say," Zeff drawled. "But don't be surprised when he does tell his superiors about you, because the marines would be very interested in someone who managed to escape custody, especially after being beaten and starved."
"What?" What kind of insane world is this?
"You come from a remote island or something? You're pretty green around the gills."
"Something like that."
"Well, whatever good you've heard about the marines… forget most of it. Not all of it, mind you, but most of it. Anyways, you'll have a roof over your head and hot food so long as you stay here. Marines don't much care for floating restaurants, and we've got our fair share of runaways working the kitchen and front of house."
"Thanks. And I'll head up to take care of the rest of the damage. Show me the way?"
"Gladly."
Just as Quinn went to follow Zeff, Luffy gently took hold of her arm. "Hey."
"Yeah?"
"We're going to wait for you, okay?"
"Luffy…"
"Nope! I refuse your refusal before you can refuse!"
She couldn't help but laugh, shaking her head at the kid turned captain. "Whatever you say, but don't get your hopes up, alright? I know you and Zeff are up to something, but it's not going to fly by without me noticing."
"Fly? Why would you fly? Wait, can you fly?"
"I can float."
"Awesome."
Laughing again, Quinn patted Luffy on the cheek. "Don't go wasting your time waiting for me, alright? Otherwise you'll be waiting a long, long time."
With that said, she followed Zeff, once more wondering if the people she'd run into so far were the norm for this place, or if they were just as mad as she thought they were.
Chapter 4: Chapter Four | Panic at the BaratieChapter TextIt had been about a week spent at the Baratie and Quinn had already broken up three fights, kicked out a handful of pirates, and been forced to clean up the aftermath of a half-dozen 'disagreements' with liberal application of repairing charms. Whatever was in the water in this world made people more than ready to throw a punch at the slightest provocation.
Luffy and the rest of his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates they called themselves, had spent the entire time either hanging about their ship, the Going Merry, which Quinn had to admit was damned cute with the smiling goat it had for a figurehead. The lot of them spent all their time there, or lounging about the restaurant and putting down enough liquor to knock out an elephant. It was mostly Zoro and Nami who did the drinking, the both of them younger than her but good god, they could drink. Luffy? He ate enough to feed a dozen men and then some, and don't get her started on how fucking tall some people got here.
On her second day working front of house Quinn had seen a man who was easily ten feet tall march into the restaurant and order her body weight in fish steak. Sea King meat, they'd called it, and she didn't have to use much of her imagination to picture some kraken, leviathan, or other hideously large monster roaming the ocean depths. The size of the steak – singular, she might add – was enough for her to get a good idea of how big the things could get.
And to answer her question from a few weeks ago: yes, she could taste this world's magic in its fauna, in the vegetables and fruit that bloomed from its soil. It was a faint prickle, just at the back of her throat, that could be found in every bite of every dish, and Quinn had sampled many a plate over the last week. To her surprise, most of the plant and animal life here was the same as back home, if not bigger or far more varied.
There were tomatoes the size of cannonballs that were just as sweet as any cherry tomato she could pick up at the grocers. Peaches that held another fruit instead of a pit, full of seeds and with flesh like that of a kiwi.
With every meal she was surprised, and the skill with which the food was prepared continued to astound her. While Sanji had the annoying habit of unleashing a deluge of what he saw as flattery every time they spoke, he had an incredible palate and the skill to match it. Not to mention his ability to improvise any dish, creating something not just delicious, but nutritious with only a scant number of ingredients. And at sea, the latter was far more valuable than knowing how to perfectly julienne an onion. If you could do both? Well, you were certainly in high demand.
Luffy's demand, specifically.
Every day he'd asked Sanji to join his crew, a request which Sanji always refused. Every day, Luffy asked Quinn to join his crew, to which she smiled and told him to 'Find another witch. Plenty of magicians in the world.'
Luffy, as always, refused their refusals.
As for the rest of his crew, Usopp had spent plenty of time asking her about her abilities, his childlike fascination with magic pushing past what had to be a decades worth of shyness. Zoro, unfortunately, had heard her mention Hawkeye a single time when discussing the destruction of the Krieg Armada, and had from then on demanded every bit of information out of her regarding the Warlord.
Greatest swordsman in the world, it turned out. Quinn knew fuck all about swordplay beyond the hand to hand training aurors underwent, but she was pretty sure it involved clashing steel instead of great, fuck off sized wind slashes that contained more magic in them than half the ley lines in Britain.
Nami… Quinn didn't know what that woman's deal was, but she was more than a little shifty. She'd constantly flit her gaze between doors and windows, counting exits no matter how familiar she'd become with the Baratie. But it was the sight of coin that truly piqued Nami's interest. Berry, the name of this strange world's currency was – and any time it was mentioned, any time a bill was flashed, coins jingled, or a bit of gold was bartered for one of the Baratie's delicious meals, Nami's eyes lit up with an almost primal hunger. She didn't just want money, she needed it, and if Quinn could hazard a guess it wasn't because the woman was a kleptomaniac.
Not that she didn't steal anything that wasn't nailed down. Quinn had spotted Nami lifting wallets, pocket watches, compasses, and all sorts of other valuables. But, she never looked at her ill-gotten gains with anything but resignation. She was hungry for money in the same way a starved man was for food.
Quinn wasn't an auror for nothing, and debt was her assumed motive. She'd bet good money (and wouldn't that get Nami in a twist) that a massive debt hung over the woman's head. And hey, she'd seen the like plenty of times, often in the seedier characters that spent their days begging up and down Knockturn Alley, only to gamble it away at the end of the night. They were hoping, praying for something big so they could finally come out from beneath a guillotine that had loomed over their head for a decade and more.
What Quinn could tell, though, was as eclectic as the Straw Hats were, they were good people. Strange, that they would be called pirates, let alone call themselves that. Although Nami, of course, relentlessly denied the idea. She was a thief, not a pirate, a distinction that Quinn didn't put much value in seeing as the definition of pirate was already stretched well beyond the point of breaking.
She'd asked Luffy what he thought being a pirate meant, to which he'd replied it meant being free. Being free to eat good food, drink good booze, party and adventure and explore the world to your heart's content. The instant he'd finished explaining that, Quinn realized she'd begun to look at him as a friend, and a close one at that. In the span of a single week that lanky, cheshire grinned gremlin had weaseled his way under a shell she hadn't realized existed.
The bastard.
Even now he was smiling at her as she brought him a glass of juice, slamming his cutlery against the table while he cheered loudly for Sanji's cooking. And Sanji, the hardass that he was when he wasn't flitting about trying to woo every woman who came into the restaurant, had admitted his fondness for Luffy.
The week had been… relaxing, surprisingly enough. The company of the Straw Hats was a balm for her weary mind no matter how annoying Zoro's inquisition. Quinn very purposefully avoided eye contact with him, hoping it would stop Zoro from tossing a thousand and one questions her way about Mihawk, to which she always replied 'I don't know shit about him, find a book or something.'
Okay, things weren't entirely relaxing, especially the two tag-alongs currently using the Going Merry as a hotel, a duo of bounty hunters called Johnny and Yosaku. They had all the energy of Luffy but none of the charisma, and they were constantly flitting between being terrified of her magic and in awe of it.
They reminded her of Crabbe and Goyle, if those two happened to be a bumbling pair of bounty hunters that would make Darwin cry.
There was also the issue of Zeff and Sanji constantly butting heads. It was like the man was determined to bully Sanji out of the restaurant. Every waking moment of the day he was berating his sous chef (and wasn't that a surprise) over the quality of his cooking which, Quinn would know better than anyone, was nothing short of sublime. She was honestly ready to smack some sense into the both of them, as this was apparently how they talked feelings. At least, that was her assumption.
"Quinn!"
"Yeah Luffy?" she asked, smiling at him.
"Are you ready to join my crew?"
"In your dreams."
He laughed. "That's not my dream. I'm gonna' be the-"
"-King of the Pirates. I know, I know. You think that if you say it enough times it'll come true?"
"No. Uh- does it work that way?" Luffy asked, frowning. He then began to whisper frantically, repeating his motto over and over until Nami cuffed him across the back of the head.
Quinn grabbed her wrist, teeth bared. "The fuck was that?"
"What?"
"The hell did you just hit him for?"
Nami gaped at her, cheeks as red as her hair. "I wasn't- I just- he was muttering-?"
"No one ever teach you to use your words? I catch you hitting him again, it's going to be your arse, you understand?" She threw Nami's hand away before directing her attention to Luffy, who was looking at Quinn with abject confusion. "Don't let anyone smack you around like that, yeah? And Nami? Use your fuckin' words."
"I'm sorry?"
"You better be. I might not be joining your crew, but I like Luffy, and I won't-"
"Pirates! The Don Krieg Pirates are here!"
Quinn dashed to the window, looking out to see the same dreadnought she'd fallen onto, its sails hanging on by tatters and the hull carved from top to bottom with deep gouges. It towered over the Baratie, at least two hundred feet tall at the mainmast, yet even that stood crooked, the tip of it along with the crows nest barely hanging on. That was the cut she'd dodged, and Quinn gaped at the carnage Mihawk had wrought.
"That couldn't have been done by a single man," Sanji croaked from beside her.
"Trust me, it was."
He cursed under his breath, lighting a cigarette and dashing off to who knows where, just as Gin waltzed into the restaurant with a massive, purple haired man propped against his shoulder.
"Help! Please, someone help!" he begged, wrestling with his grip on the man. "I need food! Food and water! Please!"
"Gin," Quinn blurted, rushing over to the man. "Pretty sure Sanji just ran into the kitchen, should be food out in a few."
"Please. Quinn, please," he begged, looking at her like she was a stranger, his eyes glazed over. "He just needs food and water. You gotta' help him."
"Help is on the way, Gin. Is this him? Your captain?"
"Oi! Witch!" someone shouted behind her, and Quinn glanced over her shoulder to see Patty, the cook who'd almost laid out Gin the other week. "Let him starve! Do you have any idea who that man is?"
"Don Krieg?"
"Foul Play Krieg," Patty hissed, his arms crossed and his face painted with a hideous scowl. "Trust me, that man's better off dead. We should call the marines on the murdering bastard."
"Quinn, you gotta' help me, please. I can't let the Don die. Or worse."
The purple haired giant hanging onto Gin only groaned weakly, pushing his subordinate away and falling to his knees. He planted his hands on the floor, quickly followed by his forehead grinding against the hardwood as he bowed as deep as one can.
"Please!"
"Don!" Gin roared. "Don't beg! You don't gotta' beg!"
Krieg ignored him, continuing to speak. His voice was thin and frail, and it curled out of his throat like tumbling gravel. "Please, I beg of you, food. I have plenty of money, all I ask of you is a meal."
"Like hell we're gonna' feed you!" Patty roared. "Am I right, boys?"
"Aye!" shouted the rest of the cooks, all of whom had filed out of the kitchen to watch the dread pirate beg.
"Don, please, you don't gotta' beg. Get up, Don. C'mon."
"Feed me, and I will leave. I promise you this – on my word as Don Krieg, Captain of the Pirate Armada."
"Get the hell out of our restaurant, 'fore I make ya!"
"Hey, Patty. Shut up."
"Eh?"
The air was emptied from Patty's lungs with a single well placed kick, Sanji striding past him with a massive bowl of fried rice, fit for a man of Krieg's stature. "Here you go, Gin," he said, kneeling before Krieg and placing the bowl just in front of him, the man immediately shoveling the rice into his mouth, his gloves growing slick with grease.
"Thank you, thank you," he choked out between bites, whilst Gin just cried, echoing the same.
Quinn, hesitant, brushed against Krieg's mind and immediately stepped away from the man, pulling Sanji with her. "Wha-?"
"He was about to clothesline you as soon as he finished that meal," she hissed into his ear. "Keep a close eye on him, I'm going to get Zeff."
"He's already here. Look." Sanji pointed at the spiral staircase jutting out of the centre of the restaurant, Zeff leaning against the handrail with a blank expression.
"Good. I think this is going to get messy," she said, while another of the cooks shouted behind her to 'Take the food away from him! Don't you know who that man is?'
"Quinn? Sanji?"
She only tapped the side of her head, glaring at Gin. "Your captain isn't much for promises."
"What? Don, you said-"
"I said nothing," the man growled.
"You promised to leave this restaurant in peace! You told me that when I led you here!"
Krieg just ignored him, patting his belly with a sigh. "Nice restaurant you've got. I think I'll take it. After you feed what's left of my crew, of course."
"Fool," Quinn hissed, glaring at Gin, who just looked shocked that his captain, Foul Play Krieg hadn't kept to his promises. "You're a damned fool."
"I need food for a hundred men! Now you can give it to me freely, or I can start taking heads until you decide it's best to give me what's mine. And make it snappy! I'm sure a few of my crew have died by now, and I'm not interested in trying to find any more new recruits than I have to!"
"You want us to feed your damned crew knowing they'll attack us?"
"That was an order!" Krieg growled, pointing at the cook who'd spoken out. "Obey it, or I'll keelhaul you once I'm done painting the walls of this place with your friends' blood."
Sanji patted Quinn on the shoulder, and she grabbed him by the arm as moved for the kitchen. "Don't you dare."
"You'd consign a hundred men to death?"
"If it means the life of you and everyone else in this restaurant, yes."
"Quinn? Let go of me."
She paused a moment before sighing, releasing his arm. "This better not bite us in the ass."
"Us? Zeff really grows on you like a mold, doesn't he?"
Laughing, Quinn pushed him away. "Just get to the goddamn kitchen."
"I have to get past these guys first," he replied, lighting a cigarette and nodding towards the line of cooks that had formed, blocking the way to the kitchen. Quinn wanted to snarl when she saw each and every one of them holding up a pistol, sights aimed at Sanji, brandishing in their other hand spears and polearms made to look like oversized cutlery.
"We can't let you feed those pirates, Sanji."
"Yeah! You're a mad-dog, and we're sick of it! Feeding the worst of the worst on the boss's dime, no wonder he wants you out of here!"
Sanji just walked towards them, his arms spread wide. "Shoot me, then."
Idiot.
"Yeah, yeah. I get it. They're scum, they're pirates. I couldn't give less of a shit. All that I care about is whether or not someone needs food, and those men out there? They're starving. How could I deny them?"
Patty took that moment to smack Sanji over the head, knocking him to the ground. That snarl she'd been holding back finally leapt from Quinn's lips, and she went to grab Sanji when she felt arms wrap around her shoulders. She looked down to see pale flesh that coiled like a constrictor from shoulder to wrist and knew that Luffy had restrained her.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Don't get in his way," he chided, serious for the first time since Quinn had met him. "I won't let my crew get in the way of each other's dreams."
All Quinn could do was watch as Patty berated Sanji, and she couldn't help but agree with almost every word Patty said. That was, until he grabbed a cannon out from under the staircase and shot it at Krieg, the explosion rattling the windows and blinding her with a great puff of smoke.
"Thank god," Quinn muttered, thankful that someone had taken charge and killed the-
He's still alive. How?
Out from the smoke came Don Krieg, the coat he had been wearing before thrown away to reveal a heavy set of golden armour, his jolly roger emblazoned on each shoulder.
"Shit. Shit."
"Was that your idea of a dessert?" the man roared.
Behind her, Luffy whispered, "Woah? He's made of gold?"
The cooks roared, some taking shots at Krieg with their pistols, while the others charged him, oversized forks and knives hoisted overhead. Krieg just grinned, and a warning was on Quinn's lips well after he'd opened fire, a pistol in each hand and an entire arsenal of hidden guns popping out of his armour. She tried desperately to pull herself out of Luffy's grip, to point her wand at Krieg and put him down before he could cause any more carnage, but Luffy's hold on her was ironclad, his arms spiraling all the way up to her wrists so that they held her own up in some strange mockery of a crucifixion.
Thus, she was forced to watch as the cooks fell in from a single barrage of gunfire, moaning in pain as they scrambled backwards. Her gaze flitted left and right, a small noise of relief leaving her when she realized none of them were dead, only injured, which was a miracle in and of itself.
"Do you worms actually consider yourselves a threat to me, the great Don Krieg?" Cackling, Krieg threw his head back and bellowed his laughter. "I am steel, I am diamond! Every part of me is a weapon! Not once have I lost a battle, so when I say you bring me some food, you damn well bring me some-!?"
Quinn hadn't noticed him. No one had noticed him, but somehow Zeff had hobbled his way towards Krieg with a burlap sack as big as he was. "Shut up and take the damn food."
"Zeff?" "Sir?" "Chef, how could you betray us!" A dozen voices rang out, every one of them aghast, and Zeff didn't even turn around to reply.
"Betray you? You think these men are in fighting shape? I've heard plenty from our newest hire that he and his entire crew were conquered by the Grand Line. Isn't that right, Krieg?"
"What did you say your name was? Zeff?"
"That'd be me."
"Red Leg Zeff… you're an old legend. I thought you'd sunk to the bottom of the Grand Line."
"Not anymore," Zeff refuted, tapping his peg-leg once against the floor. "I'm just another cook."
Grinning, Krieg picked up the sack and went to turn towards the door, looking over his shoulder the entire way. "After I feed my men I'll be back for your logbook, so I hope you're ready to die, old man. And, once I've got it, it won't be me who's been conquered, it'll be the Grand Line! The whole world over will know my name as it's meant to be! The Pirate King, Don Krieg!"
"Hey! I'm gonna' be the Pirate King!"
"Goddammit, Luffy."
"Who said that? Was it you? The little shit who ate a Devil Fruit? Gin told me about you. Said there was a boy made of rubber hanging around."
"Yeah! That was me!" Luffy planted his chin on her shoulder, and Quinn could feel his grin even if she couldn't see it.
"You think this is a game?"
"Nope."
"Hey, Luffy," Zoro spoke up, for the first time since the commotion began. "We fighting?"
"Nah, you can stay where you are."
Krieg clapped his hands together, scowling at them. "I'll let you off with one warning, kid. Leave, now, and I won't bury you." With those words spoken, Krieg left.
The Baratie fell silent, only the drift of a gentle sea wind to be heard and the sound of waves lapping at the side of the restaurant. Luffy finally untangled his arms from hers, and Quinn shook the blood back into them, hissing at the pins and needles that ran from fingertip to shoulder.
"This place is crazy. This entire fucking world is crazy."
"Sir! You're siding with Sanji? Are you insane? Did he poison you or something?" Patty growled, grabbing Zeff by the shoulders. "What the hell is going on?"
"Shut up!"
Strong arms pushed Patty away, and Zeff straightened out his hat. "Do you have any idea what it feels like to starve to death? Any of you?" he roared, red in the face. "Have you ever been lost at sea without a drop of water to wet your throat? Without a single crumb in your belly? If not, then shut up! You can either stay and fight, or you can consider yourself out of a job!"
"Are you all insane? Don't you know who the Don is?" Gin wept, kneeling on the floor. "You need to leave! All of you need to flee, or he's gonna' kill you!"
"Gin."
He turned to Sanji who was sitting atop a table, a cigarette in hand. "I'll say this once. As a chef, it's my duty to feed anyone who's starving. Anyone. But if they attack me and mine after their bellies are full? I'll kill them, plain and simple. Even if it's you, you understand?"
All Gin was gape, before nodding and scampering away, the sight of him almost piteous if Quinn hadn't been so damn angry at the man. He brought his captain here, expecting him to just grab a meal and fuck off? He believed him, a man who, from what she'd learned in the last ten minutes, was renowned the ocean over for being first and foremost a liar?
"Good riddance," she spat. Now that she thought about it, Quinn wasn't just angry, she was downright furious. It'd been a moment since she took down a real, honest bastard, and she was more than happy to stay and throw some curses Don Krieg's way.
Cursing under her breath, she went and sat down at the Straw Hat table, arms crossed. Zoro gave her a glance, smirking, and then turned to Luffy. "Looks like we're fighting, eh captain?"
"Looks like!"
"Guys, shouldn't we get out of here, you know, so we don't die?" Usopp asked, looking as if he was on the verge of tears. "I think a mysterious illness I didn't know I had is acting up. I feel awful."
"Stop whining."
"Yes captain."
"You guys have a death-wish or something? Buncha' idiots," Sanji interrupted, looming over their table.
"I vowed to become the world's greatest swordsman," Zoro said, monotone as always. "The moment I did that I condemned myself to one of two things. Victory, or death."
Running her fingers through her hair, Quinn swore. "Is everyone here fucking insane?"
Every single one of them, everyone at the table turned to her and asked, in unison, "What?"
Quinn just groaned.
And as she was questioning her sanity, their sanity, and for the hundredth time whether or not this world was just a fever dream in her dying mind, a great wave shook the Baratie at the same moment the deafening crack of wood made her teeth rattle. "Mihawk," she uttered, Zoro's eyes lighting up at the name.
"The Merry! The Merry's out there!" Luffy screamed. "Nami's on board!"
He held his hat down with one hand and booked it for the door. His crew just groaned, standing up and chasing after him, Sanji shrugging at Quinn and following them outside. Quinn sighed, joining the pack of idiots and cursing all the while, Zeff shouting to the rest of the cooks to raise anchor, lest the Baratie sink.
She saw exactly what she expected to see once she'd gotten outside, the dreadnought cut into pieces and drifting along the calm sea. She didn't expect to see Johnny and Yosaku running their way when she stepped into the sunlight, the both of them sopping wet and waving their arms above their heads. "Guys, guys!" they shouted, skidding to a halt in front of Luffy. "Nami stole the ship!"
"She what!?" they all shouted, looking around the corner to see absolutely nothing but ocean where the Merry once sat.
"She took the treasure and sailed away!"
Damnit. Everything is going wrong, and it's going wrong fast, Quinn thought, looking away from the empty berth and locking eyes with a man who she recognized immediately, though she'd never seen him before.
Mihawk.
Finally, after weeks of wondering who the man was and what he looked like, she got to see him with her own two eyes. He was tall, thin, and sinister wrapped up in black, red, and white. A tricorne sat atop his head and a sword, dark as night and longer than he was tall, was strapped to his back. Even fifty feet away, she felt his gaze piercing into her, and in that moment Quinn knew, intimately, what it was to be prey beneath the eyes of a predator, and the tiny sailboat shaped like a coffin did nothing to dissuade her of the aura of sheer, unadulterated power that clung to the man like a sickness.
"So it's you," he said, his voice carrying across the water. It was smooth and cultured, reminding her far too much of the purebloods back home. "The strange woman I saw falling out of the sky."
"You tried to kill me."
"Merely a test. You piqued my interest."
Her lips curled into a sneer. "A test," she repeated dryly. "That damn near cut a ship in half."
"Like I said. You piqued my interest." His gaze flitted across them, pausing as they swept past Luffy. "Well isn't that a familiar sight?"
"Eh?"
"That hat, boy. Where did you get it?"
"Shanks gave it to me!"
"You must be anchor, then."
Luffy stuck his tongue out at Mihawk. "I hate that name."
"It's apt, for a devil fruit user such as yourself."
Off to the side, one of the Krieg Pirates shouted at Mihawk. "You bastard! What did we do to you, huh? You killed almost all of us and then you follow us all the way back here? For what? Why!?"
"I was bored," Mihawk drawled, not even looking at the man.
"You son of a bitch!" The man whipped out two pistols and fired them, Quinn's breath catching in her throat when, in a flash, Mihawk had drawn his sword with a single hand and held it out, the strength needed to do such a thing mind boggling
"He missed?" the pirate's crewmates asked, only for Zoro to laugh, catching their attention.
"He deflected it, just with the tips of his blade." The way he spoke was hungry, and Quinn knew without a doubt that Zoro was going to try to fight this monster in red. "The Strongest Swordsman in the World."
"And you are?"
"Roronoa Zoro, and I set sail to find you."
"Whatever for?"
"To fight you. To beat you. So, how about we duel?"
Fuck it, Quinn said to herself, catching Luffy's gaze out of the corner of her eye. I'm not even going to try and stop the idiot.
Instead she watched as Mihawk clicked his tongue, wandering onto a massive, floating chunk of what remained of the dreadnought, on which Zoro quickly joined him. "You're weak," Mihawk said, his words dripping with boredom. "I can tell that much just by looking at you. There's no need to cross blades, unless it's death you wish for? Tell me, boy, from where stems your conviction? Is it ignorance, or something more?"
"Ambition," Zoro stated, open and honest. "And a promise I made a long time ago."
"So be it." Mihawk took off a necklace, a cross about a hands-width long and half that wide. He took off the top of the cross to reveal a small knife, with which he pointed at Zoro as one would a fly.
"You're going to fight me with that?"
"Would you hunt a rabbit with a cannon? Alas, I do not own a blade smaller than this. So please, forgive me for taking you more seriously than you deserve."
Scoffing, Zoro unsheathed two of his swords and – so that's where that goes – put one in his mouth, teeth clenched around the handle. Finally, he unsheathed his last sword, brandishing all three in what Quinn would admit was a relatively menacing way, if not for his opponent. "Just don't complain when I kill you," he taunted, launching himself at Mihawk.
He rushed the man, only to be stopped short, all three swords blocked at the single point they overlapped, held back by the tip of the knife alone. Zoro screamed, swinging frantically at Mihawk, who simply parried the occasional blow and sidestepped the rest, not a drop of sweat clinging to his brow nor any change in his breathing all the while.
"Come on, Zoro. You've got this!" Johnny shouted, beating his hands against the rail of the Baratie.
"Yeah, you've got this!" Yosaku hollered, almost falling into the water he was leaning so far forward.
Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji stood silently, watching as Zoro was made a fool of for the world to see. Luffy, the madman, looked both proud and terrified. Usopp, only the latter. The expression Sanji wore was that of respect, though he did his best to hide it, and Quinn wondered what exactly there was to be prideful about in running to your death.
She'd done it before and, trust her, there was nothing proud about it.
Yosaku and Johnny drew their swords, ready to leap into the water and swim over to the fight when Luffy grabbed them and yanked them back, pushing them against the floor. "Stay right there," he hissed, worry seeping into his words. "Don't interfere!"
Zoro took that moment to jump forward, two of his swords brought down in a harsh swing that missed entirely, and Quinn gasped when Mihawk lunged one step towards him and plunged his knife into Zoro's chest.
"Zoro!"
All Zoro did was stand still, swords hanging by his sides and his eyes wide. "Do you truly wish to die?" Mihawk asked, canting his head. "Why don't you step away?"
"I… don't know. I- I think if I took one step back, I'd lose sight of myself. I'd never be the same."
"Yes. That is defeat."
"Then I guess that's why I can't step back."
Mihawk paused, and Quinn could see his sudden curiosity in the tensing of his shoulders and the tilt of his brow. "Even if you die?"
Zoro scoffed. "Yeah. I'd rather die."
They stood in silence until, finally, blessedly, Mihawk stepped away, removing his knife from Zoro's chest. "What was your name, again?"
"Roronoa Zoro."
"I shall remember your name, Roronoa Zoro. Conviction like yours is not oft witnessed." Quinn wanted to throw up when he drew his sword off his back, its brass crossguard shining with encrusted jewels and silver filigree. "I shall end our duel with my blade, this world's strongest sword. Yoru."
"Thank you."
Zoro's swords began to spin, and he twirled them rapidly, forming what to Quinn would be an impassable wall of steel if not for her magic. Mihawk looked completely unbothered.
The two leapt. Clashed. Fell on bended knee, and as Zoro's swords shattered and blood sprayed from his chest she prayed it was over. His one remaining sword, unbroken, was sheathed, and Zoro turned around to face Mihawk with his arms spread wide.
"What?" the Warlord asked, genuine surprise in his voice.
"A wound on one's back is the shame of a swordsman," Zoro replied, wearing a bloodstained grin.
"Excellent."
Mihawk cut him down, Zoro's chest rent open and his blood pouring across the salt-stained deck. It was then that Luffy stretched his arms and launched himself towards Zoro, checking him over and shouting at him to live. Quinn just watched, wondering if Luffy would be the next to fall. She didn't realize she'd drawn her wand and pointed it at a man who could kill her as easily as he could bat an eye. She didn't see, out of the corner of her eye, Don Krieg raising himself up and barking orders at his men. Nor did she see Gin stand to attention, raising the pistol he'd nicked off that marine and aiming its sights at her.
Quinn did notice when her wand exploded, broken in two by a well placed gunshot. The way the shock of it vibrated up her arm and a few of the splinters buried themselves in her hand.
Numb, she turned her head to watch as Gin cocked the pistol again, shifting his arm so that the barrel of it pointed right between her eyes. In that moment, Quinn felt nothing but rage, and when she snatched a pistol off Johnny's belt and pointed it at Gin in turn, hammer cocked, she barely noticed how the bullet she fired was strung through with magic that crackled, sparking as it hurtled through the air.
The bullet struck the man next to Gin and turned him into a fine red mist. Even as he gaped, turning to see the top half of his crewmate scatter to the wind, Quinn could only focus on the man who had destroyed the one, magical thing in her life that she could still hold and cherish.
She was going to kill him.