Chapter 74: I’m a survivor, I’m gonna make it

Rick came to himself disoriented. Everything was a bit blurry but went back into focus quickly.

“Oh? You’re finally awake? “ asked a voice.

It was a very deep voice which carried strength in every word. Turning his head towards the voice’s provenance Rick saw who was speaking to him. He wasn’t surprised when he saw the figure of Jimbei chained to the wall on his left.

“Operation “infiltrate the most secure prison in the world”: Success. I could have been smarter and kept my mouth shut though. Man, Magellan hits like a truck. Note for later: not badmouthing and taunting the fucker while being relax.”

“Hey! You’re with me?!”

“Oh right, Jimbei’s speaking to me.”

“Yeah, yeah, I am. A bit disoriented but I’m with you.”

“Good.”

Looking around, Rick searched for Ace.

“Where is Ace?”

“Gone.”

“What do you mean gone? He was supposed to be here.”

“He was. Wasn’t happy to see you here, more sad than anything really.”

“Figures.”

“They took him out when they left you here, apparently his brother is here to get him out.”

“Brothers.”

“What?”

“Brothers. With an s, as in plural.”

“I knew about the one with the straw hat, but I didn’t know about more.”

“Well, Ace and I’s brotherly bond is rather recent.” said Rick with a pained chuckle?

“You?”

“Yes, me.”

“I’m surprised, he didn’t really speak about you.”

“Considering the time we spend together is less than half a day, that’s normal.”

“And you think of him as a brother with so little time?”

“It’s more complicated than that.”

“Well if you don’t mind telling the story I’m all ears. It’s not like we have anything better to do down here.”

“That’s true.. The short version is: I got thrown out of a food shop because I looked Like a beggar.”

“A beggar?”

“ I have been on the run for the last decade, having clean clothes, a good haircut and a well groomed beard wasn’t on my list of priorities. Anyway I was thrown out and landed on Ace. He recognized me, I ran, he caught up to me, we talked, shared stories, shared a drink and went our own separate ways.”

“I don’t see how the two of you became brothers just from that.”

“I was getting to it! “

“Alright, alright.”

“So, I was raised by Monkey D. Garp.”

“The hero of the Navy?”

“Do you know of another Monkey D. Garp?”

“I can’t help but think you’re being sassy here.”

“That’s because I am! Anyway, Garp raised me, I quit the marines, ten years later I met Ace, then some time later I met my captain, straw hat Luffy whose real name is Monkey D. Luffy, Garp’s grandson.”

“Haa! I get it you’re like straw hat Luffy’s big brother and since Ace is his brother you consider him yours too! Still..”

“Ace saved my life by giving me a purpose. I.. was tired of being a fugitive. Everyone was after me. The marines, the pirates..”

“Well that's what happens when you put so many of the latter in here and betray the former.”

“I was framed by Akainu. Don’t ask, it’s a long story.”

“Well.. it was good of you to come rescue him but it seems your plan failed.”

“Yes, I thought I had more time to get him out of here.”

“Time? You got captured, that’s when your plan failed.”

“Getting caught was part of the plan. Luffy was supposed to distract everyone up there while Ace and I went up to join him.”

“Smart plan if it were not for Ace’s execution being moved up. That and the seastone holding you and preventing you from doing anything.”

Jimbei spoke with a deadpan face and a sarcastic tone which Rick ignored both before using his gravity to rip apart his chains. This time he didn’t forget to sprout layers of skin around his whole body. Removing the chains around himself, he then did the same to Jimbei’s who was sitting with his jaw comically almost touching the ground and his eyes popping out of his head.

“You’re coming or not?” said Rick as he treated the bars of the cell he was in like he did the chains.

“How..”

“Don’t ask and I won’t lie to you. And keep your mouth shut about it. Anyway I’m leaving, you're free to stay.”

Jimbei’s mind started working properly again and he rushed out of the cell after his cellmate. The other inmates yelled after them, either insults or pleas to get them out. Too bad for them, Rick wasn’t about to let them free.

“Like I would do that. They would only get in the way, as if the ones on the upper floors aren’t a problem already. Besides, I don’t need so much bad karma when I’m about to kick the bucket. And it’s not like they will live long, if everything is going accordingly, Blackbeard will soon be here and start a deathmatch to see who's worth recruiting.”

The duo didn’t meet any guards which wasn’t surprising as only the minotaurus worked on this level. They did meet him however and Rick knocked him out quickly. He separated him from his heavy two-handed mace and then introduced the two rather intimately face to “face” at high speed with his gravity. With the whole prison on lockdown thanks to Luffy’s antics, the elevator wasn’t working so they took the stairs instead. Soon enough, thanks to Rick making them float hence going faster than on foot, they arrived on the freezing hell that was level 5.

“I already know the answer but I have to ask. You don’t have a map of the place don’t you? Or just know our way out?”

“I wish. That much cold is bad for fish-men.”

Rick could hear his companion’s teeth chattering from the cold. And if he was to be honest with himself the temperature was getting to him too. After spending years at the sides of an ice man he thought it was used to the environment way below zero but it wasn’t enough apparently.

“This place is not only huge and a bit labyrinthic but also all white. Can’t see for shit. It wouldn’t be good for me to float us around blindly.”

“What’s the plan then?”

“First things first, find a way to get ourselves warm.”

“In this place? Good luck!”

That made Rick laugh a bit as he looked at Jimbei with a grin.

“What? What’s funny with what I said?”

“Survival is not about luck. It’s about skill with a good amount of determination. You see those trees over there? We can make a nice fire with them.”

“How? “

“Like this.”

Rick used his gravity to fall down a dead tree and from that point started breaking some branches to make a small pile. He tore apart a bit of his uniform and started to rub two sticks together for a few minutes. Soon enough smoke started to appear from the stick on the ground which Rick was rubbing the other on. Once he thought it was enough he put the piece of cloth on it and blew some air. The fire caught quickly and was put under the pile of wood. To make sure the fire took for good Rick tore down the rest of his shirt and put the bits here and there so the fire would spread further and faster. In no time they had a really nice campfire.

“That’s ..”

“Skill, Jimbei, skill, not luck. I take it you never found yourself alone in a forest with nothing but a knife?”

“Can’t say I had the pleasure. My people tend to stay in the water or under it.”

“You better learn it, who knows maybe one day fish people would be able to roam the land without being persecuted. Anyway, making a fire is one of my three basic rules for survival.”

“Three? What are the other two?”

“Find a source of drinkable water and with all the snow here I think we’re good on that part. The last one but certainly not the least, identify the fauna’s tracks.”

“Fauna’s tracks?”

“You see the snow behind you at 7 O’clock? Around 20 feet?”

Turning around a bit, Jimbei looked at the snow, he saw some print on it, not large but big enough to indicate it wasn’t made by a small animal.

“A beast went through here.”

“Yes, and judging by the size of the paw print, not a small one.? With the size of the paw you can guess the animal size, with how deep the print is, you can guess its weight. It gives you a rough idea of what’s out there. It doesn’t help you to know if the beast is friendly or not but in case the animal is half as big as you you better be careful.”

“Can you tell what kind of animal it was which left that trail?”

“Considering we’re at the border of a forest, I’d say a wolf which probably would not be good in normal circumstances.”

“Meaning?”

“Wolves are the social kind, they form a pack and are very territorial. If you spot one you can be sure there is a lot more around. And while generally not big you can be overwhelmed easily, that is for normal people. For a fish-man and a powerful devil fruit user? I’d say it’s a piece of cake.”

No sooner than that, howls began to be heard around. Rick counted a dozen, so it wasn’t a big pack, though it wouldn’t have mattered anyway, with the power of the Zushi Zushi no mi or even the Me Me no mi, numbers was never a problem for him, so it was without any surprise that less than a minute after the wolves attacked there was twelve dead wolves on the ground.

“Food and warm clothes are secure!”

“Clothes?”

“Well, those wolves don’t need their fur anymore so we’re going to skin them.”

“With what?”

“They do have a lot of long and very sharp fangs.” replied Rick with a grin.

They didn’t bother to be meticulous with their work, they needed something to keep them warm and fast. One because the fire wasn’t enough, two because they couldn’t waste time. Ace was on his way to Marine Ford after all. Once properly covered they were ready to resume their search for the stairs to Level 4.