The Apparition

Atlantis swore she could feel the exact moment her heart dropped out from under her. It hadn’t been long since the incident where Luffy gained his Devil Fruit powers, and he had taken to them quite well. He had taken to using them constantly, and Shanks had been relieved to see there wasn’t any lasting damage to the kids.

While Atlantis had been cautious knowing that Higuma was now an element she had to worry about, it had appeared for the time being things would be peaceful. That is until she heard Higuma’s smug voice as he threw open the doors of the bar aggressively. 

Almost immediately she froze in shock from where she was located in the back of the bar, taking inventory of the items Makino would need to replace. If Higuma was here now, then Luffy surely wouldn’t hold his tongue.

Glancing out into the open bar she found it littered with the bandits, there were so many of them. The only thing that relieved her chest was knowing that they would be okay, but knowing that Shanks was going to lose his arm and that Luffy was going to be faced with danger still caused a slip of fear to escape the tight grip she had on her emotions.  

“What did you say, kid?” Higuma asked as he narrowed his eyes on the defiant Luffy who Makino was staring at shocked. Before she could reach out for him Higuma himself grabbed ahold of Luffy to shake him in the air while Luffy waved his fist at the man.

Atlantis could feel her legs quaking as she stared at the scene before she pushed herself away from the doorway. She couldn't just sit and watch this. She certainly wouldn’t be able to intervene, that left only one option. Ensuring Shanks arrival. With shaking limbs she quietly opened the back door and made her way into the alleyway behind Party Bar. 

A ruckus could already be heard but she ignored it as she began jogging around the buildings. Never before had the distance between the bar and the docks seemed so far except for in this moment. Breathing sharply as her foot caught on something she tripped, falling to her knees to grip her ankle.

Looking down in shock she found that she had forgotten her shoes entirely, causing mud to have begun gathering up the hem of her new skirt, small scratched from pebbles and sticks also caused blood to begin building. Although the cuts weren’t bad her left ankle still hurt from the pain, it may be twisted from the fall.

With frustrated tears building up in her eyes she stood back up on her feet causing her left leg to buckle from the pain and her to cry out as the pain intensified. Grunting her teeth she moved faster towards the docks, ignoring the pain as she finally saw the Red-Haired Pirates docking at the docks with tense chuckles as they looked around the vacant pier.

“Shanks!” She cried out as she finally was in yelling distances causing the Red-Haired pirates to stop at her panicked tone. Shanks quickly jumped the side of the boat as he caught sight of her and rushed to her form as she fell forward into his welcoming embrace.

“Princess?” Shanks called out as she desperately tried to hold off her tears as she gripped the collar of his cloak.

“Luffy. Bandits.” Atlantis gasped out as she tried to let go of his cloak only to find she had lost control of the ability to release her hand’s grips, she was too afraid to let go, but she had to so Shanks could get to Luffy.

“Princess,” Shanks muttered into her hairline as he stood pulling her now shaking for into his arms tightly as he made his way towards the town with a fierce expression. “You’re alright. I’m here now.”

“Captain.” The sound of a member of Shanks crew caused him to glance back before nodding angrily as they all dispersed aside from a few who began to immediately speed walk towards the crowd in the town. 

The sound of the mayor begging had Atlantis gasping as Shanks gently sat her down behind Makino with a small wink.

“I was wondering why the bar was empty on such a fine day.” Shanks commented with a laugh as he made his way past Makino and the Mayor to address Higuma, “So it’s the mountain bandits again.”

“Luffy...” Shanks called out joyfully as he ignored the bandit’s words causing Atlantis to peek around towards the scene to find Luffy staring at Shanks angrily as he responded.

Only then did she jolt as a gun was trained onto Shanks causing her to shake more forcibly as the Bandits laughed at Shanks predicament. The sound of a bullet going off pushed Atlantis back in shock as she fell into someone’s legs, only calming as she turned her face up to stare into the concerned eyes of Benn Beckman.

“It’ll be alright Angel.” He smiled at her before leaning down to drop a kiss onto her forehead, then straightening up to address the bandits. “Who’d you think you were dealing with? We never claimed to be saints. Or anything.”

Atlantis could only look on in awe as Shanks’ anger grew as he preached towards the bandits before Benn moved forward and intercepted the approaching bandits. It was as the smoke-filled the area and Atlantis desperately coughed to try and clear the area that the panic in her chest rose once more.

“Luffy,” Atlantis coughed as she stood on her shaking feet to move forward only stopping as she bumped into Shanks coat. Gripping tightly she looked up into his eyes, ones that were filled with panic that he tried desperately to mask now that she had approached him. “Luffy.”

“We’ll find him.” Shanks dropped in front of her, gripping her by the shoulders as he pulled her closer to him. “I will find him. I’ll make sure he’s not harmed any more, okay? I promise.”

Atlantis nodded as Shanks stood casting his eyes around the area before attempting to move away only stopping by the tight grip on the hem of his cloak. Turning back towards her he stopped to stare at the sight she made.

The hem of her dress, a new one from what he could tell, was dirtied and torn. Her bare feet were covered in filth and her hands shook as she refused to release her grip on his cloak. Tears poured down her cheeks as she stared up at him in pain and panic. Pulling his cloak from his shoulders, he wrapped it gently around her smiling as she bunched it together to keep it surrounding her, all the while the tears continued to pour.

“What about you?”

“Huh?” Shanks asked with a surprised chuckle while she grabbed for his hand. 

“You have to be okay, too. Not just Luffy.” Atlantis desperately gasped out as she clung to his hand tightly surprising Shanks as he looked at her in confusion.

“I…” Shanks shook his head with a fond smile before gesturing to Benn, who moved in to grab onto Atlantis lifting her into his arms. “I’m a pirate, so I’ll be fine.”

Shanks walked away from them confidently towards the peer with a fast gait, moving swiftly past the onlookers. Atlantis could only look on fearfully wondering one thing, would Shanks come back unharmed or not. She wondered if she had done enough to persuade him to not lose his arm, or maybe it was just something she couldn’t stop, but he hadn’t promised her. He hadn’t promised he would come back unharmed.

She jolted in surprise as Benn shifted her while dragging his hand through the tangles in her hair and began muttering, “Let’s get you looked at Angel.” 

She nodded in response hiding her eyes from Shanks disappearing form to hide her face in Benn’s neck, allowing a few tears to escape as she continued to shake. She couldn’t let go yet. Not until he came back. Not until she knew for sure that they were both okay. 

Shanks hadn’t promised, but it was Shanks. He would live.