Screw It, I'm Going Out to Find It!

Chapter XXX: Not a Watch

In Sun's humble opinion, Nora was the coolest of the marines. This had not been his first time being captured by any means. One might even claim him to be a professional at this sort of thing. That did not, however, make the experience any less boring. The metallic walls around them were too plain to even pass time staring at. There weren't any sort of marks, bumps, or cracks to trace — just one smooth surface.

When that had fallen through, he had turned away, only to spot Neptune smiling and waving — inside of Sun's cell. "How did you get in here?" Neptune inched back toward the bars, looked around, then completely phased through the bars, becoming water as he did. Sun could hardly believe it. "Bro, that's amazing!"

Neptune re-entered Sun's cell. "I know right?" That's pretty useful, isn't it?"

"Hmm, you're not supposed to be in another prisoner's cell." A chill ran down Sun's spine at the new voice. Both he and Neptune turned to see Nora Valkyrie staring at them. Her eyes wandered between the two, but she didn't speak up again.

"Um, it was getting boring," Neptune replied, sounding far more similar to a question than a statement. Nora's eyes bore into his own, unblinking with her unreadable expression.

She tilted forward to the point Neptune scooted back. Then she stood back up in one swift motion. "Okay. As long as you're not doing anything bad."

As she began to skip away, something compelled Neptune to ask, "Are there any cards on the ship?" Now, he and Sun were huddled together in Sun's cell by the corner, cards laid out before them. They had been much more careful, snapping to any noise they heard. That was until the other imprisoned crew showed themselves to be kind enough to look out. There had been a couple of close calls now, but nothing that gave them away just yet.

"How are we supposed to play this?" Sun grumbled, squinting at the card in his hands. Instructions had been hand-written on them. "I've never heard of co-op solitaire before."

"It beats nothing," Neptune pointed out. "Anyways, my devil fruit can help us a lot in this situation, but we need some sort of plan."

"Right," Sun nodded. "How the hell does a joker card send your opponent to the shadow realm? How does that make any sense?"

"Are you listening?" Neptune gripped, plucking the card from Sun's hand. "I could go around freeing us, but we would be in no better situation than when we started. We need to make sure we have a ship to get away in and a good enough opportunity to get to it."

Sun leaned back, moving his tail under his chin in a pensive pose. "How are you with stealth?"

"Haven't had much of an opportunity before."

"You could go around as a puddle?"

Neptune thought for a second, then shivered. "Ignoring the fact that I'd be stepped on, they might try and mop me up."

"What if —"

"Someone's headed down the stairs!" One of the Sea Dogs whispered to them. Deciding they could discuss it later, Neptune rushed back to his own cell.

***

Oh, how easy it was for a project to spiral out of control. Blueprints began small, but they culminated in size into something far greater than she had intended. Fortunately, Penny had no need for physical blueprints. She was capable of mapping out designs within her own head. More than once she had been caught 'daydreaming,' and she had to correct the soldiers that she was working on a plan. If they asked what that was, it was Ciel's watch.

Of course, she needed plenty of supplies for her friend's wristwatch. Bolts, plates, and screws to name the least. However, that was the original design. Now, she was needing lumber, but that was an issue. That material was not as present on the metal ship as the others. When she had asked for some, it was not granted to her. Very disappointing. That meant that Ciel's watch would take longer to create. It was not a deal breaker though. It was not favorable, and under the watch of normal workers would be unfathomable, but the wood of barrels and crates would have to do.