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"What's the point of knowing how to swim if you just cheat?" Ilsa declared, crossing her arms as she treaded water. "Besides, I don't need it ghost-boy. I can swim better than a fishman!"

Ilsa eventually caught her breath, and dove back down. She discovered more and more interesting things in Tom's former work place. There were rusted and ruined bits of ship and machinery under the floor, attached to tracks. There were various wet and ruined blueprints, but Ilsa had the feeling none of them were what they were looking for.

"How far down do you think that Tom's first workshop is?" Ilsa asked after returning to the air space, "If Aqua Laguna makes this island sink every year, then he would have to keep moving up. Do you think he build his workshop on levels?"

"NO!"

Ilsa shouted loud and clear at Adorei, her own face alight with a more clear form of rage. "I made a promise to lazy-obachan!" she protested. "I don't know what she wants them for or why but a promise is a promise! I don't want your help anyway b*****d!"

"To keep your word is the truest essential code of a decent living being."

"You can keep you s**t money and your s**t friends-"

"Never go back on your word Ilsa. There is no room for the future for regrets."

"-and go to hell! I never, ever go back on my word!"

Ilsa was mad. Really mad. The moment Adorei so much as hinted at her doing anything less than what she'd sworn to do was one step too far. With the unsatiable urge to protect her honesty and her oath, she snapped back. "Go back up if that's how it's going to be." she hissed, eyes growing dark. Suddenly, a strange chill went searing through the water. Without realizing the danger, fish frothed and went belly up as the surge of energy zapped through the water. "I will not be made a liar!"

(YAY FIRST HAKI ZOMG I'M SO PROUD)

Ilsa tried to howl but her throat was caught. Everything was happening too fast.

The memories burned through her retinas as Adorei's ghostly hand sent a horrible rush of ice and terrible visions. Ships, islands, people, everything...falling before a giant vessel that did not look like anything earthly at all...but of some terrifying monolith created by vexed gods to strike upon mortals. The Devil's Spur was played clear through her mind in a mad rush-

And when he let go, she gasped. She hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath.

She panted slightly, grasping the throbbing headache in her skull. Adorei's appearance aside, it was a painful and horrific experience. And to her further frustration; she felt he had felt a bit of her own experiences....and somehow it awakened something she didn't recall remembering...

"Awawa, she's so cute..."

Looking up she saw a bigger figure with long, shaggy black hair, reaching out with long, callused fingers. His face was darkened under the shade of a widely brimmed straw hat, and she felt a much larger hand stroking her tiny skull gently.

"Hey, gently," scolded a woman, appearing upside down as she peered over the side of the crib. A serpent slithered around her shoulders, hissing curiously as it too peered down at Ilsa. "She's not like Chopper-ossan, you can't go ruffling her head anytime you like."

"Aha, but that's where you're wrong." the man replied with a laugh. "Take a closer look! She's strong see?"

"Hmm? What are you talking about you wild man?"

"Look closely," he advised. He leaned in further, and Ilsa could see all his teeth as he grinned widely. "She's born with Pop's strength. She can handle anything..."

"Wait."

Ilsa was so caught up in the faint memory, fading away faster than a dream. But something else had caught her attention. Something from before. When he had shown her the images of the Devil's Spur-

"That's not the Gold Jackson." she said suddenly, staring off as she relayed the images. "It's too far before...and it doesn't match."

She looked up at Adorei in confirmation. "When Tom the shipwright built the Gold Jackson, it was different! It's true I've never seen it-" she admitted, "-but what you showed me can't have been the Gold Jackson. Dad told me..." she gulped, feeling soft at remembering her father, "...Dad told me that the Gold Jackson was the first ship ever to sail all the Grand Line. The ship isn't a weapon...it was Gold Roger's freedom..."

Despite herself, Ilsa felt a slight glow of admiration, and felt her spirits rouse. A ship that could take the crew anywhere in the world. Total freedom...was that the same seductive bait that had captured her own father so long ago?

"I'm not sure about this Pluto...thing." Ilsa said to Adorei, "But lazy-obachan can't have been looking for that. And if she did," she gulped, feeling a little ashamed, "I'll ask her to burn it after looking. If anything happens, I'll take care of it. And that-" she said firmly, looking Adorei dead in the eye. "-is a promise."

(ZOMG FLASHBACK SPOILER <3 And before you say it, it's not Luffy. Also, I hope I got Adorei's mixup right, I don't know if I did. OMG PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME EDIT >_<)

Ilsa only stared for a moment.

Feeling the icy hand of Adorei, floating in the dark waters lit only by a dim flashlight, Ilsa felt as if she'd come across a peculiar crossroads. She could only choose one one. Left or right. And she had to remember...

"The future-" she choked through his grip, "-has no time to think about the past. There is only the present, and the oaths of the present. And if you cannot....let go of the past..."

She tapped her throat.

Ilsa felt instant relief, but being who she was, it was coupled with suspicion. "You're not gonna make me pay you back for this later are you?" But then, in quick realization, she shook her head. "Nah, nah, don't answer. I'm afraid of what you might ask me to do. Like shoes...." she shivered. Just the thought of being in such tormentous objects made her shiver.

And thus, the swim went on.

But soon Ilsa encountered a problem. As they followed the ship entryway down levels, her light flickered and flashed weakly before sputtering dark, plunging them into complete darkness. The batteries had died.

Well fish spit, Ilsa thought, looking around. The light she did have was very, very faint, provided by the far away lights of the city above, the moon and Adorei's own faint, ghostly glow. Now I can't see.

And in the shadows, having shrunk away from the light from the flashlight, bubbles flickered through the many sunken pillars of the drowning city, and there was the squeaky sound of many high-pitched gurgling croaks...

The creatures burbled and bubbled from the shadows, before a much larger one of them rushed out. But as soon as it was revealed in the white light of the moon-

"Wushwimi!" Ilsa blubbered out, mouth spitting bubbles.

"Gero, gero!"

Sushimi, in all his pride and glory, came swimming swiftly out to his young mistress. Soon after, the smaller creatures followed, and in the faint light they lit up with a faint glow. Ilsa was pleased to see they were frogs, lots of them! They were all clearly young, all tadpoles in varying stages of growth. But they were as big as small dogs and purred bubbily as they circled their cousin, Ilsa, and Adorei.

Ilsa waved at Sushimi, unable to speak, but as she pointed vigorously down, the smart frog seemed to understand. Hopening his mouth wide, he popped the front half of Ilsa in his mouth. Ilsa gasped for breath as the water cleared from Sushimi's mouth, and sighed. "Pee-you! Did you eat onions before coming Sushimi?!"

"Wero!"

Croaking muffily, he began to swim down. Circling Adorei, the tadpoles urged him to follow.

(okay! goodnight!)

They were led to an submerged air pocket, what was once a shipyard entryway, where Ilsa washed off the saliva and answered him. "He tried to eat me once, but I beat him," she shook her head, sending water everywhere as she shook herself dry. "Of course he was flipping out so much I made him sushi and we made pax. BUt then," she leered at him with a sly grin. "He got scared of some giant cruiser on the water! I guess he didn't want to become frog leg soup!"

"Gero!" Sushimi croaked back angrily.

"I guess he just stuck around...hey froggy," she raised an eyebrow. "Why did you stick around?" Sushimi blushed wetly, and croaked unintelligebly. Ilsa just shrugged, and turned to the tadpoles. "Hey little Sushimis! You happen to know where Tom's old house is do you?"

Ilsa however, frowned at Adorei's lack of trust int he tadpoles skills. "Go your own way if you want," she said stubbornly, "But I'm taking Sushimi's little bros word for it."

But somewhere along the swim, it seems Adorei had some substantiality behind his words. As Ilsa followed the tadpoles farther and father away from Adorei's own trail, she found more wrecked ships and ruined houses than potential places to find Tom's treasure. Ilsa blubbered with frustration before taking to an air pocket inside a ship. "Ugh," she groaned, "Maybe the little guys should've drawn a map..."

But her words drew off at a familiar mark she could see through an intact window in the ship. To double check, she squinted, and there was no mistake.

It was the symbol of the Sun Pirates!

She swam back out, and checked it. Matching her headwrap, she felt giddy. A clue! But she noticed some other things about the ship that also got her attention. First off...it was incomplete. In the holes that should have held the masts, there were none. Secondly...under the symbol of the Sun, she saw the words "DON" painted underneath.

Excited at the possiblity of finding the blueprints, she unknowingly began swimming farther away from the tadpoles. As she swam along the bank she found the ship, she found more like it; incomplete and bearing the symbols of the Sun Pirates and the words "DON".

They lead up to a giant building covered in sea moss, with a great entrance. Swimming up to it....Ilsa found it.

On the front of the building the sign "Tom's Workers" was fading and peeling from years of being underwater. Inside the wide room, there were ruined desks, like she had seen in his later workshop. And under the desk labeled "TOM"....was a chest.

And feeling a deep sense of triumph, Ilsa took the chest-

"KREEEEEEEEE!"

The moment was quickly lost as Ilsa dared to look up. Fangs snarling and alive with rage at it's nest being disturbed; was a giant Sea-King. And seeing Ilsa with the chest only fueled it rage as it began to chase the theif.

s**t! Ilsa thought wildly, swimming with all her might. I'm running out of air....and I can't handle this thing on my own! But...dammit...She hugged the chest tightly to her, gritting her teeth. I'll never let go even if it kills me!