Devlin sat in the infirmary, surrounded by medical journals, looking for anything that resembled what Buggy had. The more journals she went through, the more pressure she felt about what might become of her. None of them held any information on what she had seen. She had no idea if it was contagious or whether it was fatal or not.

Halfway through a section on black fungi, a heavy fist began to pound on the door. 'Is it Buggy? He's not delirious is he?' Surely he wouldn't hurt her...would he? With that possibility in mind, she looked around the room for a place to hide.

Devlin ran across the room and into a space between two cabinets just big enough for her to fit inside. Whoever had been outside the door stopped trying the handle and opted to simply break the door down. She closed her eyes and listened as Buggy made his way across the room.

But rather than the sound of shoes hitting the ground, it was more like bare feet. 'The only one who walks around barefoot is-' She was cut off by the sound of Soloman's voice calling out to her. Her heart dropped a little at the tone he spoke with; it seemed as though Soloman was upset with her.

The Fishman hadn't appreciated being woken up from his nap. And appreciated waking up to the sound of his doors locks being turned even less. The decision to break down such a bothersome door was an easy one to make. Before he was halfway to the door, however, he'd heard the sound of light footsteps running down the hall. And the only one on the ship with a body capable of such light steps was,

"Shrimp!" He could almost feel the room drop a few degrees before seeing a large book was spiraling towards him. Effortlessly, he caught the book and placed it down on the table next to him. And while his face was less upset and more annoyed than anything else, he couldn't help but find amusement in teasing Devlin about her small size.

Speaking of, the little ball of rage was now out in the open giving him a death glare. To which Soloman responded with a raised eyebrow, silently demanding an explanation as to the reason she tried to lock him in his room. Instead of replying right away, Devlin made her way over to the desk behind the Fishman and next to the door.

"Buggy and I were in the middle of our first training session when he said he wanted to show me something that had to do with willpower or something like that. I-I didn't really understand much of the explanation. All I know is, he suddenly had this thing crawling up his back! He was shaking and I could hear his breathing becoming heavier and heavier."

Soloman, already knowing exactly where the story was heading, merely nodded his head and listened. "Whatever it was, I've never seen anything like it. It just...it felt dangerous." While she told him the events leading up to them being in the infirmary, Devlin had succeeded in pushing almost half of the heavy desk in front of the office door.

Soloman shook his head at Devlin's ignorance. "It seems as though you've misunderstood what was happening. Buggy was most likely trying to show you Haki." She tilted her head in confusion. "What's Haki? Is it that weird, shiny stuff?"

He sighed in frustration. "You'll find out about it later. Come on, let's go find Buggy."

In one push, Soloman effortlessly moved the desk Devlin had spent the last few minutes painstakingly placing in front of the door. With a defeated look, Devlin followed him. "So, he's not sick? This Haki stuff isn't contagious or anything?" She felt ridiculous for having locked Soloman and Lilith in their rooms. 'Oh!'

"That reminds me. Lily's probably still locked in her room. So I think we should go and let her out before she freaks out too much." Soloman grumbled in annoyance but nodded all the same.

On another part of the ship, Buggy was making his way towards Soloman's room. He assumed that if Lilith's room had been locked, then there was a good chance that Soloman's room might have been as well. Which was why he wasn't surprised to see the door hanging from a single hinge.

Taking a quick look inside the room and seeing nothing else amiss, he decided to follow the trail of wooden splinters out in the hall. 'What the hell is Devlin up to? And why the hell did the damn door need to be broken down!?'

A sigh of exasperation escaped him. 'Whatever it is, I just hope Soloman isn't too upset with her. For her sake and for the ship's.' Disgruntled Nakama were so troublesome to deal with.

Nakama.

If there was anything Buggy was grateful to Roger for, it was instilling in him the value of his Nakama. It helped him to truly appreciate the relationship the four of them had with one another. Even the one he had with Solomon, the least willing of their small group.

And despite the distance that he tried to put between them, they'd all gotten to know the Fishman pretty well over the past few weeks. They'd learned that Soloman was gruff, opinionated, and easily annoyed by anything and everything. But he was also intelligent, understanding, and capable. Everything Buggy could possibly hope for in a member of his crew. Which is why Buggy had pulled out all the stops when trying to recruit him.

Several Weeks Ago (One Month after Loguetown)

From the moment he'd woken up, he knew. He knew that there would be no more collars or chains or beatings. No more sleepless nights or weeks of starvation. And especially no more cages holding him as if he were an animal.

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He didn't need anyone to tell him that he'd regained his long lost freedom. All he'd needed to do was to start the day like he did any other. He opened his eyes and stretched his body as far as he could. But when he did, he didn't feel the usual tug or hear the familiar rattling of his chains.

Instead, his arms and legs had been able to stretch as far as physically possible. For a man who'd been locked away for as long as he had, there was no greater feeling than that. Had he chosen to, Soloman could have stayed in the outstretched position all day.

But once the initial high of freedom had passed, he began to observe his surrounding as best he could. It was a difficult task as his eyes were still heavy with exhaustion. From the looks of it, he'd woken up in a noble's room. 'And apparently in his bed, for that matter.'

'I wonder if one of them has decided to take me in as one of their own. HA! That'll be the day.' He felt the tiniest hint of a smile tug at the corner of his lip. It felt good to smile again. It's been several years since it was done without the usual sarcastic undertones.

'I wonder how long I've been in here. From the fading markings on my wrists and arms, I'd say a few days at the least.' He struggled to get out of the bed. After so many years of sleeping on the filth-covered floors of cages and cellars, he'd finally gotten to lie down in a real bed.

Suffice it to say, leaving what felt like the most comfortable thing he'd ever sleep on was a difficult decision. But he needed to find out where he was and, more importantly, who freed him. 'Whoever they are, they'll have my eternal gratitude.'

He pushed open the door, curious as to why they hadn't even bothered to close it. Sticking his head out of the door he felt the knot in his stomach relax. Some part of him was still afraid that this newfound freedom was just another method of cruel torture the Nobles came up with. Something those monsters are completely capable of.

Shaking away his fear, he moved down the hall slowly to try to reach the deck of the ship. The swaying was a dead giveaway. 'If they're anywhere, they'll be up there.' After a few minutes of wandering, he managed to find the door that led to the deck. But before he could open the door, he felt the tight grip of fear lock him in place.

So many doubts had him questioning his decision to make his awakened presence known to whoever was on the other side of the door. What if there were Nobles waiting for him? What if the whole thing really was just a cruel prank on him by some bored Noble brat?

But the question that weighed more heavily on him than any other, was what would he do if this was all real? He had no family, no home to go back to, and nothing to his name. Combining all of these facts led to one truth, from the moment he'd woken up to this newly attained freedom, he was no one.

In exchange for his freedom, he'd given up everything that made him who he was. And while his identity was that of a slave, it was still one that he'd carried for over a quarter of his life. 'I wonder if this means I can no longer use the name Soloman…No. Soloman was mine before my enslavement and it's still mine afterward. Not even they can take it from me...'

Once again pushing down his insecurities he opened the door and for the first time since coming aboard this ship, he felt the sunlight pour over him. He'd never appreciated the feeling of the Sun's warming rays on his skin more than he did in that moment. Pure ecstasy.

Looking off to the side, he saw what he had missed most about being free. The ocean. The deep blue he'd been dreaming about for as long as he can remember. He'd missed the ocean far more than he did the Sun. To completely deprive a Fishman of the water he was born in, would be nothing short of a death sentence.

During Soloman's time in the cages beneath the ship, he'd come to know the pain of water deprivation. During the weeks of starvation, they would only give him the smallest amount of water necessary for a Fishman to survive.

He'd often wonder how long it had taken them to work out the exact amount…how many failures there were before they finally got it right. "Fucking animals…" Once again he cursed the existence of the Nobles. 'It feels good to be able to say that out loud.'

But now wasn't the time to think about such things. Now was the time to enjoy his newfound freedom. He took off towards the railing, jumped over the side and down into the water below.

Soloman stayed in the water for nearly half a day before exhaustion forced him to regrettably climb back aboard. As he stepped back onto the deck, he saw three people. He assumed that they were waiting for him. 'It really was a trick, huh?' It didn't make much sense, but it didn't have to. All it had to do was entertain them.

His first reaction was to fight them with whatever energy he had left. But a closer look at them had him realizing that he stood no chance against them. Perhaps if it had been just him and the small child, who looked like she could barely hurt herself if she tried, he could have been able to win.

But there were, in fact, two others there as well. Two people that, despite their young appearances, had his instincts screaming 'Danger! Danger! Get the hell away from them! Danger!'

'What the hell is up with these two?' He'd never met someone who caused him to have that kind of reaction. It felt like he was slowly being backed into a corner. A feeling he was all too familiar with.

'Wait…No, it's not them, it's her.' He focused on the equally frail-looking woman that was leaning against the red-nosed man's side.

"Glad to see you're awake." He was caught off guard with the sincere tone in the red nose's voice. You've been out for quite a while. My name's Buggy." The man with the red nose had spoken first. Soloman merely looked at him with a scrutinizing stare.

'What kind of Human would free a Fishman? What did he hope to gain? A servant, perhaps? Was he envious of a Noble's way of life? Did he seek to recreate it for himself?' Various possibilities crossed his mind. None of them trusting or pleasant.

He wondered what this man, no, boy, wanted from him. Soloman had merely assumed he was older from how he carried himself, but his voice was a dead giveaway as to how young he actually was. 'Somewhere in his late teens, maybe?' An odd thing to focus on, but better than his thought on possible re-enslavment.

"Did you free me?" Soloman demanded. He realized that he had not yet confirmed this with them. For all he knew, there could be others on the ship.

Suddenly the welcoming look on his face melted away into something else. He looked more amused than before. Letting out a huff of laughter, he turned and walked away. "Come on, let's talk."

Soloman, not knowing how to react, kept his guard up but ultimately followed the oddly behaving trio back into the lower decks. Whatever they were up to, whatever they planned on doing to him, he was ready to fight back. He would no longer be anybody else's slave; he'd soon rather die than go back to that miserable existence.