Railroad Syndrome Part 1

The biggest issue that came with getting to Enies Lobby was immediately made apparent when Dante thought on the circumstances. They had no boat. The Going Merry was in shambles, and the Deadweight didn't even exist at this point.

It was for this exact reason that Dante decided they would enjoy the luxury express of the Sea Train, mainly because it went directly to their destination and required no operation from him to work, an idea that was entirely his own and definitely not Nami's.

He didn't want to give her any credit, because even acknowledging her existence was a danger given half the conversation he had with her on the way to the train was about money. 'You must have a lot of berries, especially since you're such a big, strong pirate.' He doesn't have the heart to tell her he's broke beyond repair.

By the time they came to the Sea Train station of the island, Dante could immediately tell something was wrong. First of all, they had found Zoro. And he was currently butting heads with another man Dante recognised with the main cast, 'Shinji' he thinks it was.

The issue that had been previously mentioned was the fact that the Sea Train was preparing to leave, the World Government operatives running it smelling the blood in the water after no contact from their superiors, meaning that the crew needed to haul ass, and quickly too.

With that mentality, Dante simply decides the easiest option is to summon a Doppelganger and grab the Straw Hats, Tricking first onto the roof of the train and then into one of the cabins through the sunroof, placing himself in a seat and enjoying a cup of tea as the crew become aware that they even moved in the first place.

"Figured we should enjoy first class seating, some nice luxury after the days events, yeah?"

While the crew whooped and cheered at Dante successfully getting them on the boat, Zoro and Sanji forgot all about their blood feud temporarily to converse with one another under their breath, eyes glued on Dante.

"I don't trust him. Not one bit. He seems far too... easygoing for such a renowned pirate." Sanji voiced his concerns to Zoro, who had been clenching his sword with white knuckled fists the entire time.

"No, no. You're right, I don't trust him either. But it isn't his demeanour thats a problem. Hell, Ace was the same. Problem is his motivations. He just comes here, solves all of our problems, and for what? He doesn't gain anything. Something isn't right, and they don't even recognise it."

Zoro and Sanji's dialogue continued, having long since been heard by Dante thanks to his enhanced senses, however he decided to not try dissuade them from their suspicions. If he revealed he heard them, it would only grow further. He was fine with them having their suspicions, hell he'd be concerned too.

"I suppose so. Our only solitude is that he's brought us all together. You reckon we can take him?" Sanji's caution was matched by Zoro's, both being unwilling to let Dante out of their sight for a moment.

"No. I don't. You saw just now, he took us all over 50 meters, through a solid wall no less, before we could blink. We shouldn't attack first... Wait, he hasn't brought us all together-"

Zoro's realisation was matched by Sanji, who instead of maintaining previous cautionary behaviour decided to voice his question directly, albeit quite accusingly too.

"Oi! Red Devil! Where the hell is Usopp?!"

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His fingers bled, but his soul burned brighter. He would not allow his friends to be taken away by these - these fiends! The Great Sogeking would save them, of that he was assured.

His hands gripped with all their might onto the outer railings for leverage, his body laying against the flooring between carriages. He was afraid to move, but he would overcome that fear, because Sogeking fears nothing. So he pulls. With all of his strength, courage, and grit he pulls, until he is directly standing against the wall, squeezing his body as close as he can to the train.

He would wait from here. For when he was needed most, Sogeking, would respond, and he would save the day. He would get his friends back.

Until then, however, his priories lay in staying on the train. He isn't quite sure anybody had actually noticed him yet and he was deathly afraid of falling.

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Dante had been expecting at least some form of resistance from the World Government, and it seems he had gotten what he expected when a patrol force of 6, admittedly well dressed, men walked through a carriage door just as Sanji and Zoro voiced their question.

Dante had long since noticed the signature of Usopp hanging around their train, the sniper having snuck onto the last possible carriage by the skin of his teeth and climbed, crawled even, his way there. Dante couldn't lie, he admired his grit. 'Takes some real determination to go that far.' he added mentally.

Anyways, given that he knew Usopp was hanging around and ready to reunite with his friends, Dante decided to allow Usopp to make his grand entrance. He came up from the World Government enforcers and swung his oversized slingshot downward onto the head of one, immediately knocking him out.

Past that initial K.O, however, Usopp found himself in quite the tricky predicament as the mans friends had rapidly turned and were now about to beat him down, 'and capture me and send him to the pits and be tortured because I'm a pirate and pirates deserve the worst andohgodhowcouldihaveletthishappen...?'

Usopp's thoughts were interrupted by a lack of any pain, opening his eyes and finding his friends already having dealt with the minor grunts, now running up to hug or cry, maybe even do both in Chopper's case, in expression of their relief that he was alive.

"Ahaha! I appreciate the help, brave pirates! But I am not Usopp. I am his distant cousin... from the... Sniper Island! My name is Sogeking!" Mentally patting himself on the back and entirely ignorant of his friends immediately knowing that he was the real Usopp, bar Luffy who seemingly had stars in his eyes, Usopp would stick to his story. The entire time they spent on Enies Lobby. Sadly.

"Alright, alright, while I'm glad that our 'great saviour' came in time to keep us safe, we should really be making a plan here. I mean, how exactly are we going to break into one of the World Governments most treasured assets?"

Nami's words were quite sobering to Robin, who now realised that she had essentially escaped the World Government, and riding that high of adrenaline, walked right back to them for some petty sense of vindication.

Dante however was entirely unphased, because if there was one thing he did best it was somehow managed to win no matter what, without a single plan to go alongside. 'Vergil doesn't quite count, that was a draw.'

"Well, gather round budding pirates, because I have got exactly the plan we need. Step 1: We knock. If that doesn't work, we knock with more force. Step 2: We dispose of any opposition, and occupy the island. Step 3: Profit. Whad'dya think?"

Sogeking, Luffy and Chopper all sat cross-legged at Dante's feet with stars in their eyes, giving him their utmost attention as they applauded his genius and tactical mastery.

In the meanwhile, Zoro and Sanji didn't dignify him with a response, continuing to simply glare at him, while Nami simply shook her head in exasperation and Robin smiled fondly at the scene, loving these small moments she had with her friends being able to smile happily and adding further to her desire to stay with them permanently.

"Wow Donald! You should've said you were such a good strategist! Say, you wanna join my crew?"

Dante recoiled immediately upon hearing the name Donald being used to refer to him, the disgrace against such a name as Dante being evident. He felt disgusted. Though, he also found it amusing.

"Sorry, Luffy, but I'm not in the business for joining crews. I prefer working solo."

Luffy simply laughed off Dante's dismissal of his invitation, though Nami, Zoro and Sanji all released a breath they had been holding upon Luffy asking said question. Dante had already long since decided that he wouldn't join a crew.

Maybe he would make one, given enough time, and enough people willing to follow him. He doubted that though. Try as he might, Dante didn't find much enjoyment in the idea of a crew.

He's willing to make friends, that much is for certain. He simply couldn't trust a crew to stay safe if they followed him or he followed them for as long as Vergil was alive. He didn't know if his brother would use them against him, as daggers to hit him where it hurts.

Man, he really needed to do something about Vergil. He wasn't going to sugarcoat it, he was afraid. Afraid that Vergil would follow him until the end of time itself, or until one of them finally killed the other. And sadly, there was no Nero here to solve that problem. He wanted a brother, but he would never be able to enjoy that love.

Shaking his head, Dante decided that those thoughts were for later. He'd get Vergil to see reason, no matter what. Even if it took a sword through the chest for it to happen. 'Give the bastard a taste of his own medicine, anyway...' he thought to himself, smiling pleasantly at the mental image.

Justice would be swift.

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An hour into the train journey, Dante had excused himself to one of the private carriages, intent on snoozing away the time until they reached Enies Lobby, having no stops on the way thanks to the World Government operating the train.

His small room was one of surprising luxury, probably fitting with the rest of the decor given the fine red fabrics and antique wooden aesthetics. It didn't matter though, Dante would be fine with damn near anything that had a bed he could sleep on.

His musings about a nap were interrupted by a soft rapping of knuckles against the door, followed by Robin's request to enter. Walking to the door, he obliged, and allowed her entry into the room, shutting it behind her before going back to his position on the train seats.

"Ahem."

Dante did not move from his position, wanting even a small nap given he hadn't slept in a few days at the very least, however he did respond to her.

"Yeah?"

"Dante, I didn't come to have a chat with your back. I want to talk. I want answers."

Sighing to himself at the inevitability of this conversation, and slowly raising from his lying position held prior, Dante eventually found himself eye to eye with Robin, arms relaxed across the seat behind him, having never once lost his eternal smirk.

"You wanna talk? Okay. Let's talk."

Dante had no idea just how important this conversation would end up being in his new life, but he would always be thankful for it.

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His impatience and vitriol only seemed to reach new heights as he heard more and more spoken about the Red Devil. Constantly, his brother was held in high regard for simply killing a man, a man who held himself in high standards and had no real power to back up his assumptions. Was it really such a tragic loss? He knew not.

A newspaper had been quite simple to find, given how imperative they were to life and how extreme the population of the world was in spite of it's island based landmasses, and on the news came the same regular listing of wanted pirates as there always was.

He found his next targets quite handily in these bounties. The Yonko, pirates of unparalleled strength and infamy in this strange world, and the perfect stage for his ascension.

His interests lie in 'Big Mom', due to her unique fruit. He could already shatter tectonic plates with his fists and create vacuums with a punch, he had no need for Whitebeard's fruit, though he was certainly intrigued in the mans title. Kaido's fruit held no value, dragons made for incompetent weaponry given Beowulf's superiority to Ifrit.

No, instead he felt a sense of experimental glee at the thought of a Devil Arm to manipulate souls, perhaps even be able to remove Dante's own Devil Arms entirely, or at least interfere with their connection to him.

Surely this woman would make for a much grander weapon. Either that, or he would stick to what he knew best. If this plan truly fails, he would stick to his own Devil Sword.