Kuma's Dilemma

[ Third Person POV ]

Egghead Island

"Mhm, she'll be just fine with this," Dr. Vegapunk remarked.

Kuma let out a sigh as he stared at the tube. Within it, a small child was curling their limbs with closed eyes. A small strand of pink hair sprouted on the child's head, but other than that, there weren't any remarkable features that would have distinguished the child.

"Thank you again, Doctor; she would have lived a life of pain if it wasn't for you," Kuma remarked.

"There's nothing wrong with helping children. Besides, I'm only doing this because of Boris," Vegapunk pointed out.

"How much longer does she need to stay in the tube before she's free to leave?" Kuma asked, "It won't be long until the World Government gets a pin on me."

"Oh, there's no need for you to stress yourself out like that. Both Marines and the World Government have a lot on their plates for them to be looking for you," Dr. Vegapunk replied, "You also have Boris to partially thank for that as well."

"Are you talking about the incident that had happened a while back? I heard that there were Celestial Dragons that died and that Vice-Admiral Sakazuki also died there as well," Kuma responded.

"Indeed, you heard it right. The World Government has been working hard to try and keep this under wraps, but there are always rats who love to talk, don't you think?" Dr. Vegapunk remarked.

Kuma nodded as his eyes went back to where the tube lay. Memories of his last encounter with the child's mother resurfaced in his brain, and worry flooded his heart as he wondered where she could have gone.

"Speaking of the child....where's the mother?" Dr. Vegapunk remarked, "It's been a while since I've seen her out and about."

"She was sent on a mission, but we haven't heard from her since," Kuma replied.

"Care to give out a description of the mission? I might be able to find her whereabouts if we're lucky enough," Dr. Vegapunk replied curiously.

Kuma hesitated as he thought of the consequences of leaking such vital information. Dragon wanted to keep things under wraps until the mission was marked successful. Mostly because there would have been a strong possibility if the news had leaked. Vital information concerning where the Revolutionary Army had been hiding would have been made public.

"It is a sensitive topic that would probably expose some vital intel about our bases? Thank you for the offer, though," Kuma bowed his head lightly before responding.

"Well, just curious, that's all. Besides, I would've had something in return for that favor, you know?" Vegapunk remarked.

The room resumed its silence as all that could be heard was the quiet humming of the tube that the child was in, but that silence didn't last long because of the sudden ringing that came from Kuma's transponder snail.

Kuma excused himself before leaving the room and picking up the call.

"Kuma? This is Dragon; something came up," the voice on the other end of the line briefly introduced himself.

"What's wrong?" Kuma asked.

"Ginny's been compromised; we need to find a way to get her out before things get dicey," Dragon remarked. 

"How? Wasn't there a practical guarantee that the passage wasn't under watch?" Kuma asked bewilderedly.

"Mariejois went on lockdown as soon as Ginny went on the mission," Dragon said frustratedly, "It's just natural that they'd maximize the security around the Holy Land."

"How're we going to get her out?" Kuma immediately asked.

"Aren't you on Egghead Island? You should stay there until I give you an update; we might need your help with this," Dragon remarked.

"Alright," Kuma replied before cutting the connection.

"So she's stuck in the Holy Land, how inconvenient," Dr. Vegapunk's voice echoed behind him.

"How long have you been eavesdropping on this conversation?" Kuma asked.

"Well, I've been listening in for quite some time; quite the dilemma you have for yourself there," Dr. Vegapunk remarked.

"We'll get her out of there as soon as possible," Kuma remarked.

"Impossible," Vegapunk remarked.

Kuma froze as he stared at the mad scientist.

"What do you mean by impossible?" Kuma asked cautiously.

"Well-" Dr. Vegapunk was about to explain things when another call echoed from Vegapunk's phone this time.

"Excuse me," Dr. Vegapunk said as he rushed over to his transponder snail.

"What is it? I'm busy," Vegapunk remarked harshly.

"Vegapunk, I know Bartholomew Kuma is on Egghead Island with you. Put him on," A harsh voice echoed from the other end of the line.

"Saint Saturn? To what do I owe the pleasure?" Dr. Vegapunk asked curiously.

"I won't repeat myself again," The Elder said coldly.

Dr. Vegapunk sighed before he walked over to Kuma.

"It seems that Ginny isn't the only one who's been compromised," Vegapunk said as he handed over the transponder snail to Kuma.

Kuma let out a cold sweat as he carefully picked up the transponder snail.

"Is this Bartholomew Kuma?" Saturn's voice questioned from the other end of the line.

"How'd you know that I'm here?" Kuma asked cautiously.

"That's not for you to worry about. What you should be worried about is what might happen to this woman here," Saturn said as a scream immediately came from the other end of the line. Sure enough, that was Ginny.

"Kuma! Don't worry about me!! Just make sure she's sa-" Ginny couldn't finish her sentence because a large smashing sound sounded soon after. 

"You have no use to me talking, so quiet down," Saturn remarked, "Where was I? Oh, that's right, surrender yourself to the World Government, and I'll spare the girl."

Vegapunk quietly got Kuma's attention and guided him to a security room that normally monitored all the activities happening around the island. There were numerous screens that enveloped the entire room, and all of them showed signs of World Government presence surrounding the island in its entirety.

"I assume that VegaPunk has shown you that our forces currently surround you," Saturn stated, "I hope that you realize that resistance is futile."

Kuma's mind was racing on a way to escape. Even if he couldn't, he wanted to at least give the child a chance to escape without any mishaps. 

'What should I do? Fight? Run?'

He was slowly beginning to think about the probability of fighting off the World Government forces. 

Dr. Vegapunk immediately ruined his train of thought by cutting off his connection with one of the Five Elders. he looked around to ensure there weren't any cameras around before he turned to Kuma.

"I think I have a way to get you out of this current predicament. However, I don't know what you're going to do with Ginny," Dr. Vegapunk stated, "also, I don't think that you're going to like it."

"What are you thinking about?" Kuma asked cautiously.

"I put you under my 'control' to make it lower their guard," Vegapunk remarked.

"It'll give you some space to breathe for a while until you figure out how to get Ginny back," Vegapunk remarked.

"Does the World Government trust you enough for them to believe it?" Kuma asked.

"Maybe, but it's the only option that I have for you at this point in time," Vegapunk replied.

Kuma could only look at a screen that had the image of the tube that had the child within. Worry encompassing his mind.