The Wild Rover. (A One Piece Ace x OC x Shanks Love Story)

Chapter 5: ....And Found.

A/N:  There's a few more chapters before skipping 10 years. Thanks for reading!

Dev sits; shivering and trying her hardest to not just lay down and give up; by the pile of rotting leaves that she fell into when she fell into this subterranean cave. After spending several days exploring the cave, she discovered that there is only one way in...and out. She then returned to the hole she originally fell through and tried calling for help, hoping that somebody would hear her. She yelled until she lost her voice.

That was yesterday...at least she thinks that it was yesterday...she's not entirely sure how much time has passed since she has no way of telling time down here. Now Devlin is sitting on the ground with the strange jewel lighting the area around her. She's cold and very, very hungry and she's beginning to lose hope that somebody will find her.

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"This is where we stopped to have lunch," Ace says as he comes to a stop after leading Shanks and Benn Beckman to the place where he had last seen Dev.

Shanks holds the lantern he's holding high in the air to get a better overall look at the area. Even in the dim light, he can tell that things aren't looking very good for finding Dev's trail. The grass around them has been trampled flat by the feet of so many people walking around for five days.

Benn grimaces, "Which way did she go?"

The blonde-haired boy with the missing front tooth, Sabo, points to the west. "She headed in that direction, but we lost sight of her in the trees when she went about half a mile. After that, we don't know what direction she went."

Benn nods and walks in the direction that Sabo indicated. He lowers his lantern and then crouches down to examine the ground more carefully. "Has Luffy been on any of these searches?"

Ace answers him, "A couple, but he usually stays close to us or Makino."

"I might have something...but then again it might be nothing more than a false lead from one of the days these boys were searching."

"We have ta take the chance, lil' Devi has ta be close ta starvation by now."

Benn nods, "The trail leads this way. Follow me." The three fall into line behind the older man: Sabo directly behind Benn, then Ace, and Shanks brings up the rear with his free hand close to the hilt of his sword in case of danger.

They continue following the trail for almost two hours; during which they change directions frequently and unexpectedly. At one point, the trail zig-zags so badly that Shanks wonders if Devlin had managed to snatch a bottle of rum somewhere.

Benn finally stops and looks around, scratching the back of his head in confusion. "The trail's gone."

Shanks feels his heart clench, "What do ye mean? Was it washed away by the rain?"

Benn shakes his head, "No, it's just gone. Like she vanished into thin air."

Ace shushes everyone, "Can you hear that?"

They all remain quiet and listen carefully until they finally hear a very faint, "Help!"

"Dev!" Ace and Sabo start shouting the little girl's name.

A louder cry of, "Help!" can be heard this time and the two boys begin to frantically search the area.

Benn's frown deepens, "I don't like this, captain."

Shanks looks at him, "What is it, Benn?"

"I don't like how the trail just disappears...there could be pitfalls around here."