"Make haste!" Wayne's eyes swept across the sea, where black specks on the horizon were rapidly approaching. "The Marines could lock down this island any minute. We're leaving now!"
"Wait! Do you even know where Loguetown is?"
Rouge turned toward the ocean and pointed southeast. "Roger once told me, his hometown, Loguetown, lies in that direction. But it's quite far. By ship… we'll never make it in time."
"Ship? Don't need that thing."
Wayne strode toward the small wooden cabin, touched its wall lightly, and under Rouge's stunned gaze, the entire cabin let out a faint creak.
Moments later, the cabin lifted off the ground, hovering about ten centimeters above it.
"What the-?!"
"Heh," Wayne grinned smugly, leaping up to sit atop the floating cabin. "That's my ability. Well? Don't just stand there, get inside!"
"O-oh, alright!" Rouge entered, still full of disbelief, and looked out the window.
The familiar island below was rapidly shrinking and fading until it was swallowed by the rolling sea of clouds, gone without a trace.
Above the clouds, Wayne flew to the cabin door.
Knock knock knock.
"Open up!"
"It's not locked," Rouge's voice called from inside.
"Oh." Wayne pushed the door open, only to find Rouge gazing intently at a small fragment of paper in her hand. It seemed alive, twitching ever so slightly toward the southeast.
"Huh?" Wayne instantly understood. "Don't tell me that's Roger's-"
"Yes," Rouge nodded softly, cupping the paper carefully in her palm. "It's his Vivre Card. It'll lead us to him."
A weight lifted from Wayne's heart. With only a vague direction, it would've been too easy to miss Loguetown.
"Mrs. Rouge, keep your eyes on that Vivre Card. If it shifts direction even slightly, tell me immediately, understood?"
"Don't worry, I will," Rouge replied earnestly, then walked to the low bed in the corner and pulled out a wooden chest from underneath.
When she opened it, a cutlass lay quietly inside, none other than one of the Twelve Supreme Grade Blades: Ace.
The sword's appearance was surprisingly plain and humble, its sharpness restrained. It hadn't even been imbued with Haki to form a black blade.
That, perhaps, hinted that Roger wasn't truly a swordsman; otherwise, with his power, forging a black blade wouldn't have been difficult.
"Here." Rouge lifted Ace with both hands and offered it to Wayne. "This is what I promised you. Take it. I hope you'll use it well."
Wayne gently ran his palm along the blade before shaking his head. "Not yet. Keep it for now. When I need it, I'll come for it."
In truth, he didn't want to accept it because Roger's sword was too famous, too conspicuous. Carrying it would draw unwanted Marine attention. Better to claim it later, after he'd "reset" his identity.
After all, Wayne didn't even know basic swordsmanship. The weapon would just be for show.
.......
19 hours later
Wayne was half-asleep on the bed when Rouge's urgent voice jolted him awake.
"Wayne! The Vivre Card it changed direction!"
Wayne shot up instantly, his eyes darting to the trembling scrap of paper in her hand. "Crap! We overshot it!"
Without hesitation, Wayne commanded the cabin to turn in midair, dropping altitude slightly to scout the area.
As the clouds parted, Rouge pointed out the window. "Look down there!"
Below, an island emerged on the blue sea, encircled tightly by Marine battleships. The docks swarmed with sailors and officers.
"That's… Loguetown?"
"No mistake. Looks like Roger's already been brought in." Wayne turned to Rouge. "Listen carefully. We're going down, but once we land, follow my lead. Say nothing. If we're exposed, it's over. Got it?"
Rouge took a deep breath. "Got it. I won't cause trouble."
They quickly donned simple cloaks, pulling the hoods low to conceal their hair and faces.
Then Wayne wrapped an arm around Rouge and descended silently into Loguetown, merging into the crowd.
Soon, he found a small inn near the execution plaza and rented a room.
The room was cramped, the window was placed high, but from there, they could clearly see the gallows in the plaza's center.
Rouge stood by the window, her gaze locked on the distant scaffold. "That's it, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Wayne nodded. "The execution's tomorrow. We'll stay here for now and move when it starts."
Rouge gently placed a hand over her slightly rounded belly, gazing silently out the window.
......
The next day
Half an hour before the execution.
Loguetown Plaza was a sea of people, boiling with excitement and noise.
"Hold tight!" Wayne gripped Rouge's hand, forcing a path through the dense crowd.
"Hey! Watch it!" angry voices shouted, but Wayne ignored them, pulling Rouge to their destination.
They stopped where the gallows were still visible, close enough to see everything clearly, and right along the path Roger would take.
"This is as far as we go," Wayne whispered firmly. "Remember, don't speak. If we're exposed, I'll be in deep trouble. And I hate trouble."
Rouge nodded hard. "Understood."
All around them were faces that, in the future, would shake the world.
At the stands, Sir Crocodile smoked a cigar, expression unreadable.
In a shadowed alley, the flamboyant pink coat of Donquixote Doflamingo gleamed as he grinned maniacally.
In the crowd, a still-slender Gecko Moria watched with manic fascination.
Farther down the street, Dracule Mihawk stood alone, arms crossed, indifferent to the roaring masses.
And atop a nearby rooftop, beneath a green cloak, the shadowed face of Monkey D. Dragon waited silently for the moment to come, his face not yet marked by that famous tattoo.
Finally, as the church bells tolled, Gol D. Roger appeared.