Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It didn’t take long for the strawhats to set sail again after their adventure on Punk Hazard.

As soon as they boarded Usopp and Franky had made him stand as straight as possible on his good foot while they took his measurements. Unnecessary if they had asked him first, but sweet, nonetheless. He now had a brand new, state of the art walking cane, sturdy wood with a metal grip cushioned in leather. Apparently, he could get run over by the Franky tank and if nothing else the damn stick would survive.

The News Coo flew overhead and landed by the Marimo, who just crawled out of whatever hole he had napped in. Sanji was usually the only one awake at that time, but all the people around probably made the Mosshead nervous. A smile spread across his face before he could catch it.
“What are you smirking about this early? Thought you were still pissy about the brats sleeping in the girl’s bed.”

And immediately his good mood spoiled. He had been so worried with Goji out of his sight he barely slept. “Don’t be such a crass Idiot. We didn’t really have another place for the two anyway. Did you want to stag them on Top of your giant chest like Chopper?”
Said chest was currently half hidden behind the lapels of his Haori.

For a moment Zoro blinked confused, then he grinned, leaning in: “At least I don’t have a giant head like yours!”
Pissed of Sanji shifted his weight, screw him! He didn’t need the epitome of unwashed savage to appreciate his beauty! Just before making contact with the Marimo, he stopped.
He nearly forgot.

Zoro had stopped his blade just shy of his cast as well. His former excited look soured. “Broken Leg. Ahhh fuck!” The brute sheathed his sword again and moodily stomped off. What was that about?
The others had slowly started to trickle out of their shared quarters as well. He shared a confused look with Usopp, as they watched the stupid swordsman climb up into the crow’s nest.

Sanji blushed. There was no need for Zoro to treat him like he was delicate or something, it was just a minor inconvenience. Fucking weirdo.

Two boys ran past the cook, nearly making him stumble on his cast in leg. “Careful!”, the cook shouted after the pair. A curly browed child with a head of shortly cropped green tufts of hair skidded to a halt looking back worriedly. With a smile, steadying himself on his cane, he waved Goji off. It was good that he had someone to play with.

Speaking of the devil, Momonosuke had quickly snatched the other boy’s hand and tugged him along.
The kids were quite happy to be away from the freezing Island as well, skipping around the ship like it was their new playground.

Kin’emon’s little boy was headstrong and rather rambunctious now that he had thawed out a bit and kept ordering his new playmate around. Goji seemed content to follow him and explore the ship.
He looked much more comfortable now as well.

The first thing the cook had made sure of, as they boarded yesterday, was to get some better clothes for the kid. It had ticked Sanji off for a while, that he had to see his brother in the same uniform tunic he had to wear as a child himself. He hated that blocky, black number staring up at him with a burning passion.

So he used having a devil fruit user, with the power to conjure outfits, to his advantage. It might be a while before they could actually buy more clothes for both of the children and Chopper’s things certainly wouldn’t fit.
Now Goji wore a clean new T-shirt with a brightly laughing Sunny figure head on the front and some trousers made to run around and play in.

Kin’ himself was watching the two kids as well, they had found Nami’s Mikan groove - nothing too dangerous yet. The samurai looked as wrong footed as Sanji felt in his new role.

Come to think of it, the cook hadn’t asked how long ago his new friend had taken Momonosuke under his wing. Well, that meant the Samurai was probably out, as far as parenting advice was concerned.

A deep sigh left Kin'emons mouth, a faraway look entering his eyes as his gaze wandered over the sea towards the horizon.

"Something wrong?", Sanji had slowly scooched his way along the side of the boat towards the other man, "You seem worried... if that isn't too forward of me to say." He still wasn't too sure what was Wano custom and what was just Kin’emon being awkward around new people. 

The slight smile on his friend’s face was a good sign at least. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with. Your hospitality is more than enough. I merely fear what we will find at our destination." He frowned again. 

"I didn’t want to say anything in front of Momonosuke, but I left behind one of my comrades when I went after him. There is a strong possibility that he is being held at Dressrosa, but ..." 

Sanji took out a fresh smoke from his pack. A lot can happen in a few days and if Doflamingo got the other Samurai... 

"I am trying not to lose hope yet. Still, it won't do for a warrior not to prepare for the worst as well." 

The cook clasped a strong hand around Kin’emon's shoulder, their crew was extremely lucky in these types of situations. "We'll get your friend back.", he said with hopefully enough confidence to persuade the other man as well. "What is his name?"

"Kanjuro. We were… We ARE headed to Zou after.", their conversation was cut short by shouting in the background. Usopp was desperately trying to wrestle the Transponder Snail’s Mouthpiece from Luffy, who predictably had monopolized the conversation. “So, You’re the Boss of this Ding-Dong Caesar?!”

Apparently while the two of them were distracted, a call from Donquixote Doflamingo had come through, the warlord Law had blackmailed only yesterday. The man in question just sat there stunned, as their Captain continued to shout into the Transponder: “We’re giving him back since that was the deal, but if you ever do something like that again, I’m coming for you!”

Not even a week back on the seas and Luffy had already threatened an emperor and a warlord. Sanji had really missed this crew. His last smoke had already burned out by now and he flicked the stub into the waves.

Doflamingo didn’t react angry or anything, he seemed completely in control as he vaguely baited Luffy: “As it happens, I’ve got something that I highly suspect you’ll be… desperate to get your hands on.”

Finally Law sprang into action. It was easy to get lost in their rubber brained Captains shenanigans, especially if you aren’t used to the widely swinging moods. Currently Luffy was lying on the floor dreaming of meat, even though their opponent hadn’t even suggested anything closely to edible, while Usopp was shaking the other boy.
Rubbing his head the cook focused back on the important stuff.

“Stick to the topic at hand, Joker! We’ll hand over Caesar as agreed.”, Law’s tone was strained and clipped.
An answering hum came out of the snail’s mouth: “That’s a smart move. For your own sake. You know the consequences if you try and vanish on me now.”

Sanji couldn’t really see the expression the other was making, with his head bowed and most of his face hidden behind his hat. The surgeon’s hand was clenched around the transmitter. The cook moved closer to hear better, trying not to put too much weight on his broken leg.

“First, show me that my valuable business partner is unharmed.”, Doflamingo asked.

With a jerk of his arm Law brought the microphone over to their captive.
Caesar looking barely worse for wear, in Sanji’s opinion, started to wail: “Joker, I can’t believe you quit for little, old…”
“Eight hours from now on Greenbit,” Law interrupted, “We’ll leave Caesar there at 3 in the afternoon. Collect him at your leisure. There will be no other contact.”

There was barely any time for the warlord to answer before Law hung up unceremoniously.

“Wait a second! We couldn’t even specify the number of people he can bring!”, Sanji’s chin nearly fell to the floor in shock, he thought Law was one of the smart ones. “What if…”
A glare was thrown his way. A curt answer from the surgeon following: “It doesn’t matter. He’s only a decoy.” The rude bastard turned back towards the rest of the crew. “Our goal is the destruction of the smile factory.”

It was now Kin’emon’s turn to cut into the conversation, the worry over his friend still evident in his voice. “We are still headed for Dressrosa then? Because the place you spoke of, Greenbit…”
“Greenbit is part of it. Don’t worry, well land the ship at Dressrosa.”, Law’s shoulders had dropped their tenseness, it seemed he had finally calmed down a bit.

Luffy skipped over: “Have you been to this place before then, Traffy?”
“No. It is… It was his Kingdom.”, there was definitely some history there, in the way Law had to grit the words out through his teeth.
Their captain nodded smartly: “In that case we can think it over when we get there!” Or not so smartly. Luffy grinned from ear to ear now. “I smell an adventure! I can’t wait to see Dressrosa! And Wano too!”

Up went the other man’s shoulders again in stress: “Wait Strawhat! This isn’t the kind of thing you can do without a plan!” His pleas fell on deaf ears, the sound of Sandals slapping on wood already retreating up the deck.

“A word to the wise… Luffy’s definition of an alliance is probably different from yours. Making him do anything isn’t a piece of cake.”

The other man just glared at Sanji again. What fly had bitten him? Had the blonde done or said anything wrong? He was already unreasonably short with the cook yesterday. Let Law try to persuade Luffy into following a plan then. Sanji was going to enjoy another cigarette in the meantime.

Out of nowhere a sniggering Lawn-carpet appeared next to the cook: "Looks like not only women are immune to your charm, huh curly?" 

It took everything in Sanji to ignore the dumb idiot standing there expectantly, without retaliating. How dare he come over, having already let his coat slide to his hips and flaunt his well-defined muscled arms glistening with sweat?

He inhaled a lungful of fresh smoke, letting it slowly curl out of his mouth as he narrowed his eye at the mosshead. It was obvious his fond feelings the day before had been a fluke, the swordsman was still as annoying as always.

Abruptly he turned his head: “Hey, Goji! Zoro wants to come play with you guys! Be nice, yeah?”

Exited shouting drew closer as two pairs of little feet bustled over and threw themselves at the protesting man. That was one nuisance taken care of, sunlight was good for houseplants anyway, right?

"You shouldn't smoke so much.", muttered the little reindeer walking past him with his first aid bag in hand. Chopper looked up at him, his little blue nose twitching. "Especially with the kids around."

Guiltily Sanji took a last long drag and snuffed out his cigarette, pocketing the bud, even though they were far away from the two little demons currently clinging to both ends of Zoro’s weights as he lifted them in the air. The corners of his mouth threatened to rise all on their own, no! The blond refused to smile about anything the training obsessed green did! Hadn’t he trained enough for one day anyway?

Instead, he turned to follow Chopper checking up on their captive again. "You know, the smoke just disperses into the air or something?", he only got an unimpressed blank stare back, "I mean, we are outside, right?" 

Seemingly not in the mood to rehash this old topic again, the doctor just hummed noncommittally, pouting. Sanji’s heart broke a little. "Sholololo, you should listen to your little Doctor, you know? All those particles in the air, clinging to your lungs..." That cockroach Caesar put on his fake benevolent smile, as if that would fool anyone here. "You know that's all Gas as well, if you lose my chains I could..." 

Sanji accidentally stepped on the assholes foot with his cane. Not as satisfying as kicking him in the face would have been, but good enough.

"Sanji!", Chopper admonished him, "Again? No fighting my patients! Honestly..." 

"You fucker!", screeched the pale man getting his bandages changed, "Fine! Not like you or that brat for the matter have to worry about these things... We normal humans can't just shrug off years of tar buildup in our respiratory system... How's your broken leg by the way?" 

It got quiet. It wasn't bothering him as much as it should have... Gritting his teeth he hobbled away, he had to prepare breakfast anyway.

"What are you looking at you little monster?" He stopped again. 
He heard heavy steps coming over and Choppers calm voice quietly saying: "I'm done." 

Then, the sound of three sword sheaths hitting someone's skull one after the other. The cook continued on into the kitchen, as Zoro corralled Chopper into playing with the two kids (and the Marimo himself).

He could feel eyes following him into the galley, the hairs of his neck standing on end. 

He smoothed a hand over the back of his head, calming down and already mentally preparing a list of tasks in his head. Sanji fished a worn-out little book out of one of the cabinets, there was an old Omelet recipe he felt like preparing, breaking eggs and whisking might give his antsy hands something better to do...

A stern old chef looked up at him from a newspaper clipping he had saved recently. Patty and Carne were happily pointing at the new addition to the Baratie, a giant monstrosity designed after Sanji’s old wanted poster. Those fuckers. He smiled at the constipated look of his mentor, never smiling for pictures, not even for the papers.

For a moment Sanji stopped what he was doing, laying the freshly washed tomatoes on the cutting board. It had been a while since he had last written the geezer, longer even than he heard his voice. He eyed the picture again. It wasn't like they would have changed their Transponder Snails signature or anything. He just didn't have much to brag about. 

Well in the past he didn’t... Zeff would surely like to know about Goji. You couldn’t just spring a small child on the man who raised you. Sanji imagined the old grumps face if he showed up in a few years or so, after their adventure, a preteen in tow. He'd have a heart attack. The blond grinned, already reaching for the phone. 

He knew the contact for the front desk by heart, the stupid geezer wouldn't answer his personal snail during dinner preparations. It rang for a few minutes, the transponder repeating the prepared waiting message.

'Thank you for your patience. Please hold, the Baratie prides itself on its customer service and a member of our staff will be with you shortly.'

Sanji wondered who it was that had to run the entrance today. Carne did like to play host if the kitchen was adequately staffed, but there was a stronger possibility it would be usual attendant.

"Baratie, Dai speaking. How can I help you today?"

"Hey," the cook awkwardly cleared his throat, the familiar, well-mannered voice already getting to him, "Uhm it's me, Sanji... is the Boss in?" It had been a while since he had to clarify who was speaking to any of the long-term staff in the Baratie, but he figured it had also been a while since any of them heard his voice.

"Oh shit! Kid, how have you been?", came the exited answer from the Maître’d. Sanji groaned he hadn’t been a kid in a long time. He had also grown taller than Dai a long time ago as well, the man barely reached his knee now.

"I’m fine the sea has been good to me. You'll get in trouble for cursing on the phone though..." 
A dull thumb was heard over the line. The sound of a pegleg hitting the bony head of the small Nile-Tilapia fishman. Too late then.

He heard Zeff’s familiar voice berating Dai. "Are we taking personal calls during work hours now? What's our policy for that?" 

"I did not go against the rules, sir! You know me, I am a stickler for rules!", the blond imagined the man straightening his jacket, falling back into his role easily. Dai wouldn’t get out of this one, a personal was a personal, no exceptions! 

He felt kind of bad to have gotten the man in trouble, after all he was one of Sanji’s more tolerable pseudo-Uncles. Mildly miffed Dai said: "It’s our boy calling. I was just about to get you."

"Hello...", Sanji croaked out again. The shouting stopped, then: "Little Eggplant? Took you long enough to call."
The blond rolled his eyes: "I wrote Letters. I just sent one last week!" 

"I'm taking lunch.", was faintly shouted into the kitchen of the Baratie. The rhythmic thumping of Zeff making his way across the restaurant was nostalgic. He didn't think he would get that pang of homesickness in his chest hearing it.

He heard a door close while Zeff grumbled into the Transponder. "You know that's not the same. I thought Strawhat might have run you so ragged you could barely speak!" 
Sanji laughed; it wasn't that far from the truth with Luffy’s appetite. "Nothing I can't handle; I had a great teacher when it came to cooking." 

"Is everything alright Eggplant? You're getting sentimental on me.", a suspicious pause, "Next you tell me you miss me." 
"As if, you old geezer! Don't worry, I'm fine, everyone is healthy and alright. I just need some advice...", Sanji could hear the raised eyebrow, "on raising a child?"

Zeff sighed into the phone: "Oh Sanji, who did you knock up?" 

"What?! „No one!", stressed the blond cook grabbed one of the larger bowls from under the sink and began to whisk the eggs for the Omelet into shape. Not that his interest lay with the fairer sex right now anyway, damit.
"Unfortunately, you won't have to worry about that at the moment. No, I kind of took a kid in? He's about 9 years old." 

Zeff started laughing hysterically, tears gathering in the Snails eyes, mirroring his mentor. "Well," He panted out, "seems like a cat doesn’t give birth to dogs." 

A cold shudder ran down Sanji's back. He was used to the strange Idioms only the old man ever seemed to use, hailing from the chef’s hometown. He had only ever told Zeff the barest of information about his birth father. Enough to keep him from trying to find any living relatives to send him to, so how would he know anything about the cat that had produced Sanji?

"What's that supposed to mean?", he whispered. As he diced some Onions, the next hit of the knife on the cutting board packed a bit more strength than was strictly necessary. Good thing he didn't do that to the bell peppers.

Zeff snorted: "Just that you copied more from me than your fighting style! So, where did that Tyke come from?" A brief warmth bloomed in Sanji’s chest, before the question registered and a nervous hand crept into the blond’s hair, "Well, technically you could say he is my brother..." 

"Technically?"

"Biologically."

"Hmm.", Zeff sighed out a weary breath. "You rescued him then?" 

They had found some mushrooms thriving at the humid hot/cold border of Punk Hazard. The blond made even slices as he thought about the answer to that. 

"Maybe.", the Mushroom slices went into the pan with the chopped onions and bell peppers, "Listen, you should keep a low profile for a bit. I never told you this, but my father is a dangerous man. I ... I am worried Zeff."

"I am not scared of any man and whoever he might be now, he isn't your father anymore.", the restauranteur sounded like he was barely holding back from screaming, "I can take care of myself little Eggplant, so don't go bald worrying over an old man. I'd rather have you tell me what you're cooking." 

With tears in his eyes Sanji began to tell him the recipe step by step, getting some critical advice. 

There was still a lot he wanted to tell the man who raised him, but there was time. He hadn't even started on the sandwiches yet.  

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Law was glad that Vinsmoke had disappeared into the kitchen for now, he could concentrate on getting Strawhat to listen instead of watching his own back all the time. The surgeon still kept an eye out for the other North Blue resident. It didn’t seem that any of the Strawhat Crew knew about the third prince of the Germa kingdom, they still behaved the same way he expected them to before the big revelation from Caesar. The archeologist at the very least had to know though and it set Law on edge again, he couldn’t allow himself any mistakes now that he was so close to his goal!

So close to avenging Cora-sans death…

He stalked after Strawhat, who was playing with the two children and his doctor on the lawn.
“Strawhat, it is important that you understand the plan. If we want to take down Kaido, we have to get rid of Doflamingo first!”
“Why’s that?”, asked not the captain, but the first mate leaning against the mast nearby. Better than nothing, Law guessed.

“Kaido of the Beasts is one of the Donquixote Families largest underground clients.”, he began, “With the chemicals from the S.A.D. production facility I destroyed on Punk Hazard, Doflamingo can produce his own man-made Zoan Type Devil Fruits, that he sells to Kaido in great quantities.”

The nose suddenly joined their conversation, shouting over from the other side of the deck, where he was tinkering on some weaponry or other: “Man-made? If you could just create Devil Fruits, people with powers would pop up all over the place!”

“Exactly.” That at least got the Straw hat’s attention as well. “There are some risks to the Smile Fruits, as they call them, but there are at least 500 Devil-Fruit users in Kaido’s Crew already. That is why I asked you to kidnap Caesar. Without the S.A.D. there is no Smile.”
Even though he broke it down to the simplest terms possible, he could see that Straw hat was already losing his focus, dammit.

“So, that guy,” the little Reindeer, Doctor Tony-Tony, was pointing at Caesar sitting at the swordsman’s feet, “That despicable guy made the foundation for those Devil Fruits? Incredible...”
There was no need to admire the guy overly, after all: “It’s just an application of the bloodline elements first discovered by Vegapunk.”

Tony-Tony got a contemplative look on his face again, muttering: “Bloodline elements, I just read that term before, but I didn’t really think about it. Do you have some more information about that? It’s really important!”
“I’ve got a book about that somewhere, Chopper.”, the Archeologist Ms. Nico said serenely.
They were getting of topic again…

Caesar, after being ignored for 2 Minutes pouted and grumbled under his breath: “As if the little Critter could decipher what took a Genius like me years to uncover.”
A hand grew out of the Tree and slapped the supposed Genius as he got kicked in the side by Roronoa’s heavy boot. “I just treated his wounds!”
Law felt his left eye twitch.

“Focus! We already got Doflamingo to step down from the throne he held for 10 years and agree to meet us in greenbit!”, the surgeon shouted over the loud laughter of the other crew’s captain.
“Relax bro, you said Caesar is a decoy, right?”, Law nodded at the Robo carpenter leaning against the railing, “So we destroy that Smile Factory on Dressrosa while you’re busy. Easy-Peasy. It must be a super big building, can’t be that hard to miss. One Franky laser beam should do it!” The blue haired man winked at him. He heard Ms. Nico chuckling happily next to him. That was it, Law was out.

He saw Vinsmoke disappear into the galley earlier. Perhaps he could snatch a cup of Chamomile Tea while he was there.
Faint snippets of conversation reached Law from the other side of the door.
“No, you’re right. You raised me. You should be the only family that matters to me. It’s just hard…”
What? Was Vinsmoke talking to the Dictator that was terrorizing the Blue Law was born in?

He knew that the blond was hiding something! It couldn’t be that he was planted here to foil Law’s plans, the surgeon himself hadn’t known he was going to ally with Straw hat until it happened, so what could a war monger want with a upstart crew from the East Blue?
Trapped in his own head, he missed some chunks of conversation.

“When do I get to see little Goji then?”, the voice wasn’t what he expected. Grimm and rough sounding, but not with the authoritarian dignity he thought it would hold. Comics could only tell you so much, huh?

“I’ll bring him over when I come home.”, Vinsmoke sounded happy, not like he was being coerced or threatened, was he only pretending to be Straw hat’s friend?
Vinsmoke’s father answered: “Bring your swordsman too, when you stop hiding in the kitchen.”
“He’s NOT my swordsman!”, the cook sputtered, “And I am not hiding either. I just don’t want to see that guy right now.”

Who? It wouldn’t make sense to hide from his crew if Vinsmoke thought that they suspected anything. That would only make him more suspicious.
“I don’t really know what to do with him, I mean why do I even…”, Vinsmoke groaned in despair.
So, he was probably hiding from Law himself. Well, though Luck. Law pushed the door open.

“Oh!”, Vinsmoke quickly recovered from the shock of seeing the surgeon stand in his kitchen with narrowed eyes. “I’m so sorry, I might have forgotten the time. Bye Zeff, I’ll get back to you about that Sole Meunière…” He hung up. They were probably speaking in codes.

The blond hung up his apron and started putting several plates with sandwiches on the table. Ugh bread. “Dinner got kind of away from me. Are you hungry?”
Not for whatever traitorous dish Vinsmoke was planning. Just as a plate with delicious smelling Omelete’s made its way to the table as well, the door burst open and Luffy came in:
“I am hungry!”

The rest of dinner was spent trying to defend his plate and listen to the Samurai of Wano tell them about the friend he wanted to rescue on Dressrosa.

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He had brought Buffalo and Baby 5 home, safe and sound. Even though it must have been humiliating to have been beaten by their little runaway and his new friends. Doflamingo chuckled. Let him think he had won the first round in their struggle for power, the game wasn’t over yet.

The tall blond man stood in what must have been a private dinning hall in the Riku familie's time. Now it was the meeting place for his most inner circle, the heads of his little family.
Through the tall rows of windows, he could hear his subjects cry out in alarm, the fake story about his abdication had just been printed. Doflamingo was a little miffed that he had to pull some strings in the world government to make that happen, but oh well, at least his family name was good for something for once.

Behind him stood a row of 4 Seats, the Spade seat was already occupied by Pica, with Diamante settling in next to him on his own throne.
They were still waiting on Trebol then to fill the seat of club. He had sent Baby 5 to get him with their little prize for the tournament. She wouldn’t disappoint him. 

In the meantime: “The Coliseum is booming as always, thanks to you Diamante.”
Always one to refuse a compliment Diamante turned away. "Nonsense, it’s a result of your charismatic royal lead, Dofy.”, he kept hemming and hawing even when Doflamingo insisted, he just couldn't stop fishing for more positive words, even after Doflamingo called him the hero of the Coliseum.
Keeping a straight face the warlord backed off: “Fine, I take it back.”
It was entertaining to see Diamante do a 180 in a second. It certainly kept his mind from wandering to the disappointingly dusty Heart seat, remaining empty still.

If he had his way, he would put someone on there, but oh other people could be so selfish and stubborn. Law running around and hiding until now and his brother…

Trebol dropped from the ceiling in a disgusting display of his powers and pushed right into Doflamingo’s personal space. “You’re too close.”
At least he had brought what he asked for, the little treasure chest being passed over to the warlord.
Another clucking laugh rose in his chest.

“If Straw hat learns I have this, he will be desperate to get his hands on it and this little alliance will turn into a set of shackles holding him back.”
The Flame-Flame Fruit of Portgas D Ace. Oh, how he knew the stupid mistakes one might make because of family connections. He had saved this fruit for just such an occasion, the perfect bait.
“I will entrust this to you Diamante, only a genius like you can take it.”, after another back and forth, he took the chest.
“If you insist, I admit it! I am a genius and when Straw hat comes for the Fruit, he’ll get a nasty surprise!”

“I knew I could leave this to you. The Flame-Flame Fruit won’t just attract that little brat though. The strongest fighters from all over the New World got an invitation to a friendly little competition for this thing.”, and he wouldn’t let any of them walk away with his price, “Get ready, I want you and your Top 4 men in the ring. Señor Pink, Dellinger, Lao G and Machvise. A strong fighter like you surely won’t lose, right?”

While Diamante was trying to get some more attention, he turned to his quiet, loyal guard dog. “Get the Pica Army together and be ready. Don’t let Baby 5 or Buffalo Patrol, they’ve already seen their faces, sent someone else.”

Speaking of: “Trebol, why don’t you send Violet off as well? She will probably be the first to know if any of the Strawhats set foot on this Island.”
With a disgustingly wet snort, the Mucus-Mucus fruit user asked: “And after that? Do I get to collect them personally?”

He weighed his options, on the one hand he could trust Trebol to complete his mission perfectly, on the other hand the Straw Hats were a tiny crew, that was going to be split into even tinier groups. Hardly a task worthy of one of his top gunners.
“Send Giolla to take their ship. Any strays will be easily disposed of. No, I have a much more important task for you and Sugar in the Toyhouse. After all, we don’t want our guests to have made the long journey all for nothing.” Seeing the glint in Trebol’s eyes, he definitely understood what Doflamingo was getting at.

That should tie up all his lose ends nicely. He would take care of Law himself.
“Oh, before I forget, that rookie from Mock Town, that came crawling back here, put him in the ring too. Might be entertaining, no?”
With that he turned to leave. Law thought he was smarter than him? Let us see that little bug escape his net.

“Where are you going?”, Trebol called after him.
Doflamingo paused: “Into the dungeons. Sent Pica if there is any unexpected News.”
Time for a little visit.
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Chapter Text

One day earlier:

Marines fell at the arrival of Donquixote Doflamingo, the man’s King Haki clearing the way.
Smoker had had the luck to be able to avoid Rosinante’s psychotic older brother in his career. Now the warlord and King of Dressrosa stood before him, his brows furrowed angrily even as he licked his smiling lips.

“Where did they go?... Law I can understand. But Strawhat’s just a regular old pirate!”, calmly the taller man lifted his hand, strings so thin they were nearly invisible running from his fingertips into the sky. Smoker’s men were cut deeply by the wires as the bastard lost his cool: “YOU let them GO!! WHICH DIRECTION DID THESE DAMN KIDS GO?!”

Law had mentioned that they were headed to Greenbit, but the last thing Smoker wanted to do was to deliver the boy on a silver platter to a crazy, murdering madman. While Doflamingo continued his rampage, the Marine activated his own devil fruit powers, a Haki coated fist nearly missing the gaudy glasses the secret head of the underworld was never seen without.
 
“I wouldn’t know… Joker.”, Smoker squared up to the warlord, “I carelessly let them slip away. I’ll have a lot to answer for to Commander Vergo after this one.” Not that the false Commander could hear him anyway, on account of being cut into pieces and then blown sky high.

“You know he is gone!”, hissed the asshole – his hands locked in position like the talons of a bird, “I’m getting the sense you know too much.”

He leapt back just as a fine line, burning like fire, opened across his face. Smoker just saw his cigars fall in front of him, neatly parted into two pieces each.
Quickly he retaliated or at least tried to. Before he could land a single hit, Doflamingo had kicked him away. Smoker felt one of his ribs break, but he couldn't give up! Even an injured dog could still bite. He rushed past the other, his Jitte in hand and swung for long calves.

An angry howl was the last warning before the deadly strings shredded his chest into a bloody mess.
For a moment Smoker felt faint, before a pointed shoe pushed him to the ground on his back.
He snarled struggling under the pressure, but nothing.
“Down boy.”, of course a classless prick like Doflamingo would mock an opponent, when he is finished. He panted, barely able to see through the blood running down his face. This was it huh?

“You know, even when he signed up for his undercover mission. He still regretted that he had to lock up his own brother… Did you feel anything when you betrayed Rosinante?”
Like a scalpel held with deadly precision by a surgeon, Doflamingo cut through Smoker’s throat, just shy of hitting his aorta. “I’ll make sure you bleed out slowly in this snow.” A clawlike hand aimed for his head this time… and stopped cold.

Through the black spots in his vision, he made out the telltale sign of frost across Doflamingo’s form. Could it really be? Another tall figure in front of him, black locks covered by a beanie.
Kuzan had always been nearly as tall as Rosi, no wonder he also rivaled the man’s brother in stature. Relieved, he closed his eyes for a moment, not being able to make sense of the words Doflamingo’s retreating voice was forming. Something about a new plan and a shout: “... What are you now?! Kuzan?”

A godsend is what he was, his old friend wasted no time kneeling in the fast-reddening snow next to him and checking him over. Ignoring the warlord completely in the process. “Excuse me! I need some help here!” A strong hand traced the large gashes on his chest and pushed them together, freezing the very surface.
A pained groan left Smoker’s mouth. Followed by a gurgle of blood. The hand swiftly moved to his neck instead.
“Don’t be a baby. You’ll live… Although I am not sure if your eye will make a full recovery.”
He didn’t care to check his eye, his whole face felt open and feverish and that was the least of his problems. A doctor would have to look that over…
But it wasn’t a doctor wrapping his wounds, it was Kuzan.

Weakly he grabbed his rescuer’s free hand.
Kuzan just laughed, moving on to bandage his head. “I guess it was fate, that brought me here. We nearly lost you, old friend.”
Still lying on his back Smoker reached for a cigar from his holster, quirking an eyebrow.
“You’re lucky I came looking for you. What were you thinking? Fighting with Doflamingo?”, Kuzan gently shoved his arm back down. Not like he was comfortably breathing right now anyway.
 
Something struck him right then though. The former admiral shouldn’t have known that he was here.
It was a whim of the universe that brought him to Punk Hazard… He narrowed his eyes at his former superior. The bastard just kept treating his wounds.

A finger rubbed at the seams of the bandages at his throat, nervously smoothing down the edges. A subconscious admission of guilt, rather unassuming if you didn’t know to look for it. Unfortunately, the two men had known each other for a long time. With a dull thud the white chase let his head fall back into the snow. Closing his eyes.

An alarmed shout came from his men, who were quickly shoed of by the agitated ex-marine.
Cold fingers reached for his pulse. 
Then a sigh from his friend: “It’s just me, Smoker.”
Avoiding the question, another tactic that he knew from the other men all too well. If he didn’t want to talk to him… Fine, then. Maybe they had spent too much time apart to still be able to trust each other like they did as young cadets. Maybe it was the loss of their other friend… Who knew.

But if Kuzan wasn’t going to tell him anything more than vague warnings about Doflamingo, then Smoker wasn’t going to tell him about Law either.
Maybe that was petty of him, but he was still a marine and some information wasn’t shared with outsiders. But perhaps he should share the news with a certain Inspector General who would be very interested in what he had to say. Or if he was unlucky, sign.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Franky had started to build a new bunk bed for the boys’ quarters. Both the kids were enthusiastic to give their feedback on the designs. 

Coupled with the fact that Goji started to spend more time in the infirmary than the kitchens and that he was following around Zoro with stars in his eyes, Sanji was starting to think his little brother didn't like him very much...

Well, he was a pretty busy guy, cooking for the entire crew and being slowed down by his damn leg as well. Besides kids tended to get along swimmingly with Zoro. Maybe it was better like this.

He didn't really know what he was doing anyway. 

On the plate in front of him rested a few healthy snacks for the kids. Star-shaped carrots, bell-pepper hearts, a few apple bunnies and an assortment of dips. Sanji balanced the plate on his free arm while leaning on his cane with the other. 

He would need to make a few rounds; the ladies still needed their Fruit salad and the rest of the crew... well they could go get their veggie snacks themselves actually.

"Need some help?", the muscle freak was being overly nice since yesterday. 
Sanji narrowed his eyes at the Mosshead: "No thanks. I'm not an invalid." 
"Yeah, an invalid smells better." 

His mouth flapped open in indignation. Had he heard that right? "Excuse you? Mister, I shower once a month wants to lecture me on personal hygiene?" 

The grip of his cane was creaking with how hard he was holding it. The vulgar sword obsessed idiot had the audacity to just shrug at him. 
“Not my fault my sweat is scentless.”

“It is not.” It really wasn’t. Not that it was horridly odorous. For some reason he did smell more pleasant than the average man, but with the infrequency that the moss-head bathed, he still stank to all hell. “If one of us needs to bathe it’s you.”

“Maybe we both need to bathe then.”, was said with remarkable calmness.
Sanji wasn’t capable of subtlety like that at the moment. For some stupid, miserable reason, the thought of sitting alone with a glistening, completely naked Marimo rushed blood into his nose. Both his hands were occupied, no catching it, if he got a nosebleed.

As casual as possible he sniffed. “Over my dead body, you perv.”
“Perv? If anyone…”, the talking seaweed was interrupted.
“I wanna bathe with Zoro and Sanji, too!”, Goji was quiet when he wanted to be. They had to be more careful with the two kids listening to stuff they had no business knowing.

“You misunderstood. I am still busy with cooking, but I am sure Zoro will go with you … and Momo.”, said young Wano resident had noticed that his new friend had gotten distracted and jumped at the chance to take the platter of treats off the cook’s hands. “We should fight a mighty sea battle in the tub!” He shouted while stuffing an apple slice into his mouth. At least he offered the plate to Goji after.

“How about a meditation in the calm water, to center your spirit, great warrior?”, the damn shitty swordsman was unfairly good at this. Momonosuke nodded, eager to prove his worth as a Samurai. Even Goji was all on board, but no wonder, he liked anything if he could follow around Zoro.

No matter. He actually did still have preparations to finish in the kitchen. He wanted to try making something from the West Blue. Brook had been in better spirits now, than before the whole punk hazard thing, but still… Not like it was a difficult recipe. A rich tomato sauce, refined with oregano and basil, a heap of toppings, some mozzarella cheese and a special kind of yeast dough for the bread.

The yeast would need to be activated first, mixed together with water and a bit of sugar. After a short rest, the water together with olive oil and some salt landed in a bowl with some light airy flour.
Kneed until elastic and voila. While the dough was rising, he could sit for a minute and smoke. Sanji surreptitiously sniffed at his shirt. Should he have taken a quick dip in the bath after all?

A knock sounded on the galley door. Huh, usually his crewmates just barged in, even when he was cooking the only one explicitly banned was Luffy.

"Come in?"
The little figure of Chopper pushed open the door and timidly walked inside. That didn't bode well for the cook. 
"Hello Sanji, do you have some time for me?", in his hooves the Doctor was clutching a heavy tome, some sort of medical text if Sanji had to guess. The stone in the pit of his stomach grew heavier. 

"Sure!", he belted out chipper. It wouldn't do to worry Chopper as well, "You know I always have time for a visit from my favorite Doctor!"
They both knew Sanji was a notoriously difficult patient.

Chopper nodded; his eyebrows scrunched together. "It's not about your leg." He squinted at the Cigarette in the Cooks fingers. "Or your smoking."

He hadn't even lit it up this time! The doctor was unusually persistent about the whole smoking thing...

"It's about Goji.", Chopper plopped his reading material on the kitchen table, "And the stuff Law talked about earlier." 
The blond let himself fall into a chair next to the table. It looked like this was going to be a longer conversation. 

"Robin gave me a book on what exactly the bloodline elements are. All living organisms, be it plants or animals, have an instruction manual inside of them. It is passed down from parents to their children and determines what we look like and how we function. Caesar must have changed the bloodline elements telling a normal fruit, that it is a normal fruit. I am not sure how he did what he did to create the Smiles, but it makes sense. It is probably easier to tweak the bloodline information to make the body turn into another animal than to turn it for example into rubber."

Sanji wasn’t too sure why that made sense, he had understood about a tenth of what he was looking at in Chopper’s book. If he was being generous. 

"I read some of Caesar’s files about Goji... or rather what ... your father sent him about Goji.”, the Doctor cautiously looked at him for a reaction. Sanji tried not to let show how much it disturbed him that everyone knew about his past now. “Letters and Data logs. A lot of it was crossed out, before that bastard outside even got them." 

The little reindeer looked close to tears, taking a deep breath before continuing on: "I think he experimented with Goji’s bloodline elements!"

Sanji nodded, expression hollow: "Sounds like something he'd do." 

"You're not surprised?”, Chopper asked shocked, “Of course you’re not…”
He just sighed, rubbing his neck. “Why are you telling me all this? Do you want to know if he got to me too? He didn’t, he failed with me.” Sanji started to get up.

“Wait! I … that’s not what I wanted to ask! I would never pressure you to tell me something you’re not ready to talk about yet!” He had made the other upset. Chopper was huffing agitated, so Sanji laid a calming hand on his head.
“I know. I am sorry too. It’s not something I like to think about too much.”
“I would like to take a blood sample from Goji, there is something I suspect, after reading the notes… But don’t panic, it probably isn’t something bad! I don’t even know if there even is anything to be worried about yet!”

The cook blinked at the little outburst. “I’m not worried. What do you need me for though?”
Now it was Choppers turn to look confused. “Well, you are his guardian now, are you not? I thought I should talk to you first, before I take a blood sample from Goji…”

“Oh.”, Sanji didn’t know how to feel about that. What did being a guardian even mean? Zeff had said that he had to look after the little one’s health, but he didn’t know that meant making medical decisions for a whole ‘nother person.

It suddenly dawned on him, that he was responsible for Goji now. Like really responsible. He thought it over for a moment. With everyone else he would be apprehensive to agree to any testing being done on the kid, but Chopper?
“If you think it’s necessary, do it. You’re the ship physician. I’ll trust your opinion on this, Doctor!”

It was cute that even at 17 Chopper did that awkward little happy dance when he got a compliment about his craft. He hoped that the younger never grew out of it.
With a last little shake of his furry head, seemingly wandering over his whole body, Chopper caught himself again.

“Can I ask one more thing?”, Sanji had the sudden urge to ask -I don’t know, can you? -. He suppressed it. It was always really lame when Zeff did it.
“Shoot.”

Timidly Chopper looked up at him, pulling him back to sit on the chair. Oh No. Chopper took the chair opposite him.
“You said, your dad didn’t get to you…”
“Jup.”, that wasn’t so bad, maybe he would get out of this with only a mild stress headache.
“But you also said that he failed.”
“Hmm.” Shit, shit, shit.
“Both can’t be true at the same time. Sanji, he also wrote some things about your other siblings in his letters. Things you probably wouldn’t have told me yourself, even though I am your doctor. It feels wrong not to let you know, that I read what he did to them… and to you.”

Sanji didn’t want to talk about his feelings with Chopper. He successfully avoided talking about his feelings for 2 years! He wasn’t going to break that streak now!  He didn’t need to be pitied. It was all long in the past, he was fine now.

The silence hung heavy between them, the 17 year old nearly in tears and the cook avoiding eye contact. Just then his angel of salvation deigned to step into the kitchen and save him.

“Is everything okay? You look really pale Sanji.”, Nami observed, looking between the two stiff figures sitting in front of her.
He was thinking of an answer, stammering. What could he say? We’re talking about my bastard dad?
“We’re talking about Sanji’s father.”, Chopper unhelpfully filled the silence.

“Right.”, she nodded. “We should think about what to do when he finds out you aren’t dead.”
Cold sweat started to form on the back of the cook’s neck. This wasn’t going his way at all.
“You don’t need to worry yourself with that, my sweet Mellorine! My problems shouldn’t cloud your day as well!”

“It’s not just your problem, you Idiot!”, Nami had screamed at him for different things before, but usually he didn’t have this intense kind of focus on him. He liked it that way, just a happy little presence in the back of her periphery. A shining knight she could rely on in trouble. Not a burden.

He tried to draw into himself, escape this whole thing somehow, but Nami wasn’t as cautious as Chopper. The flat of her palm hit the table, his eyes flitted towards her again.
“That emotionless prick is going to go after you again. Caesar told him some shit I didn’t completely understand, but he was really eager to get you in a Lab.”

Chopper’s ears flicked up in alarm: “Do you remember what exactly he said?”
“Hey, now…”, they didn’t need to do this now, right? Just for some hypothetical case of emergency?
Nami tapped her well-manicured finger on the table: “I’m not sure. Something about Genes and Germs?”
The reindeer nodded to himself: “Was it Germa? I think …”
“Enough!”, Sanji interrupted, “This- This whole thing is none of your business.”

Both his friend just looked at him with shocked expressions. He shouldn’t have yelled.
Ashamed he quietly apologized. “I’m sorry. But you need to leave.”
Nami caught herself first, shaking her head in disbelief. “What? Sanji…”

Sanji smiled at them; he didn’t want to worry them more than necessary after all. “Let’s talk about this another time my dear. I am still a bit busy with dinner preparations. You know how Luffy gets when a meal is late.”
He gently but insistently leads her to the door, Chopper following quietly after him.
“I am sure that Judge will be quite disappointed to hear I didn’t disappear into the Ocean floor with the rest of the facilities on Punk Hazard, but otherwise I wouldn’t worry too much. He hasn’t bothered thinking about me in 10 years, I am sure he’ll get back to that habit quickly.”

He grabbed a serving of Cakes he had neglected to bring out to the girls earlier, how unlike him, handed it to her and closed the door with a quick: “Enjoy your sweet treat, my sweet!”

The cook wanted to burry himself in a dark corner and cry a bit, but he actually did have to get back to the sauce. Dinner wouldn’t wait just because he was feeling the uncomfortable pressure of dread that came with all thoughts about his blood relatives.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zoro was finally done helping the kids get washed up and gotten to his own hair, when Chopper trailed in. He looked a bit exhausted when he let himself fall onto the stool next to the swordsman. 

"Long day, huh?" The doctor looked even smaller without his hat, it was hard to imagine that his actual body towered over Usopp. 
Chopper had brought his own little bottle of fur friendly soap and started lathering his head with it. 

"Yeah," sighed the devil fruit user, "Sanji threw me and Nami out of the kitchen." 

The greenette checked the kids were still busy splashing each other in the big bathtub Franky built to accommodate them all. "He did what?" The cook was usually as protective of Chopper as Robin. 

"Not physically... I might have pushed him too hard. I was trying to talk to him about his past." 
Zoro nodded, that would do it. "Don't take it personally, you know how prissy curly gets sometimes." 

Chopper dumped a whole bucket of water over his head, before shaking off the excess. "I know. But still, I think maybe he would have been more comfortable if you talked to him. Or maybe a human Doctor..."

“What? Of course not! Why would you think that?”, at Zoro’s outburst the happy playing in the bathtub stopped and the kids looked over curiously, badly disguising their eavesdropping.
The swordsman waved them over. “If you two are done, why don’t you dry up and go ask Kin’emon for some pajamas?”
“Pajamas?” Momonosuke looked confused, but Goji seemed a bit more sensitive to the turmoil on Chopper’s face and tugged the other Boy out of the bathroom.

Zoro turned back to the ships Doctor: “You know the cook thinks the world of you right? We all do.”
“I know!”, Chopper hurried to say while toweling his fur dry, it always took a while, “I’m not saying he thinks I am a monster, but you know sometimes unconscious biases can still influence what we do… It’s like in the back of your mind something can still sense that I am other, not human, even if you know I’m your friend.”

He thought about what the reindeer was trying to tell him.
“So? Plenty of people are scared of me.”
“It’s not the same…”
Zoro interrupted, even though he usually tried to not talk over the younger crewmember: “Chopper, there is a reason I am called the demon of the East Blue. A lot of people are uncomfortable around me before they even realize who I am. The witch said it’s because I have a menacing aura… And if that isn’t that back of the mind, instincts thing, it’s similar enough.”
He ruffled Chopper’s head fur, giving him a slight smile: “The crew is pretty much immune to this kind of thing. The cook is emotionally constipated, he just doesn’t talk about shit until it gets dragged out of him. Nothing to do with you. I mean, he threw out Nami as well, gotta be stress right?”

“Yeah, you’re right!”, the younger man shook of the last few droplets of water and stood up determinedly, “Sanji is a bit more private about these things. I just have to find another way to help him!” Zoro watched him stalk out of the room, not sure if whatever the Doctor had planned was actually a good Idea.

Well, Zoro survived all of his stupid Ideas at 17 and he didn’t have a whole crew to fall back on. It was probably fine.

Just in case he got up to warn the cook anyway. Maybe he would be less volatile if he knew that some big emotional gesture was coming.

On his way out he crossed Kin’emon sitting in a circle with the Kids and … Usopp? Luffy was apparently also part of whatever arts project they had started in the short time since Zoro sent them outside. Their captain was hanging upside down from the railing, his middle twisted unnaturally, as his upper body lay in the grass with a brightly colored little card in front of him.
“Zoro!”, Goji exclaimed happily after spotting him, “We’re making Mink-ko!”
“Menko.”, Kin’emon corrected with a mild smile. The Kids held up their respective cards proudly.

Momonosuke had drawn a Samurai with two swords on his hips, Usopp was nearly finished with a perfect rendition of the Going Merry and Goji’s picture could only be the cook with the yellow hair, the curled eyebrow and a bright smile, the man reserved for women and children only.

“I played Menko as a kid too, well when I wasn’t training…”, he trailed of stuck on the misshapen Bird thing Luffy drew. He squinted, either the thing had two heads stacked on top of each other or that was a very round haircut Luffy drew. “That Law?”

Of course, all the others milling around deck took that as an invitation to come and laugh at their captain’s art skills. Not that he took it too hard, grinning like always as his body snapped back into his normal shape.
As discreetly as possible the swordsman turned back to his original goal, the kitchen.

“The fuck do you want?”, greeted him as soon as he stepped through the threshold into the galley. “Are you already done with your wash? Did you even get clean?”

The swordsman let the doors fall closed behind him, it was sweltering in here, did the other not notice? “I’m not the one spending all his time hobbling around and sweating inside an oven all day. A quick rinse was all I needed.” For some reason, that just got a disbelieving look from the blond before he was ignored again. Still pouting then.

He dropped onto one of the free barstools at the counter and waited for the cook to finish whatever sauce was bubbling in front of him. Intermittently he was glared at, as Curly mumbled insults under his breath. Usually, he just spouted out whatever was on his mind out loud. 
Zoro logically concluded that not being able to spar must have the idiot wired as well.

“Can I have a glass of water?”, he tried. Better to start the conversation easy.
“No.”, this time the cook turned his back to him as well. “Get out. Dinner is in 10.”
Several thin round discs of dough got slathered in the red Sauce and bombarded aggressively with cheese.

When it seemed all the meats and vegetables were evenly distributed as well and the discs went into the gigantic stove, Zoro went for the kill: “So rude. Did you talk to the witch that way too?”

Curly swirled around, nearly falling over as he adjusted to his new center of balance and half leapt across the counter into Zoro’s face. “Are you that bored with babysitting duty, that you had to pick a fight while I am cooking?”

The green headed man leaned into the others personal space as well. “I’m not the one who bites the head off of everyone who comes into the kitchen!”
An angry little flush spread across the curly browed face, so close to Zoro’s “I’ll bite your head off if you don’t leave, you shitty third-rate swordsman!”
“Oh, I want to see you try, handicaped dartbrow!”, it wasn’t fighting, but at least they could still verbally spar, was what Zoro thought when he heard the cane clatter to the floor.
“Oh, I’ll show you, cactus brain.”

The blond had one knee up on the counter, the bandaged leg safely tugged under his body, as the other foot cut through the air. He had just enough time to draw his sword and block before his face was introduced to the nearest wall.
Zoro grinned, another kick heading for his head. Curly was using his hands to maneuver his body on top of the work surface keeping his injury well out of striking distance.

He should have known that the thin skinned cook wouldn’t let a little broken bone stop him. But the blond still wasn’t used to fighting with only half his arsenal and Zoro soon had him pinned on his back, leaning against two of his swords. “So, how are you getting off of there without your stick?”
Twirly brow turned red in the face again, indignantly, probably offended by having lost so easily. Stalemate.

A ringing sound chimed up behind the cook and the door swung open energetically.
“Food!”, screamed Luffy, “Oh, I thought Sanji isn’t supposed to be fighting.”
He casually waltzed in and took a free seat at the table.

Chopper came running at the first mention of one of his patients breaking rest orders, as the blond swiftly scooched back and clambered, inelegantly down the side; staring mournfully at his cane on the ground.

He seemed to have opted to ignore that problem for now, moving to the oven one legged instead.
The distance between that and the counter was slight enough that he could keep himself steady with one hand and take out the “Pizza” with the other, all the while being scolded by Chopper.

Not all that selflessly, Zoro decided to take over slapping away Luffy’s hands from the cooling dishes, as everyone else milled in. Maybe he should bring the plates to the table as well?
“Hey! We only eat when everyone’s seated, shitty swordsman!”, the stupid pervert started in on him, “And If anyone gets served first it’s most certainly the beautiful lady’s and not you!”

Zoro rolled his eyes: “You can serve when you manage to pick up your walking stick by yourself, Ero-cook!”
“I got it!”, Goji ran over before the blond could answer some insult or other, helpfully picking the cane up for the cook.
“Thanks…”, curly tried to unsuccessfully push the little green headed kid back to the table but was escorted to a seat himself instead.
 
It seemed that mother-henning people had rubbed off on the tiny curly brow already. Zoro remembered the snarky blond watching his training routine like a hawk after thriller bark. He’d been bitching every time the swordsman so much as looked as if he was going to strain himself too much. He was worse than Chopper sometimes. Well maybe not Chopper, but he was the second worst when it came to looking after others … and also to heeding his own damn health routine, come to think of it.
Served him well to have Goji trailing after him like a puppy. 

Momonosuke, seemingly taking a page out of the other boy’s book slid out a chair as well. “You can have the place next to mine I suppose.”
Kin’emon was floundering a bit, but Goji was beaming, as was Curly.
“That is very nice of you Momo!”
The small samurai tried to stay stoic but couldn’t suppress a happy blush as well.

Zoro got to carry over the Pizza after all, much to everyone’s amusement.

As always, the food was good and the atmosphere at the table warm.
“How did the ‘renovations’ in the boys sleeping quarters go, Franky?”, Robin asked twirling around the lemonade she had floated over from the fridge during the meal.
The cyborg grinned back at her. “Oh, they look Super amazing! I had two little deputy-architects to help me! Very cool and comfy.” He winked and whispered loudly: “And child safe. Noones falling out of bed on my watch!”

“So you two are bunking with us from now on?”, Luffy shouted excitedly over the whole table. As much as he could shout with a mouth full of food. To be fair, Luffy could still shout rather loudly even while chewing on his third Pizza.

Nami sighed mournfully: “I will miss having you two with us…”
“If you’re lonely I can come sleep with you in your quarters!”, the joke didn’t land as Brook had intended, but Nami’s fist sure did hit its target.

“So cruel! Let me sing a Lullaby for our new Guests tonight then!”, the skeleton bounced back quickly already humming a calming tune.
“We are already way too old to need a song to rock us to sleep! And a warrior does not need to be lulled to sleep anyway!”, grumbled Momonosuke.
Much to Gojis disappointment it seemed. The kid looked crestfallen about not getting that promised lullaby. “Really? Can we not get a story either?”

“Of course you can!”, the blond sitting between the two kids ruffled the green tufts next to him affectionately, “Pirates are never too old for a song. Right Captain?”
“Let’s all sing a Lullaby together!”, Luffy cheered.
“I think your energy defeats the purpose of a Lullaby don’t you Captain?”, Robins words kicked of a discussion Zoro tuned out in favor of listening to Curly softly ask Goji: “What do you want to read tonight?”
“I bought a book with me, from Mr…. From Caesars Island.”, he shyly answered. The louder times of the crew still overwhelmed the kid, from what Zoro could see. He got this startled but wondering look in his eye. As if adults being uncivilized and happy was a new concept for him. Luffy did that to people though, so it was fine.

“Isn’t that a medical book?”, fine fingers scratched a darker blond beard, as the cook seemed to think.
The sad look was back on Goji’s face: “It’s no good then?”
“No, it’s fine!”, hurried the twirly brow to say, “I just might not understand a lot of it.”

Zoro smiled into his sake. The kid had Curly wrapped around his finger if he knew it or not.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Marimo was being weird again. It wasn’t unusual that he offered to help do the dishes after dinner, the two of them standing next to each other in companionable silence. Well, as silent as Sanji could stand it.

But usually that was all it is. Help. He was allowed to be in his own damn kitchen.
When everyone was done the bastard had made a snide remark about him probably having stressed his injury too much and suddenly everyone was ganging up on him.
Of course, the cook had protested to the best of his abilities, but after Nami suggested he go and relax in the tub a bit, Sanji had to admit defeat.

He would never refuse such a lovely gesture from a Lady, after all. If he felt a little guilty about what happened earlier in the day, well that was nobody’s business but his own.

At least he wasn’t completely alone.
Kin’emon had been banished to the bathroom as well.
“We can look after the little ones for a moment.”, Brook had said, “It is easy to forget to take care of oneself when caring for a child! Take a break.”

So now the two sat in the big communal bath, looking at the night sky. Sanji had opened the windows over the tub and enjoyed his first undisturbed cigarette of the day.
“Do you think I am a bad brother?”, the question just slipped out of his mouth and he regretted having asked instantly.

Kin’ looked surprised at him: “It is a bit early to cast judgment upon yourself, is it not? Where did this come from?”
The blond cook flicked some ash out of the window, absentmindedly “Ah, just forget it. I am just being stupid.”
“Hmm.”, the samurai was combing through his long hair, for once out of his top knot, “Well since you asked for my opinion… the boy thinks very highly of you.”

Sanji scoffed. As if, sure the kid probably wanted to like him. After all, in comparison with the rest of his psycho family he was a saint. But here on the ship? It was probably a lot more fun playing with Zoro or doing medical stuff with Chopper than watching him cook.
“I barely see him around… I doubt he likes me all that much.”

Kin’emon just smiled at him and shrugged: “He is probably worried about the same thing. I have known Momonosuke for many years before I became his guardian. It is already difficult for both of us to adjust.” Right, he had selfishly wallowed in his own self-pity, forgetting that this poor man had just lost someone. Momonosuke too.

“I imagine it must be doubly so for the two of you. Perhaps spending time together would be wise.”
Wasn’t he trying to spend time with Goji? When he thought back on it… oh shit.
It wasn’t that he meant to avoid him, the poor kid! Sanji had just been busy, stressed and trying to avoid confrontation with the Marimo.

Goji wouldn’t know that though. A deep sigh left his lungs. Sanji had messed up.
“You know with Zeff, we spent a lot of time together in the kitchens.” He doubted that Goji had any interest in that. That was fine, just… what was he supposed to do here? He and Zeff had bonded over their shared dream and passion for food. What did he share with Goji? Trauma?

Rescuing Sanji from his spiraling thoughts Kin’emon told him: “You don’t have to be doing the same thing, to be in the same room together.”

The picture of a certain idiot sleeping in the kitchen, while Sanji was stirring a pot of soup, came to mind. The sun reflecting of his messy green hair, while he snored loudly. The cook smiled.
Ugh, not again! He was supposed to think of another green head!
Well, the Goji seemed to like books, maybe he would like the opportunity to sit quietly with Sanji while he worked on some recipes…
Hadn’t the Kid just asked him to read together? He nodded determinedly.
“Thank you Kin’emon. I think I know what to do.”

With that Sanji rose out of the tub and grabbed a towel. His sleeping clothes were lying ready in the changing room. He tried to remember the last time he read a book with someone. Zeff tended to lean towards big tomes filled with different kinds of sea creatures and telling old stories from his pirate days or the All Blue.

No, it was probably his mom that had read to him last. Every time he came to visit her, she had a different children’s book for him. The beastly prince and the fair maiden, the fisherman and the enchanted mermaid, the stories of Noland the Liar, Shock-haired Peter’s collection of cautious tales.  

He paused after climbing down the ladder into the library. They might actually have at least Noland the Liar here. Should he bring it with him? In the end he decided that might be too morbid, now that he knew the actual story of the man. To tell that he wouldn’t even need a book.

Out the door, fresh air ruffled through his still damp hair. Sanji liked the observation deck, it always smelled nice like flowers and Nami’s Mikans. Sometimes if the kitchen hadn’t aired out completely yet, you could also smell the spices he used that day.
Someone else seemed to like the little Garden they had up here as well. Law sat against the fence and eyed the tangerines.

He hadn’t eaten dinner properly, picking off any vegetables and meat from the pizza base and letting Luffy steal the rest. He also had only taken a bit of fruit at breakfast. No Sandwiches the night before either, poor guy must be hungry.
Was there something wrong with the dough Sanji used? He had heard of people that couldn’t eat anything made with wheat flower, maybe Law was allergic?

“You know, there is a plate of onigiri down in the fridge. I usually make a snack for whoever is on watch duty, but I’m sure Zoro won’t mind.”

The other man barely moved, his eyes flitting towards the cook and back again. “No, thank you.”
Sanji shrugged; Law was from the North blue he would tell them if he needed anything.
“Just be warned, if you take any of Nami’s Mikan she is going to castrate you.”

He lingered a bit longer. “Did Franky show you the spare hammocks? You weren’t down with us yesterday. Did you sleep in the infirmary, or something?” Sanji tried to joke.
He only got a glare back. “I didn’t sleep.” He could see that, the surgeon had eyebags so dark it looked like make-up. Law kept looking forward, towards the little trees. “I am not going to sleep tonight either.”

“Oh, okay.”, was the only thing Sanji could bring himself to say. Maybe the other was homesick or something. It would explain his poor eating habits. He would see if a bread free breakfast would make the other eat and if that didn’t work… There was bound to be some recipes for North Blue bread somewhere in the library.

For now, he would leave the other man be, he had a promise to keep after all.
Sanji just hoped he didn’t fall asleep before Goji, when they read that weird medical book.
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Chapter Text

Breakfast was nice as it always was on the Sunny.
Every meal had been nice since he had boarded the ship. It was always something new and fun, not just the soups and stews they made for the kids on punk hazard. Or overly sweet candy.

There had been a big dish with rice and vegetables and tomatoes, with a giant fluffy omelet on top and a really tasty red sauce. Goji loved being on the Sunny. Everyone was nice here and he could play with his new friend Momo all day long. There were no tests and experiments he had to do in the morning and no poking and prodding needles in the evening.
Well sometimes there was some poking, but only the fun kind, when they were playing catch with Usopp and Luffy or when Sanji said he could eat another portion, so he would grow up healthy.

Not even the check-up with Chopper had been scary! Even though there was a needle there after all. The doctor had been so careful, Goji hadn’t been scared at all. No one would hurt him here, it was marvelous.
A big word he learned while reading with Robin, who he didn’t have to call Miss Robin, because she was his friend and not his caretaker.

“Father, do you think we have enough cards to play Menko already?” Momo’s father was a caretaker, though. He knew that he wasn’t actually Momo’s father, but that was kind of a secret. It was different than the relationship Goji had had with Miss Monet.

Even though he was Momo’s father now, Kin’emon was very kind to his friend. He smiled when he answered Momo’s question: “How many have you made then?”

They had made 5 yesterday with Luffy and Usopp, but Kin’emon knew that since he was there. Goji and Momo had made 5 more together later in the day, 2 he had drawn himself and 3 Momo had painted. He was very good with a brush.

Goji had only ever learned to write with a quill from his father, there was no time for silly children’s things like painting or crayons. Even at punk hazard, Goji had rather read quietly or played something easy with the other kids than draw. He found though, that with the other, rather serious, little boy he liked doing silly children’s things.
It didn’t feel quite as silly, when Momo taught him how to make his lines look all fancy like his, or when they used wooden sticks to play swords, while Zoro trained.

“10 cards should be enough to play. Do you want me to come along or would you rather just spend your time with Goji, Momonosuke?”, Kin’emon was sat in front of them, both his legs neatly tugged under himself, as was proper. At least Momo said that was how you should sit, when on the ground. The tall man still had to lean down a bit, to speak with them.
“You can stay father, but don’t interfere in our tournament!”, Momo decided.

Goji felt his hand grabbed and he was tugged along as his friend explained: “We each have 5 cards, for now. You have to lay your cards on the ground here and I will try to turn them over by throwing my card like this…”, the card with the little blue haired girl playing ball, flipped over the picture of the sunflower-lion, “if it works, I will collect both cards and it is your turn.”

Easier said than done. While Momo was already quite good at aiming the cards so they would be most likely to flip another, Goji was rather bad at this game.
He sighed, disappointed in himself.

“Do you not like Menko?”, of course the other boy had noticed his falling mood.
Goji fiddled with the hem of his new shirt: “I like it. I just think… I’m sorry I can’t play very well. It’s probably not very fun with me.”
“Of course you’re not as good as me! But that is fine. I like playing with you.”, Momo thought for a moment, “Father says, you must practice a Kata many times over, before you can call yourself a master. So, we just have to play more until you get better!”

It wasn’t just the Menko tournament that he ruined, though. “I don’t think I will ever get better. I’m not good at anything! And then you won’t want to be friends anymore. And the others too.” Tears gathered in Goji’s eyes. He had been so happy a second ago, he didn’t know what was wrong with him. He was already making a burden of himself again.

“No way!”, Momo gripped both of his hands in his own, “You are very knowledgeable in many things I do not understand! So, there is no way that you are not good at anything. Maybe you cannot do everything, but that is fine… I am supposed to be a strong Samurai, but sometimes I do not really know what to do either. You cannot tell anyone, though!”

Goji nodded, stunned by the outburst. Momo sat on the floor and tugged the green haired kid to sit down as well. “As my most trusted advisor, you shall also be able to tell me your problems.”
“I thought Kin’emon was your most trusted advisor.”, he wiped his face on the sleeve of his shirt, glancing at the man curiously watching their whispered conversation.
Momo shook his head. “He was my father’s advisor. So, I think he cannot be my advisor too.”

He thought, the other would know better how these thinks worked and was probably right about that. It was nice that he wanted Goji to be his most trusted advisor.
“So, what troubles you?”
Goji had a lot of things that made him worry all the time. That his family would decide to take him back after all. That Caesar would push him off the ship into the sea because he was now a prisoner and Goji helped catch him. That he wasn’t worthy enough to be on the Sunny and had to leave after all.
But most of all: “I think that Sanji is very stressed because of me. He is always in the kitchen and he can’t do anything for himself, but now he has to take care of me too. He even had to sit with me, when Chopper did my check-up instead of taking a break.”

Momo nodded for him to go on.
“He is already hurt. He should rest more…”, another thought occurred to Goji, “What if he starts to be annoyed because I am with his best friend all the time?” It did look like Sanji had to send away Zoro a lot to look after Goji.
“Hmmm. That is indeed a though problem. Has Sanji-san said anything?”, Momo looked thoughtfully over to where the adults had gathered and started planning.
“No… But we don’t really talk much. At least not about private stuff.”
“Why not? I talked with father all the time when I was scared. You should be braver! I bet that Sanji-san would also like to spend more time with you.”, they pondered the question together, “Sanji-san is very kind. He would not abandon you or think you are annoying. And even if he did, you could just come stay with me in Wano!”

Goji perked up at that. “You mean that?” No one ever wanted him to stay somewhere with them! Only away from them. And now both the Strawhat crew and Momo had invited him to their home? What a week.
 “Yes, now go!”, his friend pushed him towards Sanji, watching the approaching Island from the portside of the ship.

Timidly he walked up to his brother. Behind them Luffy was excitedly running back and forth.
He didn’t know what to say. Sanji smiled down at him and patted his head with the hand, that wasn’t holding a burning cigarette. It was nice and comfortable.
Maybe he could just soak in the warmth of the other for a bit; Goji softly, slowly rested his weight against the others leg and closed his eyes for a moment.

Momo shouted in alarm. Goji jolted awake again, turning around to find out what happened. They were docked on the Island already?
Luffy had started to swing the other boy around by his hands, making him dangle a little over the ground, he wasn’t sure if it looked fun or not. But surely any of the others would step in if it got too much. A puff of clouds made Momo turn into a dragon again. It happened only when he was very nervous, Goji noticed. Some of the others probably noticed as well, because now Nami was loudly berating Luffy for being mean to Momo.

“I only wanted him to fly with me to the Island…”, the boy with the Strawhat pouted.
Momo turned towards him, in his snaky body: “I cannot fly and I will not step foot onto the Island! Father forbade it!”
Goji started, when had that happened? Was he also not allowed on the Island?
But he wanted to explore with all the others!

He must have started trembling, because with a great heave Sanji slid down next to him and rested his arm over his shoulder, pulling him in.
“It’s alright.”, he said, “Luffy is just being an Idiot like always. He isn’t angry or anything, he just likes to shout. A lot.”

He had noticed that too. Luffy was more of a happy, exited shouter though, than an angry, aggressive shouter. Goji buried his head in Sanji’s chest for a moment. The hug was nice…

How did other people start a conversation? Chopper and him talked a lot about medical stuff, but that wasn’t something the blond was interested in.
He usually only talked about food or pretty clothes and hair, but only with the girls. Sanji did listen to the others when they talked about songs or some gadgets they made. That could work!

Cramming his hand into the pocket of his trousers, he pushed a little away from Sanji.
Aha! They had just gathered them, after all.

“I made these cards with Momo and everyone.”, Goji carefully sorted through his Menko cards.
The ship Usopp drew, the picture of Law Luffy made, the Lion and the most important ones:
“I drew you and Zoro too! I wanted to make a Chopper Card as well, but the antlers are really difficult to paint…”

Surprised, Sanji carefully took the thick paper rectangles from him: “These look really well! I bet you could draw a very nice Chopper too, if you tried. He would be flattered, I am sure!”
“You like them?”, Goji felt very light suddenly, buzzing with energy. He did put a lot of effort into the blond and green haired figures.
The cook traced the inky swords with his fingers: “Of course I like them.”

Goji studied the others expression. He needed the cards to play with Momo, but surely, he could make a new one before that… He decided: “You can have that one, if you like.”
His gaze quickly moved toward his feet, that was stupid. Why would Sanji want one of his cards? He was probably just being nice.

“Really? I’ll treasure this then.” To his great surprise, Sanji did look incredibly happy at the gift and carefully slid it into the inner pocket of his vest. “How about as a thank you, we get a little snack in town?”

His throat suddenly felt clogged, and Goji couldn’t get the words past the happy tears gathering in his eyes. So, he just nodded his head enthusiastically up and down.
A melodious laugh left Sanji’s mouth and the man got up again, holding Goji’s hand in his calloused one.

They made their way off the Sunny with everyone else already milling about. Infront of them Zoro was strolling up the path into town. Sanji let out another amused huff: “Let’s go make sure the mosshead doesn’t get lost.”

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“So what, if you’re a warrior? I’m gonna be King of the Pirates one day, so there!”, Luffy was still roughhousing with Momo, even though they had told him multiple times, that he ought to be quiet until they arrived in town.
“Bah! In that case… I will one day rise to become the shogun of Wano you fool!”, the poor boy was trying to wiggle out of Luffy’s grasp snapping at him with his little teeth.

Nami sighed, Kin’emon seemed to have the situation under control for now.
“Onami! The ape is picking on me!”, Momo rushed and hid in her shoulder.
Aww, what a cute kid. Speaking of…

“Where is Goji? Weren’t you two playing earlier?”, Nami looked around. Luffy was pouting on the ground next to Law, Franky was asking Kin’emon about his stupid drawing with Brook cooing over the full-on naked woman and she had just seen Usopp, Chopper and Robin up at the Sunny.
Oh no. She was missing Idiot 2 and 3.
Momo had turned back into a boy, tugging on her pantleg: “Goji went into town with Sanji and Zoro.”

She should have known to keep an eye on Zoro, that was her own fault, but usually at least Sanji was reliable enough!
She sighed, Nami could already feel a headache coming: “Franky. You know the plan?”
The cyborg gave her a thumbs up. “Destroy the Smile Factory, get the hell out of dodge!”, he paused, “Where was that again?”

Next to her Law rolled out a piece of parchment. Nami looked over the crude drawing of the Island, some important marks circled in red: “What an awful map.”
She needed to make sure to ask Robin for a detailed description of the Island later, this was just sad.

The surgeon glared at her. “We don’t actually know where the Factory is located. It’s the one thing I couldn’t find out…”
“The factory is crucial to them, isn’t it?”, Nami pondered, “There must be some secret behind it.”

There was no use wasting precious time though, even with Sanji slowing them down, Zoro could get lost quickly if left on his own. “Franky, you’re on Luffy watch. Take him and track down the factory. Try to catch up with Sanji and Zoro, they must have just left.”

“The cook left?”, Law’s head snapped up. If he kept clenching his jaws like that, he would break a tooth before the day was over.
“Yeah!”, Usopp nervously made his way down the plank, “Wasn’t he supposed to guard us… I mean guard the Sunny with us?”

“It will be fine.”, Nami said, “They should be fine, as long as the distraction works.”
“Don’t be so callous! Strawhat’s group is the centerpiece of the plan!”, you could see the gears turn in the Surgeons head, trying to adapt his meticulous plan on the go. Poor guy.
“We should probably head out as well.”, Nami turned towards the Sunny, it really was looking to be a stressful day.

“Wait.”, Law pointed back at the map, “It is impossible to get to Greenbit by water. So, I’ll take the bait, Longnose and Nico Robin and travel through Dress Rosa to the Longbridge, heading north to Greenbit.”

“Sounds fun!”, Robin chuckled. Didn’t that mean all the strong fighters were going to be gone? Nami didn’t feel like that warranted a laugh.

“And what are we doing? Standing guard on the ship?”, Brook idly drummed his skeletal fingers on his leg.
Law just handed the Navigator a small, rectangular piece of paper, ignoring the question completely.
“A Vivre card?”, Nami didn’t understand what they would need that for, if they were all around the same Island. It was big, but it usually didn’t take that long to find someone as troublesome as her morons. The card didn’t seem to be drawn to Law either.
“It points to my Crew on Zou. If anything happens to us, go there.”, the gloomy man grabbed Caesar and started to drag him away.
While they were leaving, she heard Usopp ask suspiciously: “Is there something you’re not telling us?”

This could only end in disaster.
Chopper and Brook were already boarding the Sunny again, but Momo was staring into the distance, down the road where his father had disappeared: “I hope that Kanjuro is safe and well…”

She took the Kid by his hand and lead him back, maybe they could at least distract poor Momo, while they waited for the shit to hit the fan.
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He was in heaven. This was what he had missed these last two years being chased around and crashing in Tibany’s guest room on Momoiro Island. 

Lovely women as far as the eye could see, dancing, laughing, just going about their live. He was just so glad that the bulky meathead next to him hadn't broken his scale for beauty. His heart had long since stopped skipping a beat when he saw Nami or Robin. Don’t get him wrong, he still felt happy and warm inside when he spent time near his wonderful friends. And they most certainly still deserved the world after all the shit life had thrown at them.
He suspected it was different though, from what he was supposed to be feeling and he hadn't noticed until the damned mosshead had started to elicit the same, blood rushing faster, reaction as the pretty brunette in the tight dress walking past them right now...

"Look!", Goji tugged a bit too enthusiastic on his hand, making the cook stumble, „The toys can talk!"
The wonderous look on the boy's face was contagious and Sanji grinned back at him while catching his balance. 

Indeed, there was a life-sized Dog Puppet springing happily around a little boy, making the kid laugh and keeping him from running too far from his mother.
Now that he noticed one, Sanji saw all kinds of Toys walking and talking around them. There didn’t seem to be anything surprising going on for the locals. The whole thing practically screamed devil fruit... Well not all abilities were nefarious, so maybe this was just a regular thing on this Island. 

There was a broken Tin-Soldier as tall as Goji leaning on a wooden Rifle in the corner talking, all serious like, with a lithe figure wearing a dark cloak, not quite hiding his broad shoulders. Blond locks peaked out beneath the hood, parting for piercing blue eyes, as the handsome man noticed him staring. 

He winked. Sanji blushed and looked away.
So. He didn’t only notice beautiful women. Was this new? Did Sanji just never realize where his eyes were wandering? Some of the suggestive comments Tibany used to tease him with suddenly made a lot more sense. Damn bastard knew before he himself did.
What else did he not know about himself?

Another tug on his arm brought him back out of his reverie. "Can we go over there? They have card games!" A gambling den was probably not the best place for a kid. While he was stalling... thinking, his eyes wandered back to the secluded corner. The man was gone.

Zoro reached down, lifting Goji up under his armpits and setting him on broad shoulders. 

"The Ero-cook will fall over if you keep running around like that.", the swordsman said that with a laugh in his voice. It was nice. Zoro had seemed more withdrawn after Sabaody, he should smile more often.

Sanji graciously ignored the dig at himself and grinned up at the two green heads stagged on top of each other. "Don't pout, up there. You can see better that way anyway and Zoro is used to carrying much heavier sh.. stuff, aren’t you Mossy?"

"Only because you make me carry groceries all the time, shitty cook." 

He again, waved off the thinly veiled complaint, judging by the smell wafting from the place Goji pointed out, there was a capable chef in there. It was time for lunch soon, wasn't it?
"I don't think you'll like the games they play in there, but how about a quick meal?"

Technically, the cook knew that the landing party included more than just the three of them. Franky had found them rather quickly, towering over the crowd.
Technically he also knew not to get distracted on an important mission, that this wasn't a day trip.
Sanji still forgot the most important rule on the Sunny. Don't talk about food with Luffy in hearing distance, if you weren’t prepared to dish out.

Suddenly he was the one lifted up, because their Captain deemed it an unprecedented setback, to not have Sanji be able to immediately show him to the nearest restaurant. At least he hadn’t tried to climb onto the cook’s back, again. The first time had been a disaster with Sanji losing his balance and both of them tumbling down the stairs, much to Choppers chagrin.
 
"Put me down you rubber-brained idiot! You're making a scene!" 
"Who cares? Where is the good food, Sanji?" 
A quick fist to the head had Luffy stop in his tracks and nearly drop Sanji in the process. 

Clutching the younger man’s neck for dear life, the blond let out a measured breath. "First off. Don’t run away without the rest of the guys.", Zoro with his carry on, Franky and Kin'emon leisurely caught up to them. "Second off, we're way too notorious for you to pull crap like that. Your ugly mug was on today’s frontpage!”

Kin’emon looked thoughtful, picking up the damned cane Sanji dropped: "I do not believe we should waste any time in that place." 

A heavy metallic hand pats the Samurai on the back, probably going for comforting and landing somewhere on lightly bruising. "Easy pal, the clock is ticking but we are better off gaining info than running around blindly."
The cyborg seemed right at home here, probably standing out the least between all the brightly painted wooden and metallic Toy People. His long blue braids even had little black bows at the end.

"We should disguise ourselves first.", Sanji mussed from his princess carry in Luffy’s arms. The Idiot seemed content to just keep him there for now. Nothing the cook could do about it, short of bribing his way to freedom. He pointed them into the direction of the now empty alley he had spotted the handsome man in.

Kin’emon was the last to join them, thoughtfully looking after a few children running past them and glancing up at Goji. His sketch of black suited men hadn’t included any kid’s clothes, Sanji remembered.

“Alright little one, you are first.”, he pulled out a leaf and placed it onto Goji’s head. A little celery sprouting new greens… He shouldn’t laugh at that; the kid was sensitive after all.
Checking if he had offended his little brother, he only got a wide smile back.

As he was set back onto the floor, Goji proudly patted down his new outfit. Black shorts and a light beige, short-sleeve shirt with a pointy collar were accented by a dark green vest and a light blue handkerchief, with even lighter blue dots, tied around Goji’s neck with the knot sitting under his collar. His boots had been turned into little brown slippers better suited for the warm weather.

 He was so immersed in the twirling boy, Sanji nearly missed Kin’emon setting a blade of grass on the cook’s own head. At last, he had solid ground under his feet again. Luffy eagerly dancing from one leg to the other.
It seemed that the design of Goji’s clothes gave the sheltered man a boost of inspiration, because this wasn’t what Sanji expected. His tie was white and just as blue spotted as the cloth around the kid’s neck.
There wasn’t a bit of black on his body, the closest were the dark blue pants. His shirt was a pretty navy blue and covertly patterned in flowers. His suit jacket, a light shade of brown, the same as the flat hat he wore now. He quickly checked the inside pocket of his new jacket, making sure the drawing gifted to him earlier was still there. The crudely painted scowling grin of the mosshead looked up at him.
He let out a relieved sigh. Still there.

“Do Zoro next!”, the kid jumped up and down excitedly. Kin’emon cracked his knuckles and gave Sanji a rather odd smile, he didn’t quite know what to do with. Suspicious, a second ago he was aggravated and ready to run off faster than Luffy when he smelled an adventure.
For some unfathomable reason, Kin’ had decided that Zoro needed a shirt that was barely buttoned up, just covering his scar. At least it was a nice shirt, white with flower stitching, green stems, and red roses. Sanji wondered, who on the street the man had seen wearing this kind of shirt and if he could find the shop that sold them… It framed the stupid Marimo’s cleavage unnecessarily, not helped by his long suit jacket not being buttoned up at all. 

And did the fitted dark green pants have to hug his legs like that? Kin’emon had a dirty mind, Sanji decided.
A cough brought his gaze back up. “What are you looking at, Nosebleed-boy?”
“Just checking you didn’t get the better outfit, shitty swordsman.”
Zoro quirked his brow at him: “They’re disguises. They don’t have to be pretty.”

“I think Zoro looks pretty!” Luffy giggled, in his usual blue shorts and yellow sash combo. At least his straw hat was covered in a black bowler. The yellow sunflowers on his short sleeve were a nice touch too.
“Isn’t that nice, mossy?”, Sanji asked chipperly, Zoro wouldn’t argue with Luffy, “Do you feel pretty?” He leaned closer, putting his weight on the walking stick before him.
Accepting the challenge for what it was, the flowery swordsman got right into his personal space with an angry grimace. “If one of here is pretty, it would be your prissy ass.”

Sanji’s mouth fell open, that was a terrible insult. Like what the hell did that even mean?
He couldn’t ask. That was super embarrassing.
He had been silent for too long already, the idiot with a brain like cooked spinach was already looking smug, like he won or something.
“Let’s go then.” Bastard strode right past him.

Everyone else was quick to follow. It seemed Kin’emon was done then. He wore a simple white shirt and lose black pants, a red sash tied around his waist. Over that a long black coat flowed toward the floor, with a big slivery rose drawn on the right bottom corner.
Normal enough. Everyone besides the kid had some kind of white beard or mustache hiding their features. He guessed that should be enough to not draw attention.

Then there was Franky.
“No.”, Sanji stopped walking, “You can’t go out like that.”
The cyborg looked down at himself: “I don’t do pants.”
Indeed, only a pair of teeny tiny, red shorts, if you were generous, covered his legs. That wasn’t the problem.
The cook massaged the bridge of his nose: “You are sparkling Franky.”
“Yeah!”, a big grin spread across the face of the adult man striking a pose in front of him. The adult man wearing a cropped red jacket and vest combo, adorned with rows and rows of golden circles and white tufts of yarn.
“Franky do you see what you’re wearing?”
“I did think the shirt was maybe unnecessary.” The white shirt and black tie peeking out on top were barely noticeable.
The shipwright was clearly a lost cause, so he turned towards Kin’emon: “How is that a disguise? Look at those shoulder pads! And what is that on his head?”
“A traditional Dress Rosa head wear.”, Kin’ had his arms crossed over his chest offended, “I saw some street performers wearing them.”
It was kind of flat and round and looked like ears if you squinted.

He was outnumbered by simpletons. They were just going to let Franky wear that, into a restaurant! “Can you at least cover it up a little?”
With much grumbling another layer was added to Franky’s ‘disguise’.
More like, a frilly poncho swayed over the glimmering get up. They could have just as well thrown a blanket over his head, the good it did.

“Can we go eat now?”, grumbled Luffy.
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"Somone got stabbed!", shouted a surprisingly bored sounding voice. Like one would trying to find a missing parent at the market. Perhaps mildly alarmed, but otherwise uninvolved in the situation.

A big plush bear let out a sigh next to Law: "Oh not again..." 

In the back of the Surgeons mind, he knew that this wasn't the first time he had encountered a talking toy. He just couldn't quite remember where that was... You met all kinds of Devil fruit users traveling the Grand line and besides, he was much more preoccupied with trying to find out where the cook had run off to this morning. 

"Not again? Don’t tell me there is a serial killer on the lose! I'm allergic to murder of any kind...", the longnose stuttered, partially hiding behind Caesar. 

It should be fine if they talked to the locals. They all had put on disguises, curtesy of Law’s own preparations and Ms. Nico's expertise. Apparently, the woman had spent her two years training with the revolutionary army. Quite useful for reconnaissance. 

If Vinsmoke was on their side, his training would come in handy as well. Law had his doubts though. Why wouldn't he stick to their plan? Was he sabotaging them? As long as he kept pretending until the end of their alliance, Law couldn’t care less what he was doing...

He had taken the smaller Vinsmoke with him. Was he handing him back to his leader?

"Naw," said the plush brown bear, with the sparkly blue bow, "The women on this Island are just very passionate. If they see their significant other cheat or even just speak to a beauty, they get very stabby!"  

Not very useful information. They should focus on their mission. Law knew they had to cross a bridge to get to Greenbit. For some reason said bridge was cut off from the rest of the town by various warning signs and rubble. What was up with that? He didn’t get any Information about that from his crew.

"I'd like a cup of tea. There is a lovely little café over there.", Nico Robin smiled serenely, pointing out a secluded corner café with tables hidden behind luscious flowerpots. 

The bear conspiratorially leaned over to the long nose again. "The prettier they are, the stabbier they get." 

He waved after them happily. It was too casual. Law had expected the streets to be in a state of chaos, but the people carried on like nothing happened. As if their King hadn't abdicated today.

This wasn't what he had predicted. His heart was beating widely in his chest. Perhaps they should take a break to interrogate the locals. Law had thought of every possibility, but something was going terribly wrong here, already. The surgeon tightened his grip on Caesars arm, dragging the man along.

"Let's go."

-----

"Isn't it odd? It's so peaceful here.", Sanji twirled the straw of his iced tea between his fingers, "The ruler of this Island abandoned the throne this very morning. I'd have figured this place would be in outright panic right now." 

The restaurant had turned out to be a family friendly destination. There was music, fruity drinks free of alcohol and a variety of interesting dishes. The few gambling tables here and there were probably fine, Sanji didn’t think that the influence on little Goji could be too bad, as long as they kept to themselves.

Their waiter was another Toy of course, a monkey on strings. He wondered if they paid the creepy marionette thing. But what did a Toy need money for, anyway? He was very efficient though.
They hadn’t ordered more than 20 Minutes ago and here he was with plates laden full of food.
“Here you go! A family platter Dress-shrimp Paella, an order of Fairy Pumpkin Pasta, fried Rose-squid rings for the little one and finally fresh heart-spinach empanadas, Enjoy!”

Zoro waited until the monkey had put their order down before he answered Sanji’s earlier question.
"Maybe they haven't heard yet?", the pig disgustingly said through a mouthful of food.
Why did he like that mannerless oaf again? He couldn’t deny he did like him unfortunately. Just… Why him? He was chugging his beer like a man parched in the dessert, not savoring the taste at all. A drop was trailing down Zoro’s chin. The swordsman caught it with his thumb and licked his damn finger clean. Sanji blushed.
Like he said… disgusting.

Franky was slurping up his Pasta as well, at least swallowing before he spoke: “No way is that true. If we got the paper, they definitely read it as well.”
“Maybe it’s a secret. Only Miss Monet read the paper on punk hazard.”, Goji was happily munching on the Empanadas, covering his clothes in crumbs.
Zoro didn’t even blink before he brushed a hand over the kid’s shirt. Zeff would do the same thing if Sanji wasn’t careful eating as a kid. Always nagging the old geezer, he fondly thought.

Luffy had finished his plate in the time it took for Sanji to even lift his first bite to his mouth.
Their captain piled a second portion in front of himself, idly looking around. They had to be careful that he didn’t try to take one of the toys home to the Sunny.
His gaze got stuck on their marionette waiter, the cook tensed, as a grin spread across that rubbery face: “Let’s just ask him about it!”

Before Luffy could leave the table, Sanji had a hand clenched in the back of his collar, dragging him back down.
“What did I just tell you earlier?”, Luffy pouted, not seeming to listen. Sanji pressed a portion of Pasta into his hands, gaining at least a little attention back: “Your Face. Frontpage. Today!”

At that moment the ruckus on the gambling side of the dinner reached a new peak. He lost Luffy again.
Sanji sighed as he let himself fall into his chair and try to at least eat a bit before they were thrown out.
“Seems like that roulette table is the source of all the noise.”, Franky noted.
The Marimo’s expression turned grim: “Looks like a couple of thugs are bleeding a blind man dry.”
Luffy was already wandering over, they should probably hurry up a bit more.

Goji was trying to lean over the table and see past Kin’emon to find out what was going on.
Not much to see, the ball was rolling again.
“Don’t worry, Luffy got it now.”, Sanji reassured the kid. He wasn’t with them that long, Goji didn’t know the absurd shit their captain did for complete strangers, when his interest was once peaked.

“Alright.”, taking another quick bite of the paella Sanji turned towards the rest of the crew at the table, “So we should probably split up and look for that factory.”
Kin’emon nodded quickly: “That way I will be able to search for any news about Kanjuro.”
That’s right, they needed to rescue Kin’s friend as well: “You know how to use a transponder snail right? If you find anything, give us a call. Maybe one of us hears something about a Samurai captured on the Island …”

Franky was rubbing his chin wistfully, looking over to the thugs currently shouting in Luffy’s face: “Do you know who you’re messing with? We’re members of the Donquixote family!”

The blond sighed: “There he goes again.”
He turned towards Goji, handing him a clean, cloth napkin: “Better pack up some of the squid rings and empanadas, you can eat them on the way…”
The kid had stagged food in the bundle with the efficiency of someone that knew to hoard food. With a pang in his heart, Sanji made a note in the back of his head to ask about that later.

For now, he had to concentrate on the new friend Luffy made and the giant fucking hole that suddenly ripped the floorboards apart and sunk into the middle of the restaurant.

They all stared on in shock. One of the giant barrels had been crushed open by the sudden pressure in the air around them, wine dripping down onto the unconscious forms of the alleged Donquixote Pirates lying in the rubble at the bottom of the cavern.

Sanji was suddenly very grateful to not be working in the service industry anymore and vowed to talk to Zeff about mandatory Sea stone bracelets on the Baratie. This would be a bitch to clean up.
The Blind man just walked away.

“He’s got powers.”, the Blond muttered, the only one still sitting in his chair.

Zoro, with Goji tugged securely against his hip asked: “But what kind?”

They watched as the man slowly made his way through the chaos he caused, his guiding cane hitting the rubble here and there, stopping at the register. At least he paid for the damage.

“Hey!”, Luffy wouldn’t let that damn blind juggernaut go, would he? “You’re real though mister, who are you?”

The scared face of the man turned towards Luffy, calmly smiling: “I have a feeling it would be better not to say. For the both of us.”
What was that supposed to mean? Was he some kind of big shot criminal? A marine? He definitely seemed to know who they were, if he spoke to their captain like that.

Zoro rocked the kid higher in his hip, muttering: “Whoever he is… he ain’t no ordinary guy.”

“Oh No! My Jackets been stolen!”, one of the costumers was frantically searching around his table. Soon more followed and even more people started to shout about their missing belongings. A watch, a bag, a wallet, a sword… a sword?

“It’s Shusui! It was right there!”, Zoro was angrily turning back and forth. His remaining swords were clutched safely in one hand now.
Kin’emon was equally agitated: “You lost Shusui to a thief? That was the national treasure of Wano!”
“Uh No, It’s my sword!”, Zoro hissed back.
The Samurai shouted outraged: “It is not yours!”

Sanji struggled to get up and hobbled closer on his cane. The two idiots could fight their battle without his little brother stuck between them.

“Haha, oh well. Nothing we can do. A fairy must have carried them off.”, one of the Toys called out chipper. “Just laugh it off and forget it ever happened.”
And to the cook’s surprise, the people around them immediately became more at ease.
Some had already packed the rest of their things together and were leaving the restaurant, brushing the whole thing off with a smile.
“What in the world are fairies?”, he wondered aloud, while Zoro and Kin’emon still fought in the background.

The blank stare of the Toy turned to him, another polished marionette.
“Invisible Fairies have protected Dressrosa since the long distant past. When they get into mischief there is no choice but to turn a blind eye!”
“Mischief?”, he thought theft on this scale was a bit more than mischief.
Behind him he felt Zoro tense up.

Poor Mossy always took the loss of a sword hard.
 “Oh no you don’t!!!”, and then the fucker was off to a running start, taking a dive out the window.
What the…
Kin’emon was hot on his heels, not letting Zoro get the damn sword back alone.
“Get back here!”, the cook screamed, “We don’t have time for you to get lost all over the city!”

As quickly as he could he tried to follow the runaways but lost them just as fast in the tumult of the city. Which way did they go?
Damn cabbage had taken his little brussels sprout with him!

Sanji swore loudly. If that idiot just pawned Goji off on someone else again, he’d get the beating of his live! Broken leg or no broken leg!

Chapter Text

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Everything around him was blurry, sound something far away and indecipherable. 
His head hurt. Where was he? 

Actually, scratch that, his whole fucking body hurt.
He had been in a fight, hadn't he? If he was still in pain, at least he wasn't dead.

"Hang in there Vize-Admiral!", Sengoku was running next to his gurney. Everything was fine then; he'd relayed his message from Law. Hadn't he? Smoker struggled to get his Vocal cords moving.

"Don't talk. You're just going to injure yourself further.", the retired Marine leaned down, whispering to him, "Fujitora is already in Dressrosa."

Good. That pain in the ass was capable enough to hold the Fort while Smoker rested his eyes for a bit.

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Usually, Sanji would have had no problem keeping up with the stupid, impulsive cabbagehead. He was just as fast, if not faster than Zoro.
Usually, Sanji had 2 legs to work with. Right now, he was leaning against the wall of a building panting after just a short sprint. Truly embarrassing.

He groaned and angrily stuffed a cigarette between his lips. At least he didn't have to worry about passive smoke right now...
If he focused, he could feel the familiar, oppressive presence of the green Ogre with his Haki. It was still difficult to get a grasp on Goji though, the kid having an innate gift for hiding himself. No matter, if he could track one, he could track both of them.

Someone else was approaching Sanji quickly. A woman and a rather stressed one. A Lady in need of rescue if the cook had to guess. 
He straightened, barely having spotted the beautiful raven-haired goddess, when she pushed herself against him. "Embrace me, quick!"

Did he hit his head? Was he hallucinating now as well? His heart beat faster against his ribcage, as the mysterious stranger drew closer to his face.
She kissed him.
Sanji must be dreaming, because he hadn’t been received this positively since his time at the Baratie. And he hadn't even offered his help yet!

Vaguely he could hear the stomping of several feet passing by them, but what would he care? It had been a while since anyone had come this close to him without starting a fight. 
The pressure in his chest became too much, he could feel a thin trickle of warmth run down his nose.

The beautiful siren broke away from him. “Thank you. I think they’re gone now...”

Maybe this was what it was like to be in love? He felt frozen with the knowledge, that those plush lips had just pressed against his. Surely this was more pleasant than being kissed by the perpetually parched swordsman. This what not the time to think of that! What is wrong with him?

“Oh no!”, as Sanji had stepped back a bit, the Lady had been bound to notice the red staining his false beard, “I’m so sorry! Did my head hit your nose?”

Focus Cook, you are worrying a Lady. “No, No, the only impact I suffered was the shock of a chance meeting, ma jolie!”

“Oh, you poor thing…”, she was caring as well. A dancer if he wasn’t mistaken, wearing kitten heels and a flowing white dress, spotted and ruched at the hem in purple.
It would be so easy to fall for a woman such as this, if he let himself… He took a deep breath to calm down.
“Who were these men? You were on the run, right?”, carefully he took her hand in his, “If there is anything I can do to help ma chère, just say the word!”

Tears gathered in her sparkling brown doe eyes: “Those were policemen chasing me. I’m afraid I’ve stabbed a man!”, her face turned away in shame.
Ah, that would complicate things.
Sanji let his gaze wander. At first glance, she looked dainty as a flower, but he knew that dancing took a lot out of your body, having been forced to twirl and jump around by those Comedy-Queens during his training.
Her muscles were defined, but slim, fitting for a beauty like this.

“He… Our romance went sour.”, her jaw set into a grim line.
He steeled his gaze as well. They were silvery and thin, but across her arms, barely noticeable scars ran over her skin.
Self-defense then. Sanji wouldn’t begrudge a woman taking the law into her own hands. After all, not everywhere justice would take your side in ‘family matters’.

He nodded: “Okay then.”
“No! You can’t indulge this wicked woman!”, she fell to her knees, the tears now freely falling across her face. His heart broke a little, she was made to think the abuse was her fault.

Usually, he was very clumsy when it came to comforting… frankly anybody, but Sanji had had some practice these last few days. The blond didn’t hesitate to let himself fall onto the floor gracelessly, landing next to her. Surely, she wouldn’t want to be touched after the ordeal she just went through.
Sometimes company was all you needed though.
Staring straight ahead, he offered what he could: “It’s alright. You’re not wicked. And I’ll make sure you are safe now.”

“Thank you!”, unexpectedly the poor woman fell into his arms anyway, “My name is Violett… would you do me the favor of escorting me to the next town over?”

The next town? How far was that? He still needed to find the runaway Mosshead and Goji.
Sensing his hesitancy, Violett gripped the cook’s shoulders tightly.
“Please! There is a man after me, didn’t you tell me you’d help?”

He startled, but...: “A promise is a promise, mon ange.”

Well, the Island wasn’t that big, was it? This was probably not more than half an hour detour… They might even come across his friends.
There were more unpleasant tasks then escorting a beautiful woman like Violett to safety.
Delighted, she helped him up and curled one of her arms around his hip. Sanji delicately blushed, this was how love was supposed to feel. He was sure now.
His Hand found her shoulder and if he put more weight on his injured leg, so she didn’t have to deal with his hobbling, than that was his business.

The town border really wasn’t that far anyway and during their close walk, Sanji was floating on air.
Apparently the not so late boyfriend had hired a hitman to take revenge on poor Violett and bring her back to him. Dead or alive.
A move so scummy, that it had Sanji’s blood boiling.

“If we’re this close, they surely won’t attack… mi guapo.”, Violett beat her delicate eyelashes at him, making his blood rush for completely unrelated reasons. Sanji could feel her soft form nestled against his body. Oh, how he wished he was brave enough to let his hand rest on her curvy waist. This was what love was supposed to feel like!

Unable to speak, he just nodded his head vigorously, dabbing at his nose with a handkerchief, so his tie wouldn’t get stained.

Someone was aiming at them. Behind them, about 15 meters in the air. The top of the tower to his left, probably. “One moment my dear!”
He gently untangled them, gripped his walking stick tighter and rushed into the air.
Sanji didn’t need to put any weight on his leg while skywalking, but the pressure was uncomfortable anyway. Good thing he only needed one foot to kick the wannabe sniper in the jaw and throw the guy off the roof.

He turned on his heel, landing with a little turn, elegantly leaning on his cane. Surely that impressed Violett enough to make her feel safe and let Sanji off the hook.
Not that it was a chore to escort a goddess on earth! He just had to make sure his little chou was safe as well…

“My hero! You’re so strong!”, maybe he could spare a few more minutes.
As soon as he had been in sight, Violett had run up to Sanji and tightly gripped onto him again.
He was a gentleman; he shouldn’t focus on the way her breast pressed up against his own chest.
“Oh, I could fall in love with a man like you…”

Sanji felt his stomach clench. She was gorgeous, energetic and everything he could want in a girl.
Maybe he should try to fall for her as well.
It couldn’t be that hard.

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That damn little thief thought they could get away from the former most famous pirate hunter of the Eastblue?
No way! Zoro might get turned around every now and then when it came to directions, his mind not really paying attention no matter how hard he focused, but he never lost a target in a chase! 

Sandai Kitetsu, rattled happily at his hip, her lust for revenge strong towards the abductor of the other blade, usually resting beside her and Wado Ichimonji. 

"I think we lost Kin’emon...!", Goji had migrated from under his arm to over his shoulder just in case Zoro needed to draw his remaining swords. Children had a stong grip, in an emergency, Goji would be fine to cling on on his own for a bit.
"He'll catch up. We can't lose sight of that walking bundle up ahead.", just as the Swordsman uttered those words, the supposed fairy climbed a ledge, the only remaining escape route.

If he let that thing jump, there was a slim chance he'd ever see the Shusui again. 

"Oh no, you don't!" 

Thinking quickly, Zoro jumped after the bag, grabbing it with one hand, while his other curled into the fabric of Goji’s vest. This was a 2-story drop, nothing the kid needed to be a part of.
So, he used the momentum of his turn in the air and threw Goji back over the railing onto safe ground.
"Zoro!", the boy got up again quickly staring down at the dent in the floor, that the swordsman was laying in, "Are you alright?"

The crash had rattled his head a bit, but overall, not the worst landing he'd taken. Shusui was safely in his hand, the packed up stolen trinkets had landed on top of his stomach.
A bit winded Zoro shouted up: "I'm fine. Stay there, I just... need to catch my breath. I'll be right up. Make sure the cook doesn't get lost as well, he was just behind us!"
Bad enough they had to look for Kin'emon now. No need to have two lost teammates to rescue. 

He probably needed to find some stairs or.... something on his chest was moving under the bag.

“Ouchie! Oh no, I’m such a Klutz…”, … , “Gotta get away before a human sees me!”
Zoro stared shocked at the little woman sitting there, no taller than the length of his palm. A little blue haired doll really, with a bushy tail. He couldn’t even really say if it was a woman at all or just a little girl stealing stuff.
“Is this what the fairies are? More Toys?”, he wondered as he grabbed the now weeping blue figure.

“I’m notta Toy! I’m Wicca a Tontatta!”, she was certainly more expressive than the polished-faced figures walking around Town, “You gotta keep it a secret you saw me!”

The swordsman supposed he could just take this in stride, he’d met giants before, so… It made sense he figured, that there were tiny fairy people as well. He set her on the ground, after all Zoro had gotten his Sword back, so what did he care if the other victims of the theft didn’t give enough of a shit to get their stuff.
“I need to get going. I left the kid up there.”

“Wait!”, Wicca, the Tontatta grabbed his coat and tugged him back with surprising strength, “You can’t just leave me here! I can’t walk! I musta sprained my ankle…”
She wouldn’t let go, no matter how hard leaned against her grip, damn it.

“If you think about it… This is all your fault anyway!”, Wicca desperately cried, “You gotta bring me to the Captain!”
“What? Like hell! You stole my sword!”, despite his protests he let himself fall back to the ground, sitting in front of Wicca.
She just pouted at him: “It's not really stealing. The big people give us all sorta stuff… We’re the protectors of the Island! And we need to hurry! I was on an important recon mission! The Captain needs to know, the whereabouts of the Donquixote Family. This is our big chance, I saw them attacking the Strawhat Crew’s ship!” The floor cracked, as she hit her little fist on the ground.
 
Time seemed to stand still for a moment, a stone sinking into his gut. Nami, Chopper, Brook and Momonosuke were alone on the Sunny. Shit.
“So, you’re saying, Donflamingo’s people have been monitoring us the entire time?”, he needed to get there quickly.

Wicca wouldn’t just let him run off like that: “Where are you going? Bring me to the Flower Field first!”
“Straight to the ship! I’m one of the Strawhat’s, you idiot!”, he’d have to find the harbor first. No wait, he needed to pick up Goji, then go to the harbor…
“That’s the wrong direction though… You don’t know where you are going do you?”, Wicca looked at him with her small calculating face, “I’ll show ya the way to the coast, after you bring me to the flower fieldt!”

Fuck. He didn’t have much of a choice, did he? Time was running out and Zoro knew that it might take too long if he tried to go on his own…
“Fine, let's make this quick.”, the swordsman grumbled, “We need to get someone first.” 

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The whole world was fuzzy and soft around the edges. Smoker pushed open the door to the dorm room he shared with two other cadets. 
What was he doing here again? 

At one of the desks, assigned to every cadet, sat a lanky man brooding over a stack of papers, dark curls spilling over the hand supporting his head. 
Blue eyes met his and Smoker knew that he owed his life to that Idiot silently mouthing words at him. 

"What?", he heard his own voice ask, softer than he was used to. Long before he had earned the Nickname Smoker for his Cigar habit, when he was still Takalo Hugh. 

Kuzan formed two circles with his hands, pushing them apart, before he casually pointed his pointer and middle finger at his throat and flicked them away again.
No-Voice.

Hugh snorted: "Did you piss off Rosi?"
His friend just shrugged and leaned back on his chair until only the back legs were still touching the ground.

"Where is he anyway?", it wasn't unusual for Rosi to disappear suddenly. He probably still thought they didn't know that he received personal training from Sengoku. But well, gossip travels fast in a marine training camp, especially if someone thought Vice-admiral Garp could keep a secret. Honestly thanks to Kuzan’s mentor, they were probably the best-informed cadets on the base...

Kuzan was singing again: 'Axt-hand brought his Kid.' 

"He is Babysitting the brat again then?", poor Rosi that boy soaked up attention like a sponge. 
Smoker remembered that he and Kuzan had talked about some other, in hindsight inconsequential bullshit. It should have been hours, but it felt like time just slipped through his fingers and the sky turned dark in the blink of an eye.

Kuzan was still rocking back and forth on his chair.
Or was he doing it again?
The only thing Hugh knew was that the door sprang open and the exhausted form of Doflamingo Rosinante stumbled into the room. 

He stretched and groaned. "Wooh, this was terrible. I'm never having kids." 

Kuzan smiled at him, his hands moving lazily through the air: 'I thought you're good with children.'
"Doesn't mean I like them.", Rosi seemed to be in a good mood though, lifting his power from the future Admiral. "Like, I know it's not the kid’s fault, that his father is shit at raising him, but man does he talk a lot..." 

He leaned his hand against the backrest of Kuzan's chair, the weight overbalancing and sending both of Hugh’s friends to the floor. 
He'd laughed, because Rosi was just that kind of guy that you had to laugh with. He was so accident prone it was a miracle he made it through the academy. Even got promoted first. 

Smoker’s vision swam for a moment. They were sitting in a circle on the floor of Rosi's first and officially only appartment, drinking heavily. It was a celebration after all. 

"Commamder Rosinante! The youngest since... since someone probably.", Kuzan had been a lightweight back then. 

Bashful as always, Rosi chuckled and looked at the frame of the bed above him: "It's just a formality really, 'cause of the undercover thing." 
Hugh had blown him a raspberry then: "Don't be like that, you worked hard for that promotion. You earned it!" 

"Yeah, I’m sure it has nothing to do with my brother being too paranoid to send anyone else...", the mood tended to turn glum when the topic of family came up, none of them having had a normal home life. There was a reason they had ended up with the marines. 
"Might be less your psycho brother than your big shot mentor!", Kuzan snickered.

He missed those times. When all of them had believed that the Marines could make the world a better place. When they had all been alive and well. 

That had been the last time they had all met casual like this. Rosi was shipped off to integrate into the criminal underworld, making a name for himself and sowing rumors to gain the attention of his brother. Every now and then Kuzan would come across him and relay messages. Until nobody heard from him again. He had always wondered... The voice of his now dead superior officer whispered in the back of his mind: "That softhearted Idiot has been dead for what? Two decades? … And here I thought Corazon didn’t like children." 

Dumbass had gotten himself a Kid after all.

Kuzan travelled around with Garp and rose through the ranks quickly. But even the infamous Admiral Aokiji had left the Marines behind. 

There was only him now, him who had spent years back on the base of his Hometown. Catching petty criminals and pirates, making a Name for himself.
Smoker, the white chase, mad dog of the Marines.
He had been happy there, hadn't he?
If he just left well enough alone, if he hadn’t chased after Strawhat and gotten that stupid undeserved Promotion... He would be blissfully unaware of how corrupt the organization of justice he believed in had become. 

Alabasta, Marineford, fucking Vergo... Donquixote Doflamingo. 

He needed to do something, before that brooding boy got himself killed. Smoker started to stir awake.

He'd need help getting there. The chair next to his bed was empty, Tashigi was still taking care of the brats from Punk Hazard then. He needed someone else. Someone trustworthy if there was even anyone left to trust in the higher-ups. Preferably not anyone who'd focus on Strawhat instead of the bigger picture. 

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From the moment Viola had taken the first bite out of her devilfruit, she had been able to see everything. Every secret, every hidden dark thought, nothing could surprise her. 

The pathetic man bound at her feet had been no different. 
"I have heard you had a weakness for women, but I must say I never expected you to be this pathetic." 

Blackleg Sanji, one of the strongest members of the Strawhat Crew was an open book before her.
She had hardly needed to use her power on him, he had the worst poker face Viola had ever seen. 

"Your collar is a mess, your tie less than straight... your shirt all covered in blood.", she mocked him, "Hardly any way to present yourself." The pirate hadn't even fought back against her, Viola still sat pristine as ever in her chair before him. Not even a hair out of place, as was fitting for one of Doflamingo’s dolls, a member of the Trebol Army. 

One of the warlord’s goons snickered behind her: "What a pathetic worm! He fell for our big sister Violett's charms and walked right into our trap!" 
Oh, she hated being addressed like that. Violas only sister was dead and her niece one of the most hated people in the kingdom. She wanted to scream at them to shut their stupid mouths.
"How amusing.", she said instead. Her face didn't move a muscle, trapped in her smile, "Did you really think you had somehow captured my heart?" 

She could read the worry on the surface of his thoughts, a child’s face...
Viola had to grit his teeth. Countless children had been hurt in the pursuit of Doflamingo’s dream, she only needed to keep Rebecca save.

"You're lying to me... Violett", the blond panted through a blood clogged nose, the worry shifted towards a crying face framed in raven hair. Was that supposed to be her? Could that Idiot still not see that everything was all an act? "I know you have a beautiful heart inside... You just let twisted villains tempt you into a place you don’t want to be...", the Casanova was dragged up by her men.
Viola slowly got up and caressed his pitiful face, his mind only showing her own mask reflected back at her.
His mental discipline was surprisingly strong, for such a pathetic creature. Or maybe his head was just so empty it could only hold the most basic of information at any given time. 

Viola straightened and aimed a high kick towards the vermin's face. The heel of her stiletto scraped across his check, opening another bloody gash on his skin. Not even a flinch to avoid her attack. 

"You disappoint me. Even as you suppress your hatred for me. I can see you searching for any chance to escape.", in the blond’s mind flickered the number of men surrounding her, not even counting Viola as an enemy combatant. His loss if he underestimated her. "Did you honestly believe you could fool me with your honeyed words? I consumed the Insight Fruit." 
Violas hands rose to her face, forming a looking glass: "Men are liars, the lot of them. Now show me the inside of your head filled with lies."

It was time to find out what plans the alliance between the Strawhats and Trafalgar Law had brought. This was her mission after all, she'd just need to dig a little deeper into the feeble brain of Blackleg.

The first vision to greet her was an older man, standing in front of her on one foot and a pegleg. Immense fondness filled her heart, as did some guilt... Blackleg's father?

“Listen little Eggplant!”, came from the stern chef. "A man can’t kick a woman! That’s been the rule since the age of the dinosaurs!”
Viola rolled her eyes, what bullshit. She knew what most men really thought about women. Seen the depraved fantasies of control and worship in the wandering eyes of both the noblest heroes and lowest of scum. Nothing could surprise her.

She plugged on the thread, the mere presence of an enchanting Lady like her wove through this perverted mind. The usual long legged, curvy Beauty sensually lounged in a prominent corner of his mind. And another and another. Viola rolled her eyes. Like she said. Men were all the same. What was next? Holding the girls down, slapping them around a bit? Uptight men like him were prone to calling their lovely darlings a whore in bed. 

The blond was happily sitting on his knees amidst the harem of women. Maybe a masochist then, someone that wants to be stepped on and degraded by a strong female. Before blaming her for his shame. Upon pushing this thought towards the cook, he shied away. The idea of pain or at least intentionally making someone take on the burden of harming him, made a shudder move across his mind.
A curious way of seeing it. 

Still, there was a lot of pent-up energy around her, cloying and sweet. Be it in memories or fantasy, the blond was always thinking about his partner’s needs.
How to please someone else, borderline serving them and not even daring to ask for anything for himself, only accepting what was freely offered.
He practically relished in choosing not to push, at least not in this. Despite appearances this was the least dominant, cruel man she ever encountered. 

Viola wasn't sure how to feel about that. This was... exactly as he'd acted towards her. From his memories this was how he acted towards any woman he felt more than a smidge of romantic interest in. 
Even now instead of focusing on strategy or the fight at hand, his mind was stuck on thoughts about her.

"H-how indecent", she stuttered. A blush spreading across her face. A confused murmur went through the gathered gawkers. Viola usually wasn't a shringing Violet herself. But she had never seen a mind so filled with the lively pink aura of lovey-dovey, lusty energy.
“Just what are you thinking about in this situation?"

"Pathetic", grunted someone out. Viola tried to focus. It wasn't anyone here, anyone real. She still hadn't cut her connection to the Pirate’s thoughts. A green-haired man strolled across the mind scape and immediately ripped any and all attention towards himself. Viola stumbled from the whiplash.

A bit of angry red stole itself into the pink, not overtaking it though. A whole Mix of emotions twirled around her, seemingly following who she knew must be Roronao Zoro, even if the image before her didn't resemble the man from the wanted posters one bit. Instead of a bloodthirsty grin, a relaxed if slightly smug smile split his lips.

The blond tried to follow the calm man that was inspecting what seemed to be liquor bottles in on a shelf filled with swirling pink. Dainty hands held Blackleg back.
"Stay... You don't want to get hurt, do you?", the faceless women tittered. "There's no need to worry if you stay with us..."

"Are you going to sit there and do nothing, shit-cook? There's an intruder here.", a single piercing eye stared right at her. The swordsman had selected a bottle and pulled the cork with his teeth, still keeping her in sight.
"Don't drink that!", snarled the Cook moving between them quickly. The other man grinned smugly, holding the drink to his lips: "Isn't this mine anyway?"

"No!", the blushing blonde finally snatched the container from his friends grip and, after gathering the escaped smoke back inside, tightly closed it again, "Just leave it there! Don't touch anything." 
The swordsman just brightly laughed again: "Whatever Curls. That what you want?" 

Blackleg... Sanji clutched the Bottle against his chest. Viola idly noted the cracks spreading across the glass. 

For his part Roronoa Zoro ignored both of them now, instead reaching into the surrounding fog and lifting a little green-haired, curly browed boy into his arms. Worry still clung around the memory of the child.
Oh, poor man...
Viola looked at Sanji, as his broad-shouldered friend plopped himself down inbetween a grinning darkhaired figure in a Strawhat and a frail looking blond woman. 
Some of the fantasies she saw during her duties were just heartbreaking. Especially in a place filled with as much hidden despair as Dressrosa. She couldn’t set foot in the Colosseum without retching on some days.

What she was seeing here was his family. As Viola stepped closer strangely transfixed on the woman with the sad eyes, the space around her filled with more people. People she knew from wanted posters, the stern Chef from earlier and an assortment of gruff looking men.
She reached out her hand, wanting to see deeper, to know more about the connection she could barely make out. For the first time she felt Sanji stir, not trying to push her out yet. But hovering anxiously behind her.

"Don't.", the voice trailing after Viola wavered broken.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw the imagined form of Roronoa move. She froze, but the sharp blades drawn came no closer than a fingers width from her. Not touching.

It was still for a moment. Still, except for the sound of sobbing. At first, she couldn't quite pinpoint where it was coming from, the captain of the Strawhat’s loud laughter and the clanking of kitchen utensils rising in volume and trying to drown the tears out. Viola hadn't been an assassin for the Donquixote family for nothing though and quickly found a young blond boy hiding behind the equally blond woman.

And further back a shadow rose over the mother and son huddled together.
"Stop sniffling. That is no way for royalty to behave.",the booming voice echoed over the already loud cacophony around her. The shouting of chefs became deafening, ringing in her ears.

The man in front of Viola lifted a cane over his head and despite knowing that nothing could hurt her here, she braced for impact. 
Arms suddenly wound around her middle, lifting her off the ground. “That’s enough.”, said Sanji. Not so much throwing her out of his mind than spinning her gently away in a swaying turn.

The last thoughts she caught were of Violets own face, the tears rolling down her cheeks not as fake as she would like them to be.
“The look I saw in your eyes…”, Sanji pressed through cracked lips, “A million people might curse your name. But I will never doubt a woman’s tears.”

Even beaten and bloodied, laying on the floor with Doflamingo’s men laughing at him, he still clung to that stubborn determination.
Viola wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. She hadn’t believed that Law could free her country with the meagre crew he had collected, but maybe…

Maybe she could have a bit of hope for the first time in a long time.
If Sanji could keep to his ideals, even when they so obviously were to his detriment, it might be time for Viola to finally try to safe her people as well.

She stood on shaking legs.

The tears flowing from her eyes swelled and gathered, growing bigger and bigger in size until gigantic whales swam through the air and washed her unsuspecting underlings away. She would have to pay the price for her disobedience later, but for now she had to free Sanji from his binds.

“Violett?”, he grinned at her even while laying face down on the floor, “I knew you were being forced into Doflamingo’s service against your will…”
She laughed: “I can’t believe you still trusted an enemy. You really are a hopeless man!”

“I don’t know your story, but you don’t want to work for him, do you? We can help you and…”
Viola interrupted him: “Look at me Sanji. From the instance your people set foot on this Island you were caught in his trap… He knows everything your people are doing.”
“Trap?”, he seemed confused still, so she lifted her hands towards his face, cupping his cheeks and bringing his forehead to rest against hers.

“Look at my mind…”, Viola focused on the memories of this morning. When the CP-0 had arrived on Dressrosa to calm the panicking masses. The false report Doflamingo somehow fed to her people, his plans to ultimately kill the Strawhats and capture Law.

“Since when did the seven warlords have the World Government at their beck and call?”, Sanji’s expression turned calculating. They didn’t have much time though.
She gathered her strength and stood up before him.
“Blackleg Sanji. You need to warn your friends immediately!”, Viola saw him scramble to get out his Transponder Snail. “On it my lovely Violett!”

She took a deep breath: “My name isn’t Violett. I am Riku Viola, Princess of the Kingdom of Dressrosa.”
Sanji was looking at her stunned, she was sure that he wouldn’t mind helping her out again though.

“Would you do me a favor and free my people?”

Chapter Text

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They had to keep moving.
Viola had assured Sanji, that by now the other officers of Doflamingo’s army would know about her defecting to the Strawhat’s side.
“This way!”, she drew him into the crowd in front of some giant stone stadium.
Aome kind of tournament was being broadcast from the inside. Not really any of his concern.

With this many people it would be harder for anyone stalking them. Maybe it was a good thing that the crew had inadvertently split up into smaller groups.
If it was true what Viola told him, then being clumped together would only make it easier to follow them around.
Hell, Sanji himself wasn’t even sure where everyone went. Law hadn’t checked in with him yet, so the blond could only assume that he, Robin and Usopp were on track, Kin’emon was doing who knew what, Zoro was lost as always, and Luffy…

Luffy was on the fucking screen in front of him right now. Not with Franky where he was supposed to be. Like Sanji just thought, impossible to keep track of.

He sighed and nudged Viola gently: “What exactly is this?”
“Footage from the Colosseum…”, he motioned for her to keep going, “It’s a last man standing situation. The strongest fighter get’s some illusive price.”
“A trap, I am guessing?”, the cook could feel the headache brewing. Franky should not have let their Captain do something so stupid.
Viola huffed out a small laugh: "Probably." 

Oh, he was an Idiot, worried about that rubber brain, when an actual princess was in his presence. "Excuse my antics, I promise you are save with me, ma belle fleur."

She rolled her sparkling eyes good naturally. "You don't need to force yourself to be nice to me... I know what I did was wrong."

"Oh, I'd never have to force myself to compliment a beautiful Lady like you!", the man exclaimed shocked. How did she ever get an idea like this? A gentle soul like Viola deserved to be waited on hand and foot!

This brought a genuine laugh from her mouth:" You really are a hopeless man, Sanji."

A flirtatious retort was already on the tip of his tongue, as another voice cut in: "Excuse me hopeless man, might you be able to spare me a moment?" 

Crouched down and drawing the bowler hat closer over his face stood Kin'emon. Sanji pursed his lips, the man looked rather haggard, out of breath even, but overall fine. No need to interrupt a nice conversation.

"You got a little something there on your face.", the blond gestured at his own cheek with his free hand. 

After a quick glance around them the Samurai wiped the blood off with the sleeve of his coat. "I ran into a little bit of trouble. I was almost recognized... I took care of it", the man leaned closer, putting himself between the two, "My dear friend would like us to visit." 

Sanji blinked, Kin'emon raised his brow in what he thought must be a meaningful way, slightly nodding his head towards Viola. 

"What are you on about?", Sanji whispered exasperated, "Have you found out anything about...?"
"Shhhh!", again with the eyebrows. There was no one paying the three of them any attention, everybody was too engrossed in Luffy having befriended what appeared to be a wild bull on screen. 

Viola tapped his arm: "I think I found a way for us to get out of here. We should hurry, there seems to be a surprising number of Marines attending the viewing today." 

She was right of course, before Sanji noticed, little groups of white and blue clad figures had formed all around them. Not like they'd been noticed yet though. 

"Wait here, I'll be right back.", and off was she, faster than the cook could react or wish her luck. He sighed happily; Viola truly was amazing. 

Kin' waited until she was out of sight before he spoke: "Finally. Do you really think now is the right time to look for entertainment Sanji?"

"Excuse me?"

The bastard just shrugged, leaning closer: “While you were playing around, I have gathered Information.”
“I wasn’t playing around!”, Sanji lowered his voice, no need to draw attention now, “Viola is helping us. Or rather we are going to help her… Anyway, she is not ‘entertainment’, you pervert.”
“Fine, I just think you shouldn’t be going around flirting at the moment. Your Samurai probably wouldn’t approve either.”, if this was supposed to placate the cook, it failed spectacularly.

A violent blush spread over the blond’s face, as he grasped his chest in false offence.
What did it matter what that shitty Mosshead thought about anything?
Besides: “Zoro doesn’t give a shit who I flirt with. It’s none of his business anyway.”

The taller man squinted at him: “You don’t think it hurts his feelings?”
“I am not… Why do you think…”, Sanji was having difficulties putting this whole thing into words. He knew the man patiently waiting for a coherent sentence from him thought that the two Strawhats were in some kind of warrior marriage, no matter how often Sanji tried to explain they were just crew.
A concept still unbelievably foreign to him, being with a man like that and also married to a woman?
He would only want to marry one person, but… Why would that person be Zoro of all people?

He was uncultured, had no manners and Sanji didn’t even want to think about personal hygiene.
These things already bothered the cook and he was only living in close proximity to the bastard!

Zoro constantly argued with him about everything, they fought every day! Which admittedly was sometimes the most exciting part of his routine. It wasn’t really that he still minded the man annoying him, as he had when Sanji first joined the Strawhats.

They wouldn’t be able to function as a crew otherwise. Not to mention the quiet moments, where they sat together and Sanji could just relax and be himself. Why not? Zoro teased him either way, although he was a lot more uncouth when the cook put on a mask on bad days.
There were few people that could look through him like Zoro could.

Few people he trusted enough to let them see him like that.
Hell, he even trusted him to look after his brother! With almost everyone else he’d be beside worry right now, but Zoro…

He was already Sanji’s best friend, the blonde realized. Would it be so bad to add a more… physical component to their relationship?

Sanji imagined himself holding the Mosshead’s hand, their fingers twining together. The other man would probably just click his tongue and look away with a blush. There weren’t a lot of people that could say they got close enough to the swordsman to even touch him. Not that he was thinking of anything untoward! Just handholding.

The Marimo taking his hand and holding it to his lips: ‘I know how important those are to you.’
Kissing his palm… Taking his check gently in those callused swordsman palms, and drawing him closer.

“Oh fuck, I am screwed.”, he moaned out. He was already getting flustered about thinking of an innocent little kiss like that.

Kin’emon comfortingly pat his shoulder: “I am sure you two will work it out.”
“That’s not it.”, Sanji felt like crying, sinking into despair!
But… why not talk with his new friend about it? He seemed completely fine with the topic, so at least one of them wouldn’t be too uncomfortable.
“You know, that Zoro and I aren’t together? Even if I did like him, I don’t think he would want anything to do with me. Not like that.”
“He rejected your advances?”, Kin’emon looked at him in sympathy and surprise.

Sanji chuckled quietly: “There were no advances.”
“Why not? You two get along splendidly, do you not?”, the Samurai cocked his head. He must be truly blind to all insults going back and forth. Just because Sanji thought he might like Zoro, doesn’t mean Zoro thought about him as more than an annoying crewmate, he could spare with every now and then.
Or maybe this was another thing that was different in Wano. Something he just couldn't explain to this fish out of water.

“I don’t know.”, the cook said instead, “But if I ask him and it goes wrong, what do I do then?”
He didn’t think Zoro would be disgusted or anything, the brute was way too simple minded for that. Sanji smiled, he would probably try to let the blond down easy and say something hilariously insulting instead. But he knew himself, it would break his heart anyway to know for certain. In the end, the crew would be the one to suffer.

“Are you sure he doesn’t know already?”, that would be a disaster. He hadn’t thought about that possibility before Kin’emon brought it up. What if the Marimo was secretly laughing at him? Or just pityingly keeping quiet, so he didn’t have to confront Sanji? Why did Kin’ have to bring this up?
“If an outsider like me could sense your feelings for each other, perhaps he does too. He might be thinking the same as you do. Be brave Sanji!”

“You should listen to your crewmate.”, Viola had chosen that moment to come back with a wooden horse in tow. “If you want, I can look at Roronoa Zoro’s feelings for you.”
This was getting out of control; he’d rather nobody look at anybody’s anything.
“That won’t be necessary, ma chère amie…”, besides they had more important things to worry about, “Kin’ didn’t you say you had some intel?”

He glared at the Samurai for good measure, hoping he'd get the hint and stop talking about his inconsequential crush on the other swordsman. Especially around Viola, she already knew way more about Sanji than she needed. 

Mercifully Kin’emon focused on the mission quickly: "Ah Yes. I found out that Kanjuro is held at a place called the Toyhouse. Although I do not know where it is." He spared another uneasy glance at Viola, but fortunately refrained from calling her an escort again. Not that there was anything wrong with the profession! 

"The Toyhouse is what the public calls the devil fruit factory you were looking for.", the princess' words snapped the blond out of his thoughts. 

“I am assuming they won’t just let anybody waltz on in there?”, Sanji waited for Violas affirming nod, “Then we’ll need to disguise ourselves. Good thing you’re here Kin’.”
Perhaps they could copy a guard uniform or something. Security was pretty lax around most parts of the world. As long as you looked the part you could get in almost anywhere.

Viola nodded and told them: “They still use parts of the old castle. I will bring you to a side entrance and let you inside.”
“You’re not coming with us my dear?”, Sanji was surprised. Her ability to see through walls might come in handy.

Viola hummed thoughtfully: “I will. But there will be a point where we might have to split up. Saving your friend and destroying the Toyhouse would be easier that way. We will need to be careful to avoid any of the generals. Especially Trebol.”

It would be best if they had more people with them. “We need to get Luffy out of the Tournament.”
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"No! A proper poison taster doesn't drink the whole bowl! You only try a sip of my tea.", Momo scolded the absentminded reindeer. 

"Oh sorry, let me try again.", he placated the younger boy. Chopper got up to pour another cup of tea. It wasn't his fault he was distracted though, the doctor had originally come over to talk to Nami, before he was roped into cheering up the worried boy. Admittedly their part of the plan was a lot less stressful than the others’, so it was probably fine to waste a little time drinking tea with the pretend Shogun. 

"What is a Shogun anyway?", Brook asked slowly strumming his guitar. Momo perked up at the chance to explain part of his culture to another person. While Chopper had done his Lab work and Nami had done her best to keep their little guest entertained, Brook had wandered off into the library, taking the chance to work on some songs in the momentary peace and quiet.
So having finally all the attention from the remaining Strawhats on board was quite the treat for little Momo.

“The Shogun is the most honorable ruler of Wano. He leads and protects the people and takes care of the country. He is a great Warrior…”, at the end the boy trailed of, sounding sad again.
They weren’t sure what exactly happened to the father and son duo, only getting bits and pieces of information, but left to his own devices Momo tended to suddenly turn pensive.

“Would you like a song, little Shogun? I used to play this one to a special friend of mine.”, the happy melody of Bink’s rum floated around them.

Sensing an opportunity, the Strawhat’s doctor turned towards Nami: “Can I speak to you for a moment?” He whispered, making sure Momonosuke was busy happily dancing around Brook.
The navigator followed his line of sight and nodded.
Walking towards the galley, Chopper tried to keep an ear out, in case the skeleton got overwhelmed with the human child.

“I am worried about Goji’s blood values…”, he started to explain. Nami was the only one that was around for Sanji’s little outburst, so she would understand his anxiety. “At first, I thought that maybe the sample was somehow tainted, but I drew the blood myself. It is possible I made a mistake though.”
His friends face grew serious: “You don’t think that is it.”
Nami was right of course. “I borrowed a book about bloodline elements from Robin and I cross referenced the sample with the patient information I collected about Sanji. Goji is definitely his brother, but something didn’t make sense…”

Chopper would have liked to go into detail about the grade of information your blood contained, how he was so sure the two curly browed crewmembers were not just related, but very closely related. Nami would have probably been able to not just follow his explanation, but also understand why what he had found was odd; hadn’t the door in front of them chosen that exact moment to burst open.

“Oh this won’t do at all!”, a round woman in a flowery Dress stepped out of the men’s quarters. Her brightly colored, curly hair sticking out in all directions, seeming to try to escape from her head. “What a bland room! Where is the passion? The personality?”

“How did she get in there?”, Brook wondered out loud as they all stared frozen at the wrinkly face, covered in garish make-up, “Noone else is supposed to be here right?” A skeletal hand surreptitiously shoved the boy hiding in Brook’s feathered coat further out of sight.

“How about a bit more patterns, yes?”, as she said those words, a billowing cloud started rising from the intruder’s head, swirls and triangles bouncing in the confines of the pastel smoke slowly taking over the boys’ room. Then, pressure, a gust of wind and colors exploded outward, leaving their bedroom transformed.

“Voila! Another Masterpiece from the great artiste Giolla!”
A Devilfruit user.
It was unrecognizable, the wooden hammocks they usually slept in were bent in the middle looking like they had melted in the summer heat. The posters they had hung had disappeared; the walls transformed as well. Everything was so colorful and bendy, even their little table built into the floor curled inward, resembling a flower more than furniture.

“How horrible…”, Momonosuke muttered behind them. He looked different as well.
Not being able to control his powers very well yet, the kid had turned into a Dragon in shock.

The ‘great artiste Giolla’ gasped in outrage: “And what would a talking Eel know about art? Everybody is a critic honestly…” She sniffed offended, a new colorful fluff brewing above her angrily. With a flick of her hand, it shot across the deck hitting Brook in the face and spreading to cover both of Choppers friends.
Brook screamed silently: “….”

The edges of his bony body turned round and flowing, his Skull looked more like the head of a ghost than anything solid. Not even his own ghost, but something you’d get if you asked Luffy to draw you a spirit. 
Momo wasn’t any better off, his dragon snout a little rectangle now, sitting on a heartshaped head with wings sticking out the sides. His claws rounded to knubbly stubs, flailing around.

Giolla smiled turning her attention towards Nami: “You seem like a reasonable young Lady. I’ll be taking over your vessel now. Tell me where you are hiding the Boy Momonosuke and I won’t kill you.”

What could they possibly want with Momo?
How did that weird Lady even know he was here? It didn’t really matter right now. First, they had to get away, Chopper glanced at Nami.
“Sure! He’s right up there sleeping in the guest quarters.”, Nami smiled back.
She had her hands crossed behind her, three fingers stretched out. Three… The Shark Submerge III.

The trapdoor to the soldier dock was right under their enemy’s feet. And someone still needed to open the dock gates from the helm. They needed to be quick.
Giolla turned and started walking towards the stairs. Brook grabbed Momo and booked it, his long legs carrying him across the deck in seconds, Nami dove for the stairs, taking them two at a time and ducking clouds as the other woman caught on to their plan.

She wasn’t quick enough, in the end the chalky dust enveloping her fully and leaving a smoothed out form behind.
“Not again!”, Nami bemoaned, “At least this time it isn’t soap…”
Instead of jumping down the ladder after Brook, Chopper turned on his heel.
He couldn’t leave a Friend alone, especially not one of the girls! Sanji would cook him for dinner!

Mid-jump the reindeer doctor transformed into his Horn Point. The momentum kept carrying him forward, he just made out the shocked look in the artist’s face as he crashed into her headfirst.
As far as distractions went, this one could have gone better.

Nami had made it up to the release lever and her clima tact was securely in her grip, but also:
Chopper got turned into a cubical abstract. A bit more disorienting than one might think, given his frequent voluntary transformations. His vision was swimming for a moment.

“How dare you! You scratched my beautiful face!”, furious steps drew closer to him, as Chopper tried to lift his blocky body off the ground. He was slow, but he might just make it to the hole in the ground and freedom.
Behind him lightning struck the ground.
“Sorry! I was aiming for that vile woman!”, Nami was wobbling down the stairs, “Come on, hurry!”
She pushed him to climb down first, the only one of them still being able to fight.

“What an ugly Toy you have there.”, there went their last weapon. It was embarrassing how quickly they had been overrun by an enemy, when left alone. The only choice left was to abandon the Sunny and flee ship, tears gathered in Choppers eyes. Poor Sunny, they would be back!

Cursing, Nami pulled the door shut behind her. “Let that bitch try and find the latch Franky hid on that thing.”

“What happened up there?”, Brook came out of hiding Momo back in his human form, running ahead.
The Navigator gaped at them: “What are you still doing here? The gates are open!”
“He wouldn’t leave without you two…”, Brook gestured at the crying boy clinging to Nami’s waist.
Even Momo’s tears were transformed, perfectly shaped drops in blue landing on a little pile at their feet before turning back into actual water.

Her face softening, Nami picked up Momo and gestured towards the SubMarine. “Let’s regroup outside, I’ll take the White Horse.”
Banging could be heard from above them. Quickly Chopper followed the tall … not quite a Skeleton anymore, towards the dock opposite of their Navigator and climbed into the shark shaped vehicle.

Quietly Brook maneuvered them outside. A pinging sound alerted them of another, big shape in the water.
“Another subMarine?”, Chopper wondered aloud, looking out the window as they breached the surface, “I guess now we know how she snuck up on us.”

The musician wasn’t really listening to him: “I can’t draw my sword…” He said while gripping his deformed cane in both his round hands. It had been transformed along with it’s owner. No seam visible where the grip usually connected with the sheath of the hidden sword.

They needed to find a solution quickly…
Nami was circling the Sunny with her cloud scoter, making sure to stay a moving target. Should they keep moving as well? It didn’t seem like Giolla was currently paying them any attention, talking to herself while moving across their ship.

As they kept on watching her, the mist over her head grew bigger and bigger. Soon you couldn’t even see the Sunny anymore.

Oh no. That was not their ship anymore.
It was ugly. So unbelievably terribly ugly, not the friendly smiling lion figurehead Franky had designed and cut from adam wood. It looked sad, the Sunny in all it’s clashing colorful glory looked like it was frowning at them. Chopper understood the feeling. The Crowsnest looked like a diseased flower growing from the poor ships back, the sails a pink moth wagging its wings in the wind. They definitely wouldn’t be able to get back inside via the docking system, nothing would be able to open those deformed doors now.

“There you are Momonosuke.”, Giolla had spotted the white horse, “Where did you come from?”
Oh they were screwed…

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The Toy Soldier was an odd fellow. He was broken, missing a leg, and still happily running away from the guards. It nearly brought tears to Franky’s eyes. Maybe he could whittle him a new leg?

Luffy would love the guy, if they properly met. He was leading a resistance against the Donquixote family after all. They were supposed to strike today, just like the Strawhats.

You wouldn’t think that this would complicate things for them in any way, but as Franky was telling Sanji over the snail: “We can’t just knock the factory down and be on our merry way, there are some people in there we gotta rescue first.”

“Seems like we’re on the same page then. Shall we meet there?”, asked the cook.
Franky kept moving through the streets: “We need to get to the flower field first… Did you see the paper? Doflamingo’s…”
“I know.”, Sanji sighed, “He tricked us. We better get the factory down before anything else goes wrong.”

They were on a time crunch then. Nothing too unusual.
Both of the Strawhats exchanged a few more words, before hurrying on their way.

Franky took a bit of a running start, before sliding forward on his knees. A release valve pushed up in his shins, making the continuous track of his wheels spring out and keeping him rolling forward.

The Tinman was clinging to Frankies poncho as they drove through the town: “I thought you weren’t a Toy?”
“I’m not.”, although it wasn’t the worst thing he had ever been called. Maybe monster or abomination… Paulie had once told him he dressed like a cheap hooker, but that was more a compliment than anything else, “I’m a cyborg.”

“Then you are not familiar with the rules of this town.”, said the Soldier, “There are two laws that have been strictly observed ever since Doflamingo’s reign began a decade ago!”

The first law: All citizens must observe the curfew. At midnight every person is to return to their residence. All Toys must return to the Toy House.
Anyone found wandering the streets at night will be detained and fined accordingly.

The second law: The co-habitation between biological citizens (be it human, fishman or otherwise) and Toys is strictly prohibited.
Any person found in the Toy House without authorization will be detained and fined accordingly.
Any Toy found entering the residence of a biological citizen (see above) will be brought to the scrap collection center.
Any person found knowingly harboring a Toy in their residence will be persecuted.

“I thought the two types were mingling here openly…”, Franky hadn’t really paid all that much attention to the non-human beings wandering around. After the initial shock, he had gotten used to seeing them everywhere. It really made no sense to him to gather all these Toys every night and lock them in a shed, so to speak.
The Toy’s could talk, think and make decisions by themselves. Hell, he would even go so far as to say they had free will. “Whoever built you must be a genius on Vegapunk’s level!”

The soldier got quiet, watching as some guards dragged a little robot of a Lady screaming about a broken Toy. It was shouting: “I’m a human too, dammit! Let me go!”
A defect in the differentiating algorithm maybe?

“We weren’t built by anyone.”, artificial hands let go of Franky’s back and the one-legged soldier slid to the ground, “Let me show you.”
A few steps away from them a mother was watching her son play with a metallic dog jumping on springs around them.
They called him over. Franky had thought they were in a hurry, what were they doing talking to random strangers on the street.

“Don’t worry, he’s a Toy too.”, the soldier lied before asking, “Tell me, who are you?”
The happy go lucky demeanor of the dog changed in an instance and a deep adult voice answered them quietly: “My name is Milo, I’m the boy’s father... And that is my wife.”
He switched back to the high pitched Toy voice he had been using before and went on playing with the human boy he claimed was his son.

“They don’t remember him, as a human.”, painted unmoving eyes were looking up at Franky expectantly.

“What is going on here?”, he didn’t really get this whole exercise. Wasn’t this just another defect Toy? Alarm bells were going off in the back of the cyborgs mind.
The Soldier turned away staring at the small round building, barely a room, leading to the scrapyard.
“This country is divided into the forgotten and the forgetters. Ten years ago, Doflamingo brought someone with terrible powers with him and turned us all into this. Every Toy you see on this Island, was once a real person.”

There were so many of them, everywhere he looked, Toys. It seemed every person was accompanied by at least one Toy, if not more. That Lady over there was pushing a babbling Toy in a stroller, even.
Franky himself stood next to a Toy right now!
“So, you’re saying you’re actually…”, he couldn’t finish the sentence. The thought alone was horrible. Being trapped in the wrong body, a flimsy thing and none of your friends and family remembering you.

Would you even know, that you forgot someone, he wondered.

A silent look was all the answer he got.
“Let’s go. The flower field is just ahead, I’ll explain the whole plan to you then.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was a giant naval ship sticking out of the thicket of Vines in front of Law. 

"You can't abandon me, in handcuffs, on an island filled with Marines!", Caesar was shaking between them, "I'm just a regular pirate now! Joker is a regular pirate now as well come to think of it..."

They probably sent a Vize-Admiral, maybe Smoker himself even. He was a stubborn enough bastard to insist on catching them himself, although he would have to have taken a record-breaking shortcut to get here before them.

No familiar rough faces around though. 
"You have a rather smug look on you right now.", Nico Robin smiled at him.
Law dragged the protesting Caesar after him: "I don't know what you’re talking about. How would I order the Marines here?" 

The way she chuckled; Law was sure she knew exactly what he did. There was a chance that she had even eavesdropped on his conversation back in Punk Hazard.
"There's just 15 minutes to go. I'm counting on both your skills. If you see something wrong..."

"Wait a second," the snipper tittered, "Dealing with the Marines wasn't part of the deal!" 
A deep breath in… and out. The surgeon tried again: “If you see anything wrong in the forest, call me. You’re my backup.”
Longnose looked at him, then towards the thick jungle with narrowed eyes. Up at the lush big leaves and back towards Law.
“Roger that.”, he turned abruptly around and started walking, as if he hadn’t just cried about potential attackers.
What a odd fucking crew, Law thought as Nico Robin disappeared into the trees as well.

Without another word he chose a well visible spot to sit his bait down and wait.
“You do realize that Joker is going to kill you, right?”
 
Law had hoped to be able to wait in silence, gather his thoughts…
“There is no way you stand a chance against him. Even if you reserve all your strength or whatever and ambush him, Joker is leagues above you!”
It seemed Caesar had other plans though. He sighed weary: “What do you care?”
The immoral scientist just shrugged: “I don’t. I get rescued, either way.”

“Either way?”, the younger man narrowed his eyes at Caesar. Who was going to rescue him, if Doflamingo died? There was no way the crazy Idiot had his own backup plan; he hadn’t even had any sort of exit plan to start with. He certainly wasn’t smart enough to keep his mouth shut if there had been one. Right now, the man was avoiding his gaze with a frozen smile, sweat pouring down his face.

Law’s Transponder snail rang. He’d have to shelf that thought for later.
“Hey! This is Sanji!”, the voice on the other end sounded frantic.
This was not ideal. Regardless, Law ground out: “What is it? Have you found the factory?”
“We got bigger problems. You have to evacuate pronto!”
“What are you talking about?” Sabotage? Was this a play against them or for them? Law wasn’t sure.
“Doflamingo never quit the seven Warlords, the whole thing is a setup!”, the blond sounded strained, worried even. But this was impossible. There was no way Doflamingo had not just fooled them but a whole country, the news agency and the world government.
“How do you know that?”, he demanded. If this was real, this would throw their whole plan overboard.
“I’ll explain later just get the hell of that Island, now!”

It was too late for that. Regardless of if Law believed anything the blonde said or not, Doflamingo was coming. He could already hear his disturbing laugh and see his fast-approaching figure move across the water. He was 2 minutes early.

“I heard that conversation just now, was that Sanji?”, Law would never admit it, but he started as Nico Robin’s upper Body grew out of the floor. He didn’t know she could do that.
“Where is the Nose and your real body? If all that was true, there is no deal. We need to get of the Island, quickly.”

Robin spoke fast, as aware of the trouble ahead as he was. “We are underground right now, flee without us. We can’t help right now. When we can, we will head to the port you mentioned.”

Times up. Just as a platoon of Marines emerged from the bushes, a shadow fell over the three of them from above.
“Best of Luck.”, Robin disappeared back into the ground as he muttered: “You too.”
They would all need some luck now.

“I must admit, I’m impressed Law. You got an admiral to show up?”, Doflamingo sounded way to entertained for his comfort. The psychopath had played with him from the beginning. Landing carelessly a few feet away.

“Now that I am not a Warlord anymore, I am shaking in my boot’s!”, he was grinning.
So it had been a trap. Had Law ever even stood a chance to trick the man? If not even Cora hat been able to fool him indefinitely…
“You liar. You used the world government and deceived the entire world. To what? Fool a handful of people?” He must have, otherwise the story would have been buried before even making it to print.
Doflamingo hummed happily: “The best magic shows always have the simplest of tricks… The rigidity of the mind in assuming, that no one would be so foolish is what creates a man’s blind spot.”

He had always had another ace up his sleeve. Something Law couldn’t have predicted. By all accounts it shouldn’t have been possible. Law glanced at the scarred Marine admiral patiently waiting next to them. A Warlord didn’t have the power to make the world government do something this preposterous. Lie to the entire world and then take it back the next day. It was complete madness.
Law would know, he technically was a Warlord himself!

“To pull this off, one would have to be a celestial dragon.”, he thought out loud.
It couldn’t be this… this simple, could it? This wasn’t it. This was too big to be it!
“If you want the truth”, the vein across Doflamingo’s forehead pulsed, “I guess I just really, really wanted to kill you.”

Obviously the feeling was mutual. This whole thing was nothing but an exercise in destroying the Warlord. He could care less about Kaido or Caesar. But Doflamingo wouldn’t be getting the last laugh.

“You didn’t follow the terms of the deal!”, he’d probably never intended to anyway, but the tall blond wasn’t the only one good at making things up as he went, “Everything’s of the table now. You get nothing!”

Law just needed to stall him for a bit. He needed to think, the abdication was a lie, but as long as the factory was destroyed, Kaido probably wouldn’t care. No smile, no Joker.
He was supposed to just distract Doflamingo anyway, this would do as much as anything else.

The crazy man just laughed condescendingly, cooing at him as if Law was still a small child: “Is that anyway to talk to your dear boss after a decade? You used to be such an obedient little shit…
Leave Caesar here. He is a very valuable subordinate of mine.” The air around them was tense or maybe that was just his heart beating quicker in his chest.

The scientist jolted forward: “Joker! I knew you’d come for me!” Before the man could even attempt to run over to his benefactor, Law had wound a hand in his scarf and pulled him back.

“Joker…”, he had nearly forgotten that the Marines were here when the admiral spoke up, “Is that a nickname your subordinate called you? It also happens to be the name of a prominent criminal individual…”, the man was looking at Doflamingo out of unseeing, white pupils. It looked like someone had tried to gauge his eyes out with a knife, a big X crossing his face. “I’ve got information that suggest that your activities have been violating the rules for one of the seven Warlords.”

Law momentarily entertained the thought of living in a world, where this exact scenario played out. Where a righteous Marine would confront a Warlord on their criminal behavior and hold them accountable. It would be a grueling fight, but with Law’s generous support they could arrest Doflamingo. After all that was what he was supposed to do as a fellow Warlord, right?

It would have to stay a dream, because here in reality, Doflamingo got a dangerous glint in his eye as he took notice of the man standing in front of the squadron: “I’ve heard of you. Fujitora, the man promoted to admiral after the international military draft. If you want to dig into my background, you better get your elbows dirty, before making accusations!”

He wasn’t just a simple newcomer to the Marines, then. He was one of the handpicked puppets Akainu had collected.

“And what will the governments course of action be,” Doflamingo continued, “regarding Law’s punishment?”
Now the surgeon had to smile himself. Who cared about that?

“If the reports are true and you’re allied with the Strawhats. Then you’re guilty.”, at least Fujitora gave him the curtesy of speaking to him directly. Even if this was just a farce of an interrogation for Doflamingo’s amusement. He needed to keep Caesar away from the conflict, that man was the only bargaining chip he had left. It would be best if the scientist was as far away as possible actually...

“But! If the Strawhat’s are working for you now Law, as your subordinates… You’re in the clear.”
Law was surprised by the clear out Fujitora was giving him here. Perhaps he had misjudged. There might be some good Marines left after all.
It was kind of the Admiral to offer a peaceful solution, but unfortunately the pirate had to keep playing bait and he couldn’t do that without a target on his back. Who knew how disastrous the consequences were if he let Doflamingo go back to Dressrosa right now?

He took a deep breath and shouted as loud as he could: “Strawhat and I are equals! As the newspaper said, we have an alliance!”
Let Doflamingo laugh about that if he wanted. The bastard wouldn’t know what hit him.

“In that case, your title is revoked and I will have to arrest the both of you.”, Fujitora slowly lifted his hand as he said this. The heavens rumbled. A meteorite the size of a mountain was hurtling down towards them, the gathered Marines already running ahead of the impact radius, Caesar quick on their heels. When had he got away?

Law gaped at the thing. He would never make it. Was this the power of the new admiral? You had to be kidding him. He barely had the time to construct a room big enough to cover himself and draw his sword to sever the rock threatening to crush them in two.

It honestly was a blessing in disguise. While all three strong players were still standing on the field, the ground itself had caved in dramatically. Only leaving the pillars of earth they were standing on.
“I guess it doesn’t matter if he can see or not.”, Law doubted that many people could escape this amount of destruction.

Caesar had run for cover in the jungles, watching them with the Marines.
Doflamingo was fuming on his patch of rock: “What the fuck are they teaching you in training these days?”

Law made a new room to get over to his hostage. He still had that asshole’s heart in his chest, but that didn’t mean Caesar couldn’t try to run away. It would probably be a good idea as well to try and call Nami now. Put Caesar on the Sunny and take them far away.

Just as his power spread far enough for his shambles to get him where he needed to go, the admiral had to butt in.
“Don’t you dare!”, he shouted while knocking a big chunk of meteor in his direction. For a blind man he had surprising aim. It wasn’t all that accurate admittedly. Instead of Law, he hit the support under the surgeon, close enough to still make him fly forwards.

He didn’t land softly, rolling around the dirt with the transponder snail still clutched in his hand. Law scrambled up quickly and started running.
Nobody picked up his call. What were they doing? He had the right number and they should have had the easiest part, just waiting on the Sunny.

Something was coming… Law jumped into the jungle immediately when his Haki alerted him of the incoming danger and he still barely avoided being sliced in two by a wayward string.
He needed to stay moving if he wanted to live.

Doflamingo had made his way, floating over to Caesar. Shit.
He saw the man he lived with on Punk Hazard gesture to his chest. Double shit.
The blinding sunlight reflected of the sunglasses on the Warlord’s face turning towards Law slowly.
He blinked for a second and was only saved by the trunk of a tree thrown at his head, from being caught by the psychopath’s powers.
Law really needed his head back in the game. He couldn’t keep getting distracted.

He tried for Nami’s snail again. Nothing.
“Who are you trying to call Law?”, Doflamingo sauntered over, pulling a handful of strings taut along the line of trees, “You know this is all pointless right? Your little friend has already fallen for my trap as we speak. He is never making it out alive, your alliance is over. Give up already.”

“Go to hell…”, there were pieces of sticky plant matter raining down on Law and he could feel himself getting slower with every passing second.
Doflamingo could see it as well, he was just toying with Law again, tilting his head with a grin like a well-fed cat: “Give me Caesar’s heart Law.”

They both knew he was way too stubborn for that. Law would die before he gave up on his revenge.
He pointed the blade of his sword at the man in the pink feather coat.

Instead of the other’s devilfruit power, another blade crashed with his own.
Law took everything back. He hadn’t misjudged Fujitora at all. This man was terrible. Through and through. Was he even really blind? He doubted it.

Medically, sure that scar tissue was thick and deep. There was no doubt substantial damage to his retinas under there. But spiritually?
Law was not a bad swordsman. He was trained by the Warlord watching them himself, after all. And still it took every bit of energy left in him to parry.
What he needed, was rest. A chance to scrape together some of his stamina and get out.

On the next sword slash whistling by his face, Law let himself stumble, fall backwards and land on the ground with a heavy thud.
A blade to his neck kept him motionless. No need for bindings when he barely felt like moving anyway.

“Are we done now? All tuckered out?”, Doflamingo loomed over him, “Why don’t I tell you a story Law?”

And he told him. He told him how 800 years ago the leaders of 20 Kingdoms got together and founded the world government. How 19 of them moved with their families to Marijoa, leaving their homes and people to fend for themselves. The descendants of these kings becoming the celestial dragons. The Kingdoms being ruled over by new royal families.

“Here in Dressrosa for example, the Riku dynasty took over. But the ones that left for Marijoa, were the Donquixotes. He never told you did he?”, Doflamingo idly asked.

Who could have told him? If he had known this then Law would have calculated that one devastating fact into his plans.

The expression on Doflamingo’s face grew angry: “Did you already forget the one you left shot in the snow? You know he was once a celestial dragon as well, my dear brother.”
He reached into Law’s pocket, taking back the decoy heart he had stashed there.
 
Sometimes he forgot, what it actually meant for Doflamingo and Cora to have been brothers. That they were actually related by blood and didn’t just share a coincidental passing resemblance. He didn’t think he would be this shocked to be reminded of that fact once again. The two of them were so different in temperament and morals. It wasn’t hard to suppress the knowledge of Donquixote Rozinante.

This wasn’t the first thing Cora had kept him though and this one was just as easy to forgive as the first one had been. What would he get from holding a grudge against a dead man after all.

“I’d love to share some drinks and tell you more about the distant past from before we met.”, Doflamingo had kept talking through Law’s catatonic state, but he was sure that he hadn’t missed anything more important, “I’m afraid there is no time for that though. There are still some matters I need to attend to.”

“Joker! You stole it back for me right? Please, give me my heart!”, Caesar had appeared out of the bushes at just the right time.

Law grinned: “I don’t remember telling you that was his heart.”
He had rested enough. Time to escape.

There was no use lying around if Doflamingo was leaving anyway. He quickly drew up a room and dragged the protesting scientist away with him.

There was thunder in the distance, so the Sunny couldn’t be far away. With no dark clouds in the sky, this had to be Nami. He just needed to reach them.

New plan: lead Doflamingo away from the shore and over to the bridge between Greenbit and Dressrosa. Then he could safely pass Caesar over with his powers, without interference.

He called the ship again… This time Chopper picked up.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This was so stupid. Zoro had wasted at least 15 minutes just running into dead ends with Wicca screaming at him. 

It was like having a Tiny Nami on his shoulder. Annoying.

He didn’t even know where they were going now! Zoro had kept his part of the deal and found the flower field. The little people had made friends with Usopp to no one’s surprise. Usopp was a sociable guy after all. Franky had been there too for some reason he wasn’t listening to. Who cares? They always found each other again somehow! Much more important was that Luffy had entered a fighting tournament without him!

If they were taking personal side missions, then Zoro wanted to go fighting too!
He had to go save his crewmates first though.
Not that the others couldn’t take care of themselves, but a high-level officer of the army that made people unable to fight… This reminded him too much of that close call with Mr. Candlewax for comfort.

 “Just turn to the left here! The side with your swords!”, the little bug told him, as if he couldn’t tell left from right! He probably could. It was better to have her lead Zoro to the harbor though.
He took the street she indicated.
Wasn’t that the Colosseum Luffy was at?

“Hey, Zoro!”, and wasn’t that their Samurai and the idiot cook?
The blond was currently wrangling Kin’emon back to an acceptable speaking volume, that wasn’t prone to blow their cover. The swordsman quickly adjusted his target and walked over.

Without preamble he blurted out: “The ship’s getting attacked by some sorta art Lady.”
That got curly brows attention. “Nami is in danger? No wonder no one answered my calls!”

A dark-haired woman, who he just noticed, laid a hand on their cook’s arm and closed her eyes.
“It’s Giolla, she disabled your friends’ weapons already and turned them into art. They’re still fighting. Giolla is the only one left from Doflamingo’s side, but it isn’t looking good… the child is fine and the older boy is talking with Law on the snail…”

Who? Who had they picked up now? And was that a wooden horse behind her?
The pervy blonde sighed happily: “Thank you my sweet beloved Viola, you are most helpful.”
“I hope you get stabbed in a fit of passion.”, the swordsman mumbled under his breath. Honestly, he knew how that Idiot got around women, but was now the time?

Oddly enough Viola smiled as well, still seeming preoccupied in the distant fight, squeezing her hand reassuringly where it was still clutching the cook’s arm. Suspicious. Girls usually didn’t like the way the blond fawned over them.

Usually the cooks smile around strangers, especially strangers touching him was a bit forced as well. Even when they were women. But with this one, he looked like he did around any of the crew, relaxed and confident. Did they know each other?
Zoro, he’d never seen this girl before, so how was she already this ingrained in their mission? Speaking of missions, someone should save their friends sooner than later. He could still cut Viola down, after she did anything to jeopardize his friends’ safety.

“I was already on my way to the Sunny.”, Zoro was their best bet here, he was one of their strongest fighters and with Curly injured…
“No way!”, said injured man leaned into his personal space, before seemingly changing his mind and straightening back up like the weirdo he was, “I was worried about Nami before you were! And obviously she’d rather have me come to her rescue than you! So… I’m going.”
“Fine! Go then!”, Zoro would sit at his sickbed and laugh at him, when Chopper inevitably strapped him down.

“I… have a confession to make.”, Kin’emon had a worried crease between his eyes. Oh, his kid was still on the ship. Zoro felt bad for the man. It must be terrible not knowing if your kid was safe.

“That magic woman is probably there for Momonosuke.”
The cook was on the ground unwrapping the bandages around his leg: “You mean for blackmail? What a shitty thing to do. Targeting a kid.”
The samurai nervously tapped his fingers on the hilt of one of his two swords, eying Viola for a moment. He seemed to come to a silent decision in himself: “No. You remember when I told you, that Momonosuke is not my son by birth?”
Apparently, the cook did, as he nodded.
Kin’emon awkwardly stumbled through his explanation: “He is my Shogun… by birth. The next ruler of Wano, the last son left of his bloodline. And the last hope my country has left.”

So. They just went from one kingdom to safe, to two in the span of a second. Must be a record for them.
It could never be easy couldn’t it?

The moment of stunned silence was broken by Viola: “We need to hurry. Your friends are about to be taken over by Giolla’s powers. They are sailing to Greenbit!”

“Let’s go then.”, the cook stood up.
Zoro couldn’t help but notice the twinge on Curly’s face as he tested putting weight on his leg. The man was stubborn though, so there was no use wasting time trying to convince him not to go off and risk his own health. Stupid Idiot.
“Don’t worry, I’ll bring back your son safe and sound.”

“Don’t get yourself killed, Swirly-Brow.”, he couldn’t help but throw after the blond as he climbed behind Viola on the toy-horse.
“Whatever, Mosshead. Get Luffy out of there and meet Franky. Kin’ knows where to go, call me if there is trouble!”, the man shouted back.

Off they went.
Next to him, Kin’emon was dabbing at the grateful tears that had sprung to his eyes, while fishing a map out of his jacket pocket.
Zoro was nice enough not to say anything. A man should be allowed to keep his pride. He wondered though, if it was smart to send the womanizer to fight a woman…

One problem at a time: “How do we get into the Colosseum then?”
“I do not know, the premises are on lock down and we must avoid suspicion. I was nearly arrested earlier.”
“You big people can’t go in.”, piped up a little voice from his shoulder, “I can get up though!”

Not the worst plan, but: “You don’t know what he looks like do you? Also, don’t you need someone to carry you around?”
That was the reason she was still sitting on Zoro’s shoulder.

“Excuse me… Mr. Zoro?”, the voice came from above them. The swordsman tensed, how did they know his name?

There was a man standing in one of the gated Coliseum windows. A big piercing under his nose and bright green hair formed to a crest. He was crying.
He was crying a lot. Zoro could barely understand a word the man was saying.
“Canni havva Oudograf? If I look for Mr Luffy, canni havv yo Autograhw?”, the man had sunk to his knees to be closer to them, clutching the bars.

He squinted up at the oddball. Had Luffy befriended him in the arena?
“You said you’ll search for Luffy? Great! Take Wicca with you!”, he shouted up.
The man was quite happy to catch the screeching fairy Zoro had thrown up at him and scampering of still crying.

“Was that wise?”, Kin’emon asked.
Zoro scratched his chin, not really sure himself: “As long as it get’s Luffy down here, it’ll be fine.”
He was more worried about whatever the ship sitting Team had going on.

Well he had nothing else to do but wait for their captain now.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nami ducked behind the main mast. This was bad, like really bad.
Her clima tact looked like some sort of children’s toy, refusing to work and Brook had gone insane.
 
He’d started to wax poetic about being inspired by all the bullshit going on around them and promptly ignored his friends to start strumming on his guitar.
“Nothing like fabulous tunes on a sea of Art!”, the notes he was playing turned into actual floating music notes, turning everything they touched into another grotesque piece of surrealistic torture.
Poor Chopper already couldn’t move, covered in canvas until only his head was sticking out.
She had lost sight of Momo.

Nami’s hands angrily tightened around the winding stick in her hands. For a moment it felt like cold water was washing over her fingers, the familiar grip of metal under them.
Then she had to duck another of that vile woman’s smoke bombs.

She ran, looking for cover that was just not there anymore. The ship was completely transformed, disorienting the Navigator enough that she stumbled in her steps.

“O-Nami!”, Momo ran over trying to help her get away. He shouldn’t have, the next burst of artistic intent hit both of them. After this was over, she swore to never put a child on their ship again. This was way too dangerous!

Giolla laughed twirling around Brook in victory: “Oh, won’t Law be startled when he see’s y’all like this and I am the one there to pick up Caesar instead?”
The poor small boy was already completely covered, but Nami still had her hands. She could try… something! Anything at this point!

Chopper was crying: “Brook! Have you betrayed us?”

The traitor didn’t answer himself, his new girlfriend turning her back to Nami to mock Chopper: “Oh hush now. A peasant like you could never understand a true passionate Soul!”

In frustration Nami desperately swung her clima tact against the crawling color’s moving up her body. There was this feeling again.
Her hands feeling numb with the strength of her swing… her normal hands, holding a normal part of her clima tact.

It was just a small part, barely reaching past her two hands clasped around the metal, but it was there. For a moment she didn’t move, in shock.

Brook was gaping at her, looking equally stunned. She was gaping at Brook, her grip relaxing in disbelief, letting her only weapon slip from her grasp.
Damnit.

The skeleton’s yaw clicked shut with a snap and he started humming innocently as if nothing happened. No help on that front. Quick steps moved to stand next to Giolla, who was gathering a bigger cloud above her with closed eyes. Was he going to tell her?
The swirling thought bubble was released, moving towards Nami.

“In just ten minutes these squealing rubes will be fused with my latest masterpiece! Becoming a part of my permanent collection.”, Giolla laughed darkly, “I’m moved beyond tears! It’s a perfect depiction of Dressrosa’s tragedy!”
Her perfect depiction was starting to squeeze around Nami’s chest and neck tightly. She could barely gasp for breath.

Brook nodded along with her, too quick to be genuine, too jerky and panicked for the usually laid-back musician. What was he doing? “It’s simply splendid. You must allow me to compose a piece for your exhibit!”
Delighted the woman watching them groan in pain, clapped her hands: “Will you do me the honor, Soul King?”

Chopper was openly weeping by now and she wasn’t sure if it was even all that much about the pain than seeing Brook behave like he didn’t care one bit about them like this.
Instead asking: “How about a classical piece? I’ll need my violin and bow, if you’ll release them… My violin bow is within my walking cane.”

Didn’t Brook use his sword as a bow? Nami wondered as black spots started dancing before her eyes.
“Splendid! I await your song!”
One, two, three, four, five steps, the skeleton kept on walking: “Done. Consider yourself sliced…”
“Sliced?”, wondered Giolla.
Six, seven, eight, nine… Ten. And they were falling to the ground as the powers from the Art Fruit dissolved with their mistress falling unconscious.

Sometimes she forgot, with his silly, perverted jokes and the gangly way he preferred to carry himself, that Brook could be serious when the time called for it.
“Sorry. It seems I don’t get your art after all.”, his voice was low and quiet as he said this, “I don’t have the Eye for it!”
And the moment was broken by the skeleton’s loud laughter at his own joke.

Nami groaned. She felt like she had wrestled a fishman and here the boys were already jumping around. Chopper and Momo were happily clinging to thin, long legs, everybody forgetting that there was still an enemy on deck. Even if she was passed out for the moment.
“What do we do with that one then? It seems cruel to just dump her overboard…”
She’d drown, slowly sinking to the bottom of the ocean with no way of saving herself. Nami wasn’t a sadist.

Chopper turned towards her: “Yeah, especially since she got powers.”
They should just tie her up and ditch her somewhere after everything was over. That was standard procedure. Where were the sea stone shackles?

“Anyway, we need to hurry over to Law.”, Giolla was secured and slowly waking up as Nami was speaking.
The reindeer doctor let himself fall to the deck pondering: “What did he mean by ‘pick up Caesar’ though. I thought we would give him over to Doflamingo if he quit the Warlords?”

“You ignorant buffoons!”, coughed out a woozy Giolla, “The young master was never truly negotiating with the likes of you. You’ve fallen into our trap you fools! In fact, he never even quit the Warlords!”

That woman was getting annoying. As Nami made her way up the stairs to the helm, she summoned a lighting strike from up above. No need to make her spew more nonsense that would just cause them to panic.

They were close to Greenbit already, thanks to their prisoner and it wouldn’t be difficult to keep course if everything went well.
As always nothing went their way.
Just as she wondered where Law was, taking his time, their boat was rocked side to side. A fish the size of the Sunny, with horns like a seabeast, rammed into them. If the ship was any less sturdy or the craftsmanship any less perfect, they might have been ripped to shreds already.

“What is this?”, Brook clung to the railing beside her.
Panic laced their prisoners voice as she answered: “That’s a school of fighting fish. They can even sink Marine battleships!”
Not being able to poke a hole into the Sunny, it seemed the fish would try and turn the ship over to sink her that way.
She couldn’t get a steady footing like this, but Nami still tried her best to grill the fish that wanted to kill them. Too bad the bullfaced things shrugged her lightning bolts off as if they were nothing.

Chopper screamed. What now?
“Doflamingo is flying right towards us!”
Desperately Nami tried to spot Law anywhere. He could save them; he was strong right?

The sound of Doflamingo’s laugh was horrible. Like some sort of banshee scream, that told them this would be their end. They were dead, either at the hands of the Warlord or as food for the carnivorous monsters around them.

“Hey”, at the sound of Sanji’s familiar voice, Nami fell to her knees in relief, “Stay the hell away from my crew!”
The two blondes seemed stuck in midair, as Sanji’s Haki covered oxford collided with Doflamingo’s raised leg.

“Oh, finally a though one.”, the Warlord studied the other’s form intently, “You’re with the Strawhat’s. Blackleg, right?”

In answer their friend tried to swipe at Doflamingo’s middle with a flaming leg. The man rolled out of the way just in time. It looked oddly beautiful to see the two of them fighting in midair like that. At least until invisible knives seemed to strike at Sanji, leaving him stunned in pain for a moment. He was falling, did he lose this quickly?

“Go on, protect you friends.”, the Warlord mockingly ignored the other man, looking back at the Sunny. Nami focused on Sanji for him, watching as he caught himself before he hit the water and jumped back into the air. He was panting heavily, already looking a lot worse than his opponent did and aiming for Doflamingo’s back anyway. He got a few good kicks in, before seemingly freezing in midair.

“Ohoho! He can’t move!”, Giolla happily informed them, “The young Master trapped him like a fly in a spider’s web!”
A long thick corded whip stretched out behind Doflamingo, aimed at their cook.

Finally, they started moving again. What were they doing just letting Sanji fight alone?
Brook drew his sword and Nami made a grab for her own weapon.
“Don’t do anything!”, Sanji screamed at them, “Just run!”
Then he closed his eyes tightly, waiting for the strike.

He couldn’t seriously think they were going to leave them here? The whip drew closer, it felt like in slow motion.

It never landed. Their luck saved them another time! Or better yet, Law did.
In Doflamingo’s place hung the surgeon of death, one hand gripping a bound Caesar, the other clinging to a still motionless Sanji. “Sorry. This was my fault.”, the man seemed to press out of his teeth with enormous difficulty. Men, honestly.
The next moment they landed in front of Nami on the lawndeck, Sanji groaning in pain.

“You stupid bastard! I told you to be careful with that break!”, Chopper ran back to the infirmary huffing frustrated.

Law looked towards the Island, grim. “We need to get going Doflamingo is coming back any minute.”, his steely gaze landed on Sanji next, brows furrowed in confusion.
He seemed to catch himself quickly though: “Did you destroy the factory?”
“Not yet. We know where it is, but Franky said, it’s more complicated than we thought.”
Momo tugged on Sanji’s arm at the other side asking questions about his father, with Law now glaring at the tired looking cook.
“We still need more time?”, the darkhaired man sounded less than thrilled at the prospect.
In the background Caesar was butting in as well demanding his heart back.

“Enough!”, Nami shouted into the chaos, “Give him some space.”
Law turned to her, “Fine. Take him and Caesar and sail to Zou. I already gave you the Vivre card right?”

“Zou?”, Brook asked scandalized, “We can’t leave without the rest of the crew!”
A loud creaking sound, like wood scraping against stone diverted her attention again.
Now there was a Marine ship flying towards them as well. The pressure in the air shifted, as she noticed the approaching meteorite’s up above.
They were being attacked from all sides!

“Once we’ve destroyed the factory, we are done with this place. We’ll follow as soon as we can!”, Law ran towards their prisoners grabbing Giolla by the arm and dragging her to the side of the ship.

Sanji tried to push Chopper away from himself, trying to get back up, but the Doctor held him down with the help of Brook. “No! I promised Viola, that we’d help free her country.”

Nami waved the reindeer over, they needed to leave! She pointed up the stairs at the controls for all of Franky’s ship modifications. “Get ready!”

The captain of the heart pirates was ignoring them all. Giving one last parting advice:
“Look for somewhere cloudless! Doflamingo uses his strings to wrap around the clouds and move through the air! He can’t move through the air if there are no clouds!”
Before taking Giolla of the ship with him.  

“Coup de burst is ready!”, Chopper warned them and pulled the lever, that would bring them to safety.  

“Finally…”, Nami sobbed quietly, “A moment of piece.”

Chapter Text

Sometime earlier this day:

Zoro was taking a long time to come back and pick him up.

Not that he minded having to wait. Goji knew that Zoro always took a while to get places. Even on the Sunny he sometimes walked to the wrong room first if he was really tired.

Anyway. If Zoro got lost, Sanji would have been right behind them. He just had to wait.
He looked down the railing Zoro had thrown him over. The other was gone.
Goji knew already that Zoro was gone, he was looking for stairs, he'd said.

There were some weird men watching Goji. Until now, no one had come closer. They were whispering though. Goji didn’t like being watched and whispered about. It felt like being back in the Laboratory with the scientists talking over his head.

One of the men was shushing the others, stuffing a picture back into his pocket and walking over.
Goji tensed.
“Hey there little boy, are you lost?”, the man was using a high-pitched voice. He didn’t like it either when people did that. Like he was stupid or something.

Very loudly Goji said: “I don’t need your help. My Brother told me not to talk with strangers!”

Several other adults stopped walking and turned towards them. The man tensed up, as Goji continued to glare at him.
“Listen here you little shit…”, the man tried to grab for his arm.
Goji screamed. He would never be taken somewhere he didn’t want to go to again!

“Hey there!”, a big, red plush-bear appeared behind the man, it towered over him and wrapped shining plastic claws around the stranger's shoulder, “I don’t think that is your child!”
It had a chipper voice, like Chopper.

The man finally let go of Goji’s arm, backing away all while apologizing profusely.
Goji stuck his tongue out at the fleeing guy.

“Alright there pal?”, asked the red bear. Goji nodded.
It seemed nice enough: “Would you like me and my friend to wait here for your big brother?”
“Your friend?”, wondered Goji.

A little girl stepped out behind the bear, wearing an equally red cape with teddy ears and a white dress. She looked a bit shy.
He decided it was probably fine if they waited with him.

“I’m Goji. What’s your name?”, he asked.
A timid little voice said: “Sugar.” The girl kept looking at him blankly. Her stomach rumbled loudly.

Ah. Sanji said to always feed people when they are hungry. Goji reached into his pockets, he still had some leftovers from earlier…
“I didn’t get to finish lunch, would you like to eat with me?”, he offered.

Sugar inspected the first opened little parcel. Squid rings fried in some kind of batter. Goji stuck one in his mouth. He should probably eat a bit more as well. To grow big and strong or something.

“I don’t like fish.”, Sugar hadn’t sat down with him, when Goji had let himself fall against the railing.
She probably didn’t want her dress to get dirty. Girls were like that sometimes.
The bear was standing next to them quietly, looking at the people walking by.

“I also have heart spinach empanadas…”, he offered her the second still wrapped bundle of serviettes.
This seemed to be more acceptable: “Hearts are cute.”
As she bit into the flaky pastry, she touched his hand.

“Thou shall not harm humans.”, Sugar was talking but he barely registered what she said. His hand was gone, turned into a triangular metal cone. “Thou shall obey the family’s orders.”

Goji looked down his body. It was turned into metal as well! One side a grassy green, the other a royal blue with a bright yellow lightning bolt bisecting his rectangular middle.
“What did you do?”, Goji tried to ask. His lips didn’t move, but his voice came out anyway. It sounded weird though, like he was speaking through a transponder snail. He tried to touch his face.
A clang, metal hitting metal. He could feel his head, but it wasn’t his head at all…
“What did you do!”, he shouted after the girl already moving away with the bear in tow.

“I turned you into a toy.”, Sugar told him coldly, no emotion in her voice as she just kept on walking, not paying any attention to him at all. “Return to the Toyhouse. As quickly as you can.”

He tried to get up, run after her, but he fell back down immediately. His feet wouldn’t hold still – there were wheels under his cone legs.
Goji wanted to cry, but his eyes were gone as well. A little visor ran across his face instead.

He tried feeling out his face again. There was just the visor. On the side of his head were two weird, round protrusions and he had an antenna.

For a while Goji just sat there. How was Sanji or Zoro supposed to find him now?
Return to the Toyhouse.
Goji started to get up, slowly, wobbly. He couldn’t just keep sitting here.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was completely unnecessary to rewrap his leg. He made sure not to block any of Doflamingo’s attacks with it and he only used it for counter attacks as absolutely necessary.

In other words, it was fine. Maybe he strained the muscles a bit, but the bones were still fine. Some cuts and bruises were to be expected after fighting a warlord.

Chopper didn't need to put him on bedrest until they arrived in Zou. He'd tried to sleep a little but felt restless for some reason. Something was wrong but he couldn't quite pinpoint what...

It wasn't Law's odd behavior. Even though there was something there as well. Dressrosa was supposed to have just been a short stop point on their way to take down Kaido, but Law was as focused on this as if it was the end goal. He was way too invested in Doflamingo...

Sanji needed a distraction. 

He tried to let his mind wander, get some rest. He could trick himself into dreaming at least, right?
He thought of pleasant things, fresh herbs, the things he had in his pantry and the ingredients he still needed to stock up on, a nice wine. Maybe a romantic candlelight dinner.

That was one of his favorite fantasies, wooing someone with his cooking skills, making them feel appreciated. Of course, every meal was a labor of love, but some dishes contained a little more love than others. Especially if a sweet Lady was going to be eating it.

Sanji sighed.
He thought of soft curves, a tongue slowly sliding a piece of savory steak off a fork. A drop of wine sliding down a thick throat swallowing, chasing the meat down with a mouthful of alcohol.
His minds eye followed that path down, between the firm valleys of flesh until the drop got caught on the scar bisecting that well trained chest.

Sanji’s eyes snapped open.

Maybe he should clean up a bit. Nothing too strenuous.
He got up slowly, grabbing a basket. The other boys just left their dirty clothes wherever there was free space on the floor.
He took a deep breath, calming his racing heart.
It was just him and sometimes Brook against 5 uncaring or absentminded man-children.
And now there were two more. Well three if Luffy ever convinced Law to actually sleep somewhere besides the bench next to Nami’s Mikans.

Momo’s and Kinemon’s bed’s where right between his and Zoro’s and Luffy and Usopp’s. Sanji wondered why Franky put them there. And why he’d made the beds so small. Brook and Franky’s bunk was custom size, the perfectionist carpenter wouldn’t stand for anything else.

No wonder Kin’emon preferred to sleep on a Futon on the floor.
Momo slept on the bottom bunk, since he was afraid of heights. So, why were the sheets of the bed right next to Sanji’s all mussed up?
Something tingled in the back of his mind… He couldn’t quite put his finger on what he was missing here. There was a book sticking out the side, shoved between the frame of the wooden hammock and the mattress. Curious, he pulled the small thing out. ‘The Girl with two Blood types’.

“Aren’t you supposed to be resting?”, angelic accusations rang out.
His wonderful darling Nami had come to check up on him! How sweet of her.
He clutched the book to his chest.

“I did! Were you worried about me, Mellorine?”, the cook tittered out.
She didn’t react. Not even a chastising raised brow for his flirting. Nami must have been really worried then. She had a faraway look on her face, staring blankly at her opening and closing fist.
“What happened?”, he asked alarmed.

Nami blinked at him in surprise: “What? Oh, I’m not sure yet. I came to talk to you… again.”
At first, he was confused, then the blond remembered the rather unflattering outburst he had had the last time Nami had been this serious around him.

His fingers twitched, he really needed a cigarette right now.
“Look, Sanji… I know this isn’t the best time, but with the whole Doflamingo and Kaido business…”, where did he put his pack? He had smoked the last one after the ride with Violet, but there should be more in his locker… somewhere.

“If there is a possibility that someone else is going to attack us, you need to tell us.”, Nami tried to get him to look at her.
Wasn’t he trying to quit smoking? Sanji couldn’t remember why he finally caved to Chopper’s incessant pestering.
The cook started chewing on his lip instead, it helped a little bit with the stress: “There is no need to worry about that. I severed all my ties with my family, when I left them.”

He tried to talk as little as possible about them. He never even thought about them anymore. How had Nami even figured out, that he had any blood relations out there?
The curl of his brow furrowed with his frown.

“I’m sorry Nami dear, but who told you?”, it hurt his head to question his dependable friend like that. It wasn’t her fault someone couldn’t keep their mouth shut.
There was surprise on her beautiful face: “Didn’t you? When we were kidnapped by Caesar… No wait, you weren’t there for that part.”

Something felt very off about this conversation. He thought it might have been some residual disorientation from the blood loss that affected him, but it wasn’t like their Navigator to forget anything.
“Your father called Caesar about something.”, Nami seemed to try to remember more.

There was a sense of déjà-vu when Chopper trotted into the room as well: “Sanji do you have some time?”

A groan left the cook’s lips. Zoro surely wouldn’t mind if Sanji let himself fall on his bed for a moment. It was a more convenient target for his dramatic sit down, being on the bottom.
“Sure, come on in.”
“It’s my room as well.”, he heard Chopper mutter under his breath, “I came to draw your blood again. I think the sample got contaminated.”
Sanji blinked over at him: “You didn’t take any blood yet.”

There it was though. A little vial in Chopper’s hooves filled with, if not with Sanji’s, at least with someone’s blood. The little doctor shook it for good measure.
He seemed quite confused as well. Maybe they all were a little shaken from the close brush with a warlord: “It’s definitely your blood though. Well, partially. Noone else has S Rh- Type blood here.”

“Chopper, what are you talking about?!”, Sanji was getting desperate here. His head was hurting and he just wanted to make it stop.
The poor little guy yelped out startled: “I’m sorry! I must have made a mistake and mixed two samples together.”
“Sanji, calm down.”, Nami was gently trying to coax his hands out of the death grip they had on blond hair.

 “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to shout.”, he whispered feeling guilty already. He tried to give Nami a reassuring smile, hoping it didn’t look as weak as he felt. “Maybe I should lay down again…”

“Okay, we’ll leave you to it then.”, what did he do to deserve such a caring and wonderful friend? Again, Sanji wondered how the Mosshead was the one he fell in love with.
Maybe Nami would never reciprocate his feelings either, but at least loving her would have been easy.

As Chopper looked forlornly at his sample again, Sanji remembered the medical text he had found. “Ah wait!”, he called after the two turning to leave, “I think this is yours.”
He held out the book.

“This isn’t mine.”, Chopper took it anyway studying the cover, “I haven’t seen this before in my life.”

“I think I have.”, big brown eyes were widened in bewilderment, “What in the red tide…?”

But the navigator didn’t seem to feel like elaborating. That was just fine, Sanji was grateful. He didn’t really feel like thinking about anything anymore either.

They left in silence, taking the mysterious book with them.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Law predicted, the Sunny was flying through the air just before Doflamingo could reach her.
He took grim satisfaction in watching the man’s stunned expression before he followed over to the iron bridge, Law had teleported Giolla and himself to.

“What is the point,” he slowly floated down to them, “in freeing only half of the Strawhats? The other half is still in Dressrosa. If I take any of them hostage, the others will return Caesar to me in no time.”

For all his grand words of not repeating the same mistakes as the people who underestimated the Strawhats before him, Doflamingo had one fault: He still couldn’t fathom anyone not bowing to his will.

“And here I thought you wouldn’t be one of the people who got burned by them.”, Law laughed, “Unfortunately, my alliance with the Strawhats ends here.”

“What are you talking about, you miserable runt?” Finally. He managed to get one over on the pink feathered bastard standing in front of him. Law lifted Giolla up and pushed her to run toward safety.
“From the moment we teamed up, I was only using them… I’d love to see the chaos that ensues once you’re dead. But I waited half my life to settle our score, I’m satisfied letting Kaido finish the job for me.”

A disturbingly proud grin split Doflamingo’s face as he said: “You were willing to go down with me if necessary?”

Giolla had been waved off by her master, with the man’s loud laughter ringing in the air. He was practically hysterical as he chuckled to himself.
Law would have been offended, if he had any respect left for the man that had once taken him under his wing.
“All you’re doing is lashing out without reason.”, the warlord finally calmed down enough to say patronizingly.

13 years. That was how long Law had spent planning and dreaming of this emotionless monster’s death. Law's blood was boiling: “I’m not lashing out. I have lived for nothing but this moment, where I can finally fulfill his goal for him.” Silence stretched between them, the gears in Doflamingo’s head surely turning now, catching up to his plan.

He met the blank stare of those ridiculous sunglasses, waiting for the inevitable attack.
Law didn’t need to make the first move here, he only needed to stand there and keep all the attention on himself.
If the man wanted to stall, that suited him just fine. The longer this fight went, the better.

There was an odd satisfaction, when Doflamingo finally attacked, like he put the man through as much pain, as he did Law. Strings whipped like claws towards him, his tired muscles strained, as Law reflexively lifted his sword. His room was already up, he didn’t need to waste any more precious time when he was this close. Physically speaking this time.

Doflamingo wasn’t the only one with powers and the pirate had the advantage that his attacks were relatively unknown. The bastard wouldn’t even see it coming if Law just gouged his eye out right here and now.

With a surgeon’s precision, Law focused on dissecting whichever tissue came into contact with his fingers. A clean, deep cut from his scalpel made of air and years of resentment.

Doflamingo dodged.
Law could still feel his finger brush against the man’s face, splitting the skin there, even if he missed his actual target.

The momentum carried him forward, making Law lean right into the fluid motion with which that pink feathered bastard turned his evasion into a kick backwards. Right towards Laws face.

His head snapped against his neck, whiplash at best - a concussion at worst. He fell backwards, skidding to a stop a few feet away and knocking his head on the ground. Definitely a concussion, he thought.

Before Law could get up, a piercing pain spread through his arm where a thin piece of wire shot through him. He got paid back for that scratch tenfold, huh?

Doflamingo was currently prowling towards him like a predator. Law had to admit, he was taking more hits than he was landing.
The man’s long tongue was licking at the bleeding cut on his cheek, disgusting.
If this was how he died, at least he could rest in peace knowing there was nothing the warlord could do to stop what was coming.

“Young Master!”, Giolla dared to interrupt his death, “I just got a call from Diamante, Violet betrayed us. Thanks to that we don’t know what the Strawhats' next moves are.”

Shit.

Doflamingo cocked his head consideringly, watching Law struggle to get back on his feet: “Don’t worry about that. Go tell him to put Lao G’s group on the smile factory entrance.”

He was upright again, albeit on unsteady feet. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered, he was sure that his former alliance would still follow the plan.
“Was that all? You distract me, while the strawhats destroy the factory?”, Law was panting heavily as Doflamingo mocked him once again, “The thing is… you didn’t buy as much time as you hopped for and they’re still struggling over there.”

Law calmed the short bout of panic welling up inside him. He shouldn’t underestimate his allies either. Maybe Punk Hazard was just a fluke, maybe what Cora said about the will of D had been a myth, but this was all he had left now. He couldn’t give up on the last few steps of this race.

“Why do you put so much trust in this kid?”, a man who had probably never truly trusted another soul in his life asked.

Silence.

Law could see that Doflamingo wasn’t satisfied by his lack of reaction: “Do you think Rosinante is proud of you now? Winding yourself in front of me like a fly. You could have been so much more Law.” 

“Shut up! Don’t you dare say his name!”, Law was gripping the hilt of his sword again, “You don’t deserve it.”
He felt a tug at the front of his chest, another line connecting him to the seething man in front of him.
In the split of a second, the surgeon was hurtling through the air, crashing through brick and wood and soaring past citizen shouting in alarm.

Law crash landed hard on his back, in some open plaza in the city. It took a long moment for him to be able to catch his breath, not even thinking about moving. He was disoriented, his vision spinning when he tried to move.

“You little brat… I don’t deserve to say my brother’s name? You are getting too full of yourself!”, furious footsteps drew closer, he heard the clicking of an actual gun’s hammer being cocked.
Three deafening shots split the air, as bullets ripped through his skin.

This wasn’t even close to the worst pain Law had ever felt. Still, he could barely hold on to consciousness.
“Where are your friends now Law?”, Doflamingo had lifted his hand in his signature pose to control his powers. It wasn’t over. Law tried to cling to wakefulness. Move!

It took all the strength he had left to pry his eyes open again. He must have lost some precious time, because Doflamingo was no longer looking at him, turned away to reassure his adoring masses.

Instead, another tall figure moved towards him. A familiar face covered in makeup. Law must be hallucinating…
The Strong arms that wrapped around his body, lifting him effortlessly, felt real though. It was a trick. Law knew it must be some kind of trick. Cora had been dead for so long and this figure looked like he hadn’t aged a day. Still 26 years old, just as he remembered him.

Law thought, as he drifted off into the darkness: His smile was wrong.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bellamy had helped him find an exit.
Even though he made a fuzz about it and kept repeating he wasn’t actually helping Luffy and he was just leaving the fight himself. If Luffy followed him, he’d just ignore him.

It seemed that Bellamy had grown quite a bit since he tried to steal all that stuff from the
chestnut uncle. Luffy decided to be happy for him.

There was so much to be happy about right now! He was so happy tears kept spilling out of his eyes and overflowing from the mouth of the costume Kin’ made him.
‘You’re still a crybaby, huh?’, Sabo had said.

“Why the fuck is everyone crying? You’re worse than your green haired friend, Luffy.”, Zoro shoved the younger man worriedly.
His friend wasn’t all that comfortable with emotion but that was okay.

He sniffed: “I thought Rooster Guy was your friend… Doesn’t matter. I’m just so glad! My brother is alive!”
Zoro stumbled in his step. The blank cat-face looking at Luffy couldn’t quite express the shock in the swordman’s voice: “Ace is alive?”
“No, my other Brother, Sabo!”, Luffy should have maybe been a little clearer, but he himself was just so surprised still, “I really, really thought he was dead.”

There was stunned silence for a moment.
“Well, shit.”, Zoro huffed out.
The little woman, clinging to the knot on the swordsman’s head, smacked Zoro.
“Be more tone deaf, will you?”, it seemed Luffy’s first crewmember had made a new friend as well, “It was quite beautiful you know? He took over as Lucy in the Colosseum.”
The blue haired fairy wiped a small tear from her eyes.

Luffy grinned, thinking about the promise Sabo made: “Yeah, he’s taking care of Ace’s fruit. So, we don’t have to worry about that.”

There were a lot of people in the fight, but Sabo was probably the strongest. Luffy didn’t need to see him fight to know it was true. Rooster had promised to look after Rebecca in the arena, so that was taken care of as well. Even though she had done well enough on her own, it was lucky that shadow Cabbage had fallen asleep before hurting her. The blond pretty-boy was already crazy, attacking Luffy for no reason, but shadow Cabbage was dangerous and fast. Faster than Rebecca.

He wondered where the strange guy went.

For that matter that pinhead old Man, that had tried to fight Luffy too, was gone as well. Maybe he left after the fight, he had been all alone and it was Grandpa he had actually beef with.

“Hey!”, a green and blue robot tried to catch their attention, “Guys wait!”
Luffy started to slow down, the toy wouldn’t even reach his knees and he was pretty wobbly too. No way was he catching up with them.
Zoro tugged at his arm: “We don’t have time for this!”

He pouted, not that his swordsman was wrong: “Sorry little guy, I can’t play right now!”
Luffy waved and turned to walk away.
“No wait! Zoro, Luffy!”, he was still following them, trying to make his wheels go faster.
How did he see through their disguise though? Was that little window with the swirls able to see through clothes?

Zoro probably asked himself the same thing, cursing as he gripped the three swords at his hip tightly and picking up speed. They had trouble shaking the guy. For some reason he always knew where the three were going… Luffy wasn’t even sure where they were going. He just followed the enormous frog costume Kin’emon wore. He’d see over the crowd right?

Finally, Zoro pulled him and Kin’emon into an alley.
The three of them panting, while Kin’emon offered the captain a transponder snail.
“Sanji asked that we call him as soon as we got you. He surely must be at the ship by now.”
Kin’ seemed a bit lost with the apparatus in his hands squinting at the happily blinking snail on his hand. Luffy chuckled.

“Let me…”, the line rang, a click and an alert snail expression told him he got through, “Hello, Sanji? Luffy here!”

To his surprise Usopp greeted him back as well. Were they calling the whole flock of transponder snails? Wait no. Flocks were bird things, right? A swarm?

“That should be everyone but Law. We can’t seem to reach him.”, Sanji’s voice rang out, “All Teams status report.”

“This is Franky, with Usopp and Robin. At the moment we are underground with an anti-Doflamingo army.”, there was a heavy sniff from the other end of the line and the Cyborg sounded a bit horse as he said: “They’re a bunch of Toys and little guys living here.”

The little fairy girl on Zoro’s shoulder straightened up, bellowing into the transponder receiver’s direction: “Wicca from the Riku Royal Army reporting for duty.”
She was a funny little girl.

The line crackled for a moment.
“Yeah. Remember that funky Soldier we met outside the Colosseum, Luffy? He leads the army. And they wanna take down Doflamingo, like today”
Wicca nodded along dutifully.

“I might have promised Princess Viola, that we’d help her dethrone Doflamingo as well…”, Sanji sheepishly added.

Luffy didn’t mind following his crew’s lead in this. He didn’t really like the current way this country was run anyway. He thought of the nice girl that had bought him lunch with her last money. “Just one thing, Rebecca asked me to keep the Toy Soldier from fighting. Not help him fight more!”

“Well,” Franky seemed to turn the problem over in his head, he liked solving people problems, “He’s her dad though and the tinman is not a bad guy. I think that’s something of a family matter we shouldn’t get involved in for once.”

“What’s the he…heck are you talking about?”, Sanji usually cursed openly, no matter who was listening in. Was this a new thing Luffy had missed? Was he playing a game? Were they all playing and if yes, how much meat would Luffy get if he won?

“I can explain.” Wicca cleared her throat, clearly getting ready for a long, boring kind of story:
“900 years ago my people the Tontatta Dwarfs were tricked by the old Royal Family. The King Donquixote, as he was called, promised to keep our ancestors save for a little bit of labor.
But he lied. He forced them to work, day and night, without any rest or mercy.
The Tontatta were only freed a 100 years later. By the new King. King Riku the first, he was appalled by the treatment we suffered! He made sure that the Tontatta could live in peace and he said, as an apology we would never have to work again! Anything we needed we could take from the people of Dressrosa.
The Tontatta were so thankful that we decided to take care of the Kingdom anyway. An 800-year friendship between my tribe and the Riku family was forged!
But then Donquixote Doflamingo came. He took the country back, he took everyone that opposed him and turned them into Toys! He even took the last members of the Royal Riku Family, Princess Viola and Princess Rebecca.”

“And now everyone in this Kingdom hates the Riku family.”, Robin wasn’t the only one who noticed.
Luffy was seething. Usually, he didn’t have the patience for sob stories, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t recognize how much hurt Doflamingo had caused. To the Toy soldier, the Gladiators, the little people, Rebecca and even Law!

“So that’s why everyone was booing Rebecca in the fight! Even though she is so nice!”

Franky eagerly chimed in: “So you agree? We need to do something here! We can’t just destroy that stupid factory and leave right after. The people here need our help!” The cyborg was quiet on the other end of the call, then seemed to steel himself: “Honestly, I’m gonna do this whether you agree or not!”

Luffy had to grin. How did he get so lucky with his friends?
Even though it was odd, that Franky thought he wouldn’t raise hell with him, he was just so glad to know how determined the older man fought for what he thought was right. He really had the best crew!

“Alright we’re on our way.”, Sanji was on board as well!

Zoro’s brow furrowed next to the darkhaired captain: “Naw, don’t bother.”
“What? Has the moss overtaken your brain, dumb seaweed?”, came the angry reply. Zoro should know that Sanji didn’t like to be coddled, he’d just want to come back even more.

“Aren’t you injured? Stay away.”, the first mate tried to reassure Sanji, “We don’t need you here.”
Zoro was really bad at this.
Offended Sanji answered: “Not injured enough that I can’t kick your- Argh!”
He was interrupted by Nami and a heavy thumb that sounded like it also came from Nami, now that Luffy thought about it: “Luffy, I don’t think we should come back! And I’m not saying that because I’m afraid. Listen. There are three cards we are fighting over with Doflamingo.”

Luffy added the cards to the mental list of things he needed to get from Doflamingo, after he beat him up.

“Caesar, the smile factory and for some reason Momonosuke.”, Nami wasn’t talking about real cards then? Or did Momo draw more Cards of their friends he didn’t know about?
This was getting confusing very fast.
“We haven’t destroyed the factory yet, so they’ve got that one. But we have Momo and Caesar right here!”

“Wait why is Caesar with you on the ship?” Traffy had him last, didn’t he?
“The deal fell through…”, Robin answered for their absent Team member.
Luffy really hoped he was okay. He liked Traffy, he was funny.

“Traffy left Caesar here to distract Doflamingo”, Nami tried stirring the conversation back on track, “He used himself as a decoy so we could move these two of the playing field. Bringing them back to Dressrosa would put us at a great disadvantage. No one really knows that Caesar is with us right now. We got to finish the factory plan!”

The strawhat captain thought it over, Nami was probably right. She usually was. “Alright. Good point. Where’s the next Island then?”
Kin’emon perked up: “It’s Zou.” The Island the samurai had wanted to see.
“You guy’s move onward to Zou then.”, Luffy decided
“Roger that. But I’d like to ask you for a favor first, Captain.”, Sanji huffed defeated through the transponder, “Can you give Miss Viola my regards and tell her I apologize that I couldn’t fulfill my promise in person?”

Zoro was muttering insults under his breath, even though Sanji wouldn’t even be able to hear him.
“Sure.”, Luffy grinned, “Who’s that again?”
An exasperated sigh, very pointedly directed at Zoro. Luffy didn’t know how the cook managed to somehow be somewhere out on the ocean and still feel like he was right with them: “The Lady that is going to let you into the Palace. She should be waiting there for you.”

The swordsman was holding a ripped piece of paper: “According to her map we’re still far away. We should hurry.”
“Alright.”, Luffy agreed and sent off his crew, everyone now on their own mission.
Walking by, he squinted at the map in the other’s hand. He tilted his head, nearly upside down now: “Hey Zoro… isn’t that just around the corner?”
The swordsman sputtered, as his captain laughed and took the directions from him.

“I think we might have to rescue Traffy too. I can’t really pinpoint where he is right now, but it seems he is in the same direction as that castle we are going to.”

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It was quite the predicament, Hack had to report.
“It seems that we are in some kind of cavern underground. A big hidden structure. We can’t break through.”
“Hmm… If there is one secret cave there might be a whole system of underground tunnels down there.”, his mission lead Sabo said, “We better keep looking.”
Hack agreed. How could he not, after failing his part of the mission so spectacularly and on screen.
He was supposed to be the most experienced fighter out of the three top agents on this mission. Koala not as strong a fighter as him, when it came to close combat and Sabo deemed too reckless for a gladiatorial fight for his brother’s devil fruit.

Not that it mattered now, that Hack had given into his baser instincts and fallen for that rude green headed kid’s taunts. He should have known better than to hit Bartholomeo’s barrier with that much strength. Now his hand was broken, he was sitting in a dump under the kingdom and the winner of their fight was nowhere in sight. He’d join them soon though, if the number of Gladiators falling through the trap chute was anything to go by.

“I never knew there was such a large scrap heap beneath the kingdom…”, one of the older Gladiators, Ricky he thought, voiced what Hack was thinking. The cavern walls were so high, even Hajrudin the warrior from Elbaf would have no trouble standing up. The giant probably couldn’t even reach the edges of the slide down here if he jumped. They were truly trapped.  

Hack let his gaze wander, as they all sat in relative silence. Only the curses of some world leader or another breaking through, swearing revenge on Doflamingo.

It didn’t look like anyone would come for them anytime soon. The fishman had promised Sabo to keep his eyes open, but he didn’t have much hope in finding anything substantial. As far as the eye could see, broken metal, toys in disrepair and toy parts. It was… haunting.
Like a graveyard. They had seen so many living, moving and talking toys upstairs, it felt unnatural to see them lying so still.  

Another voice timidly interrupted his musings: “Forgive me if I am mistaken, but I can’t shake the feeling, that I know who you are…”
If his intel was correct, Hack was looking at Commander Tank Lepanto of the Dressrosa Military.
The man was barely able to still stand. What was he even doing in a fight organized by the Kingdom’s ruler? Maybe Doflamingo sent him to spy on his prisoners… Hack covertly moved closer.

Commander Tank looked strained, swallowing hard before he asked, barely a whisper, like he was afraid to hear the answer: “Is that you, King Riku?”
A quiet ripple went through the people that were familiar with that name. All eyes suddenly on the old Gladiator, the Commander was mustering hopefully.

A sigh. “I guess there is no point in hiding it, now that we are trapped underground.”, King Riku Doldo the third, took off his dented helmet. “But I will not be called a King any longer Commander Tank. Now I am an old man, that cannot even help his granddaughter…”

Hack was just as shocked to see the face of the former King of Dressrosa as everybody else. Noone really knew what happened to the man after the tragedy that had led to his dethronement. The going theory had been that he was dead. Noone had really believed that Doflamingo would leave a threat like this alive for no reason.

The Commander was weeping for joy, but not daring to move any closer; King Riku came down to him instead, consoling the man and waving of any and all apologies the poor soldier tried to give.

A towering shadow fell over the pair and Hack twitched forward minutely not sure if he should intercept any attacks. To his surprise the Elizabello of Prudence was grinning ear to ear, as he hugged the other King.
“What a familiar face! It is so good to see you. I can’t count how many times you helped pull my Kingdom out of disaster!”, he swung the protesting Riku around in his strong arms, not letting him struggle away, despite Elizabello’s hands being encased in boxing gloves, “Ever since we lost you, the balance of power in the area’s been out of balance! It’s been nonstop fighting and suffering. I’m sick of it! 800 years of peace, down the drain!”

From the corner the Kano Country delegation had settled in, the oldest brother Sai piped in: “You might be sick of it, but there are some who reap massive rewards from the war.”
Hack narrowed his eyes at the heir to the Happosai Forces. They had been pirates once, it wasn’t unusual for some crews to drift into mercenary work these days.
“By selling weapons to both sides.”, mumbled the younger Brother Boo.

Chinjao, the patriarch himself, interrupted his Grandsons: “We have been sent by the King of Kano to stem the tide of arms smuggling. We are at war as well, but we couldn’t figure out where Joker was manufacturing these weapons…”
“Because of your erratic behavior and Doflamingo’s ascension to the throne all the countries around you are suffering!”, Sai burst out again.

This situation was becoming troublesome. They couldn’t afford a riot in a small space like this and with the kind of power collected down here, any fight was sure to end in a riot.

Murmurs about the mad King started up. “I heard he bowed down and begged his people for all their money one night…”
From what he knew, King Riku had been trusted enough, that they actually did give up all their wealth and then some. All the riches in the Kingdom collected in a single night.
“He just went crazy! He attacked everyone and then ordered all his soldiers to do the same.”

“Silence!”, Commander Tank screamed indignantly, “If you do not know the truth of the tragedy that occurred a decade ago, you have no right to comment on his majesties good name! Doflamingo, stole this country and everything it stood for.”
Again, instead of taking the support, King Riku calmly tried to diffuse the situation. “Enough. The past is in the past, Tank.”

This wasn’t how it usually went in these Types of situations. Hack felt wrongfooted, just standing there and watching nobles actually show an ounce of regret and care about the problems they had caused. An unprecedented change, he thought, but not an unwelcome one.

More of the current and former soldiers turned gladiators stood up. Seemingly wanting to defend the Kings honor even from Riku’s own disparaging remarks.

Suddenly, it wasn’t just the citizens of Dressrosa coming together, the ground under them shifted and moved. The broken Toys were struggling to stand back up as well, just to turn towards King Riku Doldo the third and bow down.
The soldiers soon followed suit, as Boo, the only grandson of the great Don Chinjao, exclaimed: “What is going on? I thought everyone here hated the former King?”

This land was full of contradictions it seemed. The happy people up there and the broken Toys down here. The People cursing King Riku’s name, but the only ones aware of some deep dark secret, still waiting for his return.
In all his years as a revolutionary, he had seen many shinning cities built on the backs of the poor, but usually the hope of the people was for their ruler to be thrown over and a hero to free them.
It looked like today, that hero would be a former King. Hack hoped he would bring Dressrosa the peace it once had.
 
With a disgusting plop, something wet and viscous landed on the fishman’s back and he felt himself be lifted back up through one of the many pipes in the ceiling.

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Señor Pink sat in his beach chair under the shade of his sun umbrella and waited. Waited until one of the Strawhats came by. He was one of the more patient members of the family, not hard if you didn’t really care anymore. His mind kept drifting off, as it so often did in the last few years. Machvise was sleeping somewhere in the factory behind him.
Surrounded by people and still alone…

The sweet ripe tomato in his hand went up into the air, before he caught it again. Up… and back into his palm. He loved those sun kissed, dressrosan Tomatoes, they reminded him of home. He might never go back again, but he still liked to think about it every now and then.

One of the young ones that liked to follow him around, hung off of one of Señor Pink’s arms. What did he have guards for if they couldn’t even keep some little girls away? He didn’t really want to spare the energy to chase them away himself. What did it matter?

A tall figure came running up, skidding to a halt in front of the factory. Pink took a bite of the fruit in his hand, juices running down his chin. Sweet and hearty just like the ones that used to grow in their garden.
“Oh Señor! Your mouth is getting all sticky!”, one the girls tittered, he couldn’t really be bothered to learn their names.

He slowly got up, reaching his hand out for the first piece of cloth his fingers touched.
Pink barely registered the squeaking of the girl who spoke, as he mustered his opponent.
Bright red clothes, hidden under a darker Poncho and a light blue hairdo in the shape of a canon. Cute.

Not that he was really one to criticize what other people were wearing. Pink himself still wore a padded mockup of a diaper and a bib, not really having the heart to change his get up after…

Even the shirt was still the same, not really fitting anymore after he started to gain a bit of weight.
But who was he going to impress now? There was noone, he cared to impress.

“Quit clinging to me, little girls! Find a younger man to play with.”, Pink shoved them of himself, it was time to see what that Franky character could bring, “I don’t really care for children.”

The Cyborg in front of him lifted his arm: “Pardon, but I have business inside.”
Just before a wave of highly pressurized air came rushing towards them and hit the building, Señor Pink dove for the ground, disappearing into the calm feeling of water that didn’t exist.
Strange to think he was the only Devilfruit User still able to swim.

Slowly he swam up behind the brute fighting through his men, lifting himself back onto solid ground.
Before the bigger man could notice him, Pink grabbed him around his trim waist and pulled upwards, lifting Franky the Cyborg in an arch over his head.
He might not look it anymore, but the Donquixote executive was strong. Even though suplexing a man made of 50% metal might be straining his back a bit.

He sank back into the floor, letting the waves lap over him.
Señor Pink could see the shadow of Franky moving overhead, struggling to get up and touching the ground where he just disappeared in.
Franky stood up again and turned his back to Pink, he seemed to be waving his arms about. Probably about to shoot another one of those destructive attacks.

Time for a second sneak attack. Pink’s arms cut through the water like the hull of a ship as he drew closer to breaching the surface. It looked like Franky was dancing side to side, swinging his hips.
Pink shot out of the water, seeing the blue haired buffoon turn his head towards him with a grin and a glint in his eye, a trap?
The cyborg stepped to the side, he had taken of his Poncho, was he waving it around?

Señor Pink felt the fabric glide harmlessly over his back.
“Olé!”, the other man struck an impressive pose, arms stretched over his head, despite their fight still staying true to his brand.
A slight smile graced Pink’s lip. He might have judged Franky too harshly at first glance.

There was clearly some reason the other was still here and not running to cause havoc inside. The makeshift cape fluttered to the ground and a fist the size of Pink’s torso came flying towards him. Maybe this would be fun after all. A diversion from his desolate everyday life.
He ducked.

People and Toys had gathered to watch them, but it seemed that the Cyborg was always in the way before a wayward attack could hit any civilians. Slowly but surely, they were moving the fight into the half destroyed Toyhouse. That suited him just well, let no one be able to say, that Pink was the one endangering innocent people.

A compartment opened on the metal man’s shoulder, rockets flying in a circling arch right toward him. Señor Pink could dive out of the way, but Machvise was right behind him now…
He could take a hit or two.

His entourage was squealing again. How annoying. Crying about him getting hurt.
“Don’t get the wrong Idea, little Kid’s, my swim-swim fruit powers don’t exist to run from the enemy. I swim when I wanna swim.”

Franky was mustering him, seeming to just notice the winding form of his crewmate getting up behind him. One impressed eyebrow lifted on the Cyborg’s head, as he swung his sunglasses in front of his face. He was a big softy too, huh?

In their distracting staring contest, neither of the two noticed when the other member of Doflamingo’s family had joined their fight. Did Machvise think he couldn’t do this on his own?
With the power of the Ton-Ton Fruit, the behemoth tried to crush Franky under his weight.
“Damn. I missed.”, he drooled out lazily.

“What the hell is with you people? One is slipping into the ground the other floating into the air?”, their opponent had started to breathe heavily.
Two against one, they would easily win now. Pink was a little disappointed honestly.

Just then the Marines decided to crash the party. For a moment neither of them moved, baffled as one of the soldiers shouted out: “Don’t move! Cyborg Franky of the Strawhat pirates, you are under arrest. The Toyhouse is surrounded on all sides!”

He looked at Machvise, Machvise looked at him: “I heard of none of this. Did you hear of this?”
So noisy. “Maybe one of us should go to the Young Master and find out what is going on.”

Guns were cocked in the pirate’s direction, there was no escape. Something calculating seemed to flick over the man’s face. “I’ve made up my mind!”, the Cyborg shouted, “I’m gonna raise hell here for no reason!”
A well-aimed blast of air bowled over a quarter of the Marines standing on guard.

“I’ll stay and watch.”, Pink turned towards Machvise, “You go back to headquarters.”
A yawn and a nod and his comrade left.

He had to dive back underground as more rockets flew through the air. Franky was concentrating on the newcomers now, but Señor Pink was not going to let himself be forgotten so quickly!

A few quick strokes over and he dove back into the fray.
“Stop interfering!”, he shouted at the Soldiers behind him, “A real man doesn’t let others fight for him!”
With that he curled his hand into a fist and let it snap forward before the Cyborg could react.
There was a satisfying crack as his hit landed against Franky’s chin.

The other spit on the ground before punching back.
Señor Pink had the advantage in close combat, being smaller and faster than the heavier man.
One jump forward and he had Franky around the middle again, taking him into the odd subspace his Devilfruit created.
Even people that could swim were quickly disoriented by the sensation of cutting through the previously solid ground and the Cyborg was no different.

Higher and higher they went, as Pink carried the man with him while swimming up a tall watchtower.
“Let’s see you get up from that.”, he muttered under his breath.
Pink kicked off the building, using his signature move to throw Franky over his shoulder again.
They were both hurtling headfirst towards the ground, but while the Strawhat Pirate had no choice but to brace himself for the impact, Señor Pink was elegantly dipping back under the surface.

Franky was lying on the ground, barely able to move after a fall from this height.
It was a good fight, but there hadn’t been a doubt in Pink’s mind that he would win.
“You got cuffs strong enough to hold him?”, he idly asked one of the Marines still able to stand, still swimming circles around them.

“Leave him alone!”, a small Robot toy drove to stand between the blue haired man and them.
It was wobbly on its feet, probably one of the ones turned today. Another Strawhat?
As Señor Pink stepped back onto the floor it held its ground. Not that a Toy could harm a Human.
Sugar made sure of that.

He picked up the little Robot by one of its colorful arms.
“Who might you be?”, Pink wondered aloud, fishing in his diaper for the Crew’s Wanted Posters.
Probably no one too strong judging from the shrill voice shouting in alarm and the wiggling legs trying to kick him.
Let’s see, who didn’t he remember seeing before?
Pink idly flipped through the stack of papers in his hand. The only one that stood out, 80.000.000 Berri: “Nico Robin, is that you?”

A confused moment of silence, then the staticky voice answered offended: “I’m not a girl!”
“Not a Strawhat then.”, Pink sighed out. His attention snapped back to Franky, who… wasn’t lying in the spot he had left him in! He was trying to run away!

Señor Pink wouldn’t let him, he clutched the Toy under his arm and followed the Cyborg. The Marines were still scrambling into action, having been just as distracted by the Robot as him.

Speaking of, the thing was squirming angrily in his hold: “I am a Strawhat too! My big brother said so!”
Pink snorted: “Your big brother huh? He a Strawhat too? You sound like a Kid. Get your act together little boy.”
A Pirate on a crew like that should learn to toughen up a bit. It wasn’t what he expected after meeting Franky.

The Cyborg had skidded to a halt in front of him.
“Did you say you’re one of my Crew?”, he was scrutinizing the Toy hanging upside down under Pinks arm, “Well, I don’t remember you...”
The thing started shaking in his arms. “Franky not you too! I wanna go home… Zoro forgot me! And Luffy and Kin’emon! They didn’t even stop running.”, the guy’s voice was shacking, as if he would be crying were he human.

“I guess it’s expected that I can’t remember you if you’re a Toy.”, the Cyborg cracked his knuckles, “I don’t need to remember you to save you though!”

So, their fight continues.
“Go sit over there, little Boy.”, Señor Pink instructed the Robot, knowing that the Toy couldn’t disobey a direct order from a member of the family.
“I’m not a little Boy!”, the Toy seemed to huff out, “I’m nine…”
And the rest of the sentence was lost, as a metal beam collided with his face.

Señor Pink flew across the room, thinking to himself, that 19 was still a little boy to him. All these kid’s with their dreams of grandeur, barely out from under their mothers’ skirts. He sometimes envied the naivety of youth.

The hit coming from his opponent seemed stronger than before, filled with more determination. But Pink wasn’t backing down an inch: “Did you finally stop playing around?”
Franky straightened, wiping a trail of blood from under his metallic nose: “I could ask you the same thing.”
They exchanged fist after fist, hit after hit, no end in sight for their fight.

Both men stood panting looking at each other.
Then it seemed like Puzzle pieces slid back into place where he didn’t even know they were missing.
Nico Robin, the Devil Child. Some unimportant faceless Soldiers he knew had been turned into Toys, visiting Dignitaries from other Kingdoms he forgot he had ever shaken the hand of.

“Goji!”, the Cyborg exclaimed loudly, “And I forgot Robin too?”

A stone sunk into the pit of his stomach, someone had defeated Sugar.
He could just hope the woman was alright. It didn’t matter, this wasn’t over yet.
A small child ran past him, into the Cyborgs arms.

Señor Pink turned toward the place he had sent the robotic teen earlier and paled.
Not Nine-Teen, just plane Nine years old. He had kidnapped a child.

Franky was sobbing now too, lifting the kid up and down: “I’m so sorry little Bro and Zoro-Bro’s probably too! Oh damn! Sanji’s gonna explode with worry…”
After a few more heavy pats to the head, the small, frail looking boy was set back on his feet.
“You good though, yeah?”
Only after being reassured that, yes Goji was fine and neither hurt nor overly traumatized.
Which: dear god, how many children had they traumatized? Did Toy’s age? Were there children out there that had been turned young and now faced adulthood all of a sudden?

“Sorry about that.”, the Cyborgs voice startled Pink out of his thoughts. The man had shooed the kid a short distant away behind some sturdy looking rubble, “We can finish this now. Thanks for waiting.”

“No. I am sorry.”, he straightened, “I wouldn’t have involved him had I known.” They didn’t kidnap children. Not ones with a family; ones that were cared for and loved.

“What are you doing here?”, Franky lifted his Sunglasses, head cocked to the side.
He was fighting, fighting for the man he swore loyalty to, wasn’t he?
“This is the life I chose.”, he said.

Señor Pink didn’t really feel as energized as he had at the beginning of this ordeal.
He was rattled, wrong footed even.
“You know, I know that look.”, Franky had lifted his whole arm straight up to point at him, “That’s the look of a man with regrets. I am speaking from experience.”

That bastard didn’t know what he was talking about! What Pink was feeling was already beyond regret. How could you put a name to that hopeless, helpless feeling after you lost everything?
And it was all your own fault.
“Experience huh? Has your experience ever gotten the only person you ever loved killed?”

Franky was quiet for a moment, before he sat down heavily on the ground: “Bro, you have no Idea.”

Maybe it was that the people he surrounded himself with didn’t really know how to feel empathy, maybe it was Pink himself that had closed off years ago after he lost his son and his wife, but for the first time, he felt like someone understood him.

“How do you move past it?”, he asked the other man who seemed to be capable of laughter and happiness.
Franky didn’t look like he was drowning in despair like Pink did.
The Cyborg took a deep breath, leaning back on his hands: “You don’t really. You take it with you and you try to be better. My mentor Tom told me: that you should always be proud of what you built. No matter what it turns into.”

“Sounds impossible.”, Pink couldn’t really say that he was proud of what he was doing with the Doflamingo Family.
Franky just shrugged: “You have to keep on living, so the things you’re happy to be proud of outweigh the things that hurt to be proud of.”
 
“My wife hated my work.”, he didn’t know why he said that. Pink hadn’t spoken the words out loud before, he’d planned burry that knowledge deep in his mind and take it to his grave.
“Then why are you here and not with her?”, Franky asked.

A bitter smile spread his face, as Pink pulled the bonnet from his head: “She is dead. Has been for a long time.”

A strong metal hand clamped down on his back, as Franky quietly sobbed next to him.
He didn’t say any empty platitudes, he just sat there with Pink and cried for him.

“Why are you guys crying?”, in the absence of a fight, the little boy had dared to creep back over to them.
The hand he touched to his face came back wet.
He was right. They were both crying, Señor Pink realized.

Franky waved him closer, probably not wanting Goji out of his sight for longer than necessary after their scare: “Don’t worry little Bro, we’re just talking about manly things. Nothing you need to know about yet.”

“Are you guy’s friends now?”, the boy tentatively stepped closer to Señor Pink.
Is that what was happening? They were both too old to make friends on a whim like children on a playground.

“Yup.”, Franky grinned, wiping his bloody, snotty nose with a handkerchief he pulled out of some hidden compartment in his body. He had never seen a manlier gesture.

Pink was a little surprised when he was handed a fresh tissue as well.
He couldn’t help himself, Pink started laughing.

The kid looked back and forth between them, still a little suspicious, but taking the events in stride: “Adults are weird.”

“You have no Idea little man!”, Franky lifted his young friend onto his shoulder, “Gotta tell you about the Franky family, when this is over.”

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Chapter Text

Sanji had given in to the urge to smoke after all.
Chopper didn’t seem to know about him wanting to quit anyway, no pleased little smile and encouraging leg pats were a good indicator. So, it didn’t really matter that he hadn’t been able to hold out for less than half a day. If you were being generous.

Now he was standing on the upper deck letting the cigarette sooth his nerves while dear Nami was swinging her clima takt around on deck. A rare treat to see Nami train.
Actually, a completely unprecedented occurrence, he was determined not to let anything ruin this.
Not even the little kid clinging to the safety rail next to him.

Sanji wasn’t sure what prompted the sudden clinginess in Momonosuke or why he had been chosen as emotional confidant by the boy. He supposed they had spent some time together the last few days, even if Sanji couldn’t remember what they even talked about before.
“Do you think Father has found Kanjuro yet?”, the kid quietly asked.
“I’m sure they’re fine wherever they are.”, Sanji tried to reassure the boy, “Hostages are usually treated with a bit of restraint.” That was awful, what the fuck was he saying?

“If anything happened, Zoro would have called.” ,better. He was sure it was true too. Maybe not right the second, if Kin’emon got hurt, but surely after the fight they’d get a call.
Shit now he was worried too.
At least Momo seemed to eat his words up: “Zoro is a strong Samurai.”
Then the kid scampered of, down to were Nami was now doing breathing exercises, making her chest whip up and down enticingly and stretching her petit hands in front of her.

Sanji stuffed the mostly full pack of cigarettes back into the inner pocket of his Jacket. Something scraped, the sound of carton rubbing against carton.
Curious he fished out a little papercard, the drawing of a Strawhat on one side and on the other… the stupid plant-brain.

He definitely didn’t put it there. Sanji wasn’t even sure how it got there.
Was it Momo? The kid had a lot of those cards after all. Why Zoro though?

“Ah! I got it!”, Nami cheered on the lawn deck.
“Well, done my love-ly”, the cook had missed the event they were celebrating, but it was alright.
He didn’t need to know to share in his crewmate’s happiness. If he'd stuttered over his usual term of endearment, noone was the wiser. There was no particular reason after all. 

Brook was playing a jaunty tune, Chopper was laughing with Nami and Momo even seemed to be in a better mood.

Between one moment and the next, it felt like his heart had stopped in his chest. That card in his hand wasn't from Momonosuke, it was Goji's card. His little brother was missing. 

"I have to go back...", Sanji whispered. 

He turned on his heal and stumbled down the steps to the hatch, digging his hands into the grass desperately. If he had been thinking straight, he'd have known to push the button on the wall in front of him to open the door to the docking system. Sanji wasn't thinking straight though, he was panicking.

His first instinct was to rip at his hair, turning around in distress. 

Brook was gripping him by his shoulders: “Sanji, what are you doing?”
“I have to go back!”, the cook shouted desperately at his friend.
He’d take the Shark Submerge, drive up to Dressrosa and find Goji. And then he’d beat the shit out of whoever made him forget about not just Goji, but Robin as well!

Chopper had come up to the two of them as well, in his Human form for some reason, he was holding his hands up as if to soothe a spooked horse. “You need to calm down, Sanji breathe…”
He was breathing. He was breathing rather quickly actually.
The doctor laid a hand on his back: “What do you see?”
“What?”, for a moment he was confused, why was Chopper acting like he was having a panic attack? Sanji was having a very rational reaction to this situation. Still, he went along with the instruction.

“Brook, you, the grass, the swing set,…”, he looked down at the card now a little crushed in his hand, Sanji smoothed it out. “Zoro.”
If the mosshead lost the kid again, he was going to officially cancel this weird crush Sanji seemed to have on him.

He slowly took a shacky breath in, he still felt like the hairs on his neck stood on end, but it wasn’t as bad as before. The nausea he could deal with.
“I’m good now.”, he reassured his crewmates. Nami was hovering behind the Skeleton and Momo was looking at him with big eyes. He cleared his throat: “You’re going to be fine on your own this far out, right?”

“You’re not going to you run off on your own, you Idiot.”, Nami rolled her eyes.
His heartbeat picked up again. Sanji would never raise his voice towards a woman, he usually wouldn’t disagree with anything their precious Navigator said either, but this… this was too important to let go.
His voice unnaturally flat, the blond told Nami: “I’m not abandoning him.”

She balked at that. Her mouth hanging open for a moment, then: “Of course not! But we aren’t going to sit back here and do nothing either!”

Sanji’s eyes suddenly felt very wet, like his emotions were pressing against the inside of his soul and just barely keeping from spilling over. “What about Caesar?”, he asked “And Momo?”
Nami blew air through her nose, like it pained her to say these next words: “We will just have to win then. Won’t we?”

This was such a Luffy thing to say, maybe their swordsman would get away with it too, but Nami?
She was usually the one who screamed at whatever poor bastard was stupid enough to present something like that as a solution.
Sanji couldn’t hold it, he just had to laugh. This whole situation was just too absurd.

Their navigator smiled as well.
“I will stay on the sunny and keep the clouds away. At least Doflamingo won’t be able to sneak up on us then.” That sounded more like Nami.

The transponder snail in Sanji’s pocket started chirping suddenly.
Was it Zoro? Did he have Goji after all?
“Hello?!”

“Hey, Franky here!”, not the mosshead then, Sanji tried to curb his disappointment, “Sorry for calling so late, but the swordsman kinda rang me first.”
Sanji’s heart sank into his stomach. “Zoro called you?”
“Ah yeah, he was a bit frantic after the whole Toys turning back to humans thing. Goji is fine by the way, he is a real boy again!”, Franky sounded alright as well, even though just about nothing he said made sense. The important part was: Goji is fine.

Chopper gently ripped the receiver from Sanji’s hand: “Did you say the Toy’s turned into humans?”
“It’s some kinda freaky Devil Fruit power. All the toy’s were people before. Or you know, animals. There’s a tiger roaming around here.”
“I was a robot!”, piped up a chipper childlike voice. All the leftover tenseness leached out of Sanji’s shoulders. That would probably be a long story.
He leaned over a big, furry shoulder: “Where are you guys?”
“We’re at the Toyhouse. Waiting for Robin and Usopp to give the signal.”
He nodded: “Stay there.”
They both hang up.

“Are we still going?”, Chopper asked with a grim expression on his face.
The cook nodded: “Of course we are.”
“Good. I’m coming back up with you. If people are hurt, I can’t just sit idly by and do nothing!”
“I can’t protect you when we get there.”, he was a bit ashamed to admit it, “I’ll need to make sure Goji is safe, first.”

“That’s alright.”, Brook stepped forward a permanent grin on his face, “I can go with the good doctor. If Nami is alright on her own of course…”
All eyes turned towards their Navigator.

She twirled her clima tact once and grinned: “Don’t worry, as long as you keep the big fights away from us, Momo and that bastard Caesar are safe with me.”

That was that then.
Together they stood at the railing as Dressrosa drew ever closer.
He could probably make that last stretch faster on air… Not like Chopper or Brook weighed all that much.

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Donquixote Doflamingo was sitting high above the throneroom, leaning back on the hammock he'd strung between the rafters. 

Law was still out cold, sleeping all innocent like in the heartseat. Doflamingo chuckled to himself.

The door swung open, right as ordered and his loyal subjects dragged the imposter King towards a stone pillar just waiting for a prisoner to be chained to the rings mounted on the wall.

The ex-god pondered greeting the King, but why go himself when a Puppet would do for a traitor and a worm.

His string clone smoothly stepped out of the shadows where Riku Doldo couldn't see it.
“Your granddaughter is one lucky woman. Congratulations on her win.”, his double said for him, “I can’t believe both of you were fighting in the same tournament.”
Doflamingo watched himself walk past a nobody server and swipe a glass of sweet wine from her tray. He was twirling the red liquid for added effect: “Mighty strange, Riku… Our former King must be getting desperate to seek out a devil fruit.”
He was going to use this moment to seamlessly throw in some pointed threats and inquiries concerning his former darling operative when a shocked gasp diverted his attention.

That faceless little servant was openly staring at the old man sitting on the floor before them, as if she was even a presence in the room. The audacity!
He turned towards her, an angry grin on his face. With a careless gesture, the wine his puppet couldn’t even drink, poured over the servant’s head.
“Do shut up. You’re spoiling my appetite.”
The girl stood there trembling, finally returning her gaze back to the floor properly. Otherwise not moving a muscle.

“You make me sick.”, the old man glared at him from the floor, “The actions you took this morning were enough to drive me to despair for the future of this Country.”

“That’s all?”, back on track then, “I wonder if that is what your daughter thinks as well.”
Doflamingo directed his puppet to leisurely sit on the armrest of the heart seat. 
“She is a schemer, that one. Viola bet on the New Warlord who stood up to me,”, string fingers moved through Laws hair, “sitting here right now. And his pirate ally Strawhat Luffy, posing as a gladiator in the colosseum, he will never leave as a human being. I wonder how that worked out for her?”

The only Strawhat pirate actively doing anything right now, was that Franky character trying to win against his commanders in front of the Toy house. Of course they would still try to destroy his factory, but the only other entrance besides the house of Toys was under the Palace. They’d be crazy to try and get in that way. They’d never even get close to the Smile production before his officers crushed them underneath their heel.

He idly kept petting Law’s head. With that nuisance in his grasp, he might finally be able to fill the heart position permanently. His puppets can only go as far as his sight, so anything further was always a hassle. It was so much easier, when Rozi had still been Corazon. Even if his little brother had strayed to the enemy side.

The door burst open and Baby 5 stumbled in with Buffalo in tow.
“Young Master! Monkey D Luffy has infiltrated the palace!”, she panted out, catching her breath.
What? Doflamingo turned towards to screen where the current fight in the Colosseum was playing. There he was Lucy, No 556.
“Are you sure it’s him?”, Doflamingo bit out.
Baby 5 nodded: “That rubber power, it was definitely him… and Violet.”
“Then who the fuck is that?”, he angrily got up, glaring at the screen, “Doesn’t matter. Pica will take care of them.”

He turned, watching Law breath in and out serenely in his sleep.
It kind of pissed him of how the brat just kept on dreaming through all the trouble he had caused.
Doflamingo drew back his arm, his hand caused a satisfying slap to ring through the throne room, when it connected with Law’s face.

With a gasp, Law woke up, the boy’s eyes listlessly wandering around before settling a glare at the man falling into a seat in front of him.
“Oh, are you looking for this guy?”, Doflamingo idly moved his fingers through the air, as down below a second string-puppet formed. This one with longer blond hair framing a painted face free of his signature sunglasses. A near perfect likeness of his brother stood in between Law and the first clone, as that annoying maid let out a distracting shriek again.

Honestly.
“Do I have to stitch your mouth shut?”, he asked with a grin. Or maybe he’d just cut her vocal cords right through her throat. But it was just such a hassle to keep someone from bleeding out after, when he didn’t really care if the wench would starve to death or not.
After all a punishment was a punishment.

Baby 5 and Buffalo were watching the Rosinante clone with the same rapt attention as the young, dark-haired warlord was. Doflamingo snapped his fingers.
“What are you doing, Law?”, now that the runt was sitting there shaken and wrongfooted, the interrogation could begin, “You were after the Smile factory, that was supposed to be it. So, why are the Strawhats working with the little People of Greenbit? How did they get in?”

Looking at the short letter delivered from the Officers Tower by Trebol’s people, he asked: “Why are they after Sugar?”
None of these things could be planned in the course of a day. What did they know? What did Law tell them?

The boy barely managed to rip his gaze away from Rozi the second: “I told you. The alliance is over. I have no fucking clue what Strawhat is doing.”
There was no reason for that stubborn tone in his voice. It annoyed Doflamingo to no end.

He turned towards his other captive: “Is this your doing then? The Tontattas did serve you once…”
The Ex-King didn’t even deign to answer him this time.

He was getting frustrated here, Doflamingo could feel a throbbing headache start behind his temple.
This was getting nowhere. Law had given up not committing every detail of the other puppet to memory.

Doflamingo was tempted to shoot the thing just on principle. Instead, he hummed: “Do you miss him? You could have him back if you just cooperated.”
“I don’t need your fucking imitation.”, Law snarled back at him, “Not like you really knew Cora anyway.”
Oh, that brat knew how to hit a nerve. But he didn’t really know what he was talking about. The last time he had seen Rosinante was more than a decade ago, when he was just a child. What would he know? Doflamingo still had…

Another annoying, distracting noise out of that unbelievably unimportant background character of a woman! A quick shot from Baby 5’s hand turned Pistol, had her finally blessedly silenced for good.
The quiet was suddenly deafening actually. And then it hit him.
There were memories where before there had been blanks.
Someone defeated Sugar.

The Toys would all turn human again. One of the pillars of his Kingdom, gone in a second. He’d kill them. He’d kill all the strawhats and that stupid Samurai from Wano they dragged around.
Maybe he’d kill Law as well, but no, he still needed that bastard.

While he was seething, all hell broke out below him. A man he had forgotten until just that moment, attempted to kill Doflamingo for the second time in his live. Unlucky for Kyros, the unbeaten Gladiator from years ago, the man he just beheaded hadn’t been the real Doflamingo.
He watched his likenesses head roll across the floor, as Kyros took out Buffalo and the former King was freed.

Now Strawhat was here as well, jumping on Law as soon as he caught sight of him. Viola was with them as well.
“No! You Idiot!”, Law was screaming, “Look at that puppet, Doflamingo is still alive!”
Indeed, there was still a serenely smiling Rosinante waiting for any sort of instruction.

He started laughing, both the marionettes laughing with him. Slowly Doflamingo let himself down as the floor started to move under his attackers.
“Good Job Law! Look’s like Pica finally arrived as well.”

Everyone was looking at him in astonishment, very few people ever had the honor to know about this little trick of his. Kyros’ eyes were still flitting between the beheaded clone and the real deal.
Doflamingo’s grin broadened. “So sorry to disappoint.”

His eye’s flicked to the second clone he’d made today, the one dressed like his dear beloved brother.
“Don’t lose your head about it.”, he taunted the former Toy.
His Rosinante moved, there was no hardship in making him raise his hand and use one of Doflamingo’s signature attacks.

“Get down!”, Law, the little traitor, didn’t miss when Rozi had stirred. He’d slid down his chair, watching the sharp wire pass through the wood over his head.
Kyros escaped getting a bloody haircut by a second, letting himself fall forwards to the ground.
Even the Strawhat was unfortunately quick-witted enough to drag Viola forwards, although Doflamingo did enjoy the visual of the two of them bowing to him.

His attack passed through his own body, as if his own power would ever harm him. The same couldn’t be said for the room they were in. The whole tower started to slide sideways, the walls having been cut diagonally through several layers of stone and mortar. No matter, Pica could repair this without a second thought.  

He sent the headless clone forwards, herding the little Pirate away from the Princess: “How polite they are.” 
An angry soldier swung his sword towards Doflamingo, one beheading wasn’t enough for the guy it seems. Rosinante kicked him hard in the side, making the sturdy man fly across the room.

While trying to escape the invisible claws of the puppet, Strawhat left himself wide open in the back. The little shit didn’t seem to realize that hitting the thing physically wouldn’t really do anything to the real him. He watched the pattern of ducks and weaves, before stepping up behind the younger pirate.

His own hand coated with Haki. Doflamingo let his fist rush forward, the boy only quick enough to turn halfway before he was hit square in the face.
Oh, how he wished to kill that annoying bastard right now. Watch his blood coating the floor even more than it already had.

Poor Law was rattling in his chains unable to do anything more than throw curses and insults the dictator’s way, as his little friend was beaten up.
Doflamingo laughed. Sending him his beloved Corazon to shut him up.

“Traffy!”, the Strawhat was fast, when he wanted to.
What an adorable nickname, from someone that ‘wasn’t anyone to Law.’ His little rubber arms tried to wrap around Rosinante’s torse, wanting to stop him in his path, probably. With a flick of Doflamingo’s finger, his brother’s likeness unraveled into nothing and the darkhaired boy fell onto his face in front of the throne.

He wanted to take apart these meddling morons right now, but unfortunately it was time for damage control. Before Strawhat could get up and try to attack again, Doflamingo ordered: “Pica, throw out the trash.”

He watched Law fly out with the rest of the intruders. He took a deep breath. Maybe he needed to be more specific with these people. You really couldn’t rely on anyone besides yourself huh?
“Someone, move the prisoner before he gets crushed by the walls! Everyone else, with me.”
Doflamingo had an announcement to make.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They were all freefalling way past the outer palace walls.
Soaring through the air, more stories down than she could count, only the hard unforgiving ground beneath them.
Was it too much for Viola to hope for another miracle?
Apparently not. Strawhat Luffy stretched his arms to catch them all, her father who was still alive and well after all these years, Brother Kyros who she couldn’t believe had to suffer alone, forgotten as a Toy and the man who had unwittingly started this whole revolution, Trafalgar Law.

“Oh No,” said the man was still chained to a chair, staring up at the sky, “the birdcage. He’s deploying the Birdcage!”
Everyone turned towards Law, not really understanding the implications of what was about to happen. But Viola could see the panic across the surface of his mind, whatever was coming was going to be devastating.

“Before the truth about his whole operation can get out, he is going to massacre the entire population of Dressrosa.”, Law blankly stated.
“What?”, her father quickly gathered himself, “He can’t do this!”
She was watching the corded pillar of strings rise into the sky slowly. There was no way to stop it, really.

And the ground started rumbling, lowering itself, as the Palace started to be pushed up above by the gathering landmass.
“It’s Pica. He is using his stone powers…”, Viola tried to steady her Father without falling to the floor herself. The whole plateau was rumbling, as the castle she had grown up in was slowly but steadily riding a wave of dirt away from them.
The floor started to crack, she could her people’s panicked cries.

The earthquake didn’t stop when the castle did, the city still moving like molasses. Behind the group another building was lifted out of the masses. Viola recognized it immediately, even though she had only ever seen it from the outside, since it was plated in sea stone. This was it, the smile factory.

And finally, everything stilled again.
The strings above them had started to split and encase what was left of her city, her home.
Viola swallowed heavily. The palace cast a long shadow as it towered over them, higher than any point on the island. It seemed Doflamingo didn’t need her powers to see anymore.

The condescending voice of their captor echoed over Dressrosa, his grinning face being projected all over the country:
“People of Dressrosa. Let’s be real, I could have ruled with an iron fist from the very beginning. Now that you see the truth, a great number of you no doubt wish to kill me.”

Viola’s father rushed to the edge of the royal plateau: “He’s controlling the citizens… That madman is reenacting that horrible nightmare again, making us attack each other!”
The screams and sounds of carnage drifting up to them sent her back to that night ten years ago. When she had to watch her father cut down anyone in his path unable to stop himself. He had been crying back then as well.

“Let’s make a game of it.”, Doflamingo chuckled, “I’m in the palace. I’m not going to run and hide; I’ll sit here and wait. Kill me and it’s over, you win, if you think you can.”
Bile rose in Viola’s throat, had they doomed their people unwittingly by asking to be saved? Had there ever been a chance at all?
No. She couldn’t think like that, she had to keep believing that this hadn’t all been for nothing! The years under Doflamingo’s thumb. The suffering…

“No one is coming to help you. No one can escape from my birdcage. You cannot send any signals outside and without anyone in the world realizing it, you will simply disappear.”

The carefree strawhat captain... She had to keep her faith in him and his crew.
“There is one more way for this game to end. I’m going to give you a list of names, each one with a considerable bounty attached, bring me all of those people and you’re free! What is it going to be? Kill or be killed? Either everyone here dies or you bring an end to the game yourselves!”

12 faces popped up one after the other, each one with a varying number of stars under their names, each star worth a hundred million berries. It worried Viola that not just her father, but both her late sister’s husband Kyros and her niece Rebecca were on the list. It didn’t surprise her to see her own face up there as well. He was going to eradicate the whole royal family.

“What did Usopp do to piss of that parrot? 500 million… It’s a bit unfair really. We need to catch up, Luffy.”, the deep voice of Zoro was laced with mirth. Viola hadn’t even noticed him join their little group.
“Should we call the others?”, he asked his captain. The boy with the strawhat looked uncharacteristically serious. The whole time she had led him across the palace, he had been laughing and goofing around, now he had a grim frown on his face.

“I can’t believe Usopp’s bounty is higher than mine!”, Luffy grinned again, “Okay, let’s call Robin!”
 As soon as the call went through, the younger man reiterated his point to his other crewmates as well.
But that didn’t really matter. What mattered was hearing Rebecca talk, she was safe and on her way.

“Is Mr. Soldier there? He is back to human too, isn’t he?”, her niece asked.
Viola turned to where she expected her brother-in-law to be just as relieved to hear his daughters voice as she was… and he was gone.
Did he run away? She closed her eyes, scanning the crowds for Kyros.

He'd never been one to wait long to act. He was moving through the city, towards the Palace on top of the flower hill. Noone could stop that man, even with one leg missing he was a force of nature. The undefeated Gladiator, Viola wasn’t worried about him.

“I’m totally gonna crush Doflamingo! So stay with my crew yeah?”
While she was distracted it seemed the Strawhats had decided on a course of action. Viola was about to ask how they planned to take on the warlord, when Luffy detangled a protesting Law from the throne and threw the bound man over his shoulder, while grabbing Zoro around the waist with his other arm.
“We can talk about the future later! Look at this place, there’s no time to stop now!”

Viola was glad they were still determined to help, but that way wasn’t… “He jumped off.”, she looked towards her father for answers. The old King was still in shock, as Viola said more to herself than anything: “I still have the keys to Law's cuffs.”

“Pirates…”, her father was shacking his head, “Are we to wait here for Rebecca then?”
She nodded: “It would be best, wouldn’t it?”

Viola couldn’t meet his eyes. It was the first time she could speak to him in 10 years and she had nothing to say.

“I’m sorry.”, his long familiar voice sounded lost and brittle. He was holding his hands in front of his chest as if to keep from reaching out towards her.
And even though she knew the answer, even though she could have just looked into his mind if she wanted, Viola couldn’t help but ask: “Whatever would you have to apologize for?” 
Pain flitted across his wrinkled face. He had aged so much in the last years, deep furrows she had missed the shaping of.
“All this”, he gestured towards the destroyed town, the factory, the stones rising from the floor again, “all of this is my fault. If I had been stronger, back then…”

Viola threw her arms around her father’s shoulders. Tears were falling down both their cheeks now.

“My King!”, their moment was interrupted by the arrival of Commander tank and a few of his men.
A visible relief on his face. Despite the sudden, but welcome, company, Viola couldn’t bring herself to let go of her father yet.
They held each other up when the shaking of the ground intensified again.
The same couldn’t be said for the men that had somehow climbed the walls up to them. It was pure luck, that none of them had fallen back down again.
 
Pica’s most destructive form, a giant made of bricks and dirt glared down at everyone gathered before him, marines, pirates and gladiators alike.

“Anyone who defies the family must deal with me, Strawhat.”, the high-pitched voice washed over everything. Drowning out the sounds of swords clashing and gunfire. A fist the size of the fighting ring in the Colosseum crashed into the ground. 

“What could you have done against something like this?”, Viola watched as the monstrous hand reached for the comparably miniscule group of pirates.
Suddenly a crack ran up the stone-made arm, making the whole structure splinter and rain down on the people below.

“That’s the King of Prudence for you!”, her father cheered.
The giant was winding around itself, like it was trying to hit an annoying fly. Viola tracked his line of sight, using her powers to locate Strawhat Luffy purposefully tumbling off the back of one of the wild steers from the arena. The rubber man’s own hands swelled, growing big enough to take Pica’s faux head clean of its stone shoulders, when they snapped forward.

But right there in front of them, that was the real Pica’s body angrily stepping into the path of the Bull. His sword was drawn.
With quick steps, Luffy slid under the animal he fondly called Moocy and lifted the terrified thing out of the path of the attack. At the same time Zoro jumped in as well, making sure Pica couldn’t slice the poor steer from the back.
“I got this.”, he shouted up to his captain with a roguish grin. Viola could see why Sanji trusted him so much.

Luffy waved back, balancing Moocy on one hand above his head: “Alright! I’ll go up ahead. Say hi to Sanji for me!”

Viola startled  at the same time the confused swordsman did. Sanji left Dressrosa, hadn’t he? While Zoro was immediately distracted by a broad sword aiming for his head, the princess was less occupied. She could let her mind wander, attaching her sight to a passing bird or another, searching.

There he was. The blond cook was riding a great horned steed into battle. A reindeer, she had never seen one in real life. Any would be attacker was promptly thrown over their heads by strong antlers or cut down with a swift blade. Was that a living skeleton sitting behind Sanji? And one loudly complaining about the rude people crying when they saw him, to boot.

“I don’t think it’s because of you.”, the reindeer talked. How impolite of Viola to assume it… he was just a simple animal, he must be a member of their crew, another devilfruit user.
“They don’t look like they are in control of their actions. Look at the way they move! It’s jerky, like they’re fighting against muscle spasms.”
Sanji jumped off the other strawhats back to kick down a young man aiming a gun at his friend: “Doflamingo wrapped me up in strings earlier, I couldn’t move at all. Do you think it’s the same thing?”

The reindeer came to a screeching halt, angrily stomping towards the blonde again.
“Don’t do that! You promised to be careful with your injury!”

While the two of them argued, the tall skeleton man idly stepped up to a figure wildly swinging around what looked like a table leg, begging his family members to stay back.
He seemed to think for a bit, tapping his sword against his shoe before striking at the air above the poor soul’s head. An ungodly screech made everyone duck down, the blade stuck for a moment, sliding over an invisible cord. One more flick of the skeleton’s wrist and the man with the table leg sacked to the ground in relief, as the string snapped.

Violas eyes shot open: “You can cut the parasitic strings!”
While she was busy more people had collected around them. Nico Robin and God Usopp had finally brought her Niece back to her.
She nearly forgot her important revelation, as she was embraced for the second time in the last few minutes. Viola chuckled as she patted Rebecca’s head.

“What do you mean, parasitic strings?”, Nico Robin asked with a mildly curious tone.
“Right. Doflamingo has infected the people down there with his string fruit power. I just saw your friends, Sanji, the reindeer-man and the skeleton in town, they cut the strings! We can free the controlled from Doflamingo’s power!”, Viola was determined not to sit by and watch, “I still need to get Law the key to his handcuffs…”

“What are you doing? These people are pirates!”, her father berated her.
“So what?”, Viola thought about the pain she had seen in Sanji’s mind, the determination Luffy had shown to save her people, “The world government allowed Doflamingo to take apart our country. They turned a blind eye to the victims they created. I won’t rely on the help of marines, pretending to care about justice.” She gestured towards the beaten and bloodied man lying on the ground surrounded by Tontattas: “A pirate took down Sugar and freed the Toys. At least there is blood running through the strawhats’ words! There is a beating heart behind their actions!”

Viola could see when her father caved. Even a stubborn old King was no match for the little people rallying to sing praises about their new hero: Usoland.

Rebecca tugged at her arm to get her attention: “I’ll go.”
“It’s way too dangerous for you to go down there. You’ll get targeted by bountyhunters immediately!”, no way was Viola putting her in danger.
“So would you, Miss Violett.”, Robin interrupted, “I’ll make sure she is safe. Your abilities will be much more useful up here. We wouldn’t even know about Chopper, Sanji and Brook if you weren’t here. Please continue to look after us as well.”

After that green haired fighter from the Colosseum volunteered himself as well and the Tontattas piped in with their own safe way of transportation, she had to cave. Viola would stay here and Rebecca would be lifted by the Stag beetle troops over the roofs of Dressrosa to the flowerfield where they were going to meet Luffy and Law.

“And afterwards, all the Tontatta will meet at the factory with Fra-land to rescue our Princess!”, Leo, the leader of the troop told her.
She watched them jump over the same ledge as Luffy earlier. “Stay safe out there.”

“Was that Robin just now?”, the voice of the Skeleton, Brook as Robin had called him, came from the other side of the plateau, “Is this a bad time?”
It was just him, holding what appeared to be the little creature from the straw hats’ wanted posters… The reindeer and Sanji were nowhere in sight.

“Ah! Usopp! What happened to you?”, the small plush wiggled himself free and quickly made his way over to his crewmember. He opened his bag and started to pull out bandages and salves, all the while muttering angry curses about reckless crewmembers under his breath.

Brook reminded her of someone, she just couldn't put her finger on it, as the eyeless skull seemed to muster her back. “Are you Miss Viola by any chance?”
“Yes.”, she smiled, “Did Sanji sent you?”
The pirate clapped his hands excitedly. “He did! How did you know? He said he felt someone watching us and told us to come up here looking for a darkhaired goddess in a spotted dress.”
That did sound like the blond man she had met earlier.

“He got distracted by Zoro!”,  shouted towards them what appeared to be a large, muscular, and bipedal human or ape-like creature covered in dark brown hair. He gently propped up Usopp, to inspect his back. None of the strawhats reacted to the change. It occurred to her just then, where the reindeer must have gone. This was Chopper.

Viola turned back to the towering stone giant, still for now. Zoro and Sanji would have no problem taking down Pica together. So, she didn’t understand the exasperated groan and snicker coming from the curly-haired straw hat.
“Things can’t be too dire if Sanji still has the time to fight Zoro. Honestly, those two need to learn to stay on track.”

Confused Viola looked closer at the green haired swordsman currently holding back Pica with two swords, while blocking an angry kick with the remaining white sword.
“Oh no! I think Sanji got hit by the parasite strings!”, she gasped out.
“Is he still yelling? If they’re both yelling, everything’s fine.”, Usopp muttered unconcerned.

Indeed, Sanji was currently hurling insults at the other man.
“Why are you even here?”, Zoro shouted back, his head knocking into a blond curled brow, “Weren’t you supposed to sit your ass on the Sunny?”
A strong push put distance between the pair and the Donquixote fighter, letting Zoro free up one of his hands to curl around a bandaged leg.
Sanji hissed at him, but the worried swordsman didn’t let go.

“I came to pick up your slack, you unresponsible, directionless dickhead!”
A guilty twinge hushed over Zoro’s face but was quickly replaced by annoyance: “I told you, I called! They’re fine.”

Sanji jumped into the air, as his partner crouched low to let the enormous, sharp blade pass through between them. “I’m still going to check. Just because they might have been fine 5 minutes ago doesn’t mean they are fine now!”

Zoro redirected another blow, as the two continued to argue: “Then go do that and don’t bother me! You forgot too!”
“Piss off!”, Sanji gasped offended, “I’m going to leave once you tell me where they are!”

Pica tried to sink back into the floor, the stone cracked under Sanji’s heel as he glared at the man.
“How dare you intervene. I will take the both of you down.”, the pitchy voice made Zoro giggle under his breath.

Sanji just blinked at his green haired friend for a moment, a blush tinting his cheeks.
Then he cleared his throat: “Don’t get distracted, mosshead.”
Zoro rolled his eyes: “Yeah, yeah. Luffy dragged Traffy somewhere that way… So, I guess Franky is in the opposite direction?”
He wasn’t wrong per se. If the first mate had actually pointed up the arm, where Luffy had disappeared to, then the factory would be somewhere opposite.

“Why did I even bother asking you?”, luckily Sanji did not heed the advice of the man.
It was good to not forget your loved one’s flaws.
Zoro complained: “Can I get back to my match now?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll just orient myself by the flow of people then. What’s up with that anyway?”, he was already turning away from the two opponents, walking down the arm. 

The swordsman shrugged: “They’re Luffy’s strays. Just ignore them and move around the violent ones.”
With that hopefully in mind the blond tucked his cane away and jumped down, walking on air, as she had seen him do that morning. It still amazed her.

“I was going to pick up the kid once I finished this fight anyway.”, Zoro grumbled so low under his breath no one besides Viola had probably heard him.

She smiled and opened her eyes.
“You’re back!”, Chopper was patting her leg, “You were a bit unresponsive for a while there.”
“That’s just a drawback of my devilfruit. If I focus somewhere else, I sometimes get lost in the distance.”, she reassured the pirate.
He hummed noncommittally, clearly still worried.

“Those two are very passionate are they not?”, Viola wondered after a short quiet.
“I thought it was a weird human mating thing. Because they’re two males courting.”, the little reindeer answered seriously.
“Chopper!”, Usopp tried to gasp scandalized through his grin, as both him and Brook broke into peals of laughter. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Somewhere down, way down below their feet, under the port hiding beneath the royal plateau, Kin’emon finally reached the end of the big pipe he had to jump down earlier.
He didn’t really understand why he’d gotten a bounty as well, wasn’t even aware that Doflamingo knew about his existence.

Slowly he got up and surveyed his surroundings.
It had turned out to be a stroke of luck after all. The place he had landed in seemed to be a great big garbage dump. There must have been a terrible fight down here recently. In every corner men and women laid slain. Sometimes it was just an arm or a head. Sometimes he had to avert is eyes from the gut’s spilling out of what had once been a person.

That was not the thing he was grateful for though. No, what brought tears to his eyes was the sight of a crude drawing on the wall, that faintly resembled his old friend Kanjuro.
Long red hair, surrounding a face painted in the kabuki tradition. A colorful ensemble, dulled by the wall it was drawn on.

He was here! Kin’emon had finally found him.

There was the smell of years’ worth of trash in the air and death all around him, but he still couldn’t help but be glad. The people down here, trying to cover their fallen with grim faces, threw him odd looks as he started to pat the drawing’s shoulder.
The looks grew even more disturbed when the drawing opened its closed eyes and slowly peeled itself from the wall.

“Hello, my friend!”, Kin’emon shouted, “Oh how I’ve missed you dearly. I am so glad to see you well!”
And for what it was worth, Kanjuro did look fine. He must have been hiding in the walls for quite some time, but he looked unharmed and well fed.
“It was good of you to come back for me, Kin’emon.”, his friend said while drawing a head of lettuce onto the wall, “I always believed in you.” He peeled the drawing of and took a bite. 

“It took me far too long to reach you.”, it was shameful that he really only was able to get this far because of the help of his new friends. He couldn’t imagine what would have happened, had he been left alone.  

Kanjuro just shrugged, waving off his penitence: “As long as Momonosuke is safe, all is well.”
“Of course. He is unharmed.”, Kin’emon’s face grew soft as he thought of the strides he had made in his and the young Shogun’s relationship. There was so much to tell Kanjuro!

“Where is he then?”
Then again, maybe some things were probably better left unsaid. Who knew how Kanjuro might take the news of the prince being on a pirate ship?
“He is with friends. We should hurry and get out of here.”
The other Samurai rose a curious eyebrow, but let the issue go.

"There is no way out.", one of the residents stepped out of the circle that had slowly formed around them. "Only through the ceiling."

 A few strokes of his artistically challenged friend created the unfortunate form of a rather round sparrow. "That is not a hardship we cannot overcome." 
Kanjuro proudly showed off the creature that was valiantly flapping its short little wings. The duck's round body was broad enough to carry both of them surely. He was just a bit worried if it's constitution would be strong enough as well.

"Wait!", someone in the uniform of the land’s guards pleaded as Kin'emon settled on the birds back, "You're not going to leave us here, are you?" 

The two of them looked over the sea of pleading faces. Could they call themselves true Samurai, if they abandoned these people in need to rot down here with the dead and forgotten?

It would take a monster, a cruel heartless monster, to leave now.
The duck started to rise in the air.
“We’ll throw you a ladder, once we are out there.”, Kanjuro urged the bird on upwards.
 
Soon they were out of the pipe, not at the harbor where Kin’emon had entered, but somewhere inside. He stepped through the door of the small building onto the street. The bottom half of what was once the palace stretched towards the sky to his right. The actual castle had migrated somewhere to an even taller mountain to his left, he was sure that wasn’t there before…

“Which way then?”, Kanjuro was making as if to follow the black-haired man.

Did he forget? “The ladder.”, Kin’emon reminded him. The white faced actor just laughed sheepishly and started the long process of painting parts of rope and rungs, tugging the sector out of the wall and adding another few meters to the end still stuck on plaster.
This continued on for a while, under their watchful eyes.

“Hey there, Mr. Samurai!”, a lithe figure landed gracefully in front of the entrance Kin’emon was guarding. The grinning blonde waved as he quickly hobbled towards them.
“Sanji! You’re back!”, last he heard, the man was staying back on their boat. Not that he would begrudge his friend the honor of fighting.
“First of, don’t worry, Momo’s still fine. He and Nami are outside this whole shitshow on the Sunny.”, Sanji motioned somewhere towards the little alcove they had anchored at when they first arrived,
“Secondly, do you have any Idea how I can get to that damn factory? Goji is supposed to be there.”

That explained the strained tightness of his friend’s shoulders. His child was still in danger.
“When I was in the palace with Luffy, I disguised myself as Doflamingo. One of his operatives said there was a way down to the factory in the Toyhouse, the castle and… somewhere else. I’m sorry I was so preoccupied with finding Kanjuro, I did not pay attention enough.”

At his name being called, the red haired man poked his head out the door.

“You found him!”, Sanji congratulated him, “And don’t worry that was already plenty more information, than Zoro gave me.”
“This building here is probably still connected with the underground parts of the palace. We entered through some tower up there.”, he motioned to the royal plateau.  
The cook hummed, leaning on his cane: “That’s where the others are. I guess I’ll try my luck inside then. Thanks!” Off he ran.

Kanjuro smeared excess ink from his hands onto his ever-spotted yellow pants: “Who was that?”
The first prisoners were already climbing out of the hole, as Kin’emon answered: “A friend.”
“One of those friends looking after the young master?”, he asked while already leading their drawn companion outside.
“Yes…”, the samurai felt guilty for still keeping the nature of those friends a secret. The two of them had been through so much together, so why did he hesitate?
The other Wano warrior tested swung himself back onto the bird.
Kanjuro motioned for him to follow suit: “Is he on top of the building with your other friends?”
They ascended into the air again. It wouldn’t be so horrible to admit that he had grown to trust pirates, right? As he had learned, not all pirates were bad.

“I should probably tell you how I came to be entangled in this conflict.”, Kin’emon started, “I was trying to save Momonosuke, he was trapped on some sort of hellish Island, when I was ambushed and left defenseless. The people I am now with put me back together, they… healed me and they helped me find not just Momonosuke, but also you.”

Kanjuro nodded: “Some honest people, it seems.”
Kin’emon nodded as well: “At first, I did not trust them. But I can assure you, they are most honorable warriors of the sea! … Even if the flag they sail under is painted with a skull.”
A glance up revealed nothing about the other man’s reaction.
His face was blank. 
“I see.”, not a twitch to gauge his mood by, “You have been enchanted by pirates.”

Kin’emon sputtered: “I was not enchanted!”
There was no one with that ability on the crew. He knew all the strawhats’ tricks, had seen them all fight at one point or another.
“I already told you my opinion on the matter. They have never kept it a secret that they are pirates. Even when I was most hostile towards them, they insisted on helping me. So, I implore you to trust my judgement at the very least.”

They had nearly reached the top during their discussion. 
Still Kanjuro managed to add: “You trust them enough, that you put Momonosuke’s live in their hands?”
“Yes.”, they landed, with the spring sparrow melting into the ground beneath them.

“And yet he is not here.”, his friend’s voice was accusatory as he looked around the platform. “You don’t know where he is do you?”
It was unreasonable to feel this enraged by Kanjuro’s concern, yet he couldn’t help the annoyed crease that formed between his eyebrows.
“Why would he be up here? I would not put him in harms way like that! He is not far, if you are that worried. A Kunoichi of considerable strength is guarding him on their ship. You just have to pass through a little gap in the mountain range over there…”, as he looked into the distance, Kin’emon noticed the odd dome incasing the whole island for the first time. How strange.

From this high up, he could see the way the landscape had changed as well. The colosseum he had met Sanji at earlier this day was suddenly much closer than before, in fact, it was touching the side of the plateau, inviting a whole bunch of bounty hunters to try and climb up the wall.

He turned around, worried: “Usopp! It is I!” A burly man stepped in his path, as he tried to get to the crew. “There is a pressing matter to discuss!”

Usopp had already recognized him. Having started walking up to them, but seemingly gotten distracted by the drawing on the floor. He waved them over to where the others were watching Zoro fight.

Kin’emon hastily made his way to stand next to Brook: “A great horde is ascending the plateau.”
“Oh yes. They have been at it for a while.”, he did not seem worried about that, “The wall is rather smooth though and no one as managed to get up yet.”
“Fear not O-dokuro! I set down a net to assist them in their task!”, Kanjuro proudly proclaimed.
“What do you think you’re doing?!”, Usopp hysterically started pacing back and forth.

Kanjuro faltered at that, blinking at the pirate innocently: “Was that unnecessary?”
What a time for a mistake like that. Kin’emon could feel a headache coming on.
“Oh no! Such a disgrace. Repaying my debt with the back of my hand. The only amends at this point is ritual hara-kiri.”, ever the dramatic actor, Kanjuro fell to his knees.
“Stop that!”, honestly. A few minutes ago, he had been accusing Kin’emon of being duped and now he had some great debt to the pirates.
“Alright. I’ll stop.”, the other easily agreed. His mood ever changing like the wind.

Usopp ripped the brush out of the other Samurai’s hands: “What are we gonna do about the guys climbing up here? Huh?” He wasn’t wrong, but there was no need to brandish a man’s own weapon against him. The sharpshooter smacked away Kanjuro’s hands when he tried to get his priced possession back. “Who are you anyway?”

The beautiful lady that had tried to capture Sanji’s heart earlier, stepped between them. Her gaze was focused on the palace above them.
“What’s wrong? Did you see something?”, Usopp handed the tool back to Kanjuro, as he followed Viola.
She seemed worried: “I don’t know. There is so much dust and smoke… But I could swear Luffy was fighting more Toys. I have a bad feeling about this.”
Her eyes roamed across the castle, seemingly finding her target quickly: “Oh no. Sugar is awake again.”

The long nosed man fearfully tried to get her attention: “What do you mean? I just knocked her out! She shouldn’t be up for… I don’t know, but for quiet some time!”
“Well, she’s up.”, Violas piercing gaze focused on Usopp, “And the other Strawhat’s don’t know about her, do they?”

Kin’emon didn’t know about this elusive sugar, but judging from the pace of Usopp’s breath it couldn’t be anything good. One more problem to deal with immediately. Their friends were in grave danger it seemed.

“Alright, Viola keep me posted on where that little brat is going.”, like a switch was flipped Usopp started to assemble his slingshot.
“You cannot mean to snipe her from this distance!”, Kin’emon could barely see the palace from down here, “Our foe is beyond those walls, it is impossible to spot her this far away!”

The usually so timid man just shrugged: “When Robin turned into a Toy, I never even knew I forgot about her. It brings chills down my back to think our comrades could disappear and we’d never even know. Even Luffy!”
A confident grin spread over Usopp’s face: “I scared her once; I’ll scare her again! I just need your friend’s help.”

They both turned towards the place Kanjuro had just stood in:
“Where did he go?"

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Sanji was quickly moving through the air of the palace in the (opposite) direction the bloodthirsty brute had indicated.
That meathead was happily distracted, just because Goji was with Franky. That didn’t mean he was safe. Nothing against Franky, but he had seen him throw Chopper a good 10 meters into the air. For fun.
He was entitled to be a little worried here.

The palace was empty. No people in the winding halls, twisted beyond recognition.
It was just the stone that Pica guy was in, right? Sanji risked it, bracing himself against the splintered remains of a wooden doorway and peeking over another dead end. Who would have thought finding an elevator would be this difficult?

Around the next corner was more stone hallway and nothingness. He knew that technically he was going in the right direction. He could feel the sparkly, fizzing personality of Franky. He just needed to get down and left. He contemplated breaking down the floor, discretion and broken leg be damned.
But over there, a conveniently placed albeit a little narrow staircase was leading… well kind of down. It was a bit squashed and not all that vertical anymore. Although were stairs ever vertical?

It didn’t matter, the important thing was the two-story drop-down Sanji had not expected to be lucky enough to stumble upon. He landed, barely disturbing the dust on the stone floor.

Shit.

He waited for some kind of alarm. Nothing.
Maybe that Stone-man wasn’t as sensitive as they had thought? The information had come from Zoro after all. Not to speak ill of the clueless plant, but he was rather dense at times.

Despairing his own taste in men, the cook made his way down what seemed to be a cell block.
Sanji peeked into slanted doors valiantly holding on for dear life.
Empty.
Every one of these cells looked long abandoned. The sound of his cane echoed around him with every step, but no response.

The walkway became more slanted, the further Sanji made it. Then there at the end of the hall, finally one door open.
He critically inspected the hinges, that moved smoothly for such an old looking door. A well kept but rather bare prison cell. A desk with a chair both bolted to the floor, fit for a meal but not useable to attack your jailer. A bed, big and sturdy. Directly positioned under the two metal rings on the wall. He would bet that the carelessly strewn about sheets were non-rip as well.

He clenched his fists at his sides. The blond guessed whoever had been kept here instead of being turned into a Toy, had been moved recently and against their will.
There was a nick on the chairs backrest, where someone had hit it, probably with something heavy and metallic like a cuff made of sea stone. Just as an example.

There were scuff marks on the floor. Someone had dragged their feet, refusing to be cooperative even in the slightest. 
He could assume whoever was important enough to relocate now, would have been brought to a safe location. Sanji decided to follow the trail this mysterious prisoner left for him.

It wasn’t long before the broken, distorted floor straightened out again and started to look like a normal building. Voices filtered over to him.
Sanji grinned, finally.

He waited for a moment assessing the situation.
There were two guards seemingly on a smoke break, how he envied them, from guarding a princess trapped in the palace. Viola? It couldn’t be! He promised she'd be safe with his crew.

But even if it wasn’t her, he couldn’t just leave a poor woman in peril!
Well, while he was already here. Who better to be a knight in shining armor then him?

“Might I bother you gentlemen for a cigarette?”, Sanji stepped into the light with a disarming smile.
In the next moment his shoe was in one guard’s face, while he twirled around with his whole weight supported on the handle of the cane under him. The other man didn’t get to even scream for help before he was knocked out as well.

The cook wondered how pissed Chopper was going to be when he found out that Sanji had taken of his bandages again, just to put on a disguise.
Couldn’t be helped though, the tan ballooning pants were cut pretty tight around the calf area and he was sure someone would notice the guard in a cast.
The black turtleneck was rather snug as well, but at least the brown gloves fit to a T. One of the guards had worn a pair of yellow sunglasses, feeling nostalgic, Sanji nicked them too.

A longsword was part of the whole attire. Usopp and Franky had said the walking stick they had made him was collapsible if he remembered correctly. He fiddled with the thing for a bit, before he got it. Then he strapped the other weapon to his hip.

Lastly, he was going to skip the boots. Nobody was going to look that close right? He didn’t need to stick his feet into some other guy’s stinking shoes … right?
He needed to cover his eyes for a moment.

First, he neatly folded his own clothes, ignoring the issue.
Then he carefully emptied the bag one of the goons was carrying and put his own things inside.
Finally, he caved.
His lovingly polished, steel reinforced loafers went into the bag as well.

Two pairs of shoes stood before him. The Boots on the right looked older, but well cared for. The guy on the left wasn't wearing socks. His shoes were newer though and potentially less contaminated. The sock thing though…

The left pair had already been broken in, the leather malleable and easy to walk in.
Noone batted an eye at him, as he ascended the staircase. One painful step after the other.
Sanji was walking after another group of guards when his nose caught the smell of food being prepared.

Ah, the kitchens…
“Where is the food for the prisoners? You know how much the young master values punctuality!”
Bingo~

Sanji casually walked over to the service station.
He pursed his lips, looking at the dull breadroll on one plate and the loveless serving of onion soup on the other. The cook chose a spoon a tried a sip: “Passable.”

One of the staff turned around, gaping at him openmouthed, while Sanji surveyed the room for a bread knife.
“Who the hell are you?”, one offended chef asked.
“Your salvation. Now will someone please tell me where you keep the good cheese? We’re not going to serve the young Master’s valued prisoners this flavorless broth. Right?”
He gave his best unimpressed head chefs stare at the surrounding cooks.
“Good. Someone toast these slices and top them with grated Gruyere while I try and save the soup.”

Like a good machine not having been used for a while, the team was slow to start moving, but once they had clear instructions and a designated angry cook to send towards Sanji, they got with the program.
He had already added some more basic spices, there wasn’t much time after all, a few sprigs of fresh thyme and the blond had just tipped some dry white into the broth, when the cavalry arrived.

“I don’t know who you think you are, commanding me in my own damn kitchen, but…”, the other cook didn’t get any further when Sanji shoved a spoonful of soup into his mouth.
Tears gathered in the others surprised face.
Sanji grinned: “A cup of brandy and I think it’s perfect.”
“This isn’t perfect?”, the surprised chef muttered, while handing over a good bottle of brandy.
“Now it is.”, the blonde answered, “Plate this, while I finish the bread.”

The slices had been toasted perfectly, while the broth was cooking. “Good job guys.”
A pleased murmur went through the collected staff. He just added a few fresh herbs to round out the taste and slid the bread into the one rather big and second very small bowl. Huh.

“Well, I better bring this up to our prisoners, before the bread gets too soggy. Who’s going to hold the door for me?”, he grinned charmingly at the guards having been attracted by the heavenly smell.
One volunteered quickly, bringing him to the room holding the prisoners.
Sanji tensed, hoping not to find the worst on the other side of the door in front of him.

The key turned in the lock.
Sanji stepped in. It was just a room. A storage room maybe, some boxes stood around and there was a small, barred window in one wall. A chain had been haphazardly locked around one of the bars, leading to a scraggly, thin man with long, unkempt blonde hair nearly reaching the filthy floor he was sitting on.

“Thanks.”, Sanji told the guard, “I got it from here. You can go get lunch now.”
The goon didn’t have to be told twice and quickly ran off after another reassurance, that Sanji could feed a chained-up man and what looked like a little fairy princess being kept in a birdcage.
The audacity.

The blondes smile dropped immediately as soon as the guard had left.
He set down the tray on a table that looked like it had been dragged in just for the dirty blond man.
“Hello there, I’m Sanji and I will be your server tonight.”, Sanji cheerfully let out.

A pair of piercing eyes was following his every move as he stalked over towards the cage and tried to open the unreasonably thick bars.
It wouldn’t budge.

“One moment princess, I am sorry I didn’t catch your name,” he kindly said to the Tontatta inside, “I just need to find a key.”
None in the immediate vicinity, unluckily. “You’re not a lot of help, are you?”, he asked the unshaved man tilting his head at Sanji.
One big hand lifted and gestured towards the man’s throat, a thick scar running right across it.
“Oh, Sorry about that… Didn’t mean to be rude.”

“I tried to heal it,” the small Princess bravely scooted closer to the bars, “but the wound was too old.”
She was outright adorable. “My name is Mansherry…”
Focus Sanji.
“My friends are on their way. I can only hope someone thought of bringing a key. I would try to kick it open, but with such a small cage… It’s a risk that I might crush you and I would rather not rid the world of such a beauty.”

When the princess was sufficiently calmed down, he turned towards the other prisoner in the room.
The man was huffing out what might have been a laugh in better circumstances.
He pointed at Sanji, then lifted one hand palm up, before hitting it with a fist and grinding the point in. Then he pointed at himself.
‘You going to crush me?’

The cook rolled his eyes. “Only if you ask nicely.”
One deep breath, then he shifted the weight onto his bad leg, gritting his teeth.
Haki covered his other foot, as it crashed down into the bars holding Scraggly’s chain.
He had to let himself fall onto the table behind him directly after, but the tall man was freed.

“Are you alright?!”, Mansherry asked tears in her eyes.
Sanji straightened up immediately: “No need to worry about me, you are the one in a cage!”
Scraggly got up slowly, dragging the chains behind him. His eyes honed onto the plates behind the cook.

Sanji perked up immediately, he snatched the smaller plate and brought it over to the small food hatch in the cage: “No need to wait on an empty stomach! I’ll keep watch, you guys just enjoy the meal.”
Franky wasn’t that far away anymore and the blond would be more than capable of defending them if it came to the worst.

There was a little twinge of guilt, as he listened to the clinking of chains, as the prisoner slurped his soup hungrily, chewing on the perfectly baked cheese as if he had never eaten anything better in his life.
Sanji knew hunger when you hadn’t eaten a meal in a long while. Even if scraggly had probably been fed regularly, he clearly hadn’t gotten enough to keep his strength up. His blood was boiling thinking about the poor guy wasting away in a cell somewhere for who knows how long.

And still, not really being free right now, because Sanji wasn’t capable enough.
Had Zoro been here he would have cut these chains in no time. It hurt somewhere in the blond’s stomach region to admit this, but a sharp blade might have been handy…
He blinked, twice.

Sanji had a sharp blade. A longsword right on his back.
It wasn’t really fighting, if he used the thing to free a poor soul in need, right?
The last time he used any kind of blade outside of a kitchen had been… years ago. He was confident, he could do this though, if he thought of this like filleting a fish.

“New plan!”, the cook said determinedly while drawing the sword, “put your hands on the table.”
Scraggly looked at him with wide eyes, his last bite of food still hovering in front of his open mouth.
He slowly fed the spoon into his mouth and swallowed hard.
Then the older man critically mustered Sanji, while wiping his hands on his ripped, dirty trousers.

Sanji waved at him confidently: “Come on, I’ll get those chains off you in no time. Don’t you trust me?”
Scraggly made a so-so hand motion.
Then he huffed and placed one arm on the table.

Here goes nothing. Instead of the proper grip that had been beaten into him as a child, Sanji held the sword like he would one of his kitchen knives. His opposite lifted a dubious brow, at least the blond thought he did as the long strands tucked behind the ears hid a lot of Scraggly’s face.

The blade cut through the air, precise as any time in his kitchen. It seemed like the three of them were all holding their breath, Scraggly leaned away from the sword pointed at him.
It hit the cuff just above, where skin would meet metal and bounced back.

Sanji stared.
He pulled the sword back towards himself in disbelief.
Scraggly stared as well.
One finger carefully tested the side of the blade.
“It’s dull…”, the cook muttered, “Who the fuck caries around a dull sword?”
A snorting wheezing sound carried over from Scraggly, the man’s shoulders shaking.

“It’s not that funny.”, Sanji started to blush a little. He should have tested this before he offered, but to be fair: When he stole the blade, he didn’t think he would use it!
That’s what he got for trying to play with swords. The scabbard together with the metal club went back to Sanji’s hip.

Seemed like they had to wait around after all.
“So, Scraggly. Do you have a name?”, Sanji idly asked.
Another painful sounding laugh. Then a thumbs up.
It was a rather stupid question.
He turned towards the princess: “Do you know Ms. Mansherry?”

Sparks of life were rushing closer.
“Nevermind, the cavalry is here.”
The room was suddenly filled with tiny soldiers, determined to save the princess. Apparently from Sanji himself.

“Hey! Stop that!”, he screeched at a Tontatta trying to tug him to the floor and to Sanji’s immense shock quickly succeeding, “Careful!”

“Princess!”, shouted a dark blond Tontatta with a spiky green hat.
Mansherry gasped delighted: “Leo! You came to save me!”
It was a heartwarming scene, Sanji watched while struggling under the weight of at least a dozen tiny men and women.

Leo first tried the lock. Deadend there.
Doesn’t matter, because the little guy had a devil fruit power that allowed him to stitch two of the bars together and bend them with a strong tug tightening the seam.
Quickly the Princess was in her knight’s arms again. Tears came to Sanji’s eyes. So cute.

“Did you gain weight, Princess?”, Leo was quickly hit over the head by the offended Mansherry.
Good for her.
“You shouldn’t insult your Ladylove.”, Sanji was seething for her as well.

Several small faced glares were directed his way.
“I don’t need a lecture from you, fiend!”, a needle was bravely brandished at an unimpressed cook.
That’s what you got for being nice and sticking your nose in other people’s business.
“Fiend?”, he started before Mansherry herself came to his rescue: “That is no fiend! Sanji is a good big person. He feed me and the even bigger person and he tried to free us!”

“Really? My bad then!”, the other Tontattas released him after that as well.
A rather trusting bunch weren’t they?
“But what are you doing in the Punishment room?”, wondered Leo.
“The What?”, did he hear that right?

“Sanji!”, quick light steps took the blonds breath away, as he turned towards the door.
There, tears running down his face was his choupette.
“Goji!”, the cook scrambled onto his knees, opening his arms as his brother crashed into his chest.
Finally, he could breathe easy again.

Chapter Text

He tried Vice Admiral Bastille’s transponder snail again. No answer.

Isshō wasn't answering. Hell, even the Marines down the ranks, whose number he had to pull from the files weren't answering responding to Smoker’s calls.

Something was terribly wrong and he was going to find out what. And if he had to break his medical leave and sneak onto Sengoku's ship to do it!

Let the man try and stop him.

Smoker heaved itself up, grabbed his personal affects and left the infirmary, with a new goal in mind.

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Sabo idly walked toward the bottom of the mountain leading to the palace. Luffy was fighting his way up, that guy from the statue in the colosseum rushing past the revolutionary cutting down a marksman aiming for his brother.
A friend then, the man definitely had the right idea. A lot of Marines were starting to gather and trying to stop the advancing fighters that had been freed when Sabo broke the ring’s floor.

Well, they couldn’t have that!
He went to work, erecting a wall of fire between his allies and their persecutor. Disturbing to think that most of these people had been Toys not an hour before, if what Hack told him was true.
He’d forgotten Hack… Just like he’d forgotten them.

Noone should be able to play with people’s memories like that.
Sabo hit the closest Marine’s back with his staff. The smarter ones backed away from the burning shots he fired at their feet, everyone else he could just brute force down.
He was the chief of staff of the revolutionary army after all, he was definitely above setting people aflame just because they were misguided Idiots.

“Fall back!”, finally the brass showed up.
A behemoth shoved himself to the front of the crowd, just short of being an actual giant, long hair, a horned half mask and blue epaulettes on his shoulders. Vice Admiral Bastille if his info was correct.

The navy men fell back in line, backing away behind the Vice Admiral. He was wearing a much more dignified black suit under the Justice coat, then Sabo could ever remember seeing the old monster was he still allowed to call him that? Garp wearing. 

“You there, Revolutionary!”, bellowed the Marine rudely.
You’d think he could remember a name that had just been blasted across the damn sky not two minutes ago. If his cover had to be blown, he could expect at least some notoriety, right?

“Me here? The name’s Sabo! But I’ll also accept Lucy the second.”, he politely reminded the man. The blond felt the flames dance happily across his shoulders. That was something to get used to for sure: “Isn’t this a lovely evening?”

The man grit his teeth: “Don’t think we won’t arrest you, after all this is done. You standing there won’t stop us from enacting justice.”

Sabo raised both of his eyebrows and grandly looked left and right, as if to ask why they weren’t just crossing the burning inferno in front of them then.

“Now Bastille, our first priority is the safety of Dressrosa’s citizen.”, the older man stepping forward had about a meter on Sabo, his black hair was cropped short. Two scars ran through his eyes, leaving him blind. The most impressive thing about him though, was the custom coat across his shoulders.
“Admiral Fujitora!”

Sabo mentally went through the roaster of officers he had memorized. A new recruit, fresh off the draft. “Is this your first clash with outlaws? You’re supposed to stop at nothing to punish the criminals. Maybe mow over some civilians, blackmail some local government officials…”

A snort left Fujitora’s mouth: “I think the local government is quite busy at the moment, but I’ll keep it in mind.”
He gestured towards the flickering warmth all around them: “Perhaps after you snuff out this fire here and my men have sorted this whole mess out.”

“You want to sort this out? Arrest Doflamingo and all his men?”, the revolutionary asked.
The blind man nodded.
“See… Whoops, you know, I do think you are a little late. After all, the world government were the ones that gave Doflamingo the power to put all this together. I rather think it’s best if you don’t get involved any further.”

The Admiral sighed: “And I can’t convince you to step aside and let us pass?”
“Well that depends…”, Sabo pretended to ponder the offer, “I can’t let anyone pass that intends harm to the Strawhat Pirates and those that are helping them.”

Some no name Marine snarled behind Fujitora, in a certain tone: “Is it the Revolutionary Army’s job to support pirates now?”

Everyone and their fleet commander had an opinion of Luffy’s parentage now. Honestly.
“Thats right as a Revolutionary I forbid you to pass.”, Sabo rolled his eyes, before a grin split his face, “Actually, I take that back! As a brother I cannot let you through.”

The blind man chuckled: “And who’s brother might you be?”

That was a rather heavy question, wasn’t it?
 A few years back, he would have claimed those two rambunctious boys from the mountain infested woods in a heartbeat, had he remembered them. 
But now… Did Sabo even have the right to call himself their brother still? Luffy had taken him back with open arms, but Luffy had also always been notoriously unable to hold a grudge if his life depended on it.
Ace… Ace had punched him right in the face the first time they met.

A teary smile snuck across his face at the memory. Sabo had probably deserved it. He was a snot nosed 5-year-old, that had just escaped his Nanny and thought he knew how the world worked.

Like all kids that ran away from home for the first time, Sabo had spent his money on sweets and pastries before the day was over. He hadn’t even made it over the wall yet.

It all seemed like such a grand adventure. A break from his strict parents and their disinterest in him as an actual person. The drilling of the etiquette of high society.

The market in high town was vibrant and the people were all so happy.
At some point Sabo had gotten hungry again. He’d never really thought about money as a thing that could run out. So, it surprised him, when the stall attendant tried to shoe him away with a disdainful look. Back then he had still thought like a noble though and after a small tantrum and a flash of his family crest, he was well fed again.

A dumb move really, he didn’t make the same mistake again for many years. The merchant called the family estate and a disgruntled servant was sent to pick him up. Again.
Could he behave like a good boy for once? Did he need to make the staff come deal with his escapades every time he was bored? At least Sabo hadn’t set anything on fire this time.

Sabo ran.
He didn’t even think about it, didn’t really plan to run away forever, he just hadn’t wanted to deal with another lecture. Not paying attention to where he was going either, he’d wound up in one of the seedier parts of Hightown. Near the walls, where the less desirable folk could quickly slip into the shadows and find a seat in one of the many dingy bars or motels.

This was where he quite literally ran into Ace. Sabo had knocked his not yet brother over.
“Sorry!”, he’d quickly helped the scowling kid up again, “My bad.”
Ace pushed him away, glared at him and then noticed the posh bastard running after Sabo.
For a 5-year-old, Ace could swear like a full fletched pirate. Or a mountain bandit maybe.

They took off again, not so much together as Sabo sticking to the one other kid he’d seen all day. One not accompanied by adults, the coolest guy he’d ever met honestly and also someone who seemed to know where to go.
They’d ran through side streets, climbed over fences and weaved between vendors, just to end up at the wall again. A different part of the wall, but the wall nonetheless.

Ace had quickly shoved a piece of wood out of the way and revealed a gap in the stone just wide enough for two 5-year-olds to fit through. Before the dark-haired boy could drag the cover back in place, Sabo squeezed through as well.

Then they both sat panting on the ground of the Gray Terminal.
Sabo was stunned, up close this part of the Goa Kingdom looked enormous… And there were people here! It hadn’t really clicked for him, that those people were forced to live here in the trash heaps. There was so much stuff, mountains of garbage further than the eye could see.

This country, Dressrosa, actually reminded him a lot of the place he grew up in. The poor and undesirable hidden away with the trash, while the rich lived it up in the sun. 

He had turned to thank Ace and gotten hit right across the cheek. Sabo had never even been slapped in the face before then. Sure, his father had believed strongly in corporal punishment, but not anywhere people could see!

“What’s the matter with you?”, Ace had hissed at him, “You nearly got both of us caught! What, you can’t do anything by yourself?”
Then he’d stormed off.

Of course, Sabo had from then on been determined to prove that he too could do things by himself. He learned pretty fast how sheltered he’d lived before. But Sabo figured out how things worked in the Gray Terminal and he’d figured out how Ace worked.
Until he had forgotten.

Fujitora was still calmly waiting for an answer. His men weren’t as patient though. Not that it took much of the Revolutionaries attention to dodge bullets and crush canons with his dragon’s claw. Vice Admiral Bastille already laid unconscious in a corner.
He only really tuned back into the fight, when the Admiral made his move. Suddenly, slices of meteor rained from above.

“I hope I didn’t hit any civilians…”, fretted the Marine. Sabo wasn’t sure if that was supposed to come out as sarcastic as it did.
His men took that as their cue to pack up shop and slowly retreated out of the radius of the fight. Good. He didn’t need to worry about frying any bystanders.

“If I recall, the previous owner of the Flame-Flame Fruit, Fire Fist Ace, described himself as the sworn brother of Strawhat Luffy.”, how nice of the Admiral to use his brother’s chosen moniker instead of the name the world government had blasted across the seas, “Do you claim the same title?”
“The three of us… are linked by a bond that cannot be severed.”, Sabo settled on.
The blind man sighed: “A troublesome trio of brothers if I’ve ever seen one.”
He grinned again, the Admiral had no Idea: “Of course. If Luffy asks for help, I’ll always race to his side! I will never…”

Sabo faltered. He probably said a bit too much, was too emotional.
He couldn’t afford to lose Luffy too. Never. Never again.

In the quiet Fujitora spoke up: “Seems there is no use in asking further questions.”
“You’re not interested anyway,” Sabo cocked his head to the side in curiosity, “Are you?”
“Well, it’s not like I have drinks for us to shoot the breeze over,” was that a trick of the light or did the corner of the stoic Admirals mouth twitch up, “right now anyway.”

Huh. He’d never been invited to socialize with an enemy before. Must come with the promotion.

Despite being very obviously unable to see with more than his observation Haki, the purple tiger of the Marines blocked Sabo’s first attack with ease.
Their little chit chat had probably given all the civilians in the area enough time to flee, there was no need for either of them to hold back.
The admiral had the gall to raise his scared brow at him.

What an interesting old man. Sabo should probably try and remember his actual name.

They had barely exchanged a few blows, before the whole street was happily burning around them.
“Strange fella, aint’cha? Isn’t your aim here to stop the Navy?”, the Marine was heavily supporting himself on his hidden sword cane, despite being barely out of breath.

Sabo rolled his eyes: “How long are you going to pretend?”
“Oh, well,” Isshō chuckled, “I thought you might spare some sympathy… for a poor old blind man.”

This fight was going to be interesting.
The revolutionary smiled back with all his teeth:
“I don’t discriminate.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“We got to scare her again!”, Usopp had hoped that Kin’emon’s friend would be able to draw him a doll that would do the trick. He’d seen his powers; it could have been so easy for that Samurai to bring a little Usopp-Jack in the box to live.

Well, new plan. The sniper started building his projectile anyway. He could use his exploding star pellets as a booster, the distance was pretty far for a normal attack…

“Were could he have gone? I cannot believe I lost Kanjuro again, after just finding him.”, Kin’ was pacing back and forth. “What if he was kidnapped?”

Usopp tried to gauge how much air resistance he’d have to fight against. Wind speed 4, slight breeze from west to east. He might need two boosters actually… That would also send the spring capsule inside in a straight line after the wrapper detached.

Brook laid a comforting hand on Kin’emon’s shoulder: “He can’t have gotten far; the first bounty hunters are only just clambering over.”
“I fear my people are desperate.”, King Riku pensively told them, “But I am sure they won’t hurt your friend, as soon as Doflamingo is defeated they will come to their senses!”

Usopp just needed something new to fill the actual capsule with. Something that was enough to scare the girl. Her nerves were probably still frayed from the last attack, it would need to be something that would startle anybody though.

“Keep them away, but I want to ensure none of them are injured!”, King Riku told his soldiers, “We only need to buy enough time for the pirate to shoot!”
“I’ll help as well!”, Brook drew his sword, making one of the nearby men, back away from him.

“Brook!”, Usopp gasped.
His friend paused and turned toward him: “Yes?”
“You can do that Ghost thing right?”, that should work. Someone scared of a grimace would probably also be scared of a real-life specter. “Can you stick it to stuff? You know, like a haunting?”
“Stick my Soul…? I don’t think so! ...I never tried.”, Brook drummed his fingers nervously against his leg.

“What? You sure? I thought anything can be a repository for a soul!”, Usopp read that in a spirit book about haunted furniture. There probably was some truth to it… Sweat beaded at his neck, as the seconds ticked by.

Brook seemed to ponder: “I usually keep some sort of connection to my body, when I let my spirit lose, so to speak. The last time I was untethered was when I actually died.”
Shit that was out then. He didn’t want to risk Brook getting lost again or worse.

“I’m sure it would be fine, I mean I found my way back eventually…”, the skeleton didn’t sound too convinced either. He’d protest more, if the situation wasn’t so dire.
 
“Wait a second,” Kin’emon cut in confused, “so you are not a O’dokuro after all? You are a ghost?”
“I honestly have no Idea how to answer this…”, Brook looked at Usopp, as if he knew what was going on.

“I shall guide the Yurei back to us. Just follow my chant! It would help if we had some incense…”, the Samurai nodded decisively.

Stunned, Usopp spoke without thinking: “What kind?”
“Something spicy would be nice.”, Brook peered over his shoulder into his bag of dried herbs, “Nothing too citrussy, or sour.”

Chopper dug through his own assortment of ingredients: “Would this do?”
Kin’emon picked through the combined collection: “We will also need a mortar and pestle, a burner and a mold.”

So, they were doing this then.
Fine. This was fine. There was no time to argue anyway.

At least some of those things were easy. “A burner, like open fire?”, Usopp asked, as Chopper handed over the small, light pestle and bowl he carried around for emergencies.

Kin’emon gratefully took the equipment and started filling it with spices and flower petals: “It’s supposed to be a small ceramic bowl filled with white ash…”

“I have a melting crucible. It’s heat resistant!” Chopper offered the shallow ceramic cup up as well.
They’d improvise then. There was fine white sand all around them, that would have to work.

As the Samurai quickly ground the cinnamon and osmanthus flowers from Usopp, with the cedarwood and rosemary from Chopper, the sharpshooter began scooping the sand into the little bowl and pressing it into a flat surface. Looking good so far.

“I wish we had some Hangoku, but it is very rare to find. This Jinko has to be enough.”, Kin’ lamented as he took a little tin of powder from his robes. Usopp made a note to ask him later, what all this was. He was sure it was bound to be more interesting, when no one was fighting in the near vicinity.
He thought of Sanji and Zoro, maybe if less people were fighting in the vicinity.

All they needed now was a mold. Not that anyone would be carrying around something like that. Usopp looked over all the people staring at them dumbfounded. No use asking them.
Reeds might work… Maybe some grassy ones? He had pellets with saber miscanthus in his pocket, bendy yet sturdy enough not to get crushed when they pressed the incense powder into it.

“The way of Kōdō is very important in my culture. The sound of the fragrance will lead your soul back to us.”, Kin’emon was helping Brook to comfortably lay on the grassy part of their hill. The skeleton looked amused, Usopp had seen him simply let his body drop to the ground where it stood before.
At least the musician looked more confident in this plan now: “I do belief the chant will be sound enough, but I appreciate the effort.”

Brook seemed to think for a moment, as Usopp picked the freshly grown blades of grass, careful not to cut himself: “I’m sure you have a lovely baritone.”
Kin’emon just blinked, a little bewildered: “Ah, yes. I am marginally gifted with musical talent…”
“Do you perhaps play the guitar?”, the poor Skeleton gestured hopefully towards the instrument, he usually carried around everywhere. 
The samurai scratched his head: “I play the Koto, is it similar?”
Brook smiled softly: “Not at all!”

They were done with the preparations. 5 Minutes, not bad.
It was going to be fine. Usopp neatly pressed the miscanthus into two spirals in the bowl, leaving space between them for the incense.

“Alright, Kin’. Do your thing.”, Usopp readied his shot, loading the capsule into the slingshot. Behind him Chopper switched into his deer form, scraping his hooves over the ground.

“Usopp!”, Viola drew his attention, “Sugar is approaching Luffy and Law right now!”
Shit.
Brook’s soul was hovering nervously over his skeleton, still attached by a whisp. Kin’emon’s chant was rising in the background.
“Don’t lose sight of them! You’re my guide right now.”, he hoped they made it in time. He would never forgive himself if his friends got hurt. After all, they trusted him to be their backup.

“Sugar is in the courtyard.”, for a moment the princess got distracted as people filled onto the platform.
“Brook hurry over here!”, Usopp fixed his eyes onto the castle in front of them, “Viola, stay focused, where exactly is the courtyard?” 
The princess lifted her hand, framing the correct floor: “Do you see the windows on the outer walls of the palace? I can see Strawhat through the frame just to the right of the center… There are bars on the glass.”
He nodded.

Brook had floated over next to him. Usopp wouldn’t even realize the weight of the implications of this whole thing until later, all his attention currently on the windows flashing in his vision: “How many bars?”

“One vertical, three across. The bottom of the pane is about 2.2 meters off the ground. Sugar’s head just about reaches the window ledge.”, Viola was a wonderful scout, very detail oriented.

“How big are the bottom panels?”, If he missed, Luffy would be gone. Who was going to save the Kingdom then? Usopp didn’t want to sail the seas without his best friend.

The answer came immediately: “50 cm wide, 40 cm long. She is right in front of them now!”

It was going to be a close call. “Brook! Get in here!”
The older man was grumbling at him, but quickly figured out how to dive into the capsule.

He aimed. Usopp stared down the window directly across from Sugar. She wouldn’t get away with this! As he tightly gripped the cradle of his slingshot, the world around him seemed to slow down.
What… He knew it was impossible, but Usopp felt like he could see Luffy standing there, next to Law and Sugar. His sight was good, but this was ridiculous.

In front of his inner eye he thought he could see how Sugar reached out her hands, touching his friends, turning them into Toys. His resolve hardened and Usopp took his shot.

It wasn’t too late yet. He knew logically that Luffy was still there, that he still remembered his captain. So, it was all fine. Good even.
Usopp knew deep down in his bones, that he didn’t miss. This was what he was good at.
He grinned.

Usopp grinned as he lost his focus on Luffy, when he was pushed to the ground by the stragglers that slipped past the King and his men. The ones that didn’t get flung into the air by Choppers horns.
He laughed as his already injured body was squashed into the dust.

Because he did it. Usopp’s projectile had exploded into the air and Brook would currently be scaring the shit out of Sugar. It worked. It definitely worked, otherwise he wouldn’t be remembering how that silly rubber boy had taken him into his crew and decided he was worth keeping around.

Usopp must look pretty unhinged as he chuckled making eye contact with Chopper, who visibly relaxed as well at the confirmation that everything was just great!

While everyone was slowly stopping their fighting, Brook and Kin’emon sat undisturbed in their corner. The chanting dutifully went on.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Don't get him wrong, Sanji was very glad to have Goji back in his sight. He just didn’t understand why the hell Franky was clinging tearfully to some rotund man in a diaper that was crying as well. 
He was still kneeling in front of his brother outside of the storage room turned prison cell. 

"I'm so sorry I left you here.", this time he was making sure that Goji stayed glued to his side. He'd deal with any complications if they reached that point.
The kid just clung tighter to his neck: "I was so scared! Being a robot was hard. I'd rather be a Cyborg like Franky." 

"I'd rather you stay you.", Sanji huffed out a laugh. Zeff used to say that kids bounced back easy, when Sanji ran around the Baratie as if he owned the place. He sure had been a little shit growing up...

"Okay... But you're not gonna forget me again, right?", a green haired head buried itself in the cook’s chest, as if to hide from the answer. He thought about all the things that could and already did go wrong around his crew. This wasn't even the first time they had to deal with memory loss. 

"No, never.", Sanji said without wasting another second. He hefted Goji up in his arms and stood up a little wobbly. It was probably unlikely that they'd meet a third devil fruit user with the ability to influence memories. And even if they did, the blond would just need to make sure that any threat stayed far away from his baby brother.

He stumbled a bit on his next step, but quickly muttered an apology to the kid in his arms and just gripped him tighter. 
"Are you okay?", Goji attempted to wiggle out of his hold, "Is your leg bothering you? Did Chopper check it?" 

He deliberately put all his weight on his healthy leg, lifted the other in an attitude devant and sat the squirmer down on his thigh at the bent of his knee. Goji stilled, his eyes shining in amazement. "Chopper checked on my leg.", true, "I'm fine. See, the bandage is off.", technically still true. Even if their doctor didn't know about that part.

His new scruffy friend chose that moment to slink out as well, the princess and her small savior sitting in the tall man's palm. He tripped.
Sanji wasn't sure on what exactly, maybe it was the malnutrition. The man definitely needed a proper meal or two. 

As they watched, the former prisoner’s free arm swung wildly for the doorway, as he tried to catch himself. There was a quiet pop and the last remaining button on his threadbare shirt fled into the distance. The man watched forlornly as it disappeared, leaving his chest bare.

Among the many pink lines and spots littering his skin, a crossed out, grotesquely smiling face tattooed over is heart starkly stood out. It didn’t look like it had been done by someone who knew what they were doing. The ink was bleeding out in some spots and in others the needle must have gone too deep. Maybe he'd scratched it while it was healing as well. It was honestly more scar tissue than Tattoo.

Sanji scrutinized the man for a second longer, as he carefully set the Tontatta on the ground. The cook couldn’t hold back a snorting laugh: "You alright there Miteux?" 

A thumbs up, then an owlish blink as the man mouthed 'Miteux' back at him and touched his hair. 
Did he understand the word? Maybe he was from the same Blue as Zeff! 

"It's not nice to call someone 'unkempt'", Goji piped up from his hip. 

The blond just hummed noncommittally and offered the Princess his hand, a Lady shouldn’t have to sit on the dirty floor, no matter her size.

"We should call the rest of the crew, make sure that Robin is okay...", Sanji wouldn’t ever admit it, but he was worried about those other idiots as well. Even Traffy, although that asshole was probably the safest out of all of them, running around with Luffy.

"You can't make calls inside the birdcage.", Franky’s odd buddy solemnly told them.
Miteux’s head snapped up concerningly fast. With a rush of air a long hiss left his mouth, as the man spotted the thick wires crossing the sky above them.
He nearly fell over, again, but quickly righted himself with a glare towards the adult man in a diaper across from them. His eyes briefly met Sanji’s.

Scruffy tapped his chest, right above his Tattoo and went right back to keeping an eye on the other stranger in the room.

“Oh right!”, Franky pushed his sunglasses up with a grin, “This is my bro Señor Pink, he defected from Doflamingo’s crew. He is going to be living an honest life from now on…” The rest of the explanation was drowned in the cyborg’s teary sobs.
But it wasn’t like the cook was overly worried anyway. Franky at least had a little bit of common sense in his head and a modicum of people skills. Sanji trusted his judgement.

A better question was, just who had Sanji let lose?

Pink for his part looked guilty. He couldn’t really meet the tall blond’s eyes.
Then he seemed to have made up his mind or something, because he too lifted his glasses from his face and straightened before a surprised Miteux: “I should apologize for my part in your fate. It doesn’t excuse how far this whole thing went, but I wish I had stepped in sooner. Done, anything really. I…”
His heartfelt confession was interrupted by the sound of Scruffy blowing a raspberry at him.

Miteux let out a soft sigh, while he waved the darkhaired man off.
With a solemn expression he pointed towards himself, then tapped his ear quickly twice, before pointing towards Pink and mimicking cradling an infant. The Señor stiffened.

“Maybe we should give them some privacy.”, Sanji whispered to Franky.
Before turning around, Sanji caught the taller of the two men making some sort of sign above his heart. He didn’t need to know the quiet language to understand someone giving their condolences.

Franky had manually turned Goji’s head back around as well, when he caught the kid staring.
“I know where Usopp and Robin went, if you wanna go somewhere safer with the Tyke. ‘Cause I don’t know if he’s going to like it when we blow this whole thing up.”

Goji started protesting, because he was a big boy – a man, that could handle anything!
But a startled gasp went through the collected army of miniature fighters around them: “You are a friend of Usoland’s too?”

“Oh no!”, Leo nearly cracked the ground when he dropped to his little knees, “We attacked a friend of the great hero!”
During the overall wailing Sanji concluded, that 1) Usopp must have told this folk some spectacular lie to have them this excited and 2) Franky was complicit as well, seeing as ‘Fraland’ was now being asked, why he didn’t tell them that Sanji was working with them?

“Hey, it’s fine. I’m not that hurt… Most of these are prior Injuries.”, the cook tried to placate them, kneeling down to pat poor brave Leo on the back. He should worry about the Princess more if he had that much energy.

Mansherry for her part, was worried even more by that admission: “Why didn’t you say you were hurt? I will heal you immediately.”
“That won’t be necessary, my sweet, but thank you.”, the cook was slowly getting overwhelmed with all the attention and had to reel in his usual reaction of defensive vitriol in front of Goji. He didn’t want his brother to think that he was like their father.

“That is a rather impressive power you have there, Princess. You shouldn’t waste it on me though, I’m fine. There might be someone who is actually hurt later and I wouldn’t want you to tax yourself on my part.”
“Are you sure? I thought I saw you limping earlier.”, the adorable Lady asked.

He was going to be fine until after the battle though. Chopper could take care of it.
“Just a sprain, nothing life threatening.”
“Oh, just a sprain! I am so relieved!”, at the reassurance not just Mansherry, but all the Tontatta around them visibly relaxed.

Sanji could only shake his head in bafflement: “We should go.”
“Are you going back to Princess Viola and the great Hero Usoland? Kabu can show you the way with the Yellow Bettle Squad!”, Leo told them excitedly, while a chill ran down Sanji’s back.
He'd die before running after an insect.

“That’s fine”, he got out with a thin voice, “We’ll find it ourselves…”
The Princess hopped gracefully from his shoulder, landing in front of the aforementioned Kabu.
He'd have protested more if Kabu hadn’t turned into a giant, creepy stag beetle at that exact moment. It was the size of Sanji’s whole head! He was sure of it.

On instinct he hoisted Goji up to his chest and stood quickly.
“Let’s blow this baby up high, Brother!”, he heard Franky holler, as he slowly backed away.

Sanji mechanically passed Miteux, making finger guns at Pink and mimicking the whistle of fireworks ending in a pop of his lips.
“I know where the weapons stash is.”, followed after him in the Señor’s voice.

The blond just gained speed as he went.
Bugs. He just hated bugs.

Goji just shrieked happily, as his big brother lifted them both high up into the air and away from the fucking army of stag beetles collecting where they just stood.

It occurred to him somewhere in the back of his mind, that he could have probably asked Señor Pink, what Miteux’s actual name was.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Brook. Please get back in your body.”, Usopp was massaging his wrists, watching the people that just tried to capture them all, sob on the floor all around them. The rope had been completely unnecessary, if they gave up so easily.

The green specter floating around them pouted, waving his freshly formed arms around: “You’re no fun.”
Brook had quickly reported back that Sugar had indeed fainted again and both their Captain and the heart pirate’s Captain were fine. Luffy had even cheered him on as he figured out how to shape his soul into more than a floating head.
It was a work in progress.

“Well, think of poor Kin’emon.”, said man was pacing in circles franticly, still chanting, “I don’t think he’ll stop until you are back in your body.”
The ghostly man stopped touching his face and playing with the whisps coming off of it. For a moment Usopp thought he’d seen a sharp nose forming, he blinked and it was gone.

People scrambled out of the way as Brook’s soul dove back into his skeleton, he stretched his nonexistent muscles and picked up his guitar.
“Is that … Soul King?”, someone muttered.

“Finally!”, Kin’emon stomped up to the closest citizen, picked them up by their lapels and started shacking them, “Where have you taken Kanjuro you fiends?”
“Who?”, the poor man stuttered out.
“The samurai with the red hair! He was just here!”, Kin’ screamed frustrated. Usopp slowly got up and laid a hand on his shoulder.

“I’ve never even seen anyone like that!”, the man desperately answered, “We were just going after the Star people! We wanted… We were just…”
He sagged into himself: “We don’t even know what we’re doing anymore. What should we do now?” The masses implored the old King for help.

Riku just stood there pensively, maybe even a little lost himself.
“If you want us to fight, we will fight!”, came the call.
“No!”, that was apparently the line the man wasn’t willing to cross. With a calming breath he said: “Why don’t we just wait and see? It will always be possible to brace yourself for death later, if need be.”
Morbid. Robin would have liked that.

“It seems you and I are betting on the same horse, King Riku.”, spoke up a new voice. A man in an admiral’s coat sat on a rock, surveying them all. Usopp hadn’t even seen him until now!
“Dressrosa once stood as a symbol of peace. I am not going to let it fall into war.”, said the admiral, the marine admiral.
A meaningful glance was exchanged between the two older men.
The sniper felt his knees go weak; did they have to fight an admiral now?

A loud bang interrupted his thoughts, the smell of gunpowder reaching his nose first.
“That was your friend Franky. They finally destroyed the Toyhouse! He’s with Senior Pink and one of the escaped prisoners. The Tontatta Pink-Bee Squad is there too… They must have freed Mansherry.”, Viola happily informed them.
“They’re flying over the first level battlefield right now! It looks like the former participants of the tournament are holding back the lower ranking officers.”

Her pupils flicked back and forth under her lids for a moment.
“Oh! Sanji is on his way to the platform”, she opened her eyes, smiling. Usopp was still confused as to how the blond had managed to somehow befriend an actual, real-life woman.
 
“Well, no use to sit around here and do nothing!”, Brook picked up his cane and sauntered over to the palace facing wall, “I think I’ll join in the fighting as well.”
His long legs stepped onto the ledge and after a little bow the skeletal Drama-king jumped down.
“What’s with your crew and that drop-off?”, mumbled the burly guard next to him. Tank?
He wasn’t wrong there.

Viola flinched, already back to spying on people. Her expression was shocked and frightened for a short second. Usopp was going to ask what happened, when a relived sob left her mouth.
“Kyros just defeated Diamante! Rebecca is safe, thanks to Robin… There are only 4 mayor powers left now: Bellamy the Hyena, the supreme officers Pica and Trebol and Doflamingo himself. We are nearly done. We are going to be free!”

At those words, the old King turned on his heel: “If the worst of the danger is over, I will go into town. There is much to be done. We can’t leave all the work to the pirates.”
Unsurprisingly Chopper spoke up too: “I’ll go as well. With the parasite strings and the birdcage, there are bound to be many injured down there.”

Slowly a surge of people got up to follow them as well. Anyone that could still move, wanted to lend their strength, anyway they could really.

Chopper carefully shook out a single pill from a sachet in his hand: “Usopp, if you feel woozy or like you’re about to pass out, take this. But only if completely necessary!”
“Yeah, Yeah. Sanji is probably going to be here soon. Don’t worry too much. Go and safe some people, Doctor!”, Usopp grinned at him, before getting another packet pressed into his hands.

“That’s against the pain. Maybe try to make Sanji take some as well, he probably strained his leg again.”, Chopper sighed out hopelessly.

A little guiltily, the sharpshooter sent him off with false reassurances: “There is no way, Sanji has managed to injure himself further.”

Seems like everyone was off now, besides himself, Viola and the worried Samurai staring into the distance. “Where is that Admiral?”, Usopp wondered aloud.

Dutifully Viola closed her eyes and searched: “He’s in town as well. It seems like they are trying to gather all the civilians in the center of the cage and keep them save.”
He nodded.

Kin’emon was resting next to him with a grim expression on his face.
Usopp tapped the man on the leg: “You know, you can go look for your friend again if you want to.”
“I’ll not leave you alone injured.”, came the clipped reply.
Sweet, but unnecessary: “I’m not alone. And right now, there is probably no safer place to be. All the fighting is going on somewhere else and no one is gunning for that bounty anymore.”
He was met with stoic quiet.
“Or just ask Viola…”

The princess shook her head sadly: “I already tried, I couldn’t find him. He could have gone to the factory, it’s made of seastone. Or he disguised himself…”
Why would he do that though? That didn’t make any sense. Maybe as a precaution?

“I could check up on Luffy and Law, if you want…”, she offered instead.
Usopp felt the hair stand up on his neck immediately.
“No thanks! I wouldn’t recommend watching that reckless idiot fight. It’s a heart attack waiting to happen! I am sure he is going to win, but before that he’s probably going to nearly die. Or fall of the building. Maybe Doflamingo is going to use his freaky puppet powers against them! Honestly, I don’t envy Law. Poor guy is going to get dragged into Luffy’s craziness. He’ll be lucky if he makes it out with all of his limbs.”, Usopp joked.

The atmosphere was getting way too heavy for his liking.
It was going to be fine. Luffy could beat Bellamy with his hands tied behind his back and Law probably had 3 insane backup plans up his sleeve, in case things went tits up.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zoro was starting to get frustrated.
First that high-pitched squeaker ran away from their match at the castle, then he hid in a giant stone body. Luffy’s new friends destroy it’s arm, the thing just grows a new one.
He thought he’d finally get to fight, after Luffy himself smacked off the statues head and the real Pica with his overcompensatingly big sword was forced to come out, but no.
The bastard runs away into the stone again!

This was barely a confrontation, the man just popping up statues of himself when he felt like it and Zoro slashing them to pieces. He had expected a bit more from a supreme officer to be honest. When the man stood still, the swordsman hit him rather easily. His stance was clunky and his sword clearly more of a heavy prop than his actual weapon of choice.

He just wanted this whole hide and seek game to be over. There was no fun in running after someone that didn’t even fight back for real.

“Rebecca’s group got away because of you!”, Pica’s grating voice accused him.
Zoro just smirked: “Don’t be humble, they only got away because of you.”
In his experience, being annoying worked surprisingly often if you wanted to get someone to face you head-on.

The statue rushed at him, trying to corner Zoro with columns that shot out of the ground left and right of him. He was sure that one appeared at his back as well, but he never found out. After all, he wasn’t going to try and get away.

Two strokes of his sword gave him enough room to swing for Pica’s stupid stoney face. Another false body down. He saw the second the life left its eyes and it returned to being dead stone again. The real castrate was probably back inside the ground.

Zoro felt the ground shake again, as another statue grew out of the floor, this one bigger than the previous ones, but not as large as the one they were fighting on. A heavy fist flew towards him.

He used his swords to block but was pushed back with the force of a sea train. It wasn’t long before Zoro was tumbling towards the ground, having misjudged the traction he had in these stupid dress shoes that came with the disguise.

For the second time today, he landed on his back in the streets of Dressrosa. Only this time he wasn’t greeted by a small annoying fairy.

There were battles all around him. Luffy‘s strays held their own against various Doflamingo officers. Zoro sat up and… got his bearings. If a voice in his head that sounded like a certain blond cook mockingly told him to stop pouting, then no one needed to know that.

Speaking of the cook, there seemed to be someone trying to give his embarrassing lovey-dovey routine some concurrence. A dark-haired woman was blushing and flirting with some harassed looking dude from their side. That pointy headed old man was shouting at the two of them, spouting some nonsense about the Happosai Army’s legacy. He thought he recognized that name from his bounty hunting days.

Love at first sight huh… Zoro didn’t really believe in it, at least not for himself. If you fell in love, it should be with someone who was your equal. How would you know that at first glance? At least fight them first.

Although, that Happosai guy and flirty Lady seemed to have already crossed that bridge. Her hand turned into a gun, as the man shouted at her. Zoro would wish them luck either way.

He should get back to his fight as well. Pica was blindly attacking anyone in the vicinity, foe or friend, all while laughing disturbingly
“Pikya, Pikya, Pikya!”, he went.
What the hell.

Behind Zoro, another high laugh started up, but this one he knew. It was a child’s laugh that already brought a smile to his own face. When he tried to spot the other green head, a spike popped up directly in front of him.
“How dare you laugh at me?”, screeched Pica gratingly.

Zoro was going to really, really kill him, if it was the last thing he did. He’d at least grievously injure him, incapacitate the bastard. Whatever… The only saving grace was, that Goji was still chittering as well: “It’s a stalagmite! A stalagmite grew out of the ground!”

He stepped around the pointy pillar. First Zoro registered the khaki, dark spotted uniform the person in front of him wore, second that they were holding their youngest crewmate.

His swords were faster than his brain, already cutting through the air, aiming for the throat.
A well-worn boot stopped them right in their tracks, before a surprised: “Zoro. What the fuck?”, reached the swordsman.

“Oh, Curly.”, good thing his reflexes were so sharp this would have been hard to explain to the crew.
Not that the blond seemed to agree: “Oh?? Are you mental? What were you trying to do? Kill the both of us?”
“Wha…? No!”, of course Zoro wouldn’t endanger the kid, “I was slicing above Gojis head, safely away from him.”
“Just me then?”, the thin leather sole, reinforced with Haki instead of the usual metal pressed harder against his blades.

Those were definitely not the cook’s shoes: “Well, I didn’t know it was you! What are you wearing?”
“A disguise?!”, curly brow leaned right in his face.
“No! I am wearing a disguise.”, Zoro gestured at the clothes Kin’emon made for him and then let his eye wander over the ballooning pants that did absolutely nothing for the cook, “That’s just sad.”

“Don’t get distracted, Strawhats!”, a shadow fell over them. Zoro could barely make out the shape of the man about to crush them, when he was punched back into the sky by that giant, that had carried around Usopp earlier.
You couldn’t even have one lousy conversation with these people around.

“He went all the way up to the cage…”, the cook said impressed.
The giant fell over after that last bit of energy left him. He really did well.

Zoro swept a bit of dust of off Gojis head, before starting to jog towards the stone giant, that had just started moving again: "Let's go, bum-leg."

"Don’t move! I need to aim."
Zoro didn’t even have the chance to ask who was aiming for what exactly.
A strong wave of pressure rushed past the three of them. It kept traveling forward, dragging the clouds above with it and ripped apart the top half of Pica’s likeness. The stone crumbled into smaller pieces, that were swept along as well. 

Next to him the cook's mouth flapped open: "You're Elizabello the King of Prudence, aren’t you?"
"You heard of me?", the man was indeed wearing a sovereign’s crown. But also boxing gloves.
"Mh-hm, something like that. Do you think that was wise? I heard you can only use this ability every hour or so.", one curly brow scrunched into a worried frown.

The swordsman had to agree. Who knew if Pica was even in that part of the statue? The answer came in the form of a hand reaching out of the ground, gripping one of the injured fighters and throwing him against the King. A few more of those trademark spikes, the officer was so fond of, circled anyone in the vicinity. Even the Pica’s own people.

“Traitors, the lot of you!”, a mouth made of brick and mortar tried to swallow the weapons broad, who got pulled out of the way narrowly by Happosai-guy.
The ground sunk and lifted unpredictably, even the actual giant in their midst was flung about.

“Shit!”, Zoro made to help their allies in some way, when his blond friend grabbed his arm. 
"It's a distraction, look!", the cook was pointing at the stump of the statue, where slowly but surely Pica was resurrecting his shell.

The monument’s head turned towards them with a glare: "All of you disrespectful little ants. You don’t even know how lucky you were to be living in blissful ignorance. This whole rebellion is an eyesore. Do you know who is over there, on the royal plateau?"

Elizabello snarled up at him: “King Riku Doldo the Third of Dressrosa!”

"Former King Riku! Dressrosa's only King is Doflamingo now. Violett and that god of the Toys are there as well.", an enormous grin split the stony face, "All the people the young master hates on one silver platter."

The behemoth started to slowly make his way across the town.
Elizabello mumbled: "My friend, I have doomed you..."

"We have to hurry! Ms. Viola is over there as well!", of course that womanizer had made off with Goji in his arms before Zoro could even start to think of a plan. One punch of that colossal hand would be enough to bury their friends.
"He's too far, we won't make it in time!", he shouted at the black clad back in front of him.
The pervert-moron just spit back a: "Wanna bet?"

"Where's your snail? We have to warn them!", growled out the swordsman.
Goji’s head popped over his brother’s shoulder: "They don't work in the cage, Pink told us!"
Disregarding who the hell Pink was, they needed a plan and quick. Could Usopp hear them if they yelled? Yeah, no. 

His flying swords slashes would never reach that thing, before it could raise its fist. Not to think about jumping onto its back. Curly probably could... but with the kid in his arms? That was too easy a target. 
He'd have to be the one to fly across the air and cut that bastard down.

The swordsman turned his head towards the other Strawhat: "Curly-brow, remember the Davy Back Fight?" 
He was has the lights flickered on in the cook’s head. He squinted, seemingly measuring the distance himself as well. Zoro was graced with one of those rare genuine smiles from the blond.

"Let's do it!", he lifted Goji higher in his arms, urging the boy to climb on his shoulders mid-run. His delicate hands curled around thin shins dangling around the cook’s head. 

Then the blonde gained speed, easily overtaking Zoro, who had to put in some effort to even appear to be keeping pace. 
The cook slid to a stop well ahead at the furthest point of their platform. "Ready, mosshead?"

Pica had already reached the plateau: “Riku, you thought the people would love you again, after they realized their ten-year long mistake? Have you forgotten that your pacifism already failed to protect them?”

Zoro slid Wado between his teeth and gripped his remaining swords tighter. Full speed ahead. When he reached the cliffside himself, he jumped up high. For a moment the swordsman was in freefall until the arch of one thin boot caught the soles of his feet.

Suddenly he was launched forward, the wind pressed into him from all sides. In a split-second Pica was in front of him: “Saints never leave their mark on history. I will make sure no one will ever remember you.”
He heard Usopps loud voice panicked and frantic under him: "Kin' hold the damn handle steady!"

One slice, he'd bisected the top and bottom half again, Pica had fled into the top. Two slices, three, and now four pieces were falling towards the platform. The quick footed blond was already hot on his heels, kicking the bigger parts at the bottom towards the sharp strings of the cage.

Zoro kept on cutting the stone into smaller and smaller bits, chasing the supreme officer. With the stone still in the air he couldn’t escape into the ground. The man was finally forced to show his ugly head: “Do you really think you can defeat me by cutting into my shell? With armament Haki I am invincible! You’re finished!”

“That’s assuming your Haki is greater than mine.”, when he finally caught the bastard, Pica was predictably easy to defeat. It took merely a single attack to break through the other’s defenses and leave him to helplessly fall to the ground.
Still, it was nice to see that he had mastered coating his swords in armament.

Smaller pieces of debris and rock, somehow on fire, rained down around him. How did Kin’emon do that without devil fruit powers? Well, with completely unrelated devil fruit powers. 

Zoro pushed himself off one of the bigger pieces of ruble, towards the plateaus wall.
His fingers buried into the cracks of the brick. There were vines slowly creeping towards him.

The plants kept snatching at anything that touched them, mainly boulders, and curling around the offending attacker until the stone splintered. He really hoped that they wouldn’t try to catch him too.
Carefully, Zoro climbed up the wall around the way too sentient greenery.

There, the ledge from earlier.
He had just reached over it with his arm, planning to heave his body up as well, when strong hands grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt, dragging him upwards.

“Finally!”, the cook was a terrible help, clinging to him, lifting Zoro up and not really letting him get his footing at all, “I thought you hit your dumbass head on the way down!”

He was still not let go, despite now very much standing on his own. There seemed to be hands fluttering all over his body, assessing for any damage. Finally settling on his shoulders, standing… very close.

He was grinning at Zoro in palpable relief.

Ah. The swordsman felt a smug smile tug at his own lips.
“Finally got your head out of your ass, huh?”
He waited for the kick to the side, that didn’t come.
Oh shit, for real? He thought it would take at least another two years for the blond to even admit to liking him as a person.
 
Instead, the other man tried to step back with a blush: “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Zoro finally hugged him back, hooking his chin over his shoulder and making sure the idiot didn’t run away in embarrassment or some other such bullshit: “Nothing, curly-brow. Maybe I’ll tell you later.”

He could see Usopp trying to shush Goji, as the two laughed at each other. At least Kin’emon was discreetly looking in another direction, pretending not to smile as well.
Oddly enough, even the cooks new woman-friend was happily watching them.

Zoro flipped Usopp the bird, when the sharpshooter held the kid’s eyes closed. Just to be safe.

Chapter Text

CONTENT WARNING for the first section:
Suicidal thoughts

What bliss it was to be in love. Your heart beats faster, that giddy feeling in your stomach when the man you love tells you they want you to be around, need you to be around.

Baby 5 thought that there was no higher heaven, when Sai of the Kano Kingdom said that he didn’t care that his grandfather wanted to him to marry another woman. It didn’t matter what obstacles were in their path.

As always, her happiness was short lived though, as her new fiancé ripped himself from her grasp.
“How could I be with you?”, his face was a grimace of anguish, “If I let you walk away, my attempt at repaying my debt to the Strawhat will be nothing. We have got to take down the officers. Prepare yourself woman!”

Her Star-crossed love was prepared to go against his own family, but not his sense of duty. What a marvelous man! So different than the lowlifes that had used her kindness before.
He needed her.

“You want to do something for me? Die.”, he smiled when he said this, readying his weapon.

At least this way, her death had a purpose.
“Okay.”, Baby 5 smiled back at Sai, “As long as it will help, I’ll gladly die for you!” She turned her hand into a revolver, sure and sleek, pointing it at her own head. She didn’t hesitate.
After all, Sai needed her.

Her poor fiancé instantly regretted having to ask this of her, rushing forward to stop his love.

What bliss it was to be in love. Someone who wanted her to be with him but couldn’t keep her, not like her mother, who never had wanted her but had been burdened with Baby 5’s existence anyway. No one had expected her to survive this long, she hadn’t even been tolerated enough to be given a real name. Afterall why name something destined to die?

At the very least, Sai had given her this gift. A meaningful death. A death with purpose, her last act of helpfulness. What more could she ask for really?
Just as she was about to pull the trigger, Baby 5 felt a sharp jerk as a strong hand wrapped around her barrel: “Stop it!”

Behind Sai rose the imposing figure of Don Chinjao, his pointed head coated in Haki.
“Sai! You disgrace the Happosai name! Stopping an enemy’s death?”, the old man’s attack came towards them like a hammer. She was only causing problems for Sai, it would be easier if she just shot herself right now… “This is my problem Grandfather!”

He wouldn’t let her though – Sai stood up to his family’s patriarch. He knocked his Grandfather’s attack right off track and turned back to her, determined. Her fiancé jerked her hand-gun out of the way, before slapping her right across the face: “What is wrong with you?!”

 
“I was only trying to help you…”, she whispered shell shocked.
There was an unreadable expression on Sai’s face, as he sighed: “I guess no one has ever forced you to stop doing that. Sit tight.”

Of course, Baby 5 would do whatever her darling asked of her, but she was stunned. She barely made out the tearful blessing Grandfather gave their betrothal. Force her to stop? What did that mean? Did it bother Sai, when she tried to help? Was she too pushy? A lot of her relationships ended, because Baby 5 had forced her company on the men she loved too much. Maybe he’d need her to stay quietly in the background, like Doffy did. Baby 5 was determined to not become a burden on Sai as well.

Her mussing’s were interrupted when Lao G, another one of the Donquixote family’s officers, barreled into the old Don.

“You, Kano Kingdom Monkey! You cannot take Baby 5 away! She belongs to the young master!”, Lao G cracked his neck while walking towards Sai, “Have you ever seen a woman this useful? She would give her everything if someone asked.”

Is that what they thought of her?

Baby 5 was so happy! She never knew that they needed her this much, she always thought no one would care if she were to leave! Or die.

Sai was awfully quiet. Maybe it would be best for her to go back and…
With one powerful kick, Lao G was out cold.

“Don’t you dare disrespect my future wife like that.”, Sai snarled at Lao G, “I don’t need her to do anything more than live happily.”

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Rubble settled all around them, ominously creaking and cracking.
Maybe, just maybe, Bartolomeo had overdone it. But what is a man supposed to do, when he get’s boosted up by someone he admires? How was he supposed to not let Miss Robin’s praise go to his head?

He hears some of the enemy soldiers’ groan in pain. That Gladius guy really had no mercy even for his own men huh? That was one massive explosion the other man created.
“Damnit! No, Dellinger!”, shouted the man with the freaky spiky hairdo.

Before Bartolomeo even really registered, that he was there, Cavendish had taken down that scrawny looking fishman. It was eerie how fast that blond airhead could suddenly move. The same thing had happened in the Colosseum earlier, hadn’t it?
He was awfully quiet as well, considering his incessant complains earlier, about Bartolomeo not letting him into his barrier, Bartolomeo letting him back out of his barrier too slow or Bartolomeo using his barrier in the fight… In fact, that bitch had an awful lot to say about anything the green haired man did!

Not now though. Now the stuck-up nobleman slowly turned towards the barrier with a freaky grin stretching his face, his eyes looked like they were rolled into the back of his head… creepy.
If Bartolomeo hadn’t recognized the flowy blouse and frilly pants with the stars on the knees, he would have said this was a completely different person.

One second to the next, Bartolomeo swore he had only blinked, and a delicately forged rapier scraped across the invisible protective wall… just in front of his neck.
“Hey! What the hell are you doing?”, he screeched towards the silent figure, “We’re on the same side asshole!”

No answer, just the wind carrying a jolly tune towards them. Maybe that was just Bartolomeo’s imagination.
Although, he could swear that the humming was getting louder.
Bravely, he tried to get the blonds attention again: “You better stop goofing around…”
Just an unsettling grin and a cocked head.

It definitely wasn’t in Bartolomeo’s head; the sound was getting closer! The humming came from above them. He squinted against the sunlight in his eyes.
There seemed to be a figure slowly descending from the heavens. Oh great, just what they needed, another opponent.

“What in the world is that?”, the rude fucker covered in golden chains and gears wasn’t one to talk, because there, waving serenely at Miss Robin as she ran across the wall, was none other than the one and only: “Soul King!”

It didn’t really matter that they were still technically in a fight and that Gladius had fished a snail out of his coat. Bartolomeo would sell his right arm just to live in this moment forever. The skeleton smiled at him and asked quietly: “Oh my, are you a fan?”

He couldn’t answer through the grateful tears filling his eyes, his breath stuck somewhere in his chest. The nervous man nodded enthusiastically and stumbled forward while desperately scrambling to find his autograph book in his pocket: “Pls, I… can I… Mister Soul King…”

Trembling hands offered the Journal to the singer/songwriter/pirate.
“An autograph? No problem.”
The pen touched paper, Bartolomeo was hypnotized, this would be the first autograph he got from a Strawhat…

Soul King stumbled forward.
“What?”, there was a thin sword sticking out of the material of the Strawhat’s coat. He traced a delicate skeletal finger from the tip of the blade across the edge until he hit his own chest. There was a surprised expression on his skull, as he threw a look over his shoulder.
He scrambled away from Cavendish, who had yet to take his hand of the damn hilt, as the rapier slid cleanly out of Soul King’s rib cage.

“What a frightening expression! And here I thought this was your friend!”, a little unsure, but prepared as expected of a member of the future pirate King’s crew, the man had drawn his own sword as well.

Bartolomeo would never forgive that cabbage for interrupting this special once in a lifetime moment: “Friends? No way, reluctant ally maybe…”
As they watched Cavendish seemingly fought with himself now.
At least he was talking to himself, very angrily too: “I never authorized you to show your face Hakuba!”

The one and only Soul King hesitantly lifted his own sword, waiting for another attack.
“These two are Luffy’s friends: Rooster and Cabbage.”, while Bartolomeo started badly at the sound of Miss Robins Voice, the Skeleton just nodded and lowered his sword.
His heart was pounding. Him? Mister Luffy’s friend? Did Mister Luffy actually say this?
Bartolomeo shouldn’t cry, it would look uncool.

“I see, ... I assume it means I shouldn’t fight that haunting Prince over there?”
“That would be best, yes. He might try to kill you again either way though.”, the disembodied voice cheerfully told them, “I’ve heard of Hakuba before, during my time with the revolutionaries. Looks like he is some kind of sleepwalking personality, how interesting!”
“What a hassle.”, the skeleton huffed.
Bartolomeo had to agree, it was like watching two people argue over nothing.
“Don’t worry Mister Soul King! I’ll make sure he doesn’t cut you again!”

He got a precious, toothy grin back: “Is that right? Why thank you Mister Rooster. Why don’t you call me Brook though? A friend of my Captain is a friend of mine after all!”
He was too bright to look at, Bartolomeo was going to go blind in the face of such kindness. Better to look at the idiot seeming to finally catch himself over there.

Cavendish was breathing slowly, like he was trying to ward off a nasty headache. Or maybe he was just about to fall asleep again, Bartolomeo had seen him just fall over before. The ground in front of the blond looked weird though… Kind of swollen, like an overripe zit. Something was niggling in the back of his mind. He forgot something.
What though?

His eyes wandered over the growing ground pustule, there was that leather clad perv again.
That full body rupture man as he called himself… Oh shit!

It was a split-second decision, not a decision at all really, that made him push forward one of his barriers sweeping both Haku-dish (or whoever) and Gladius off their feet.

Better put another shield between the softly snoring blond and the enemy getting up angrily:
“Because of you, Nico Robin got away. But don’t worry, after we’re done with you, I’ll personally blow her into hell.”

What a weirdo. He was rolling his head from one shoulder to the other and again only Bartolomeo’s quick thinking saved him from getting offed by a fucking needle to the brain. The offending sharp projectile harmlessly dropped to the floor. He hadn’t even noticed Combustion man throwing anything. At a closer look… was that his fucking hair?

Gladius just chuckled: “You should have more awareness of your surroundings. It’s a bit selfish to hide behind that barrier of yours all on your own, isn’t it? Your poor friend won’t stand a chance against the poison in my quills.”

What was that bastard talking about? Cavendish was locked under a little dome for both their safety and already grinning like a madman again. Bartolomeo must have knocked him down a bit harder than he intended.

“How rude.”, a melodious voice reminded the punk, that there was another player on the field. He wiped around watching Mister Soul… Brook pick quills out of his Afro, “If both sides are just going to attack me, I’ll leave you to your battle!”

Crazy Hakuba started giggling, stating in a sing song voice: “You can’t kill that which is already dead!” 

There was an odd moment, where the skeleton seemed to show his agreement with a little finger gun at the figure writhing on the ground, before a shrill voice hissed behind them: "You! Don't think you can get away, you artless poser!" 

The colorful woman cursing out the Soul King seemed to be fuming. Stomping closer with a pastel-colored storm brewing between her fingers. Bartolomeo really didn’t know what was happening around him anymore.
Mister Brook scoffed, trying to answer but quickly ducking out of the way, as he was interrupted by the cloud being thrown at him. "AGAIN?!"

It sailed right over his curled head of hair, closely past Bartolomeo's face, who hadn't expected the attack at all, and it broke apart against his barrier. 

"Hah! Did you see that Mister Brook? My barriers are impenetrable!", he might have cheered a little early, since the dust seemed to spread and cover the invisible shield until Cavendish wasn't visible at all anymore. That was probably not good. He could still feel the barrier... kind of. It felt weird now. It also looked off. Like an ornately painted egg. The kind you would find in certain kingdoms during the spring celebrations, just human sized. 

"I will get my revenge, Soul King!", the woman was shaking her fist at them.
Bartolomeo blinked confused: “Who the hell even is that now?”
Mister Brook just sighed: “That’s one of Doflamingo’s officers. Giolla. We met before.”

A thin but sturdy sword pierced the shell of the egg, cleanly gliding through it from top to bottom. Hakuba hatched like a disturbed Cuckoo, charging at the large woman.
Bartolomeo was busy holding back the other deranged killer, that was threatening them. Still, he watched Giolla’s futile attempts to hit a man fast as the wind. 

Not that he was glad in any way, that she couldn’t catch that shiny asshole! He didn’t think she would. If Barto could barely see him, that rotund woman had no chance!
She seemed to agree as well, as she gave up throwing her attacks at unsuspecting stones and plants, to create a barrier of mist around herself.
“I may not be able to touch you, but none of you will ever reach my beauty now!”

Bartolomeo grumbled some choice expletives under his breath. That idea stealing bitch.

“Try and cut me now, you dried up bag of bones!”, what did that asshole Gladius  just call Mister Brook?
Bartolomeo covered his fists in a sturdy bubble, ready to throw hands to defend the Rockstars honor if need be.

Awww Shit. What the hell was he looking at now?

Gladius had turned into a big old leather ball, a balloon if he ever dared to compare that fuckface to his wonderful Mister Luffy.

“If I blow up now, I’ll take all of your friends with us ‘Soul King’. You may not be affected by my poison, but they sure are!”, the spiky haired silver fox pointed at a screeching Hakuba.
The demon man seemed frustrated; he had abandoned attacking Giolla in favor of circling Gladius.

“Go on and cut me you lunatic.”, there was an unhealthy amount of glee in the man’s voice.
Hakuba must know that they were stuck now. He turned his unhappy grimace towards Bartolomeo.

Just in case he should probably erect a shield… “I knew it! You psychopath!”
Not having any other option Hakuba kept bouncing his sword uselessly off of Bartolomeo’s barrier: “Stop that you Idiot. We’re on the same side, in case you forgot!”
That man had the nerve to hiss at him.

Then, silence. Did he get bored?
No, he fell asleep. Again.
Cavendish’s body started to sway precariously. His face relaxed and princely again.

As he fell forwards, Bartolomeo let his barrier blink in and out of existence and caught the blond. Now he was standing there awkwardly with that big headed noodle in his arms. What a life.
He heard a feminine giggle to his right: “It’s like Dr. Jekyll and Captain Hyde! You know the story, don’t you Gladius?”

The bloated man huffed: “Just break his barrier so we can finally end this farce.”
With a rather annoyed eyeroll Giolla complied, sending another colorful cloud towards them.

Bartolomeo’s heart beat faster, he couldn’t really run away while maneuvering that sack of potatoes. What would Mister Luffy do?
Protect his friends.

He turned them around, dipping Cavendish while covering him with his body.
“Ah. Young Love is such an inspiration! I have just the song floating in my mind!”, humming, Brook stepped between them and the other artist.
His sword had turned. What looked like long hair popped out the tip of the blade, as the whole thing curved, the flowing strings attaching back at the base.

Giolla grinned meanly: “Looks like you finally got a real bow for your poor abused Violin. I’m so nice, I’ll let you play your own death march!”

She snapped her fingers and a barrage of odd-looking creatures emerged from the mist around her. They were four legged and colorful as all her other creations, just as mishappen too.
Some had twisting horns curling round and round themselves and some had the dead eyed stare of a painting not quite life like enough to pass as… well living.

He was still staring dumbfounded at the stampede coming towards them, when a hand pushed at his face from below.
“Move that barrier you brute!”, just woken up and already so demanding, “And let me go already!”
Even as himself, Cavendish was fast with his sword. Sprays of blue, yellow and green liquid sprayed like blood all around them.

Not one to sit by idly, while his comrades fought their battles, Barto concentrated on the still ticking timebomb. He might not be as good with a blade as the other two, but he still had his trusty little knife. One cut should be enough to pop that bastard.

Mister Brook was still dancing around whatever Giolla threw at him, and Cavendish looked like he had been bathed in paint.
“What are you doing?”, the blond had noticed him putting up a bubble around himself and Gladius.
He just needed one hit and that giant blueberry wasn’t going anywhere.

“I hope you’re not stupid enough to try anything ‘Rooster’. You realize if I explode here, you’re dead as well?”, Gladius mocked him. “Even if you survive the explosion, my poison will finish the job in the next hour.”
If he hit him in the jugular, the asshole would bleed out in the next hour as well.
Bartolomeo aimed.

It was blinding, to be in the center of an explosion. He definitely felt several sharp little spines pierce his skin.

He landed on his back hard enough to knock the wind out of himself. It took a few seconds for Bartolomeo’s ears to stop ringing, but then he heard the mocking chuckle. Quietly at first, but then getting louder, clearer, as the dust settled.
Fuck. He had missed.

He felt slow as he tried to get up, Gladius walking towards him, his shoulder was sluggishly bleeding. To Bartolomeo’s defense, it was quite hard to guess where the neck ended and the arms started in a round object.
“That. Was an incredibly stupid move. But what did I expect from…”, the mocking words were cut short by a thin blade going through the man’s chest. The rapier lead to a furious face framed in blond locks.

“Honestly, I’m not sure if you were trying to upstage me or get my attention, but you definitely failed one and marginally succeeded in the other.”
Gladius’ body dropped heavily to the floor. There was no telling if he was dead or knocked out.
 
Mister Brook had turned his head towards them: “Are you alright? Do you think you could get one last barrier up? It is getting quite dense around here!”

For the Soul King, Bartolomeo would put up a multiple layer barrier even if it killed him.
“Ah, no, not around me.”, the Skeleton chuckled, “I do appreciate the sentiment, but focus on you and your friend there. I’ll take on the rest.”

Not his friend. Bartolomeo didn’t have the strength to protest though, even his crest hurt.
Mister Brook took out a Violin from between his ribs, glaring briefly at Cavendish when he found a shallow gash at its side and lifted his weird bow.

“Let’s collaborate one last time my dear.”, at the first chord a solid line lifted itself from the strings. It was one of those notepaper lines, littered with the round bobbing notes the musician played.
What were they called again?
“A staff.”, Cavendish said, “The line is called a staff.”
Did he ask that out loud?

The blond sent him a worried look. He kneeled down and started to pull at the quills in his skin. Bartolomeo didn’t even feel them, it just felt a little numb, like his leg fell asleep.
He did complain about Cavendish blocking his view of the magnificent fight in front of them though.

“Is that really important right now?”
It was the most important. It was Mister Brook fighting life in front of him and he was allowed to call him Mister Brook, adding to the fact it was basically a personal Soul King performance! What could be more important?
“Your life, you imbecile.”

He just grumbled and tried to push himself up enough to at least look over Cavendish’s shoulder.
Bartolomeo caught a glimpse at a frustrated Giolla fuming and throwing clouds, while the nimble, thin man danced circles around her playing his music. The air was filling with notes floating softly all around them.

It was beautiful, until his barrier was hit and turned into canvas. Now his view was blocked again!
Worse, it was staring at him. There was no other word for it. The whole thing was blank except for the eyes painted right in the middle… creepy.

He wondered what would happen if he just… dropped his barrier.
The canvas floated slowly to the ground, landing in a little heap. Not what he expected, but he could enjoy the show again.

That awful artist Lady pushed the staves and notes out of her way as she single-mindedly chased after Mister Brook. She was getting out of breath, panting: “Is this all you’re capable of, running? I thought you said you wanted to fight?”

The Soul King stopped and stared at her: “You know, a true artist should be able to self-reflect. They shouldn’t make the same mistake twice.”
Bartolomeo wondered for the first time how those two knew each other.

Mister Brook played one final chord on his Violin, twisting the bow in the air. Then he put away his Instrument and rested the bow at his side.

All the lines suddenly tangled around them, the notes hooked into each other’s staves and wouldn’t let go. Giolla was wrapped up, trapped like a fly in a spider’s net! How breathtaking, the strategy, the artistry.

Bartolomeo could hardly keep watching, even as the angry woman wiggled and pushed at the ropes holding her. After a while of pulling futilely at her bindings, she turned and grinned at Mister Brook.
With a poof of colorful smoke, the lines disappeared, the canvas on the floor disappeared and even the odd creature blood disappeared from Cavendish’s form, his golden hair shining in the sun again.

“Did you really think I would fall for something so simple? So… artless?”, a trembling, well-manicured finger lifted itself to point at Mister Brook.
He just strolled up to her: “Well no. But it was a grand concerto. Wasn’t it?” As Mister Brook passed her, he slid his sword back into his cane.

The skeleton smiled at them: “Shall we go Mister Rooster, Mister Cabbage?”
And Giolla dropped to the floor.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That ungrateful traitor lay bleeding at Doflamingo’s feet. It had been so easy to tear through flesh, sinew and bone to detach Law’s right arm just above the elbow. Like ripping off a doll’s head.
And still the boy was as tenacious as ever. He struggled to a sitting position, trying to hold his sword in his left hand. While Kikoku trembled in his grip, Law had the audacity to glare at him still.

“Give up already.”, Doflamingo had already won, “Go on, be at ease. You failed to beat me alone, so why challenge the both of us?”

Trebol was his last remaining family member still standing and it would take a miracle to take down that old bastard.

“Poor Law, born in the diseased hell of white town with a short and painful death hanging over your head… No wonder you put all your trust in my dear Brother saving you. He did manage to draw your life out just a little bit longer, didn’t he?”, the warlord pondered, his gun heavy in his hand.
And what did it bring them in the end.

The prodigy that he had planned to cultivate into his right-hand man was nothing more than a vengeful ghost. Living on sheer hatred for Doflamingo himself.
“What a meaningless thirteen years you spent.”

It was a shame that Law had to die like an old mutt put down in some alley.
“Why not make use of your final moments? Use your Fruits ultimate Power on me, the immortality operation and I’ll grant you what ever you desire, before you die.”, a generous offer for a street dog.

“Anything? If you’re honest that’s a though deal to pass up…”, Law panted out, as he grinned at Doflamingo from where he leaned against the ruble, “I want you to bring Cora back to live right now…”

That cheeky little shit. Despite himself, the man had to chuckle. A joyless laugh that just didn’t seem to want to stop.
Law kept on taunting him anyway.

What a joke.
He fired a single shot from his pistole.
The brat screamed out in pain again and fell back to the ground. Law tried to crawl away, but he wouldn’t let him.

One kick to the stomach made him crumble.
“Cora, huh? And that symbol on your back… Corazon, you even named your crew the heart pirates! What are you insinuating? You won’t even sit on the heart throne.”, the shots kept ringing in the air as he kept on firing until Law finally just laid with his face in the dirt and shut up, “I didn’t kill my brother! I may have shot him, but you were the one that left him in the snow to die. Weren’t you Law? You ran away like a coward instead of facing up to your mistakes and now you want to claim Rosi as your own? Enough of your meddling.”
The magazine was empty, but he just couldn’t keep his finger from pulling the trigger back again and again.

He watched the still figure at his feet. It wasn’t the first dead body he had seen, not even close to the first person he had killed, but for some reason Doflamingo felt uneasy.
His permanent smile dropped from his face as he made to turn what was left of Law around, just to try and see what Rosinante had seen…

“Doflamingo!”, the Strawhats howl cut through the strange quiet.
Bellamy had lost then. He knew that Bellamy would keep on fighting to his death and he suspected the young Captain had sensed that as well. Had he offed Bellamy after all then?
And after all the protestations as well.

A rubbery fist broke through the floor, as the rest of the furious Pirate followed. Good. An angry enemy was an unfocused one. And Doflamingo needed to gather himself as well.

“Took you long enough.”, he mocked the kid, “I would even say you took a little too long…”
A Haki covered fist came for him: “Shut up! You knew Bellamy wouldn’t run!”

It was an easy attack to deflect and Doflamingo immediately counter struck with his strings. They flowed together like a flurry of snow being swept away in the wind and chased the Strawhat around. He was harder to catch than he looked, seemingly being encased in a ball of strings and then suddenly appearing out of thin air somewhere else.

Whoops, he had nearly stepped on Laws bloody corpse when he tried to get a better view of the springy kid.
“Bellamy huh? And here I was talking about your dear friend Law. He trusted you; you know? Still saying that your crew would perform some sort of miracle and save this country. Poor guy, you couldn’t even save him.”

In shock, the kid stopped moving completely. His eyes were wide and fixed on the bleeding body behind the King: “You’re lying.”
Doflamingo chuckled: “Does it look like I’m lying? See for yourself.”
He grabbed Law’s remaining arm and threw him like a ragdoll towards the boy he had dragged into this mess. Strawhat scrambled to catch him, as if a dead man could get hurt any further.

“I’m a little disappointed honestly, I expected more of a fight. Let’s wrap this up, Strawhat.”, honestly, he was tired of this whole game. He just wanted to be done with this whole country. It was time to speed things up. He dragged his fingers through the air, pulling at his strings.
“So, I’m changing the rules. As you can see the birdcage is shrinking. You have about… one hour left before this is all over.”

He grinned at the new determination that had suddenly gripped the Strawhat: “That only means, that your friends died a bit before you did.”
Doflamingo braced himself for another of those armored punches with a blown-up fist, but the boy disappeared in midair.

Not like he did before, this was something else… This was Law’s doing.
Just as he thought this, the man himself appeared in the Strawhats place and suddenly a searing pain shot through his body. He could barely hear the explanation of this vicious attack through the feeling of his organs rupturing.

He screamed as he fell to his knees.

Quickly.
He never had to do this on a scale like this, at least not on his own body. Doflamingo had some practice though, knitting himself back together. His strings were slowly sewing the cuts inflicted on him internally. That little conniving bastard sure had had one impressive ace up his sleeve.

“Law! What have you done to Doffy?”, Trebol was swiftly kicked out of the way by the Strawhat.
This moment seemed to be reserved for the swaying Doctor and Doflamingo himself.

“You brought together people you could use and called them a family. And when your own Brother tried to stop your madness… You killed him.”, …
It hurt when Doflamingo laughed, blood pooled in his mouth and dripped down his chin: “It was such a shame, that he betrayed me… Never thought he would turn a gun on me.”
 
Law seemed to be feeling his blood loss as well, at least he sounded rather delirious now: “You knew Cora would never be able to pull the trigger. He was too kind… But I could have.”
Doflamingo laughed: “I bet you could have. You’re even more ruthless than me. I could never have left my poor little brother in the snow.”
He was nearly done. Just a few more stitches.

“Countershock!”, at Laws word, lightning seemed to curse through his body.
It hurt like all hell again, even more so as his twitching pulled at Doflamingo’s fresh stitches.
Bear it. The kid was already falling over in exhaustion.

Law was breathing heavily: “I wish you had died that day.”
And he fell. Poor sap.

Slowly Doflamingo lifted himself up again. “A touching speech really.”
“What?”, look at that stunned little bug on his back.
“It’s all in how you use your powers.”, he didn’t quite explain, “Thanks for self-destructing. Now I can finally stomp you out for good.”

Before the sole of his pointed espadrille could connect with Law’s soft little head, it was stopped. By a tiny little sandaled foot, no less.
“Why did you stop me?”, he mustered the eerily still Strawhat, “I was only going to split Law’s skull in two.”

He wasn’t actually going to kill him… not yet, it would be such a hassle to find the Ope Ope fruit again. That didn’t stop that scraggly little rat, Monkey D Luffy from kicking his ankle away from his friend’s prone form.

He’d make an example of Law when he had the time. For now, Doflamingo had another annoying brat to take care of.

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“What do you think you’re doing?”, a feminine voice shouted after the 3 men strolling through the factory causing carnage.

The first explosion had destroyed a lot of the machinery and production equipment, but the rest of the Smile Garden proved to be a bit sturdier. 
Franky had started firing missiles indiscriminately around the room, while the Tontattas used the rubble as projectiles to at least take down the inner walls. 

"Señor! Are you sure this is right? That is Cyborg Franky one of the one-star convicts, the master is looking for!", the manager was still sticking close to them nervously looking at the blond throwing a Molotov into the trees. 

She would not stop her yapping, honestly starting to get on Pinks nerves. What was her name again? The woman was nervously wringing her hands around her whip. 
"All the Tontattas are going to be hard to herd back to the garden...", she seemed to remember that there soon would be no more Smile production and no Garden, "Señor, the workers are all outside waiting for instructions. What do I tell them is going on? Shouldn't we evacuate like the rest of the family?" 

Pink couldn't stand this incessant babble. He grabbed her around the neck and drew her down towards himself. 

Muaw. One small peck to the mouth and she was finally blessedly quiet. The big woman sank to her knees blushing furiously.

There was a sudden stunned silence all around them. The little people were gapping at him and the manager. Franky was raising a disapproving eyebrow at him and... actually that was all. That clumsy idiot had left.
"What?", asked Señior Pink. The forewoman was still hiding her face in her hands, "Oh stop that. A woman in her 30s shouldn't act like that."

He was getting a bit uncomfortable with all the attention. 
The big Cyborg shook his head: "Not cool bro. You can't just smack one on someone like that." 
"What are you spouting about?", no one batted an eye at his antics usually. He wasn't really used to caring about anyone else's opinion honestly.

The blue haired man lowered his glasses and looked him in the eye: "Just saying, if someone treated my Kiwi or Mozu like that, I'd punch their lights out. Don't you have someone like a little sister in your crew?" 
Señior Pink thought of all the suitors he had to keep away from poor Baby 5.
Shit. That had been real asshole behavior.

He looked at the Girl peeking out behind her Fingers at him: "Hey,... you. I apologize. I wanna make it up to you. What do you want?"
There seemed to hush a dozen calculations past her eyes in a second, then: "Go out with me!" 

What? Ah, well he said he would take responsibility for his actions. He hadn’t been on a date in a decade though. "Fine. What's your name again? Let's meet after this is all over." 

"Kyuin!", a grin spread over her freckled cheeks. He reminded him a bit of his late Russian.
He nodded: "I should warn you though, I left the family." 

He heard the Tontattas whisper amongst themselves: "Is the Señor in love with the factory manager?" A bit early for that, wasn't it?

Poor Kyuin was stuttering now: "You tricked me! You liar! Ohhh... I am so dead. Doflamingo will have me killed."
Pink helped her up, she was quite tall, huh?
She was a big woman in general, muscular but still soft and curvy. She could probably crush him with…

Visually she was the complete opposite of Russian, if he was honest.
Thinking about it, he didn’t mind though. There was a pretty face behind that half mask, even though it was creased with panic at the moment.

"Don't worry. The date doesn't have to be in Dressrosa."
She smacked him. Kyuin didn’t need to do that, he would have helped her of the Island regardless of the date. It was his responsibility as a man, for putting her in danger and then also making her complicit by telling her about it… Not his best moment he admitted.

Franky laughed: "You kind of deserved that."

There was a creaking sound coming from the walls. Was it just Pink’s imagination or…: “They’re moving.”
Indeed, it seemed like the whole building was slowly scooching forwards.
“Alright, everybody out!”, bellowed the Cyborg.

Señor Pink hung back for a bit, just to make sure every single one of those little menaces made it out. Including Franky, who was herding the Tontatta in front of him. 

"You too, bro!", a giant blue hand waved at him.

He would have kept standing still, if Kyuin hadn't simply picked him up and carried him out under her arm as if he was nothing more than a bag of potatoes: "Sorry Señor, none of your usual stoicism. Even though I admire that about you..."

The officer hadn't thought about that woman with the whip as a particular caring person before. Shows just how much he missed in his effort to close himself off from everyone. 

“Yo Bro!”, Franky was pointing back at the factory behind Señor Pink, “Look, the outer walls of the factory are sea prism stone, that’s why they stand strong against the Devil fruit strings.”

A huge grin spread across the cyborgs face: “I think I got an Idea, everyone follow me!”
Franky started to push against the front of the factory, the tiny strong warriors eagerly copying whatever it was he was trying to accomplish.
“If the cage can push the factory forward, the factory should be able to push the cage back!”

As soon as Kyuin had let him go, he stepped forward as well. "Señor?"
He straightened his back: "You should call me Pink." 

Time to finally do something right. The darkhaired man pressed his hands against the draining stone and started pushing as well.

Soon another presence took the space next to him. Kyuin was blushing fiercely again, but that didn't lessen any of the strength with which she leaned into the factory wall. 

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"Where the fuck do you think you're going?", Sanji shouted after the green haired menace that just finished his big fight. He should have known there was something stupid brewing on the horizon, when Zoro came out of the scuffle nearly unscathed.

Best to not leave the mosshead out of his sight, in case this is another one of those ideas that nearly kills him. He didn't know if his heart could take an unpleasant surprise like Thriller Bark again. This time, if he has to give that reckless ape brain CPR again, Sanji is definitely breaking a rib.

Zoro just grunts in reply, not even looking back as he picks up speed. "Isn’t it obvious, love-cook? We gotta stop that cage from moving!" 

They didn’t even know if something like that was possible, but the bastard was already past listening.
Sanji would have liked to complain to the lovely Viola about green-haired Idiots, if her father hadn’t been clearly inspired by that reckless display of pure faith.

“Listen to me, everyone. I am the … former… King of Dressrosa, Riku Doldo the third.”, started the impromptu speech, “I will explain now, what is happening to our land. Due to a game that the Tyrant Doflamingo enacted, the nation is surrounded by a giant inescapable Birdcage. The vicious power of that cage is slicing through the town, as it shrinks down further and further.”

Not to mention, that any and all conversation with the outside world was cut off. If they lost, there wouldn’t even be any consequences for the warlord. If anyone ever found out what happened here.

“No doubt the suddenness of the situation has left, you unable to process anything except for the mad rush for your own survival.
But I assure you, this is not a dream! And this is not a tragedy that began today! You have been ruled over by a pirate, we have been puppets on his strings for ten years!
This is our reality.”

Sanji stood there stunned. Had they really misjudged the King this badly?
He had thought that they’d earned a little bit of trust in their abilities by now!

“But soon, it will be over! The seemingly invincible Don Quixote family, through the work of the mighty warriors gathered here in our land, have nearly been vanquished.
The only one left to defeat is Donquixote Doflamingo himself. Battling him now is the Pirate Strawhat Luffy. I have no doubt that he will win. It can only be a matter of minutes now.

So, I beg of you, find a way to survive! Ensure that not a single person is crushed by this shrinking country. Just keep running… On empty lungs, on broken legs… Find a way to survive! There is still hope! So do not give up!”

Well, it beat sitting around doing nothing. Now he felt motivated too!
He might as well give that hairbrained scheme of Zoro’s a chance.

He quickly dropped to his knees: "Goji, you'll have to look after Usopp, while I make sure that Mosshead doesn't get lost on the way to the cage. Can you do that?" If he was with Usopp he definitely wouldn't be in any harm’s way. That man was a survivor through and through. He made eye contact with the sharpshooter, Usopp was definitely more reliable in Childcare than Zoro.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't open his wounds!", Goji didn't seem nervous about Sanji potentially abandoning him again. If there was more time, he'd reassure the kid again, but the swordsman was already just a green dot in Sanji's periphery.

A quick pat on the head, that had Goji softly smiling and touching his hair and the cook was off on a twinging leg.

Grit your teeth until dinner rush is over, he thought to himself. 

"This way! You directionless moss, just follow the closest strings!", Zoro was already taking the longest possible route towards the cage. It may have been all around them, but still. 

It could have been the cook’s malfunctioning brain, but as Zoro turned towards him with a grimace, he thought that he could see softly twinkling dandelions frame his face: "I know where I'm going you late arrival!"

It looked quite romantic. 
For a moment Sanji was struck speechless. Something was seriously wrong with him if. He was blushing about that fucker not admitting to his bad sense of direction. 

He even felt better, now that he was next to Zoro. The pain in his leg non-existent, as if he was completely healed. He quietly sobbed, mourning his past self. 

"Hey, you okay shitcook?", despite his protests the swordsman stuck to Sanji. Was he worried?
The blond stared at Zoro in despair. "I really hate you.", he quietly said.
A surprised laugh snuck itself out of those chapped, dry ass lips. He couldn't even rile the marimo up properly anymore! 

"Idiot cook.", that wasn't even a proper insult!
Like, it was and Sanji did kick him in the side for it as they were running, but it was said way too smugly for his liking. As if the bastard knew something he didn't! 

There was no way any thought made it through that overgrown brain of his. Except booze, Swords and the occasional good idea. Maybe there was a special place dedicated to insulting Sanji specifically, but it was a bad time to think about that. The bars were close enough that they could see where the strings sank into the ground. Sanji was already way too distracted.

Even Zoro noticed: "Your head looks like it's going to explode." Swiftly and expertly, he drew two of his swords. 

"When this is over, I'll kick your teeth in!", nobody should look this happy about a threat. Sanji fell for a weirdo. 

He was distracted enough that for a moment he didn't notice that his soles were giving more than they should against the cage. The strings were sinking into the soft leather, leather that should have been reinforced with steel, but wasn't. Because that weren't Sanji's boots. 

He quickly snatched his foot back, cursing up a storm. His sole was fine, but that shoe was a lost cause. Sanji slipped out of the disgusting things while he was at it. He pondered the distinct lack of a certain bag with all his belongings at his side. That's what you get for getting distracted by some idiot's muscled back rippling through his white shirt, while he pushed his swords with all his strength against the obstacle in front of him. 

Zoro was holding 5 or 6 bars back all by himself. The blond was honestly glad when he felt the familiar feeling of competitiveness rise in his chest. He could coat his foot in Haki as well as the Swordsman was doing with his weapons, but... 
For one he wasn't sure what those strings would do to his feet and secondly, he would reach 2 of those strings at most - maybe 4 if he used both his feet. 

His lips pressed together in annoyance. That wouldn't do. So, what would?

He could use his whole shin, again risking injury to his admittedly not fully healed leg (although he was feeling much better already.)
Or... Sanji still had that damn blunt sword on his back. Well, he had already caved once today and technically speaking this was still not a fight. 

Alright then. 
The proud cook rolled his shoulders and took the hilt of the glorified metal club into his hands. One over the other, keeping a steady grip. He swung forward in a sideways arch, a perfect Ochs Guard, Sanji thought a little bitterly. 

Now he could stem his bare foot against the cold metal and take his precious hands off the damn thing. The muscles in his legs strained as he pushed forward with all his weight. Hah, take that Zoro! He definitely tripled if not quadrupled the number of strings he covered.

The marimo gaped at him stupidly, seemingly stuck for a moment: "That's cheating!"
"No it's not.", the blond grinned superior, "That's ingenuity!" 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everything happened rather quickly.
Trebol had caught Law and the Strawhat with his stick-stick fruit powers.
For some ungodly reason, Trebol had let himself be baited by the traitorous brat. He’d paid for that with his life, Law had used his devil fruit to summon his own severed arm of all things, that was now holding onto Kikoku. A cursed blade indeed.

In a desperate last attempt to take Law with him, Trebol had taken a page out of Gladius’ book and blown himself sky high. Strawhat had saved Law unfortunately though, even stopping Doflamingo from immediately killing the bastard.

He understood how they got to that point. It was a minor miscalculation.
Doflamingo had seen the Strawhat at Marineford, he knew not to judge a book by its cover…

But, how in the seven sea’s was he supposed to predict that little twink blowing up his whole body? And he should have guessed that that bouncy boy, that couldn’t even stand still anymore due to his rubberiness, would actually send him to the center of town with his punch?

He thought it was a joke.
A last-ditch effort.
But no, the kid bouncing like a ball was an actual threat. Doflamingo guessed that he’d used the tensile force of his air-filled muscles to raise his power several times beyond his limits. Even with the armament Haki covering himself, Strawhat was still rubbery.

No wonder Doflamingo had been knocked out for a few minutes. He finally understood how someone like Sir Crocodile had been caught unaware by a rookie two years back.
Now though, now he was furious and he was slowly regaining consciousness to the shrill screaming of the citizens that had fled here in an attempt to escape his birdcage.

Where had that Strawhat gone?

Ah, there.
He was lying on the stone path in front of the mountain he had knocked the warlord in. He’d finally shrunk down again, winding himself in front of Doflamingo’s feet, barely able to get up.
The boy’s arms gave out under him.

Doflamingo grinned.

He might be a bit wobbly still, as well, but he was able to stand. And against someone crawling on the ground in front of his feet, he was undefeatable. He would crush him, slowly. He’d make Law watch, when he caught the little shit.

What was the colosseum announcer doing here? Apparently, he had brought some more of the fighters with him, gladiators started to crawl out of the woodwork, standing tall between the Strawhat and Doflamingo himself. Didn’t they meet for less than a few seconds while the Strawhat was in the tournament? He really made friends fast.

“You miserable rats… You think I need my full strength to eliminate the likes of you?”, his strings wove together to form a prehensile spear, lancing through the closest fighters and swiping away the rest. When he looked again, the announcer had absconded with that rubber annoyance: “Come out Strawhat! You will regret not finishing the job!”

The stragglers fought valiantly for about 5 minutes, before the wave of attackers slows down. Not that they did anything to really stop the rightful King of Dressrosa. Cockroaches, the lot of them.

If he wouldn’t show himself, then Doflamingo would force his hand. He crooked his fingers and the Birdcage started to shrink even faster. He grinned as more of those criminals tried to come for him.
“I thought I was very clear.”, he said as he whipped away the idiots in his path, “Bring me Strawhat and this will all be over.”

He was sick of doing the dirty work. Didn’t he have his family for that? The petty fights and elimination of unworthy opponents?
“Stop this!”, speak of the devil and she shall appear. Violet had stepped into his path. He wouldn’t have thought he’d see her again, alive.

“Viola?”, another feminine figure stepped into his path. Wasn’t that the little Gladiator Princess?
The one that wouldn’t fight?
“Rebecca?”, Violett called her, “What are you doing here?”

“Better question: Why are You here, Violett?”, he would let her grovel and beg if that was what she wanted, but her Kingdom was going down either way.

She surprised him though, instead of dropping to her pretty knees, she glared at him determined.
“If the Donquixote Family is going to collapse into nothing, wouldn’t it be too convenient for me to just walk away?”
She pulled a dagger on him, standing tall: “Either I die or you die, Doffy.”

He laughed: “What a passionate decision, Viola.”

Doflamingo had a string wrapped around the knife and pulled it away, before she could even come close. She didn’t give up though, kicking him right where he could feel his cracked rip bruising from the Strawhats earlier attack.
That little minx saw everything, didn’t she?

“For 10 years you served my family.”, he wasn’t some fresh new criminal though, Doflamingo blocked her heel with ease the next time it came at him, “Did you really think that would be enough to make me hesitate to kill you?”

He caught the younger of the two first. The warlord waited for the exact moment Viola noticed the sword dragging through the ground behind her, before he captured her as well.
Her hands were raised above her head as she had to watch her little Niece come to kill her.
“You know, I do not punish my people for failure.”, the blade lifted of the ground, shining in the sun, “But I do not tolerate betrayal.”

“Stop this! Leave Rebecca out of this!”, Viola finally begged him.
Oh, but how could he? After all, this was a lesson for Law as well, who was most certainly watching from wherever Strawhat had stashed him.

Step by step Rebecca came closer: “Viola, I don’t want to do this…”

Bang.
A shot rang through the air.
What?

Doflamingo felt where the bullet had pierced his back and went out of his stomach.
He'd dropped both Viola and Rebecca in his surprise. Faintly he could hear that annoying announcer start to ramble over the speakers. Something about Strawhat?
Good, that coward could finally meet his end then.

But first:
He slowly turned around to deal with whatever Idiot had wasted his one opportunity at infamy.

“You? Who let you out of your cage?”, he grinned at the anguished face in front of him, long blond hair flowing in the wind. He looked like a different man he’d shot before.
 
“You are still way too soft. Got nothing to say? No ‘thank you’ for saving your life?”, Doflamingo inspected the scar tissue across a pale throat. Yeah, he wasn’t speaking ever again. Served him right.
“You look like father just before he died.”

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Doffy had visited his cell whenever he’d felt bored. Still, this must have been the most he’d spoken to him in years.
And it was nothing but some derisive drivel, what did he expect?

Well, most certainly not the young man appearing out of thin air to kick Doffy in the side.
He looked quite worse for wear…
Still he grinned up at him: “Hello tall man! I’m taking over. I promised Torao and Rebecca that I’d kick Mingo’s ass.”
And off he went running after Doflamingo.
He kind of reminded him of a younger Garp.
Who was Torao though?

The princesses had apparently evacuated, but out of the dust a new, tan skinned figure emerged.
His dark hair was caked in blood and he was missing an arm.
On his chest there was a Tattoo of a heart surrounding what resembled Doffy’s flag.
He must be the new Corazon.

He gripped his gun tighter, you should never underestimate an opponent, just because he appeared weak. After all he’d used that trick countless of times

The man froze. His golden eyes widened in shock.
If you looked closely, you could see a slight discoloration of the skin on his face…

“Cora…”, rasped out the deep, adult voice of his little Law.
The gun slipped out of Rosinante’s grasp.

Chapter Text

Luffy-ya had broken the strings around his arms and taken the fight with Doflamingo into the sky. He’d have to trust that the Strawhat's sheer dumb luck would hold and this colossally stupid Idea wouldn’t backfire.

But was that even important right now? Why had he done all of this in the first place? To avenge the man that had given him a second chance at life.

Long blond hair was being ruffled by the wind, that is, more than it already was. He was skinnier than Law remembered and his trademark make-up was missing as well. He had the sudden urge to just run, take the fragile looking man and leave.

Cora looked shocked to see him. To be honest, so was Law. He had heard the shots, had felt the sound rush back in when Cora had died... When he had thought that Cora had died.

Doflamingo was right.

He did abandon him back then. He'd left him to his brother’s mercy. Cora must hate him.
That must be why he was still just staring at Law not saying anything.
You'd think he was actually mute. Was he using his powers to buy himself some time? No. He was wearing seastone cuffs.

The darkhaired man himself couldn’t bring himself to rip his own gaze away from the bare face of his miraculously still breathing mentor. A wheezing sound left Cora's mouth before the dam broke. Big ugly sobs turned into huffing sounds that immediately alarmed the Doctor in Law. 

He himself was still worse for wear, but since Cora seemed stuck in place the surgeon had no choice really, but to drag his body forward slowly one step at a time. 
"Those scars... Cora are you alright? Are you hurt?", the cuffs around the man's limbs left the skin raw and angrily red. Deep marks that would take some time to heal, but not actively bleeding right now.

Older scars littered Cora's body as well, some he knew, some he didn't and one he had even caused. He should probably start with the gruesome looking gash across the man's throat. No wonder he didn't speak. 

While he was mustering the miracle in front of him, Cora had stopped crying and waved him off with wide eyes. The man's hands hovered in the air as if unsure if he was allowed to touch.
Or, judging from the concerned gaze stuck on his makeshift tourniquet, where it was safe to touch.

Law made the decision for him and let himself fall forward. Right onto the garish Tattoo that must have been carved into the man's skin. Probably right after Law had started to make a name for himself. It wasn't his own flag, still the grinning smile was judging him.

He'd provoked this in all likelihood.

"I'm so sorry, Cora. I will fix this, I ... First thing after I got some of my energy back I will fix you!", now there were tears in Law's vision as well. 
A strong hand gripped right above his severed arm. Cora clicked his tongue and patted a shaking hand on black hair. 

"Fine. I'll attach the arm first and then it's your turn.", Law was way too happy to argue much, "Nico Robin is holding it hostage at the moment."
That woman wouldn't budge, insisting that it was less taxing on his powers to keep it in stasis than to reconnect every blood vessel, nerve and muscle correctly while he was this delirious. 
"As if I'd give myself permanent nerve damage. It's honestly insulting that she wants me to even get checked out by their ships Doctor! Nothing against Chopper but... What?" 

He caught the tail end of a worried expression that melted into a bright smile. He'd missed that smile.
Cora still had to crouch a bit to hug him, even as an adult Law only reached up to his chest if they were both standing at full height, which the surgeon was decidedly not trying at the moment.

Law just couldn't stop crying. It felt like it was getting worse actually. And now Cora was sobbing again as well. It was embarrassing, but worth it. It felt like years of stress left his body all at once.

Over Cora’s shoulder he could see a pink blur shooting from the sky like a meteor, through the water covering his vision. Ah, it looks like the fight was over. He knew he didn’t need to worry.

Luffy-ya deflated like a ballon as soon as he'd won.

With a bit of his last leftover strength, Law created a room stretching into the path of the other captain’s descent and switched him with a pebble. The pain in the ass pushed himself up on shaking arms and blinked blearily at the other two men in the clearing.
He grinned lazily, as Cora turned around alarmed, putting himself between Law and ‘the danger’, nearly falling on his ass at the abrupt movement.

Strawhat passed out before his head at even hit the ground again. The surgeon just sighed and ducked under the protective arm stretched in front of him.
“Looks like he actually did it. He got him in one hit.”, Law fondly mumbled to himself.

He didn’t get far; his balance was shot and he was dizzy. Concussion? Probably just blood loss, he decided. The big blond still helped him to crouch next to the younger man, so Law could make sure he was actually still breathing.

Luffy-ya was fine.
He sighed a breath of relief as he sagged into himself.

Cora’s hands formed a sentence that made Law hide behind the brim of his head:
Are you T-O-R-A-O?

That big mouthed Strawhat.

The taller man just grinned even broader and carefully settled Luffy-ya in the crook of one arm.
Despite his vehement protests, Law was swiftly lifted into the other arm as Cora happily carried the both of them over to where Doflamingo had probably landed. He wouldn’t begrudge the man a kick in his brother’s face, he decided as he watched the clear sky go by their heads.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the same time:

"Hurry! We stopped it for a moment, but it's moving again.", Zoro was confident that they could do this. 

Kin’emon had arrived shortly after the cook, having seen them run around and decided to follow the blond. He had complained about the curlybrow putting his bare foot on a blade -even an unnamed one-, but quickly quieted down when he noticed what they were doing. 

"I'll lend you my swords as well.", he settled next to the cook despite his earlier grief. They were mumbling about that other Samurai, Kin’emons friend. He hadn’t found him again.

More and more people had joined them, that blind Marine Admiral standing on Zoro's other side had apparently decided to switch sides now that it turned out the warlord of the sea was a crazy psychopath. Figures. 

Then there was the group of mostly useless former Toys that had decided to worship Usopp for some reason. They were calling the sharpshooter a god, that rode a fishman down the mountain or some shit. And he'd thought the Tontattas were gullible. 
They were adamant that they wanted to help: "God Usopp won't take no for an answer! Every able person should help." 

Great. None of them could use Haki though and barely any of them could hold a weapon straight. Zoro was glad when the cook sent them off with some Marines to help Franky and another group that had started to push against the cage.

“Lucy has made his entrance!”, announced a voice over the loudspeakers.

"He's talking about Luffy, right?", he pondered through the sword in between his teeth.
Curly rolled his eyes from his right: "Didn't you listen to anything when we were in front of the colosseum? That was his cover." 
"It was a rhetorical question!“, Zoro pushed harder against the strings, the muscles in his arms started to strain, but the usual rush of endorphins when he argued with the cook helped. From the cracks starting to spread along the cheap metal under the blond’s foot, it helped him as well.

"Do you even know what a rhetorical question is, you illiterate ape?", hissed the frazzled blond.
That was one right? So, Zoro didn't need to answer that. "You're not getting a new one if you break your sword. Control slipping, Curlybrow?"

Before the offended man could answer, a loud bang called them all to attention. Sweat was starting to drip down his neck. 
Must be their captain fighting: "Let’s hope Luffy can keep his promise to one-hit Doflamingo. We won’t last much longer like this."

The blonde huffed out a strained breath: "Speak for yourself! I can do this all day!" 
"Oh yeah? What about when that dandelion thing wears off and your leg's busted again?", Zoro glanced at the little Princess bawling her eyes out. Louder now that she heard Zoro. Shit. That weird bug guy she arrived with was trying to reassure her that her powers had bought them precious minutes. They did, actually.

A lot of people would be dead without her, but still... Soon her powers would wear off and anyone affected couldn't use the healing flowers a second time. 

"I'll manage.", the cook grumbled under his breath, "Besides it's not broken, only sprained."
Zoro would rather not deal with Chopper if that turned out to be false. "We'll manage without you. Go sit with the Tontattas." 
The womanizer was probably already kicking himself because he couldn't comfort the Princess. 

"You go sit down! I'll push back this shitty cage all by myself!", that was the opposite of what the swordsman wanted. 
Why the fuck did that bastard have to be so stubborn?
"I definitely push more strings than you!", Zoro would prove it too. 

Next to them Kin'emon stared in disbelief: "The cage is actually moving backwards... Push people! As long as you are capable, support the Strawhats!" 
The green haired man barely felt the burn in his arms and neck anymore, he just couldn't fall behind. The cook was already one step further than him. 
One, two steps and Zoro was in the lead again. 

The cook was suppressing his pain, Zoro could see it in the way he grit his teeth instead of insulting him again and how his expression suddenly became blank. 
"Hurry Luffy.", he whispered quiet enough, that the blond shouldn't be able to hear. 

The first few people started to drop, as their injuries reappeared as well.
It was fine, Zoro could probably take their share of the burden for a few moments. 
More men and women fell to their knees, but the cook stood strong by his side. 

Then suddenly, there was no resistance pushing back and Zoro stumbled. 
The cook fell forward and on instinct, he turned his blade to the dull end and slung an arm around the waist of the blond. 

“Looks like Luffy-san is victorious at last.”, Kin'emon had fallen to his knees. It seemed the only ones still standing where the blind Marine, Zoro and Curlybrow, who technically wasn't standing as much as squirming around on the swordsman’s forearm until he was looking back. 

They stared at each other in the momentary quiet. It felt like everyone was frozen, no one daring to jinx what Kin' predicted without confirmation.

It was fine, Zoro was content watching the red spread from the cook's cheeks to his nose. He smiled. Suddenly animated again, the blond turned and 'gently' kneed the swordsman in the side: "Stop looking so smug!" 

A restless, but hopeful, murmur started to go through the masses. No one was really paying attention. 

Zoro sheathed Wado and Shusui in his free hand, he switched the arm holding the cook and sheathed Kitetsu as well. The blond watched him suspiciously, as he wrapped both arms around him and leaned forward slowly. Zoro could pinpoint the exact moment Curly understood and the blush spread to his ears. 

The air felt somehow more charged with anticipation than during a fight. Not one of their fights, those were usually pretty quick paced and energetic. A big fight, one where he had to wait and see what his opponent would do. This was something new. 

Finally, Zoro closed the gap, he never thought he'd be the one to initiate their first kiss. 
It would probably take another 2 years if he waited for the blond.

He leaned his face a little to the right, so their noses didn't squash together as much. The cook had his eyes closed... His lips were a little dry from the heat and the constant running around. Probably still softer than Zoro's own perpetually chapped lips though. Huh, this was the first time he actually felt like doing something about that.

A familiar quiet laugh floated through the rush of happiness in Zoro’s head. He was jostled by a soft hand under his chin.
"Goji is here, you idiot", Curly-brow sounded put upon, but he didn't push Zoro too far away. He probably couldn't get away with nipping on those treasured fingers.

He turned his head instead, huh Usopp actually was piggybacking of a fishman, one that held a happy little green haired kid by the hand. 
"Of course you’re pissy nosebleed", the blond was actually sporting a small drop of red under his nose, it was fun to watch him try and cover his face.

"Connard, You can’t just kiss someone like that! I hope you never treat a Lady that way..." 
Zoro snorted through his nose: "I ain't gonna kiss a Lady. And I waited like, 2 whole seconds."
The blond rolled his eyes: "A guy then."
"I ain't gonna kiss another guy either.", he wasn't sure were this conversation was going, but the longer they talked, the longer Zoro could keep his hands around the others waist, "I dont cheat."
"After me then, you know as future reference.", how could a man be smart and this dense at the same time?
The greenhaired man should probably clarify, since the other decided to be stupid about this. Idiot, he thought fondly.
"There's not gonna be anyone else, asshole." 

"You... stupid romantic Mosshead.", this time it was the cook that gripped him by his shirt collar and pulled him close. It seemed more of their crew had arrived, because in between Usopp's wolf whistling and Goji's screeching, there was Brook hollering in the distance.
He was pretty sure he heard Robins quiet congratulation's in there as well. 

They were soon drowned out by more general celebrations, as the announcement came through the speakers:
“The Winner is: Lucy!”

Zoro was still grinning, as he watched Curls angryly hobble towards Usopp, trying not to curse in front of the kid. He scooped up Goji, before beeing taken down by the weight of their sharpshooter. 
Kin'emon bent down to lift the laughing boys back up, before Robin wrapped arms growing from the ground around all four of them. And it seemed Brook deemed it safer to lean against Zoro's side than join the pile on the ground. 

They made it, they had won.
And Zoro had definitely pushed more strings than that beautiful bastard over there.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chopper was glad that the fighting was over, but that didn’t mean all the work was done yet.
“I’ll hold the wall up, help them out of there!”, he was currently digging through the rubble with the royal guard. The old King had ordered them to do what they could after he was accosted by the surviving citizen of Dressrosa.

The reindeer didn’t really understand politics that well, but everyone seemed very energetic… Too bad that half of the people around here had collapsed again. It must be the adrenaline wearing of, thought the Doctor, as he carried one of the taller men over to the makeshift infirmary.

There was a lot to do still. Bandages to cut, injuries to wrap up, salves to apply. A Doctor’s Day was never short.
“Chopper! Do you have some space?”, Brook was weaving through the able-bodied crowd of people trying to find their loved ones.

Chopper narrowed his eyes suspiciously: “Space for whom?”
Usopp probably needed a lot of medical attention, doubly so if the painkillers he gave him had worn of. There was also Sanji running around on a very likely re-broken leg, if not worse.
Only the Devil knew what new and exciting injuries Zoro had gotten. At least Luffy was with Law, which hopefully meant he was in good hands…

A  different blonde was following their musician though, carrying a light green-haired man on his back.
“Could you look over my friend Mister Rooster here?”, Brook gestured to the passed-out passenger, “I fear he has been poisoned… half an hour ago?”

Chopper could feel a headache coming on: “And you’re only bringing him over now!?”
“He insisted on helping Zoro with the whole cage thing.”, the Skeleton shrugged.
Cursing the bullheadedness of Pirate-Patients, the Doctor quickly checked the guy’s heartrate: “At least he’s still alive. Did you see what he ate?”
“Ate? He was stung by some explosion devil fruit user.”

He should just open a praxis somewhere on some remote little Island and just research Illnesses from there. Not practical, but at least he wouldn’t get an aneurism.
So, Mister Rooster was injected with some venom. Probably not produced naturally by whatever guy had hit him. There were several types of venoms in circulation.

“I need to take a blood sample.”, just a quick test to make sure Chopper didn’t accidentally kill Brook's friend. The blond lowered Mister Rooster down and settled next to him, promptly falling asleep.

The commotion around the new/old King was picking up. Riku was a good guy, Chopper was happy that Dressrosa still wanted him to reign over the country.
“Oh, my goodness.”, Brook was staring over towards King Riku and his family, “The Marines are bowing down!”

Chopper glanced over as well. The old man was standing stock still, shocked as one of the three Marine Admirals had kneeled on the ground in front of him, all of his men following suit.
He couldn’t make out what was said, but he could see poor Viola somewhere behind the King whispering with her Niece. And there next to them, favoring his left leg heavily and leaning against Zoro, was Sanji. Clearly without a cast. That bastard.

Did his words mean anything to his crew?
He should go over there and tape that bastard to the bed in their ship’s infirmary.
And the cook even had the audacity to wave at him!
Chopper glared back.
Sanji pointed at a little blond girl on his own shoulder, then at his arm and his leg. He ended the whole thing with a thumbs up. What? 

The cooks gaze suddenly flitted somewhere to the Doctors left.
A whitehaired, scaly gentleman was bringing over Usopp.

Chopper threw one last evil look at Sanji, then admitted defeat. He’d get that Idiot later.
Especially since he could see Goji already trying to drag him away from Viola and her tearful thanks.
He was a good kid. Very careful. Very aware of proper medical procedures.

Back to work then: “Put him down over here, I want to make sure that there is still no internal bleeding.”
The mixture had turned yellow. At least he had the Antivenom for Mister Rooster in stock.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nami anxiously stood at the helm of the Thousand Sunny. The cage had disappeared.
That was good, it meant they had won. Hurray.
It also meant she was no longer safely on the outside of the conflict, where no opportunistic bastard could come and try to collect the bounty of the presumed weakest of their group.

Not two mention the two people on the ship that were for some reason important enough to Doflamingo that he had followed them into open water. Nami understood the need for Caesar in his operation, she actually had some questions for the guy on the shelf herself, but the little Wano boy?

She worriedly watched over Momo who had started running around the lawn deck, intermittently worrying about his dad, Goji and for some reason Brook who he had taken a shine to after seeing him fight with a sword for the first time.

“Did you know that Bone-kichi is a Samurai, O-Nami?”, he had asked after the excitement had worn off. Question after question until Nami had told the boy the whole story of how they met Brook.

Thriller Bark and the stolen Shadows, a censored version of the mad doctor that had stolen the corpse of one of Wano’s most legendary hero’s and reanimated him to keep guard in the Florian Triangle and of course what she remembered of the Skeleton’s sword skills.

This was probably a tale better told by Brook himself or even Zoro, who would have focused on the detail Momo was most fascinated with at the moment. Sword techniques.
It probably didn’t matter that she didn’t have Usopp’s skills in weaving an adventure out of the facts, Momo had mostly kept from the story that Brook had fought Ryuma for his shadow for many years, even if it had been Zoro who ultimately defeated the man.

“I already know that Zoro-sensei is a skilled swordsman. After all father chose him to instruct me in the art of the blade.”, the boy had told her seriously, “But I thought Bone-kichi was a Biwa hōshi, but he is a secret Samurai!”

She’d tried to keep Momo distracted, a traveling musician could only hold his attention for so long though. So now they were back to worrying together, while Nami made sure to keep an eye on Caesar sitting quietly in the corner and the little path in the mountain range around Dressrosa.

The cage couldn’t have been gone for more than a few minutes when the first would be attacker poked their head out of the rocky formation.
It was some weird guy with a rigid smile on a face covered in heavy white paint. His cheeks and lips were accentuated in different shades of red and pink that complemented his long red hair, crackling with static as a bolt of lightning struck the ground directly in front of his feet.

“That was a warning shot. One step closer and I’ll fry you like a cod!”, a bit of a white lie. Nami had aimed for the colorfully dressed man, but he’d stepped back just in time to avoid getting electrocuted. She didn’t have Usopp’s aim, but she usually hit her targets…

“O-Nami stop!”, Momo ran up to her and crashed into her legs. She just tightened her grip around her clima tact and waited for the stranger to either turn around or attack.
“That’s Kanjuro!”, the small boy looked up at her with tears in his eyes, “He’s a friend!”

The weirdo… Kanjuro grinned, an oddly intimidating look without eyebrows and waved: “Young Momonosuke! I am here to pick you up!”
“Is father alright?”, Momo shouted back.
“Your father?”, Kanjuro seemed to think for a second as he twirled an oversized brush in his hand, “Kin’emon should be fine. I left him with his pirate friends.”

Speak of the Sea King and you’ll summon a whole school of them: Kin’emon came barreling down the path, barely stopping in time to keep from running into the other man’s back.
He panted, heaving big gulps of air into his lungs: “You are safe. Both of you!”
Kin’emon’s gaze stuck on Momo first, who had started to tug Nami over to the control panels to lower the plank. She got a grateful look as well, when Kin’ had reassured himself that the kid was healthy.

Then he’d turned to his friend patting his shoulders: “I thought you lost again… I am glad you are well. What happened?”

Kanjuro was watching Nami and Momo as well, when he answered: “I was worried when you said that Momonosuke was alone with Pirates, so when we were under attack, I immediately sought out the harbor you had pointed out to me. What if some scoundrel found a defenseless woman and child alone before we came back, I thought.”
As Nami leaned her clima tact across her shoulders, he seemed to tense for a moment: “I see now I needn’t have worried.”

“Indeed! Nami-san may look dainty, but she is a formidable Kunoichi!”, she didn’t know if she should be insulted by what Kin’emon said, “You should look out for Robin-san as well, I saw her do terrible things to men three times her size.” He warily looked over his shoulder, apparently just remembering that he hadn’t come here by himself.

They could hear heavy footsteps and loud bickering from two idiots that could only be two of her idiots. The only reason she saw Robin first, was that the dark-haired woman sat on one of Franky’s shoulders, smiling serenely as he told her a story trough tearful eyes. Poor Usopp was hanging off his other shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He looked like a giant had sat on him. Chopper was galloping besides them, lecturing their sharpshooter about something.

Behind them weren’t Zoro and Sanji though, but a tall man and woman. The lady even dwarfed Franky with her height. It seemed the fight was over then, if they were already bringing new friends over. Nami sighed.

She could finally relax.

“Goji!”, Momo was running down the plank, not even waiting for it to fully reach the ground. To be fair, the other kid was nearly tripping over his feet in excitement as well, “Did you know that Bone-Kichi is a secret Samurai?”

Zoro laughed loudly while, she noticed, he clung to Sanji’s hand.
Oh, someone had a lot to fill her in on.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Food for everyone! Especially the injured! Line up people.", the cook of the Strawhats shouted over the makeshift infirmary.
He'd rather quickly whipped up some kind of Soup that, he reassured them all, would help anyone recover quickly. 

Señor Pink himself had been roped into carrying an abundance of vegetables over, after Franky had disappeared somewhere in the bowels of his ship to get some equipment - the Cyborg was currently sporting his bushy, fake beard and building emergency lodging with a band of carpenters, plumbers and constructors.

Not Pinks area of expertise, hence his current role of handling the dinnerware. The blond, Sanji, had gotten a stern restriction from a little fluffy Doctor forbidding him to carry anything heavier than a knife. It seemed packing his partner full of pots, meat and bread wasn't enough, so the cook had turned to him: "You. Franky's friend from the factory. You're not doing anything right?" 

After seeing the demon of the east blue reduced to a pliant mule, Pink didn’t see much use in protesting. He could start his new life by helping out. He'd already gained an impressed look from Sanji, when he refused to let Kyuin carry anything. You should treat your date with respect. 
Even if they hadn't technically started dating yet. 

Señor Pink then got his own fake beard and his first proper suit in years, thanks to that Samurai from Wano.
This wasn't the first time he had seen the aftermath of the destruction their family left, but it was the first time he saw it from this side. 
He couldn't belief the Strawhats were an actual pirate crew. Franky and Sanji weren't the only ones doing their best. Violett- Viola joined them. She and Nico Robin were currently looking for more people trapped in the ruins. Their Devil Fruits probably better suited for something like this than anyone's. 

Roronoa Zoro had pretty quickly left them to their own devices and trailed after the two children with Foxfire Kin'emon. While the younger ones assisted the Strawhat's Doctor, Roronoa picked up leaves and little stones for the older man to turn into blankets. It was nice having children around again. He had missed this. 

He glanced over to Law, knocked out but back in one piece. His arm had been lying next to him, when Señor Pink had first gotten to the town square, now it looked like it had never been brutally cut off in the first place. 
Corazon looked up from his vigil beside the two dark haired boys on the ground. Pink probably didn't even deserve the tired smile that he got. 
He could start to make amends here... 

One bowl of soup wasn't much, especially since he hadn't even made it himself. And it was free. 
But the thought counted. Right? 

"Señor Pink!", he knew that exited tone of voice. It meant trouble. "Come meet my fiancé!", happily thrilled Baby 5. 
Big trouble. 
He was glad that the girl had escaped Impel Down as well. But another boyfriend?
Pink was probably going to prison after all. He turned on his heel, walking up to her and the three man she stood with. 

Don Chinjao and his two grandsons.

"This is Sai, his grandfather and his Brother Boo!", Baby 5 was oblivious to the tension all around her. 
The Señor narrowed his eyes at the stiff warrior she had her arms wrapped around. 
"How did you meet this one?", he specifically addressed Baby 5 only. 

She was always happy to recount every detail of her meet cutes, even if she couldn't always see how unfavorable it made her paramours look: "Oh it was love at first sight! We met on the battlefield and even though it would have been better for him if I had died, he disobeyed his family and swept me of my feet! He even fought Lao G for my hand." 
He would not be as easily defeated as that old man. If necessary. 
At least Sai didn't try to ingratiate himself to Pink as those lecherous fools before him. 

On the contrary it seemed that he could barely hold back his sneer: "I don't appreciate it when someone doesn't value the lives of their own comrades. Especially when they claim to be family." 
Before Pink could assure the other man that he wouldn't appreciate some young delinquent making a move on his family, Baby 5 cut in: "I can be very valuable! Here, let me hold that bowl for you! A good wife wouldn't let an elder in the family serve the food." 

He sighed: "What did I tell you about little girlys doing other people’s chores?" 
"That it annoys you and it isn't being useful.", she pouted anyway. 
Sai didn't let him finish his conversation either: "My wife doesn’t need to be useful!"
Maybe he wasn't so bad after all. The quiet smile on Baby 5's face was nice to see either way. It wasn't forceful, it was real, just for herself and not for the sake of making anyone else less comfortable.

"Well said.", Señor Pinks voice came out a little rough with emotion, "Better keep that up." 

For a moment they were locked in a stalemate, seizing each other up, before Don Chinjao cleared his throat: "I was wondering though, we only know my future granddaughter-in-law’s codename. What is Baby 5's real name?" 

Her real name? Pink blanked for a moment. 
"My name is Baby 5, I don't have another one.", she didn't seem upset when she said this. Just happy to be able to answer the Don's question. 
At the man's disbelieving expression, the Señor nodded as well.
Some people were monsters.

"That won’t do! The wife of the Happosai army’s leader needs an actual name!", bellowed out the older man. 
"Grandfather! Stop that!", Sai - the new Don- looked back and forth between his fiancé and Chinjao, "I'm sorry about that. Please do not take it to heart." 
Baby just laughed: "I don't care what you call me. I'm happy with any name you choose!" 
Chinjao was waiting, Baby 5 was beaming and Señor Pink wouldn't lessen the pressure any by stopping the burning stare he sent Don Sai's way. 

It didn't escape him however, that the younger brother, Boo, was trying very hard not to laugh, while the old man mumbled under his breath about who in their right mind numbered their children.

"Bǎobèi.", blurted out the nervous freshly appointed patriarch. 
It honestly didn't sound too different to him than her name now. Still, Baby happily clapped her hands and sounded it out to herself. 
Pink stayed quiet for a moment. Behind him someone snapped their fingers. 

Corazon had apparently joined them at some point and was signing to a stunned Baby. 
He'd forgotten to warn her. 
Still, not one to let a task go unfinished, she dutifully translated: "He wants to know what it means..." 

Uneasy or maybe embarrassed, Sai shifted on his feet: "It means: treasure."
"It's used for your precious darling!", piped up Boo in the background. 

Corazon nodded, smiled and grabbed the soup from Pink. He slurped up a big spoonful, patted the Señor twice on the back, before slinking back to Law's side, probably. 
The Señor huffed, so he just came to meddle and then leave him to sort this. 

Pink shook his head and grinned as well: "Looks like you found a good one this time, Bǎobèi."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The moonlight was shining through the windows of the ancestral Vinsmoke castle. 

Judge was pensive, Big Mom had contacted him with the offer of an alliance... A joining of families so to speak. Everyone knew what happened to the pirate crews that married into the Charlotte family, but Judge wasn't a pirate. He was a monarch; he had worked hard to bring the Germa kingdom back to its former glory and he wouldn’t let it be swallowed up by some lonely old crone. Empress of the sea or not. 

The offer was tempting though. With Charlotte Lin Lin's resources he could expand his research enormously. Perhaps he'd even restart Project Chimaera now that Sanji was actually dead.

Such a shame, Judge would have rather thrown that one to the wolves instead of one of his successful children. It would be so easy if Big Mom allowed her sons to marry. Her family was matriarchal through and through.

Reiju would have had no problem infiltrating the inner circle, so to speak. It might have taken longer than the original plan, maybe Lin Lin would have insisted on a grandchild before trusting a daughter not her own. Sacrifices always had to be made for the pursuit of the greater good. 

But alas, it was all castles made of clouds and dreams anyway. Nothing he could change now. The offer was for one of his sons, not his firstborn. 

As he pondered this minor hiccup, the sky spit out a tiny white dot in the distance, growing closer.

Judge would have to send Ichiji. Niji wouldn't last a week before he'd stepped on the wrong toes. The Charlotte family may be just as ruthless as they were, but they wouldn't tolerate someone else breaking their toys. 

That eliminated Yonji as well. He was impulsive, not one for a mission as delicate as this. All his children followed orders well enough, but Yonji... he tended to get creative when it came to loopholes and technicalities. Without supervision he might jeopardize the whole deal just by accident. There was a reason Judge usually sent him out with Reiju. 

The News-coo was in front of the window now. Finally, the bird had taken its time today.

He waved for the WB acting as his assistant to open the window. The paper looked especially thick today, something interesting must have happened for there to be an influx of Wanted posters. He doubted that Morgans had taken up charitable writing. A longer story usually meant a special edition not a longer article. That man knew how to wring money out of people.

Judge turned to the front page: And there he was, the supposedly dead solution to his problem, lip-locked with some dirty plebeian.

Well, he had some calls to make now. 

Chapter Text

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Smoker made his way through the line of Marines waiting to give blood.

He’d heard there was someone here with the Devilfruit ability to instantaneously and permanently heal any injury. With a little donation.
A bit creepy, but that was Devilfruits for you.

“Strawhat Luffy is still in the country?”, Vice Admiral Tsuru asked. She had spent many years in her carrier chasing Doflamingo before that bastard snatched the title of warlord and much like Smoker himself, wouldn’t let anyone else go in her stead.

A satisfied grin smile stretched across his face. It had been too late to turn back when they finally acknowledged that he’d technically stowed away on their fleet.

But really, who was going to begrudge him a ride to his ‘vacation’ destination. After all, no one could have known that Doflamingo was a vicious psychopath and that Dressrosa would be a pile of rubble when they arrived. Officially, this had been a friendly convoy mission after all. Just an inquiry to see if everything was fine. It was concerning when an Admiral suddenly went dark and unreachable.

Complete coincidence that the Team included “Great Advisor” Tsuru, the White Chase and Inspector General Sengoku the Buddha.

“Issho! I heard about your apology and your clash with Sakazuki!”, the former Fleet Admiral was happily snacking on a bag of crackers.
Smoker let out a snorting laugh: “We all saw that broadcast. Wish I could have done that...”

Maybe he shouldn’t air out his grievances in front of some higher ups from the old guard, but everyone knew his views on the whole farce that was the warlords of the seas.

Besides the fact that his vocal cords were still recovering from the beating Doflamingo inflicted on him and him not necessarily feeling up to talk much.

“Ah yes. If it weren’t for the Strawhats, we’d have a bigger Problem than a Pirate Nation on our hands.”, hadn’t Smoker told Fujitora something similar after Arabasta? Now the man was repeating the same sentiment back to him: “I believe the whole warlord system is obsolete, if someone like Doflamingo can built an underground criminal empire right under our noses and get away with barely doing his duties as a warlord…”

“Still.”, Tsuru interrupted Issho, “Admiral Fujitora, you should be seizing the Pirates. I hope you don’t plan on letting them get away.”
The blind man rolled the dice in his hand pondering: “The injured pirate who saved the Kingdom. Do we view him as an enemy, right now?”

Tsuru shook her own head: “Just because they incidentally freed a country by saving their own lives, doesn’t mean we can let their fates be determined by a children’s game.”
“You suppose a fella gets saved by the die two days straight, without having something on his side?”, he showed her the single dot looking up at them from the table, “Anything other than a one and I’d have had them rounded up immediately. You can do tomorrows roll if you like, but for now this Island is under my Jurisdiction. Until then Strawhat and Law will remain where they are.”

She turned helplessly towards her old friend and technically still the highest officer on the Island: a graying man in shorts and sandals staring frozen into the distance, still holding his snack in the air.

“Sengoku? Are you alright you old crackerhead?”, she asked worriedly. There had been rumors, that the former Fleet Admiral had lost himself a little after the horror show that was the battle at Marineford. Smoker usually wasn’t one for gossip, but even he was concerned when Sengoku whispered: “I think I am seeing a Ghost…”

The other three officers followed his sight, at least the two that could still see. Fujitora just cocked his head a little, letting his Haki try and figure out who it was they were staring at.
Because that was what they were doing, staring at the tall blond man that seemed to have come out of the little tent next to the area filled with Marines waiting their turn.

He was wearing Navy issued slacks and boots, but his pale blue sleeveless shirt definitely wasn’t uniform standard. It had an oddly familiar red sprinkle pattern almost forming stripes across his chest.
His long hair was braided down his back and seemed to be the local hotspot for tiny humans. There was a ton of them hanging off his braid, his shoulders, even his heavily scarred arms.

The man fumbled the tray of juice cups that he was handing to the men and women after they had sat for the little Lady taking their blood and turning it into Dandelions. For some reason the mere existence of people the size of his boot wasn't the unbelievable thing here.

“Oh, don’t worry about Corazon.”, Fujitora stood up and waved at the tall blonde gaping back at them, “He is no longer affiliated with the Donquixote Family. I have been assured, that he has been their prisoner for many years before he was released during this whole mess.”

Sengoku was the first to get his bearings back.
“Rosi!”, he met the younger man, hurrying towards them, in the middle, “I can’t believe it.”
Rosinante immediately stood at attention, attempting to salute before being enveloped in a teary hug by the man that had raised him.

“You’re supposed to be dead…”, Smoker’s voice cracked as he heard Rosi’s familiar laugh.
“And you’re supposed to be on sick leave, aren’t you?”, Fujitora mildly hummed, “I assume you know each other already?”

It was a bizarre moment to watch. Sengoku wasn’t a small man himself and the two stood towering over them as the mighty golden buddha wept.
Even the ever-stoic Tsuru seemed to have tears in her eyes as she answered: “Commander Donquixote Rosinante was under my command ten years ago, when he... disappeared, only for my squad to find his body a few days after his last contact.”

“I did nearly die.”, Rosi slowly eased out of the grip his adoptive father still had on his shoulders, using his Devilfruit powers to create a bubble of quiet around them, “I probably would have bled out on Minion Island, hadn’t Doffy changed his damn mind at the last minute. I don’t know what the hell went on in his head that day. He stitched me up, left one of his puppets out there and threw me into his basement. Bragged about it for years too.”

His eyes finally met Smoker’s. Immediately the blond got stuck on the medical tape across the other man’s face and throat.
“I guess we match huh?”, as Rosi tilted his head back, the White Chase saw that he indeed had his own scar sitting right over his collar.

“Doffy decided, that he’d rather I can’t speak for real than acknowledge I’d been pretending for years. I guess he still had enough of a heart to be hurt that his brother didn’t want to talk to him.”, he was paradoxically still smiling as both Smoker and unsurprisingly Tsuru cursed out Doflamingo’s name.

“I just got fixed up this morning!”, he laughed, “Law fell asleep again right after. That poor boy really couldn’t wait till he was completely healed.”

“Was it worth it?”, Sengoku examined him. His expression was somber, probably thinking about the inhumane treatment Rosinante had to endure all these years under his brother’s care. Smoker at least couldn’t stop thinking about it.
“Lying to… the Marines, stealing the Ope-Ope Fruit, being imprisoned for more than 10 years… Was it worth it?”

Smoker blinked, stunned. He didn’t know Rosinante had stolen the fruit. He’d always thought Law had somehow gotten his hands on the thing himself. A glance to the side showed Tsuru less caught off guard though.
He just shook his head. They all already knew what the answer was going to be: “Of course it was. What kind of Marine would leave a child in peril?”

The idiot flipped his braid back when he said that. What a diva.
Here he stood, straight and proud, talking about what basically amounted to desertion.

'You look different.', nostalgia flooded Smoker, when he had to sign the sentence. His voice was strained enough as is.
He hadn’t had to use this mode of communication in a while though.
Rosi just yapped away. He was probably exited that he finally could again: “Yeah, Law wanted to cut it. With his sword if you believe it. Mind you he was kind of delirious when he offered, so I definitely had to decline that for now.”
'No. That’s not it.', Smoker signed, 'You look less burdened.'

The tall man looked surprised for a moment, then he looked up at the clear blue sky.
“I guess I am.”

“You know, the paperwork to have you reinstated would take some time, but we could start right now. If you wanted.”, Fujitora interrupted the short moment of piece.

Rosinante buried his hands in his pockets.
The unspoken truth was hanging heavy in the air between them. Aside from the fact that it would take a whole lot of physical therapy before the Marines would reinstate Rosi as anything other than a desk clerk, there was Trafalgar Law. The little former warlord turned regular pirate had a hold on Rosinante’s parental heart.

“I’ll have to think about it.”, the little Liar said.
Smoker had missed his friend.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You never knew how much pain holds you back until it suddenly disappears. Princess Mansherry's ability was truly amazing.

Sanji thought her fluffy dandelions might have healed more than just his leg though. He felt suddenly invigorated, like he'd just eaten a particularly nutritious meal. His heart didn’t feel like it would break out of his rib cage every time he saw a beautiful person, only a normal pounding,
no pain in the chest. Or his head.
Son of the Sea, he even breathed easier!

He hadn't wanted to accept her gift initially, there were people with injuries worse than his. It wasn't like he needed the help. 

Then Chopper had told the traitorous Marimo to keep him in bed even if he had to sit on him. Bastard didn't need to take it literally. He was pretty sure their Doctor hadn’t meant anything suggestive by it, like that heavy ass musclehead throwing his limbs over Sanji’s body and napping. Like an overgrown cat.

On the other hand, the lovely bastard had donated the blood himself and ambushed him with the healing flower wrapped in his coat.
"So I don't accidentally touch it.", he'd said.

What was Sanji supposed to do? It was basically emotional blackmail! Zoro wasn't even gracious about it. Smug as anything, when he'd wrapped his meaty Gorilla hands around the cook's shin testing the healed bone after the pretty pale green Dandelion touched it: "Better right?"

He liked to do that now, piss of Sanji and start a fight in the little cottage the former Toy Soldier graciously hosted them in, just to wait until they were out of breath to hold the blond's ankle and smile at him all obnoxiously.

The cook’s blood boiled just thinking about it.

Of course he put all that excess energy forward. There was a whole country waiting for someone to take care of them. And when Luffy woke up he'd want a big meal, after all he'd slept the whole day and yesterday already.  

No time to think about the Algae brain winking at him when he caught Sanji watch him train. 

He took stock of the ingredients still available, with Goji taking notes of everything they needed. They'd have to go to the former townsquare and see what had been salvaged from the ruins. Sanji didn’t mind sharing Sunny’s stock a little, but they needed to think about the journey ahead. He couldn’t neglect his crew’s health and safety to feed a whole town. Let the Marines do something useful for once and open up their pantry.

“Do you have your list?”, he asked Goji while checking his own bag.

“You’re leaving?”, Sabo gently detangled Luffy’s grabby arms from around his leg as he stood up, “I’ll accompany you a bit. I guess it’s time for me to go back to work as well.”
He made to grab for his coat - Sanji stepped in his way.
“Don’t worry, I got this. Most of the ingredients are for the sick tent in the town square anyway. Not far to carry.”, he smiled at him, “You can stay with Luffy, I’m sure he’ll be glad to see you first when he wakes up.”

The revolutionary stiffened up; Sanji noticed.
“I’m not so sure about that… Besides I have my duties with the revolutionaries to go back to. I’m sure Mt team is already waiting for me.”, the smile on Sabo’s face looked forced.
The cook hummed: “They can manage without you for a few days. Besides, when is the next time you’ll see each other? You never know on these seas.”
“I just came to see him before I left. C.P. 0 is already on their way here. You should leave as soon as you can too.”, that’s what the idiot said, but his eyes were still stuck on Luffy.

“Why can’t you leave with us then?”, Goji seemed upset for his sleeping friend, “Luffy will probably be very sad if you are gone when he wakes up! And … and his birthday is next week. Can’t you at least stay until his birthday?”

How did he even know that? Sure, Sanji kept track of everyone’s birthdays so he could make something extra-special that day, but Goji? There wasn’t a shared calendar or something as far as he knew.

They didn’t get to celebrate that many birthdays together, before they got separated for two years. But Sanji had made sure to ask everyone's preferences, allergies and date of birth when they joined the crew. He'd had plans...

On Momoiro Island Ivankov let him take a day off from training on the other's birthdays, so he could mope in the kitchen and try out dishes he’d like to make when they met again.
Speaking off…
 
“Can’t you take some time off? You know, family emergency or something?”, where did Sanji put his stuff from the ship?
Sabo sighed, as he was ganged up on by the two very determined brothers: “It’s not that easy. The revolutionaries aren’t the Marines. We don’t get paid time off.”

Found it!
“Goji, go check on Zoro yeah? He’s been at it for a while now.”
The kid looked back suspiciously, but went outside grumbling, nevertheless.
“Why did you send the kid away?”, the revolutionary had the audacity to put his coat on like the conversation was already over.

“Because that cunt can’t stay kid-friendly if her live depended on it.”, Sanji let the transponder ring, “Yo, Iva, can you do me a favor?”
 Sabo startled as the monarch’s voice tittered out of the snail’s mouth: “How rude! First call I get and you’re already making demands Sanji-boy. You’re not getting any more recipes you know?”
“Different kind of favor. Do you guys get any time off?”, the cook suddenly had to play keep away with a distressed revolutionary gesturing at him to shut up.

“Oh~. Not gone for a week and you already miss this beautiful vixen? I do have to say you’re a bit too young for me though. And I already have a hot piece of ass at home!”

“Gross.”, Sabo had given up and banged his head at the table.
Sanji was kind of regretting his selfless act. This call was going to cost his captain a few weeks’ worth of dish washing! “Not for me, damn it. I’m asking for Luffy… kind of.”
Immediately the Queen lost the teasing tone: “Oh! Sure, anything for Strawhat-boy!”
Finally they were getting somewhere!

“Sabo’d like to stay a bit. Think you can do something about that?”
The other blond had propped his chin on his hand in defeat: “'Sabo' wouldn’t like anything. You’re forcing this on me.”
“Sa-boy! You’re there? And you are actually taking a break for once?”, there was a crash from Ivankov’s side of the call. As if someone had flung themselves dramatically off a chair.
“Yeah.”, the Revolutionary sighed, “I would like to wait at least until my little brother wakes up. Think that you can manage without me?”
“It’s about damn time! Don’t worry I will talk to Dragon about this, you little workaholic.”, his voice sounded distant, as if he was up and about to leave the room already.

Sanji didn’t feel too bad about hanging up without saying goodbye.
“I guess she’s going to call you back about the particulars.”, he turned to Sabo.
The poor guy wordlessly dropped to the floor and let himself be pulled back by a sleeping Luffy.
He probably needed a good break.

Time to go shopping.
Outside Goji sat with Momo on Zoro’s back, while the Marimo was doing pushups. Every time he pushed up, the kids giggled and when he went down again, they whooped with joy.
Maybe he’d let them have their fun for a bit longer, groceries could wait.

While Sanji watched the three, Kin’emon stepped up next to him with a paper in hand.
“Are you still ‘not fond’ of your swordsman?”, he grinned smugly at the cook.

Why did he even remember that talk? It was … actually just a few days ago, but still. A lot had happened. Not just with the whole Dressrosa disaster. Sanji had come to terms with a few things as well: “So what? Maybe you were right. Maybe I do want that Wakame thing with the Mossball.”
“I’m happy for you. You make a strong couple!”, Kin’ clapped him comfortingly on his shoulder as Sanji sank into despair, “And it’s Wakashudou.”

“What did you say?”, Zoro had paused in his workout and was intently watching them from the ground.
Sanji clicked his tongue at him. Nosy bastard: “I called you Seaweed Salat you green haired menace.”
The mosshead winked: “No need to do things so formal, we’re Pirates aren’t we?”
He’d listened in the whole time, didn’t he?
It would be fine if the ground just swallowed him now.

“Alright, off to your dads now. I need to get up.”, at Zoro’s words, Goji obediently trotted over to Sanji while Momo made his way towards Kin’emon a bit grumpier.

The blond watched the swordsman sit up and stretch: “If I’m the dad what are you?”
“The Babysitter?”, he slung a towel over his shoulders before chugging a pint of what the cook could only hope was water.
“I don’t think so.”, Sanji glared at him jokingly, barely containing a smile, “If you’re awarding me with all the responsibility, you’re at least Co-Parenting!”
Zoro hummed: “You already wanna get married love cook?”

Someone lounging on the ground at his feet should not possess this much confidence. The marimo laughed when the blond turned on his heel embarrassed, with Goji trailing after him.
“Whatever.”, he called back, “Take a shover you smell like garbage!”
“Wipe your nose!”, came back from behind them.
Damn his high blood pressure.

Wait. His nose wasn't even bleeding!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Robin had decided to come with Franky while he made some routine inspections, maybe some upgrade some machinery at the ship.
Nothing could keep that man from working, she thought fondly.
Kyuin and Pink had tagged along as well, so now they stepped onto the ship together.

“Why do I have to still be chained up? Haven’t we gone through so much together already?”, in the kitchen, Caesar was trying to haggle Nami out of his binds.
Their long-suffering Navigator let out a sigh: “Because you are the least trustworthy person in the entire 7 seas. Now what I asked about…” 
“Ah so demanding. Without even showing a little bit of mercy!”, Caesar narrowed his eyes at her, “I don’t just share my knowledge out of the goodness of my heart.”
“Just be glad you do have a heart. If it wasn’t so gross and disgusting, I would have kept it.”, Nami perked up when she finally noticed Robin standing in the doorway.

The darkhaired woman smiled back at her: “We could always wake up Law and ask him to cut it out again. Not sure if he’s not going to just dispose of it, though. Now that he doesn’t need to blackmail Doflamingo anymore.”
She wouldn’t actually do it of course.

The poor guy needed his sleep just as much as Luffy did. Not to mention that ‘Cora’ would probably murder them all.
As Robin made her way to the cabinet with the tealeaves Sanji kept conveniently sorted by type and date, the scientist backpedaled: “There is no need to wake that guy. I’m sure we can come to an understanding between us. He must be exhausted from all the fighting…
Señor Pink?”

Pink and Kyuin had sat down at the dining table next to Nami, opposite of the purple gas-man. The Señor looked a little stiff, when he regarded Caesar, but ultimately seemed to choose to ignore him.
“What the fuck are you wearing? That looks like normal clothes! Where’s your bib? Your…”, Robin interrupted him by slapping his mouth shut with an extra pair of hands reaching out of the wall behind him. He could only glare daggers at her from his chair.
“So, what are your plans, now that you’re on the run from the government?”, she asked their visitors.

As Robin poured the hot water into the pot, clanking drifted up from the engine room. It looked like Franky decided to refuel while he was down there.
“We decided to stay with the Happo Navy for now. Go and be a part of Bǎobèi’s wedding. If the two of them aren’t going to be reasonable and get to know each other first, I’ll at least want to make sure their marriage is successful.”, Pink took a cup from the tablet she had used her power to carry over.

“I’d like to write my brother.”, Kyuin nearly reached the ceiling, even while sitting down, “I want him to know I’m moving to Kano country for now. Regardless of if things work out between me and Señor Pink. Not that he’d be worried anyway, he is rather carefree you know?”
Nami couldn’t hold back her curiosity: “Is your brother a Pirate too?”
“He is! He’s in Wano right now.”, the tall woman happily took a sip of tea.

Caesar wiggled himself free from Robin’s powers: “That means he’s with Kaido, doesn’t it? You know these monkeys are going to Wano to fight Kaido?”
Only to be promptly kicked by Nami under the table. “I forgot that the bastard actually knows something about this whole underground network.”
He gasped offended.

Kyuin stared at the table and sighed: “Don’t worry, I won’t hold it against you. I won’t even tell him about it. Thanks to you guys, Pink and I are not in prison. I do have to warn you though: Kaido and his men are strong. Especially my brother! He’s a bit of a monster….”

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence that stretched between them. Not even Caesar dared to open his loud mouth.
Of course just then Franky burst through the door, moping the sweat from his face as he retrieved a cola from the fridge. He had a sense for timing: “What did I miss?”

Kyuin expression brightened again: “Pink and I chose to stay with the grand Strawhat fleet.”
“The grand Strawhat fleet?”, that was news to Robin.
“Was that supposed to be a surprise?”, the other woman turned towards Pink, “I’m so sorry!”

“Naw, don’t lose your cool. I don’t think it was a secret or at least nor a well kept secret.”, Señor Pink seemed to ponder a bit, “The captains that fought in the Colosseum with Strawhat want to pledge allegiance and follow him. Your Captain is going to be a big name after all this.”
A groan of despair left Nami’s mouth. You could see in her face that she was picturing all the new and exciting trouble Luffy could drag to their doorstep.

Robin just smiled into her tea: “I’m not sure how he is going to take that. He never seemed interested in a big crew.”
“At this point, I am not sure you can stop all of those fools from following him.”, the Señor’s shrugged.
Throwing himself into the chair next to Robin, Franky just laughed: “At least that means you won’t be a stranger bro!”

It was always a delight to hear that man’s boisterous laugh, she thought to herself.

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Sanji scratched under the fake beard Kin’emon had made him. They already had a solid base for the menu today, a bean and brown rice stir-fry with a side of curried salmon. If anything was in surplus on this Island it was fish. With all the work that was done today, a high energy meal was best, but he would like something warming too.
They couldn’t eat soup every day, a good cook knew how to keep mealtime warried!
Perhaps a spice-tea with milk? Some Kumin, Chili… maybe cinnamon to balance the taste?
He had to think about it some more.

He glanced at Goji, who had his bandana pulled over the distinct eyebrows they shared. Maybe a child friendlier version as well, less spicy and with some cocoa.

“Do you like Hot Chocolate?”, Sanji still wasn’t sure what the Kid did and didn’t like to eat. He never complained about any of the food, but the blond was painfully aware that that didn’t necessarily mean he had no preferences. Just that Goji might never have had any options before.

The boy seemed to hesitate at first, but after seeing Sanji’s reassuring smile, he answered: “Sweet food isn’t my favorite…”
“Just like Zoro.”, the two of them could have their own less sweet batch of tea, “Maybe some spiced apple juice?”

“Heeey!”, in the distance a tall figure waved at them. Miteux wasn’t as scruffy looking anymore, still clumsy though as he made his way through the crowd.
“Cora, I thought you were helping Miss Mansherry with the Perma-dandelions.”, Sanji grinned when Goji immediately perked up as well. Kids seemed to just love that big awkward guy. Cora always looked a little caught off guard though.

“Can I bum a smoke?”, as Cora came closer another familiar face appeared trailing behind him, “Law won’t let me buy any, I swear he has a sixth sense or something. You would think after 10 years the Kid would be more lenient.”

Vice-Admiral Smoker narrowed his eyes at Sanji: “Just ask me. I have enough.”
The man looked terrible; they definitely hadn’t left him this banged up last time the crew saw him.
“I don’t want your cigars. I’m gonna puke, I want actual smokes.”

He led them to a quieter corner of the street, a bit less cleared of debris but private.

As a pirate Sanji probably shouldn’t worry about some Marine that spent his time chasing them around, but he couldn’t help it. He was soft.
“Here take them. I’m trying not to smoke around the kid… as much.”, it was a work in progress, “You here to arrest us?”

Cora gratefully took the offered pack of cigs and the lighter, curiously pulling a familiar card out of the box. It was the one Goji had given him, the silly little drawing of Zoro. Hastily and with a red head, Sanji took it back. That was his treasure, he wasn’t just lightheartedly going to give it away!

“Some old geezer and his grandson?”, Smoker actually made a joke, even if he rolled his eyes for good measure, “Naw, I’m on leave.”
He patted Goji’s head, inspecting the kid. His little brother was vibrating in excitement, but sometimes he could still be a little shy when ‘the adults talked’.
That reminded him: “How are the other brats? And the lovely captain Tashigi, of course!”

He got a nod from the other man this time. The marine had to clear his throat before he answered. Was he sick? That didn’t sound good.
“They’re fine. Detox is going well.”, with great effort Smoker kneeled down to Goji: “Your friends are going to be alright.”
The kid had tears in his eyes when he nodded.

“Oh my. This is the second time this week I’ve seen a Marine official on his knees.”, a posh man spoke up in front of them. He didn’t make any effort to move along even when both Smoker and surprisingly Cora glared at them through narrowed eyes.
“What do you want, Big Mom Pirate?”, Sanji spit out at the egg-shaped bastard they had already met on fishman Island a few days prior, “Wasn’t there a talking Lion last time?”

Baron Tamago stroked his pointy mustache and watched him through the dark lenses of his glasses: “A Mink would draw too much attention on the streets of Dressrosa. Especially as they are now.”
Sanji didn’t think it wise to comment on the bright pink suit, the eggshell design of his jacket or the teacup on the man’s head. It should be obvious, that he wasn’t doing himself any favors.

“Did the Big Mom Pirates swallow you up, Gang ‘Bege’ Capone?”, Smoker finally stood up as well.
The Strawhat could see the slight stiffness of his body, when he moved. So, their opponents could probably see this as well.
Out of the three of them, only Sanji was in any fighting shape: “Let’s not make this a big deal. This country’s been through enough, no need to destroy buildings where the cement hasn’t even had time to dry.”

“I agree.”, Gang ‘Bege’ was someone that looked like he had already been through the wringer twice. His eyes had dark bags under them in addition to the lines starting to mark his face. It would have probably helped as well, if he’d shaved this morning or just smiled once in his entire life. At least his pinstripe suit wouldn’t have been out of place on a normal day in this town.

“No need to fight with a marine here. Besides, you’re outmanned anyway.”, a little drawbridge opened up in the man’s chest, revealing a group of tiny men pointing their rifles at them. What sort of power did he have?
Baron Tamago fished an envelope out of his Jacket: “We’re just here to deliver an invitation to Mama’s next Tea party.”

He held it out a box for Sanji to take. He lifted the lid and was met by beautiful cursive lettering:

The Wedding
of
The Third Son of Vinsmoke: Sanji

&

The Thirty-Fifth Daughter of Charlotte: Pudding

“Is this a joke?”, it was just like his father to pretend, insist really, that he was dead for more than a decade and then arrange something like this.

“Mama never jokes about a wedding.”, Tamago pulled his nose up at him, “There’s more. It’s a wedding gift after all.”

Annoyed, Sanji wanted nothing more than to crush the box under his heel and throw it back in the guy’s face.
Smoker’s shocked expression let him pause though: “So your Captain thinks she can tame Strawhat? Wedding or no Wedding that little Demon won’t just do whatever she wants, you got to know that, right?”

“Actually, Mama doesn’t care about that little rubber boy. He’s nothing but a nuisance really. This is about family.”, Tamago’s glasses stared into Sanji’s soul.

He lifted the card, there was a message scrawled on the back in a long-forgotten handwriting.

I don’t need the child. Come and I’ll forget he exists.
-Vinsmoke Judge

At the bottom of the box rested a picture. It had been taken from afar and under different circumstances it would have been a nice picture.
Serene.

Zeff was standing at the railing of the Baratie looking pensively out at the ocean, a folded newspaper in his hand. He hadn’t seen the old man in two years, under these circumstances it was bittersweet to now have a recent picture of him.

The threat was clear.

At least he didn’t need to drag anyone else into this.
He interrupted Smoker’s interrogation: “Can I at least go and tell my crew?”
“No Time.”, Capone eyed up the snarling, white-haired Vize Admiral, “The place is crawling with Marines.”
Sanji wanted to scream.

Fine then.
“I need to borrow your pen, little Eggplant.”, he quickly scribbled on the back of the card, right under his bastard progenitor’s message.
He hoped his friends would understand. He hoped they could forgive him.

Sanji crouched down in front of a confused looking Goji. He absentmindedly made sure the bandana still covered his little brother’s eyebrows. Better not test how much the two behind him knew.
“Can you give this to Zoro from me?”, the cook took the picture of Zeff -he couldn’t give it away- and handed Goji the box with the letter, “Don’t open it, it’s a present.”

The kid blinked at him confused: “I thought it was for you?”
He shook his head and hugged Goji one last time: “Don’t worry, he can have it now. I already read it.”
That didn’t help in the slightest, his petit chou still seemed to want to ask more question.
There just wasn’t any time.

He turned to Cora next: “I’m sorry, but you’re going back anyway, right? Would you take him to his dad? It looks like I have some family matters to attend real quick.”
“Real quick, huh?”, the taller man seemed to know what was up as well. Maybe Sanji was the only one who hadn’t been aware that an invitation from Big Mom was mandatory.
Smoker was silently fuming, but even that stubborn bastard understood not to get involved.

The cook looked at the two executioners waiting quietly to bring him to his doom: “What now?”
“We best talk somewhere more comfortable.”, Gang ‘Bege’ answered.

His heart hurt, when he felt himself drawn into the castle in Capones Belly.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Something was wrong.
Luffy wasn’t sure what it was, but he had a bad feeling when he woke up.
He blearily opened his eyes and turned his head to look around the room. There was a body lying next to him, Torao… He was still sleeping.

Something heavy was lying on his leg. Luffy propped himself up a little.
Ah, Momo was taking a nap too. He wished he could go back to sleep as well, he was still so tired.
He wasn’t even that hungry… compared to other post-fight black outs.

There was no food here though. Speaking of, where was here?
It wasn’t the Sunny, even though Momo was here.
He was lying on a Futon in a little wooden hut, Torao was too. So, someone had put them to bed.
Luffy threw his head back and groaned. Whatever. He just wanted something to eat.

“Oh, you’re awake, already?”, that was Zoro!
He already felt more alive! His friend was sitting to his left with Kin’ and … a puppet man?
Chipper the rubber boy asked: “Zoro, what’s that?”
The others were safe if the swordsman was already drinking.

Luffy gently shoved Momo off him and onto the thin Mattress proper, before crawling over to the group sitting around a small table on the floor.
“It’s Sangria. A local fruity drink. The cook left some in the fridge over there.”, Zoro lifted his mug and showed him the red liquid with fruits swimming in it, “There is leftovers from breakfast too.”

It hurt to move but was so worth it when he found grilled sausages and scrambled eggs put aside on a platter. Not much, but better than nothing.
He plopped back down and took a fresh cup from his crewmates hands.  
“Thanks!”, Luffy grinned and sniffed at the drink, ah alcohol. Oh well: “I actually meant that. And where are we?”

Kin’ and Zoro followed his outstretched pointer finger as he started shoveling down his breakfast.
The swordsman laughed: “Kin’emon’s friend? And this is Kyros’ hut.”
The Soldier! So, he was fine. Luffy was glad, he’d lost him somewhere in the chaos.

The redhaired man gasped offended: “I am Evening Shower Kanjuro!”
“Luffy-dono doesn’t mean anything bad by it. He’s just … very honest.”, Kin’ seemed to find it funny as well, he was smiling at the Strawhat Captain relieved.
“I guess you can’t expect manners from pirates.”, Kanjuro sniffed. He was a funny one.

Luffy’s eyes were trying to fall closed on their own. Usually not a problem, he could doze and eat at the same time when he was exhausted like this, but something was still niggling him at the back of his mind. He’d woken up for a reason!

He chewed thoughtfully, everyone else was probably out and about.
There was one person he had expected to be here though: “Where is Sabo?”
“Ah, he left a while ago…”, Zoro trailed off.
“He’s gone already?”, tears sprang to Luffy’s eyes, “but there is so much I wanted to talk to him about!”

“Calm down you crybaby.”, a wavy haired, grinning blonde opened the door and stepped inside, “I just went to get you a Vivre card. With all your new friends you need a way to stay in contact, right?”
“Sabo!”, swallowing the last bite of his food, Luffy scrambled up and sprang into his brother’s arms.
He was still here! He could still see him; he was real and alive and nothing bad had happened while he was asleep!

They were both laughing and crying, hugging each other tightly. Last time everything had been on a timer, but now he could just sling his arms and legs around Sabo and dare anyone to try and make him let go.

“They’re building a statue of you in town… Well of Lucy.”, Sabo murmured into his shoulder.
Who cares? They could build statues how much they wanted, he already got what he came for.
Revenge for Torao, lunch, help for Rebecca and he got Sabo back as a bonus!
He said as much, making his brother laugh.

Someone very timidly cleared their throat behind the pair. Oh, Rooster was here too.
He still couldn’t look at anyone directly, preferring to speak to the floor, while clutching the Newspaper to his chest: “It is a magnificent statue! Even though it doesn’t really capture the magnificence of the real Mister Luffy!”

“That me and the cook on the cover?”, Zoro had tilted his head around Rooster to see better.
Luffy pouted: “No fair! I beat Mingo, why am I not on the cover?”
Arms pressed tighter around his waist as Sabo started to shake with laughter.

When the Strawhat’s captain stretched his head over to an embarrassed Zoro, he had to giggle as well:
“Sanji looks very surprised!”
“He does not!”, Zoro first covered the picture with his hand and then decided to flip to the pages instead, “Whatever, go and write in Bartolomeo’s fanbook. He’s got everybody’s autographs except for yours.”

Rooster nearly ripped his own nose ring out, so fast snapped his head up. It was lucky his finger slipped while he was nervously twirling with it.
He was such an odd guy, nearly tripping over himself as he pulled a little rectangular booklet out of his pocket and eagerly presented it.

Luffy smiled. Alright, if everyone else did it and it made that cooky man happy, why not? His head returned to his shoulders with a rubbery snap and, still refusing to completely let go, he twisted his upper body, so he could reach the paper.
It was weird though. Collecting people’s writing.
“Do you not know how to write your name Luffy?”, Sabo peeked over his shoulder, “You only wrote ‘Me’.”

The Strawhat squinted at his hastily scribbled letters: “Yeah, so? Hey! I do know how to write my name!”
His brother pursed his lips: “You’re supposed to write your name, how is he supposed to know who it’s from then?”
“Zoro only wrote swords.”, the man is question was thumbing through the wanted posters and not listening to Luffy in any way.

Rooster quietly stuttered: “It’s fine really, anyway you wanna sign is fine! It’s more authentic that way.”
“Oh Look, Chopper put a Hove print and a little squiggly line down there.”, Sabo took the pen from him, “Here let me…”, he wrote ‘from Luffy’ in neat curly letters under the ‘Me’.
He pouted. Fine he could write all fancy too, after all he was slung around the person who thought him. Luffy drew an arrow to the last line and carefully wrote ‘Sabo wrote that’, signed: ‘Luffy’.
“There! Now it’s not as confusing!”

A pillow hit the side of his head: “Can you shut the fuck up? Some people are still in recovery here!”
“Sorry, Torao!”, the other captain had already dropped back down in defeat though.
Only to stand up in the next moment and join them at the table: “Is Cora still out?”

Instead of a real answer Zoro grumbled his own question, his brows furrowed: “Why does Curly’s poster say ‘only alive’?”
“Who cares? What’s our bounty’s now?”, silly details like that weren’t important. What was important was that they used the same picture for Sanji’s Wanted Poster as for the newspaper, a little blurred and with Zoro cut out though.

Luffy finally let himself be persuaded to sit next to Sabo and drop down.
They were still leafing through the posters, chatting, eating and drinking, when the door sprang open again and Nami ran in.

She panted hard, barely able to catch her breath: “That Lion Guy from Big Mom’s crew came and tried to attack us!”
“What? Are you all okay?”, Luffy was up fast. That bad feeling was back again, only worse.
Luckily Nami looked unhurt: “He tried to get Caesar, but I was there with Robin and Franky. They’re holding him on the Sunny right now.

What would he want with Gassy? That man was annoying as all hell. Why would anyone actually want to have him around? He was an asshole.

It was like his stomach had tied itself into a knot. Something telling him to hurry, before it was too late.
Luffy would find out himself. He took off, much to their navigator’s protest.

As he was running towards the harbor, he could feel Zoro and Law hot on his heels.
Somewhere behind him were Sabo, Nami and Kin’ as well. Rooster too.

It would be good for most of the crew to be there.
“Where is everyone?”, he huffed out.
“I’ll try calling the others.”, Nami had one of their snails with her, “That’s odd. I can’t reach Sanji?”
“The cook always answers when one of the girls calls.”, now Zoro was worried too.

They arrived at their destination quickly, but Luffy stopped well before they could see the Sunny.
He knew the man staring over the water into the distance.
“Smokey. What are you doing here?”, he mustered the marine suspiciously, “Did you take Sanji?”
Smoker looked at him grimly: “He’s on that ship over there.”

What ship? There was just a dot on the horizon. It was too far to reach already, even with the Sunny.
Luffy didn’t need to think twice, he coated his fist in Haki and threw a punch.
The man disappeared in a white cloud: “Stop that!”

“Where are you taking him?”, Luffy shouted as he tried to hit any body part, as he swept with his armamented leg through the smoke. Not again. He needed to do something! They couldn’t take anyone else from him!

The dust sprang apart at the last second again, Smoker’s face forming in one of the clouds: “Why does nobody understand that I’m ON LEAVE?! I didn’t take your cook!”
He was hurt and tired and panicked, so it didn’t take long before Luffy was on the ground with a sea stone covered stick pressing him down, while a sword to the throat prevented Smoker from moving further.

“That’s what I get for trying to honor a request from a friend.”, the Marine growled, as he glared at Zoro.
The older man breathed in, deeply, and let out a big sigh.
“Listen. I’m here to give you this…,” he pulled a flat box out of his coat and handed it to a confused Zoro, “and tell You, that Rosi is fine.” He pointed at Law and then massaged the bridge of his nose.
“Even though that’s bullshit and he’s off doing something unnecessary again.”

Zoro was frozen, as he read the white card with the golden lettering he’d found.
So, the marines didn’t have Sanji, but who did?
“What does it say Zoro?”, Nami was hugging herself, looking just as lost as Luffy felt.
He turned it around, then grit his teeth and handed it to his captain: “It’s from the cook.”
 
“Where are they going?”, Torao sounded calm, but his whole body was shaking.
For a moment it looked like Smoker was in pain, when he said his next words: “They’re going to Whole Cake Island.”

Luffy read the card himself.
There was a lot of unnecessary shit on there, something about a wedding and children, but at the bottom on the back was Sanji’s handwriting.

Mossy,
I’m Sorry.
Please take good care of Goji until I come back.
I love really did like you.
-Sanji

“Is Sanji getting married to someone else than Zoro?”, Luffy glanced at his swordsman. He might not be the most romantically intuitive, but even he could see this was a weird situation. Sanji had chosen a bad time for a ceremony.
“Are you going to be okay, if he brings his wife back?”

“He’s not coming back.”, Torao bit out.
“Cook said to take care of Goji.”, suddenly Zoro’s eye widened, “Where is Goji?”
Smoker pointed into the distance again: “He snug on board.”

The Heart Pirates’ captain looked defeated, as he let his head hang: “Damn it, Cora.”
Luffy was so confused, everyone seemed to know what was going on except for him.

Even Nami and Kin’ were exchanging uncomfortable glances, before their Navigator piped in: “What do we do now?”

Maybe Luffy didn’t need to understand all the details.
There was only one right answer after all: “We’re going to get them of course.”