Chaos was the best word to describe the battlefield's state now. Even among the staunchest supporters of Absolute Justice, Ace and Luffy took second place to Blackbeard's opening salvo.
Even Akainu had grudgingly put Ace and Luffy out of his mind. For all the trouble that they would undoubtedly cause in the future, the menace now before them had nearly single-handedly vindicated his worries that the price of the war would put Justice beyond their power to enforce.
At this point, anyone on the Navy's side with a brain and emotions was most interested in simply surviving the day to fight again.
Unfortunately for the Whitebeards, there was a rather large group of powerhouses who lacked those qualifications, and the soap bubbles that had been keeping said group at bay were diminishing fast. And the bubbles' mistress was nowhere to be found.
In her place was a single Pacifista who had broken through the waning foam and landed a sneak attack on her. One that would leave her out of commission for the next three days. And with Kalifa down, the foam began to dissipate, and the Pacifistas were able to rapidly re-coordinate with one another and break through the ex-Agents' attempts to impede them. It especially didn't help that the violent shifting of the ice had thrown one particular agent off-balance, allowing the Pacifistas' commander to nearly take his head off before rallying their troops.
This led to the current situation of Sentomaru standing before the would-be escapees, tapping the haft of his axe in his palm while his cybernetic troop surrounded them, jaws dropped, and hands raised and at the ready.
"Now, normally, I don't care much for fieldwork. Don't take things personally; try not to get too invested. But just this once?" Sentomaru grit his teeth as he veritably strangled the handle of his axe. "I am willing to make an exception, because that rubber-brained imbecile you have with you has made the past two weeks nothing short of hell for me. So here are your choices: bow your heads and let me make it quick…"
The outlaws' various glowers and grimaces were all illuminated by the manufactured warriors' charging armaments.
"Or fight and die to them. And rest assured, I've given them the orders to make it slow."
"You and what buoyant army?" Ace sneered, aiming his palm down at the ice. "FLAME COMMANDMENT!"
A tidal wave of fire shot from his hand and towards the Pacifistas, steam soaring from wherever it touched. Sentomaru grimaced, but a sweep of his Haki-infused axe extinguished the flames nearest him, leaving the rest to—disperse harmlessly when the lead Pacifista pushed the air out of the blaze.
The Revolutionaries' expressions ranged from the murderous to the distraught, and the pirate brothers both grimaced. Sentomaru, however, actually allowed himself a grin.
"You won't sink us without getting past PX-0. And I think you know better than anyone: nobody gets past him."
"His name… is Kuma!" Koala snarled, ice shattering around the foot she stomped in Sentomaru's direction.
"It is PX-0, and it's a walking corpse. Just like you're all going to be once Vegapunk is through with you." Sentomaru raised his hand. "All units, fire at will."
The glow from over two dozen Bartholomew Kuma lookalikes intensified as lasers charged.
Luffy withdrew all of the electrified feathers he had left while flames clustered in Ace's hands, and Sabo's staff gleamed obsidian. The fishmen (and honorary fishwoman) readied their fists. They prepared to strike, to parry—
KRRRRRRRBOOM!
And then the world exploded around them, several feet away from actually hitting them.
"What the…?" Ace stared in gape-mouthed shock as smoke and fire swirled around them all, somehow kept at bay. "What just happened?"
As the smoke cleared, revealing the wrecked forms of half a dozen of the androids, everyone understood what had just happened. The air shimmered in a circle around them, barring even the incredible force of the cybernetic weapons from breaking through.
"No…" Sentomaru gasped in horrified fury, casting his eyes around the area. Because he knew what that power was, he'd seen it before, but it wasn't possible, it just wasn't possible—!
"HEHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Impossible or not, he couldn't deny the truth. Sentomaru's eyes found their mark on the edge of the shattered seawall. Green hair, sharp teeth, fingers held up and crossed before him; the user of the Barrier-Barrier Fruit, one of the Thirteen Supernovas, and Straw Hat Luffy's number one fan.
"Go ahead and try again, metalheads! Maybe I'll actually feel it this time!" 'Black Bart' Bartolomeo cackled ecstatically, his tongue wagging over his crossed fingers and arms. "Though you might want to focus on keeping your heads!"
That sank in for all of two seconds before more than half of the robots' heads twisted around with all the grace of an exorcism. And at the same time, all present had to hold their weapons extra hard as countless fallen swords and guns flew into the air, whirling around like a tornado. A tornado centred around the corner of the opposite seawall.
"The Magnet-Magnet Fruit—Eustass Kid!" Sentomaru roared in disbelief.
Immediately, a familiar figure stood up from where the shadows had hitherto hidden him. Red hair and a mad grin on his face, and the totality of the weapons formed into a literal giant middle finger towards Sentomaru.
"Thought you knew better than this by now, Straw Hat," Kid sneered. "You're not the only crazy bastard who wants to hog the spotlight! We're the superstars of this age!"
Kid raised his massive conglomerate hand above his head, his maniacal smile stretching from ear to ear.
"THIS IS OUR ERA!"
The mismatched metal mass snapped its fingers, and the world exploded.
The water in the bay bulged again, before bursting in a blast of spray to reveal one of the last things the Navy wanted to see: Iron Tramp. Nostra Costello. Liberal Hind. Grudge Dolph. Stay Tune. Jewelry Margarita. Hanjomaru. And Cannibal. A good-sized fleet of the most dangerous pirates in this sea, all assembled in the same place at the worst possible moment.
And at that worst possible moment, those pirates did what they did best and leaped straight to raising seven circles of hell, right in the middle of the Navy's already gargantuan problems and scrambled ranks.
"APAPA! 'Superstars', eh, Kid? But Cross and I are supposed to be the dramatic ones of our number! 'Supernovas' is a better description than just stars. After all, you've always been one to do things with a BOOM!" 'Roar of the Seas' Apoo belted out, ramming his chest hard enough to send a platoon of Marines flying.
As a direct contrast, Capone 'Gang' Bege had a sober expression as he cradled his face in his hand. "Honestly, you young punks and your obsessions with titles and accolades," he groused. "And I just had to have the misfortune of being associated with the lot of you… Though that being said…"
KA-BLAM! "ARGH!"
A maniacal grin showed under Bege's palm as he stuck his free hand under his shoulder and blasted the Vikevrir behind him with a cannon. "I'm not innocent in this either! This is the most fun I've had in my life!"
"Indeed, my brother!" 'Mad Monk' Urouge chortled, one hand raised in a show of solemn prayer - while his other cracked his pillar down upon the ice and sent a slew of Marines tumbling into the drink. "The path to enlightenment is fraught with conflict, and through this endeavour, we march ever closer to salvation! SO COME NOW!" Urouge spread his arms wide, his usual smile alone sending more than a few Marines running. "Raise your voices in prayer! Or pain. Neither I nor the divine are picky."
"None of us are particularly inclined to come all the way here and not leave our mark," the demonic scarecrow form of 'The Magician' Basil Hawkins droned. He and his allosaurus compatriot had made their entrance by tearing into the Pacifistas, already weakened from dealing with the defected Cipher Pols for so long. The walking weapons were formidable, but not even they could shrug off a demonic scarecrow ramming its iron nails into their sparking wounds and ripping them open.
Amidst all of this, Sentomaru barely hesitated, tearing away from the ones they were there to kill and instead chasing after their latest reinforcements. If this kept up, their entire Pacifista line would be reduced to scrap metal in very short order. And the bodyguard had no illusions about who would be next on the chopping block if that happened.
Unfortunately, the remaining Supernovas didn't give him the chance. And he nearly lost his temper when the one that tore away from the fray and kept him from surging any further forward was—
"What do you think you're doing, Drake!?" Sentomaru barked, weapon straining against his attacker's.
"I think it's rather obvious, don't you?" 'Red Flag' X Drake growled back, the demi-allosaurus going all-out to shove Sentomaru back. And through a combination of force and skill, he was actually forcing Sentomaru onto his back foot, the blade of his own weapon perilously close to his face.
The Government agent got an unexpected reprieve, however, when 'Massacre Soldier' Killer flanked Drake instead, his scythe scraping at the scales on the underside of his neck. The pressure let up slightly, giving Sentomaru enough room to breathe, but not much more.
"Why does it sound like this walking eating disorder knows you, Drake?" Killer calmly asked, a quiet promise of bloody slaughter in his voice. "And why is he surprised to see you here?"
Drake, entirely unconcerned with the explicit threat to his life, proudly raised his scarred chin whilst he glared down at the indignant bodyguard. "He's surprised because up until now? I was an undercover Marine assigned to infiltrate the pirate world so I could bring down an Emperor from the inside."
Astoundingly, this admission did not shock everyone in hearing range into paralysis again. It was certainly shocking; everyone just kept fighting. Not least because more than a few who heard it were enraged rather than shocked.
In particular, enraged one pirate enough for him to loom over the entire group, a small meteor's worth of metal along for the ride.
"And what, exactly, is stopping me from skinning your traitor ass alive and turning your scaly hide into my fucking codpiece!?" Kid seethed, his eyes nearly blank from sheer outrage.
Drake's only reaction was to turn his head enough to look back at his fellow pirate. "Because that was all before. Before I got a good look at the group that I'm already a part of. Before I saw what my old flag thought justice was worth, and what they were willing to do to achieve it. I joined the Marines because I wanted to be better than my old man, I wanted to be somebody who was worth something. But now… now, I know that I was wrong. I don't have to be better; I am better. So let's make this fact clear, no mistakes or doubts about it!"
What little ground Sentomaru had made back during this conversation was shoved back as Drake surged forward, fangs bared, ignoring Killer's blade digging into his throat.
"From this day forth, I resign from the Marines!" he bellowed, his saurian voice carrying across the battlefield, and enraging no small number of Marines. "Utterly, irrevocably! I'll take justice into my own hands and enact it under my own initiative! I will never let someone dictate right or wrong to me again! And make no mistake, unlike my father, I don't intend to break my word: I'll still do my duty, I'll bring the Emperors to heel… but on my own terms."
His piece said, Drake allowed his jaws to quirk up into a smirk.
"But. That's all just me. If you want a reason to let me live a little longer…"
In a blur of motion, Drake unlocked his blades from Sentomaru's, causing the bodyguard to surge forward in shock as he overcompensated—
SLASH! "GAH!"
—before Drake spun around and lashed his taloned foot up in a roundhouse kick that ripped across Sentomaru's arms, forcing him to drop his axe. An axe that Drake grabbed out of the air and tossed back to Kid, who caught it with an understated but present expression of surprise.
"How does that work as a peace offering for you?"
Kid weighed the axe in his hand, hefting it and swinging it around like it was made out of paper. After a minute, he snorted and swung the weapon up and onto his back.
"Let him live for today, Killer."
"Aye, Captain," the slaughterer replied, removing his blade and turning away in search of different prey.
For his part, Sentomaru was furiously trying to think of a way out of his current situation. He had about ten seconds, he reckoned, before he'd be losing far more than just his axe.
"BACK OFF, YOU MANGY, SCURVY-RIDDEN DOGS!"
Thankfully, fortune intervened in the form of an oversized beetle dive-bombing the area with a stream of fire precise enough that the attacking Supernovas had to pause and give it some distance. Sentomaru immediately took the opportunity to flee the scene, waving down the beetle and its rider as he left, while also running through the very unfortunate sequence of events that had led him to this point.
"This overtime," Sentomaru snarled to himself. "Was not worth pension and a pay bump!"
Then he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder, and as a taunting, female voice rang in his ears, a sense of wrongness flooded his entire body.
"Nope, totally wasn't. And don't expect those to be the only scars you walk away with."
The next thing he knew, he was flat on his face, tripping over his own clothes, and he vaguely registered a crashing sound a couple of seconds later from the direction of his reinforcements. As he tried to regain his bearings, he felt someone grab his clothes and fling him somewhere. He struck what felt like cloth over metal, just in time to yank his now-oversized shirt out of his face.
And saw a teenage girl, if not a young woman, in a too-tight Marine outfit, clutching a glowing beetle larva almost as big as she was. And Sentomaru was shorter than her legs. In fact, he didn't even measure as long as the arm of the Pacifista holding him. Oh, yes, and there was a chorus of muffled snickers and outright laughter in the background.
But amidst all the amusement, there was one individual who was perfectly unamused by the development.
'The Glutton' Jewelry Bonney stared up at Sentomaru with a dangerously sober expression, her fingers tapping rhythmically on her arms.
"Most people have a problem with hitting kids," she declared, her voice low and foreboding. "I don't. So take this one chance I'm giving you: leave, before I demonstrate that fact to the world."
Any lingering inclination to stay Sentomaru might have had, in that moment, violently died.
"…PX-0," Sentomaru squeaked in a too-high voice. "Override current command settings, authorization Sigma Theta Hyperion Omicron Ultraviolet. Get us the hell out of here."
And one second later, Bartholomew Kuma was gone, no longer a factor in the war. Which was, of course, exactly what Bonney had intended in the first place.
While all of this was going on, the three brothers and their companions had been… understandably dumbstruck. Ace was the most shocked of them, as the only one unaware of Cross's alliance with three of the Supernovas, but even for Sabo and Luffy, who did know, that didn't explain the other seven.
"…I'm starting to wonder if I should be surprised anymore," the flame-human said, still processing the sheer providence of being saved by pirates that, while not as strong as him, had precisely the abilities needed to brick the latest threat against him and his brothers. He wasn't, however, so poleaxed as not to notice one specific individual walking up to them.
"I mean, Barty isn't a surprise, but—huh?" Luffy tilted his head at the man striding up to them. "Voodoo guy? What are you—OW!"
Ace stared at the strands of straw shoving themselves into the open wounds all over Luffy's body. It did not distract him from the other strands that did the same for him.
"SONNUVA—! THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Ace roared indignantly, instinctively flaring up in a few patches.
"Attempting to fix both of you. As matters stand, you are liabilities," Hawkins bluntly declared. His demeanour then shifted to one of annoyance, his brow furrowing. "For some reason, it is not working on Straw Hat."
"Ah, yeah, I think the bullet they hit me with was Seastone, so—YEOW!" Luffy let out another howl of pain, this time caused by Hawkins unceremoniously digging his fingers into the wound in his leg. "OOOOOW! AT LEAST GIVE ME SOMETHING TO BITE ON, JERK!"
"Why?" Hawkins droned, examining the metal ball he withdrew from the wound before pocketing it and shoving his straw back in. "You literally cannot bite off your own tongue."
"THAT—…huh, good point." Luffy perked up at the thought, and then perked up further as he felt his wounds start to close up. "And that feels really good! I actually think I'm feeling a lot better—!"
"You're not," Hawkins promptly shot him and his brother both down, several more stalks of straw lancing out to hold the injured pirates to the Revolutionary's shoulders. "Hold still, this is the first time I have ever thought to apply my abilities in an altruistic manner. I would prefer not to mar it by incorrectly regrowing your tendons and crippling you."
"You should talk to Robin, she'd like you."
Hawkins's mouth twitched, and he spared a glance at the visibly strained Isuka. "I only had two proxies prepared for others," he said by way of explanation. The ex-Marine frowned a bit more deeply but offered no comment.
"What about Law? Don't tell me he's the only one who skipped out," Koala asked.
"He is…" the (literal) straw-man's gaze momentarily flicked aside. "Otherwise occupied at the moment, but present."
"Yeah, speaking of which, big question still unanswered, what the hell are you all doing here?!" Ace demanded, looking around at the assembled 'Rookies'. "This war doesn't have a thing to do with you all. Why would you help us!?"
"Not that we're ungrateful, so if you'd do us all a favour and keep helping, we would greatly appreciate it!" Sabo hastily tacked on, warily eyeing the cyborgs being dismantled around them. Kid, apparently, heard that, because he turned around and gave them all a textbook 'Are you an idiot?' expression.
"Tch, ain't it obvious, dumbasses?" he scoffed, wrenching his new axe out of a Pacifista's bisected cranium and examining its edge. If his smirk was anything to go by, he was very satisfied with the results. "This is the biggest bloodbath of this generation. No way in hell I was going to—"
"—get away with pretending," Apoo cut in, an ear-to-ear grin on his face and a very familiar seashell rolling down his double-jointed arm and into his palm. Kid choked on his spit and brandished his axe at the sight of it.
"FOR THE—you recorded that!?"
"Are you kidding? I record everything! Eeeeeverything!" Apoo's leer only deepened at the bevy of incensed and terrified looks his fellow rookies shot him. "And on top of that, I've grown a pretty good instinct for when a good speech is about to be belted, now shut up and let the world listen!"
~o~
"YOUR FATHER WAS GOLD ROGER, THE PIRATE KING!"
For the first ten seconds following Sengoku's announcement, the world hung in tense silence, people trying to process the bomb that had just been dropped in their laps.
And then on the eleventh, that bomb, and the world, exploded.
The media workers' frenzied rush cooled down remarkably quickly when they realized that this breaking news had already broken everywhere thanks to Cross. That meant they were just another group of people crying out in shock and awe.
Even in Sabaody, a nation that was fresh on the heels of a revolution of its own, the populace was whipped into the fringes of an outright riot from the sheer shock at the idea of one of the most infamous men in history—the most infamous man in living memory—leaving behind a son. A departed legend now had a new chapter - and they were about to bear witness to its end.
As for the Supernovas, seven showed varying forms of surprise, running the gamut from jaws on the ground to simply unmoving with blank looks. And even the three who already knew felt some shellshock from hearing it again. None of them had reactions that would seem out-of-place.
At least not until one of the ten abruptly turned on his heel and started power walking away, with a second hot on his heels.
"Are we leaving already?" Killer asked, raising a baby snail in front of his mask and signalling for it to call their crewmates.
"Damn straight we are. The chaos is gonna be a right hook to the world's politics, and assuming the old son of a bitch bites it when he goes to war, it'll especially hit the New World," Kid grunted, rubbing his knuckles in anticipation. "We're gonna take advantage, slip in, and fuck up all the bitches we can get our hands on."
Killer nodded, repocketing the snail. "The crew's assembling and the Tramp will be ready to set sail when we get there. We can be in the New World in—"
"No."
Kid came to an abrupt halt. The word itself wasn't the cause, though the implications of it caused him to run his hand down his face, hoping against hope that he was just having a stress-induced stroke, that this wasn't really happening. When he opened his eyes again, however, the green-haired object of his irritation was still there, having sprinted in front of him and held out his arms to bar his path.
Probably the only thing that kept Kid from forcing him aside immediately was the fact that Bartolomeo was using his body, not his barriers. Which left one question.
"Are you an idiot who has something to say, or are you just an idiot flat-out?"
"We need to go. All of us," Barto stated firmly, his voice brooking no argument.
That gave Kid a moment's pause, and he shot Bartolomeo a cocky smirk. "Ahh, alright, so you want to get in on this, make a bigger bang? Hehe, sure, why not! Maybe you're not as much of a dumbass as I—!"
"To Marineford."
Kid's smirk was swiftly murdered by the scowl that followed it. "What?"
"We need to go to Marineford. All of us," Bartolomeo repeated. "To stop this execution!"
"And why the hell should we do that?" Drake snarled out, his eyes slitting maliciously.
"Because we owe him, damn it!"
"Tch," Bege scoffed, waving his hand dismissively. "I owe only one man, and I don't see him in that hellhole."
"Not Luffy, Gang," Bartolomeo retorted, pointing at the screen. "I'm talking about saving Ace! I'm talking about Roger! We need to save his son! We owe it to him!"
"Are you cracked in the head?!" Kid spat, jabbing a finger into his own temple. "The man died twenty years ago; none of us knew him! We don't owe him squat!"
"WRONG! WE OWE HIM EVERYTHING!"
In the silence that followed that roar, every eye in earshot stared at Bartolomeo, who, for his part, stared right back with a blazing passion.
"We. Owe Roger. Everything. And I'll tell you why: in case you dipshits forgot, I come from Loguetown, so I know more about Roger than any of you, and I can say for a fact that not one of us would be here if not for him." Bartolomeo gestured vigorously. "Think about it! Without Roger, piracy woulda died out ages ago, crushed by the Marines. Wherever we were before we set out, we'd still be there today because we'd have nowhere to go. I mean…"
Bartolomeo swept his gaze over the suddenly shifty-eyed pirates, his gaze knowing.
"I want you to tell me… if you weren't here, where would you be? Go on, say it! How many of you would be dead?"
Law winced, involuntarily rubbing his throat. Hawkins shuffled his deck, then reshuffled it, his expression pointedly blank. Bege… Bege just looked away and tilted his hat over his eyes.
"How many of you would be worse?"
Trails of blood trickled down from the thumb Bonney was actively gnawing on. Killer's hands snapped into trembling fists. Drake let loose a bone-rattling snarl directed at no one in particular.
"So yeah, if you weren't here, you'd be fucked six ways to Sunday. But you're here! You're right here, halfway through the Grand fucking Line, and even if being a pirate ain't all you want in life, achieving your dream is still possible because you've still got a flag to sail under: your flag, the flag, the pirate's flag! Roger's flag! Roger started the Age of Pirates! Our age!
"So some people call Roger a monster, so the hell what!?" Barto snorted derisively. "We've all done shit we ain't proud of, that's just fucking life! So I say to hell with 'em, because even if he was a monster to them, even if he was a monster to the world, to us? To real pirates?" He thumped his fist against his chest. "He's a hero! Our hero! The hero of all true pirates, who we all owe our lives to! We owe him… and I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not the kind of asshole who goes belly-up when I've still got debts to pay! So I'm going to that war, with or without you, so that I can save his damn son."
Silence greeted the end of Barto's speech, the silence of an impending explosion. For a few seconds, Barto stared at his fellow outlaws, waiting, daring for one of them to contradict him, the only sound Sengoku's ranting in the background.
"…he's right."
All heads snapped around to look at the only woman among their ranks, who looked like she'd bitten into a rotten lemon.
"So help me, he's a complete idiot, and he smells like shit, but he's right," Bonney spat. "I ain't keeling over till my books are even, and that bastard Roger has a chip on all of us that I intend to pay back. And if I can pay it back by giving the Marines a black eye, then so much the better." And with that declaration, Jewelry Bonney rose to her feet, fire in her eyes. "I'm in."
Two more seconds and a smoke-filled sigh later, Bege was the next to rise.
"When you put it like that, I don't have much choice myself," he groused, though the ghost of a smirk played on his face.
"I suppose not," Law agreed.
"We must all walk through the Valley someday. Let that day be today, my friends!" Urouge grinned.
Hawkins spread his cards across the straw-covered table in front of him, a cursory glance over them drawing a frown from him. "Our chances of success are suboptimal, at the most optimistic…" And then, with a smirk, he folded them all back into his deck. "But if I have learned one thing from Straw Hat, it is that life is not worth much without some measure of risk."
"Ugh… good sentiment, but is this really a good idea?" Apoo groaned, knocking his fist on top of his head.
"And there we have it."
What might have turned into a drag-out argument was put on hold so the Supernovas could turn their undivided attention to Cross. And just in time to hear…
"I'd expect better from you."
Much to the surprise of most of the Supernovas, it was that which set Sengoku off hard enough for him to transform into his Zoan form.
"Wow. Cross definitely hit a nerve there," Bonney remarked. "Damned if I know which, though."
In this moment, Law was very thankful the Supernovas were so engrossed with the broadcast that he only barely had to hide the grimace that crossed his face.
"How… dare you—?"
"Of course I dare," the pirate scoffed. "I dare because it's the right thing to do. What any person with a sense of morals and integrity would dare to do."
"… WELP!" Apoo barked, getting to his feet and shooting his fists skyward, albeit bent a bit so as to avoid hitting the ceiling. "No way in hell I'm gonna be able to compete with this kind of trouble any other way. Marineford or bust!"
The broadcast was silent as Sengoku fought to regain his temper. During that time, the three who hadn't answered Barto's call to action glowered between the screen and their peers. After a moment, Killer coughed uncomfortably, eyeing his captain beneath his helmet. Kid sighed explosively and threw up his hands.
"FUCK ALL Y'ALL. I can't let you assholes show me up. Drake, you in or you lose your spine again?"
"I have had more than enough of this nonsense," the (quote-unquote)ex-Marine declared. "Call me whatever names you want, but I am going to do the sane thing and stay right here. If the rest of you want to keep letting the Straw Hats' influence drive you to the gates of insanity and back, be my guest."
The gathered pirates collectively blinked, processing that idea. And then…
"Even if it is their influence making us willing to do something this stupid, I don't give a damn," Bonney declared.
"Just leave him, we're losing time here," Bartolomeo huffed, leading the way out. And as the last of them left, Sengoku finally regained his composure.
Drake was thus the only one present to witness his reaction to Sengoku's attempt to justify the war, Ace's backstory, and Cross allowing Doflamingo to speak. The words of the tyrant that had killed his father—wretched man though he was—reverberated in the Ancient Zoan's mind, and it was to his utmost horror and fury that he realized…
That he was thoroughly unable to refute them.
"…DAMN IT ALL! WAIT THE HELL UP!" he roared, tearing off after the others.
~o~
"So don't try to pretend you don't have a soft spot here—"
"'SOFT SPOT' MY ASS, I JUMPED ON THIS BANDWAGON BECAUSE I WASN'T GOING TO BE LEFT OUT OF THIS SHITSHOW!" Kid roared. Then he turned back to the three brothers: specifically, Ace himself, who was still gaping at the Dial in shock.
"And as for you!" the punk-pirate barked, shoving his finger in Ace's gobsmacked face. "Let's make one thing clear! We're the superstars of this era, the Thirteen Supernovas, minus your brother's two schlubs! If anyone is going to kill that rubber moron, it'll be one of us on the way to Laugh Tale. And if the rest of the world calls Roger a demon?" He waved his hand with a derisive snort. "Then to hell with them. He's our hero, and this is our way of wiping the slate clean. And if you can't get over your fucking daddy issues?" He flipped Ace the bird. "Then fuck you."
"Tasteful, Kid, truly the height of sophistication," Hawkins drawled.
"Kiss my ass, you all know what I'm about," Kid snapped back, turning his ire to what remained of the Navy's forces, but especially Blackbeard and his crew. "And I'm proud of it. I'll carve my path to the top in blood and steel, and I'll rip through anyone who gets in my way. Especially rancid cheating fucks who think they can steal my fucking spotlight!"
That just served to send Blackbeard into another fit of laughter, which in turn pissed off Kid—and the rest of the Supernovas, for that matter—even more.
"Look, I think I speak for all three of us when I say I'd love nothing more than to join you in giving him the most painful death imaginable," Sabo said. "But as much as it physically pains me to admit, he's currently a mile outside our collective weight class, and I'm pretty sure we've maxed out our karmic balance simply because none of us have died screaming. We need to get the hell out of here."
"Oh, that's fine, you go ahead and do that," Kid replied, grinning maliciously as he focused his powers on what used to be the Navy's human weapons. "But I've got some new toys to try out before I go."
"We're all at peak stamina. Fat chance of us not using it while we're here," Killer agreed.
"The only problem is the lack of targets," Bege groused. And indeed, the entire battlefield had gone alarmingly quiet. The Whitebeards were still in full retreat, while the battered Marine forces were busy staring down Blackbeard and his forces, both sides waiting for the clashes between Whitebeard and Shiki, and Garp and World, to finish. Even the remaining Warlords seemed reluctant to rejoin the fray.
"What the fuck!" Kid damn near whined. "All this drama and no one to fight?!"
"No worries, Eustass Kid," Hawkins intoned, clapping his hands together with his tarot cards in between. "Your bloodlust will be sated today. The fates demand it."
The gathered Supernovas followed his line of sight to the Marine right, where a fresh block of Marines was marching up to the seawall. Very, very fresh Marines who looked like they hadn't seen the fight at all yet.
"Huh. Where'd those fuckers come from?" Bonney wondered.
"Someone desperate pulled them off the ships," Drake answered. He glanced behind him. "And yup, it's only the ships on the left that are moving to cut us off."
"Oh, please, as if a bunch of Marine grunts are going to do anything to stop us!" Bartolomeo cackled.
There was a faint cry of "Tempos!"
And then Bart hastily threw up a barrier, the head of a squared-off warhammer slamming into it barely two inches from his face. As quickly as it came, it zoomed back, Kid reaching up to grab hold of it with his powers. But his control slid right off.
"How the fuck—!" he demanded, before biting his tongue at the two people standing in front of the pack of Marines: Angmar of the Vikverir, and Lyonel, dismounted, of the Angevins. "Oh, good, then this won't be boring!"
Reaching out with his powers, Kid wrenched one of the downed Pacifistas' heads off unceremoniously, bringing a good chunk of the mechanical wiring that was its spine with it. He aimed it at the approaching small army before tearing a panel out of the back of the head.
"Yo, castle-man, think you can—?"
"Hotwire the laser cannon to fire on command?" Bege finished, kneeling beside the head. "Brat, I've forgotten more about firearms than you know about cursing. Short answer is that my engineers think so, though don't expect many shots out of whatever the power source is."
"Not a problem!" Kid replied, clawing his hand through the air and ripping more heads their way. "We got plenty of room for trial and error."
While the two went to work, most of the remaining Supernovas gathered in a knot ahead of the marching army, waiting for it to get closer.
"Hammer fuck's mine," Bartolomeo declared. "I got a bone to pick with him for nearly taking my damn head off."
"Yes, yes, and now you need to go mano a mano to prove how macho you are," Bonney snarked. "Just don't complain if one of us has to bail you out."
"Fuck you."
"You're so not my type."
"What are we waiting for, anyway?" Killer demanded just a little louder than normal.
"For them to get into range of my songs," Apoo answered, squinting mightily. "Without Soundbite to boost me, they're out of range. But they'll be in range in three… two… one…"
Grabbing his left arm and wrenching it straight, Apoo let out a screeching guitar riff that cleaved apart the ice where Angmar and Lyonel had just been. Angmar's hammer came screaming at him, and with Bartolomeo charging at the Vikverir screaming at the top of his lungs, someone else had to stop it.
That person was Urouge, who caught it with his chest - and was knocked clean off his feet, to go tumbling over the ice. While Apoo hung back and continued to direct sonic attacks into the crowd of Marines, the remaining Supernovas leapt into the fray, neatly diverting their gunfire away from him.
Well. Bonney and Hawkins did. Killer went straight for Lyonel, who drew his sword and parried the first swipes Killer tried. His pommel flashed out and smashed Killer in the face, and if it weren't for his mask taking the brunt of the damage, it would've cost the pirate teeth.
As it was, Killer staggered back, reeling, but Lyonel was unable to follow up. Drake, in hybrid form, had swooped in behind him to smash the knight's head in with his mace. Or, well, he tried. Lyonel spun around and would've taken Drake's head off had the pirate not used the ice to slide under it.
It was at this point that a laser blast, much larger than the usual Pacifista beams, caught him square in the chest and immolated him. When it cleared, the knight was slumped on his knees, eyes glazed over, and his armour melting off of him despite his sword somehow surviving the blast.
"Fuck yeah, that was awesome! Not bad, castle man!" Kid whooped, from where he and Bege were still set back, even by Apoo.
"Just send me another head already, this one burned out the lenses," Bege replied. "Typical government wastage, why spend money on proper lenses that can take overload power when you can save ten percent and get lenses that burn out on the slightest power fluctuation—!"
A head slammed down in front of him. "Quit bitching about the government and actually start shooting at them!" Kid spat.
Bege rolled his eyes, but got back to work. "No damn respect around here…"
Bartolomeo, meanwhile, had closed to melee range with Angmar. The burly Vikverir was certainly a capable hand-to-hand fighter and built like a slab of granite, but Bart was faster, and his barriers were a heck of an advantage. He'd been pressing, pushing the man back-
And naturally, that was when the hammer came back around and smacked him clean in the back of his head, smashing him face-first into his own barrier. Spitting blood from a crushed nose, Bartolomeo struggled to lift his spinning head up, though he at least got a barrier in between him and the hammer that came down. And then came down again. And again.
'Fucking—for the love of Luffy, what do they feed this guy?!' Bartolomeo shouted in his head as the distinct headache of overloading his barriers began to overpower the headache of getting smacked in the head by a hammer. 'Fuck, I actually need some help here!'
Salvation arrived in the form of Urouge, twice his normal size, rugby-tackling Angmar. Bartolomeo struggled to his feet, taking in the situation. With Angmar distracted and Lyonel down for the count, they seemed to be winning handily. That… was good, he was pretty sure.
Because clearly the head injury was even worse than he thought, if the origami frog he'd hallucinated jumping into the battlefield was any indication.
Then it exploded. And Bartolomeo felt it. So either this was a really bad hallucination, or the frog thing had been real. He wasn't sure which he preferred.
He didn't even protest when Urouge grabbed him and hauled him away like a sack of potatoes.
"I think I'm concussed, I just saw a frog go boom…" Bartolomeo slurred weakly.
"You are concussed, but you did indeed see a faux-amphibian detonate, my friend. Truly, a day filled with miracles! And we have not even seen the Promised Land yet! Such a wonderful world we live in!" Urouge declared proudly.
"Yoooou talk fuuuunny…"
"And you could use a bath, so I'd say that makes us even!"
-o-
Ivankov eyed the explosion with a grin of satisfaction.
"Hee-haw! That's finishing with a bang!" he (at the moment) declared as the ice disintegrated in front of the surviving Marines. The tank's inhabitants, of course, were at his side. "Now, let's get going. Oh, come now, Inazuma, you did splendidly," he added, eyeing his right hand.
"I know, my queen," he responded, tears coming down his face despite his unchanging expression. "But it was a masterpiece."
Sympathetic smiles surrounded the stoic scissor-man as the entire company of Newkamas used a lengthy barrier gangplank to leave the battlefield and board the Cannibal for their escape.
"Well, Mr. 2. You seem to be doing quite well for yourself," someone drawled as they came aboard.
"And you still look like you could use a decent haircut, Mr. 5!" the ex-Agent chortled, slapping his hand to his cheek to mirror the bomber-man's dreads. "And for the record, it's Bentham now, thank you very much!"
"To each his own, Kyahaha~!" Valentine chortled. She shot her ex-coworker a jaunty salute as she came down onto the deck, the rope she was holding hauling up a cannon that several grunts hauled onto the ship. "Alright, there's another one, get it mounted and ready to fire ASAP! We don't know when they're going to organize enough firepower to shoot at us, but we damn well know they will! And someone get 5 more water and shells!"
"From assassin to living nitroglycerine pump, I really need to get into a good union…" Mr. 5 groused, though he still went ahead and chugged down a bottle of water in preparation.
"I'd expect that the amount of… what's that phrase, 'bang for your beri', will be more than enough to justify this," Miss Goldenweek serenely stated. A serenity not remotely matched by the paintball turret she was currently manning on the battleship's forecastle. "Also, wasn't Mr. 3 with you?"
"He split when we set the frog tank to self-destruct," Bentham shrugged. "I think he's planning to stick with Buggy."
"Smarter than being anywhere near where I can get him under my heel!" Valentine declared, her ever-present grin taking on a much more vicious quality. Below her, deck planking splintered under a sudden weight spike.
"Promises of vicious murder aside…" Gin grunted, a look of bone-deep weariness writ across his face. "Welcome aboard the Cannibal, infamous ship of the dread pirate 'Black Bart' Bartolomeo, scourge of Loguetown and puncher of World Nobles, sonnuvabitch. I am going to murder him later for making me say this." This was said in a single breath, without ever changing his long-suffering tone.
"You will try, and the only way you will hurt him is when he busts a gut as you flail uselessly against his shield," Desire said as she stepped up next to Gin, nodding as respectfully as she could manage (which wasn't much) at their guests. "Anyway, you lot are welcome aboard for now, though you'll have to shove off once we get back to Sabaody, because that's as far as we go. Apart from that, feel free to sit back, relax, maybe pick up a rifle or two and help us send these white-hatted bastards to Davy Jones Locker before—!"
KRAK-THOOM!
A thunderous rumble rolled across the battlefield.
"MAGMA SHOWER INCOMING, FIRE AT WILL!" Apis shrieked from the crow's nest.
"—Before almost exactly that happens—ALL HANDS, PREPARE TO INTERCEPT!" Desire cursed, sweeping her hand out.
As if signalled, all the Supernovas' crews unleashed fire at the incoming hunks of molten rock, so fast and well-coordinated that it was as if they had been expecting such an assault. Because they had been.
Impressive results were achieved by the Nostra Costello and Iron Tramp through sheer volume of fire. But not the most impressive in the ad-hoc fleet.
"FIRE!"
The Cannibal took the cake. Mr. 5's extra explosions shattered what remained of the magma into shards that rained down across the battlefield. Dangerous, but not immediately deadly.
"Alright…" Gin breathed a sigh of relief, wiping his brow as he scanned the skies of the battlefield. "Alright, I think that's the last of—!"
"INCOMING!"
The pirates all suffered a collective heart attack as a final meteoric fist burst through the smoke clouds, completely missing the interception volley—
"GALAXY WINK!"
But detonating a ways away from the ships thanks to a sudden blast of air knocking it apart, with another volley wiping out the debris.
"Whew…" Ivankov exhaled, just as relieved as everyone else. "Well, I would say that I've paid for me and my boys' passage now, yes?"
Ghin and Desire nodded dumbly.
"Ahhh, how wondrous to see you live up to the name of Miracle Worker, your wondrous, your exalted—!"
"Later, Ben-boy. Preferably after I trade this migraine for a hangover."
-o-
Galdino, who observed all of this from a different spot beside the sea, rubbed his chin.
"Well, Bentham was not remotely exaggerating about Emporio Ivankov… an impressive person in all respects. Even still…" He glanced aside at the man he was tentatively entrusting his safety and allegiance to. "It says something when I would rather accompany a literal monster clown because you're the less flamboyant option."
"I can't even be offended," Buggy grumbled as he watched his new crewmates—or minions, as he mentally labelled the unaffiliated inmates who'd decided to follow him—flooded onto one of the battleships that the Navy's last-ditch effort against the Supernovas had left unmanned. "But what's your plan after getting out of here?"
"Well, I don't see any reason to part ways. If you're amenable to it, I intend to follow you for a while longer," Galdino answered, primly adjusting his glasses. "I found you reasonably cunning when we were incarcerated, and now I know that you're world-class in strength and guile alike. I have no other prospects at the moment: my debt to Straw Hat is paid, and none of my former comrades from Baroque Works are likely to want anything more to do with me. And I could do far worse for a new patron."
"…survival and prosperity, hm?"
"Well, that and I prefer to place myself in the hierarchy of another so that in the worst-case scenario, I can pass the buck for any of my wrongdoings onto you if and/or when the time comes for it." Galdino shrugged indifferently. "It's just good business, really."
Buggy hummed thoughtfully, giving the candle-man a sidelong glance. "You're quite the cold-blooded son of a bitch, aren't you?"
Galdino's answer was an unassuming smile that did not reach his icy eyes. "Remind me to show you my art portfolio sometimes. One, I can only pray Straw Hat joins someday, I might add." The wax-man's demeanour cracked with a venomous scowl. "And for once, that's not me brown-nosing, that's genuine."
"Hmm… egomaniacal tendencies coupled with an irrational hatred of that rubbery moron…" Buggy's face split with a wide grin, and he spun around and stuck out his hand. "Like looking in a mirror! Put 'er there!"
Galdino matched him tooth for tooth, clapping his hand into the Chop-man's - before squeaking in terror when that hand was crushed in Buggy's grip, and he was yanked nose-to-giant-nose with Buggy's scowling face.
"Double-cross me, and I'll feed you to my crew's lion feet-first," Buggy hissed. "Mohji keeps him… hungry. Understand me?"
Galdino whimpered miserably as he nodded frantically.
"Glad to hear it!" Buggy laughed good-naturedly, leaning back and clapping Galdino on his shoulder, taking no small amount of pleasure in the flinch that produced. "Ah, and look, my new recruits have finished acquiring our new vessel. How fortuitous! ALRIGHT, MEN!" the clown barked, focusing all attention on himself as he strutted up onto his newly ill-acquired ship. "Drop the sails and take us out to sea! BUT!" He stuck his finger up with the last word. "Don't take us out too far."
He turned to the battlefield, his eyes locked on the two titans clashing.
"We're not leaving until we see this through to the end…" he solemnly stated, his tone almost wistful.
-o-
Most of the forces that were on Luffy's side, broadly speaking, were now well into escaping the battlefield, needing only to finish boarding and sail away. The Supernovas' ships parting to allow Pequod to the 'shore' only reinforced this. And as far as most everyone was concerned, it was well past time to get out.
Most everyone.
"Not yet," Ace said firmly, staring out onto the battlefield. "I know it's stupid when it's a miracle that I'm still alive, but… Pops. I can't leave without seeing this to the end."
Sabo and Luffy both grimaced. As did Isuka and Koala alongside them. But surprisingly, it was Luffy who spoke an objection.
"If Akainu catches up to us or they try sniping us again—!"
"Luffy," Sabo cut in. "Believe me, I know how you feel. But I know how Ace feels, too. Imagine if it were you up there. How would your crew feel?"
Luffy, the only one of the three brothers who had never been subordinate to anyone, understood the point immediately and sighed angrily. "This bites."
"Welcome to our lives," Sabo softly replied.
"No worries, Luffy!"
A haze came over their vision, as though they were looking through glass, and they turned back to see Bartolomeo crossing his fingers behind them, a dome-shaped barrier covering the four of them.
"We didn't come this far to fail at the last minute. No sniper bullets will make it through my barriers," he said with a grin.
Luffy smiled, a bit more subdued than usual. "Thanks, Barty."
Sabo shook his head as the rookie pirate swooned.
"Though, while we're waiting, might as well start taking inventory. For one, does anyone have a twenty on the Boa sisters?"
"Huh? Yeah, they're all in their twenties, why?" Luffy asked.
The older brothers promptly shared a flat stare.
"Didn't miss that about him, did we?" Sabo blandly remarked.
"No, no we did not," Ace agreed.
"He means if anyone sees where they are, genius," Koala deadpanned.
"Oh. Why didn't you just say that?"
It took a conscious effort for all three of them not to punch their brother (or friend, in Koala's case) through the ice.
"Anyway, I saw Dad helping Hancock, but I haven't seen Sonia or Mari. Which is weird. They're too big for me to not see them, especially with Zoro and Nami's hair colours…"
"Mrgh…" Ace rubbed his jaw. "Well, they might hang around Paradise, but they're the elites of a warrior society living in the Calm Belt, and that's a level of crazy all its own. I'm sure they'll be fine."
-o-
"SET DAMN IT, I DIDN'T LOSE ALMOST A FOOT OF INTESTINES TO THAT DRILL-FACED RAT JUST TO DIE LIKE THIS!"
"KEEP RUNNING, AND WE WON'T HAVE TO! NOW MOVE YOUR TAIL!"
-o-
"Well, on that totally unjinxed note…" Sabo muttered, before adding, "Last I saw, the felons you managed to break out of Impel Down have found their own means of escape, and all of Whitebeards' Commanders are converging on Pequod, with their men right behind them. Looks like they're lining up on the ice to make sure the crew make it onboard first, and those daughters of his are working on the wounded. Still…" His mood dimmed. "They… They're leaving with a lot less than they came with, Ace. I'm sorry."
Guilt welled up in Ace to be savagely shoved down into the box labelled "later", which was at this point getting rather overstuffed. He shook his head. "They all knew what they were getting into. I won't insult their sacrifices by shouldering the blame. At least, our allies are walking away at all. That's better than things could have been."
As soon as he said that, however, his head snapped up and he realized that something was missing from the battlefield.
"Wait a second, what happened to all of the Marine turncoats?" he asked.
"Looks like they're on the retreat, too," Isuka said, eyeing a few specific places in the battlements where small groups of bandanna-clad Marines could be seen disappearing. "Dragon's arrival must have been their cue to call it quits early, plus we've pretty much run out of the element of surprise by now. As I'm sure you can imagine, mutiny on this scale tends to make people, oh, what's the word, murderous. And with the Pacifistas gone, Jormungandr must have bowed out, too." At Ace's 'get on with it' expression, she hastily added, "Aaanyway, we should be fine: The ships of the Black Cage Fleet were safe in the Air Door before the battle started, and we've had exit strategies outlined for weeks. We won't have a problem getting away."
"Well, at least that's handled," Ace sighed in relief. He then grimaced as he moved on to the other half of the equation. "And how are the… new arrivals handling themselves?"
"Disturbingly well, looks like," Sabo groused. "Unfortunately, Shiki's really showing off his ability as one of the Old Generation; he isn't giving Whitebeard an inch. Of course, now is when he decides to stop holding back."
"WHAT!?" Luffy bellowed, his irate expression mirrored by Barto's own indignant squawk. "You're saying he was holding back against me!? That no-good—I'LL KICK HIS ASS!"
"Later, and debatable," Sabo chided him before resuming his observation. "Anyway, as for the other old-timer, he's currently throwing down with Gramps, and that—!"
"INCOMING!"
That was all the warning the pirates had before a massive chunk of stone blurred overhead and slammed into the water like a meteorite, kicking up a plume of water that caused the floating footing to heave and crack from the resulting wave.
"—is a fight… that's going about as well as you could expect…" Sabo finished weakly, warily eyeing the clash of senior citizens.
-o-
"BARORORO! You're weak, old man!" Byrnndi World bellowed, his words and expression alike delighted despite his taunts. "Weak and feeble!"
World punctuated those words by hurling a handful of small stones at Garp. Stones that, once they reached the apex of their arc, suddenly saw their speed and weight multiply so that they fell more like meteors.
This did not matter to Garp the Fist, who simply punched in the direction of the stones. Regardless of their enhanced weight and, apparently, enhanced durability, they were still blasted off course, devastating the landscape around him but leaving the Marine himself still unharmed.
"Yeah, well, you're just as ugly and stupid as you were twenty years ago, so I'd say I got the better end of the stick, then!" Garp retorted, his expression one of grim determination.
Reaching down, Garp yanked up the mast of one of the fallen battleships World had originally thrown at him, hefted it like a javelin, and then hurled it with all his might. In response, World kicked at the ground, throwing up a slab of stone that he enhanced with his power, before digging in his heels and bracing his hands against it. The mast was impacted and shattered into pieces, but not before shoving World back a good twenty feet, his shoes digging furrows into the ground, and punching a short way through the improvised shield.
Growling, Byrnndi threw it aside—to find Garp in punching range with his fist reared back. World's eyes widened, and he barely had time to enhance his own durability before Garp's haymaker smacked square into his forehead.
To those watching, it was an open question which was more gobsmackingly impressive: the fact that World was still standing, or that blood now trickled down from under Garp's fist.
Grinning fit to burst, the pirate grasped Garp's wrist and slowly, agonizingly slowly, moved it off his forehead. "Not bad, old man! I didn't think you'd have the courage to get this close!" he taunted.
"I can't beat the shit out of you without getting closer," Garp snarled back. With that, he wrenched his wrist out of World's grip and threw another punch.
Or rather, he threw a hundred, all in the span of about five seconds.
"BARORORORORORO!" World howled, matching Garp punch for punch.
No thought was given to blocking. Each was focused solely on offence, punches capable of shattering entire castles, landing in the dozens. Dust swirled around the two like an angry tornado, and Marines who'd been stupid enough to be close enough were blown into the air like ragdolls. It wasn't long before the sheer force of both blows blasted them both back. Back, but not off their feet, and both promptly swayed back in and grabbed each other's hands in a brawler's lock.
A lock that sent an outright ripple of force blasting across the entire island, throwing many a fighter off their feet.
-o-
Three of the few who weren't thrown for a loop were those who'd experienced such force with alarming frequency in their youth.
"Gramps is scary," Luffy sagely stated.
"I mean, we knew that already, but it's really something else when he's going all-out…" Ace agreed, shivering.
Sabo nodded along, before blanching at the cracks forming in their icy footing. And he wasn't the only one.
"Ahhh… Ace? I respect you wanting to watch your father's final moments, truly I do, but might I suggest we relocate a bit in order to do so?" Koala piped up. "You know, away from the insanely overpowered Marine and Pirate, maybe?"
"And where we're not liable to get dunked in the drink?" Isuka sourly tacked on.
A large part of Ace did not want to listen to that suggestion. Another, slightly larger part that was his (neglected) survival instincts, managed to win out after a slight conflict. He nodded.
"We'll wait on one of the ships. But if we try to leave before…" Ace grimaced and trembled before forcing the words out. "Before things end, then I'm burning it out from under us."
"I'll take those fucking odds!" Kid interjected before raising his voice to a roar, swinging his arm violently. "ALRIGHT FUCKERS, THE HOTHEAD'S GROWN A BRAIN CELL! FALL BACK TO YOUR SHIPS! HAUL ASS!"
And with relief colouring their every action, the Supernovas started to retreat from their position on the battlefield, intending to wait out Whitebeard's final moments from the safety of their ships.
The keyword, of course, is 'started'. They didn't get far before a single, horrible sound froze their retreat in its tracks. A sound, and the force it carried.
-o-
"FUFFUFFUFFUFFU!"
The Supernovas' salvo had taken out what everyone could tell was the Navy's last chance to stop them. Anyone of significance left on the side of the white hats was either engaged against Blackbeard's forces or no longer a factor, either standing by, retreating, or mauled into ineffectiveness.
Of course, the thing about standing by is that you can always jump right back in.
"You might say that they're going to pull this off after all. That would be fun… but it just seems too easy. Besides, I said I'd break Cross's will to live…and I intend to do it!"
Suspended high above the battlefield, heedless of the cannonballs and shrapnel still whirling through the air, the Heavenly Demon's hand shot skyward, a mass of strings winding around one another in his palm. Winding harder and faster and tighter until the very air above Doflamingo's palm was shimmering with hellish heat. And it kept winding from there.
"If I only get one shot at them, then I'll make it count!" Doflamingo grinned madly. "Either of those two dead should DO IT! OVERHEAT!"
The air shrieked as the cable of superheated string blasted at the three brothers, the strings out-speeding their sound.
-o-
It was at about the same moment that Doflamingo began charging his attack that someone looking through a periscope noticed that the number of Warlords standing on the sidelines had dropped to two. That realization came immediately before a yell that shook the submarine.
"DO IT NOW!"
"AYE, CAPTAIN! ALL HANDS, BREACH-BREACH-BREACH!"
-o-
Mere moments before Doflamingo launched his attack, the ice between him and the would-be escapees exploded from beneath. Then a wave of Conqueror's washed over them, breaking Bartolomeo's concentration to maintain the barrier, sending Koala reeling, and sapping the last of Isuka's strength, knocking her out. And at the same time, a blue haze overtook the area. The attack was still launched, and the power and speed behind it were such that not even a New World veteran would be able to properly counter it.
Unless, of course, they were intimately familiar with the String-String Fruit's capabilities.
"SHAMBLES."
In place of one stray chunk of ice headed for the string appeared the last Supernova, 'Surgeon of Death' Trafalgar Law. Suspended in midair by momentum alone, he braced Kikoku with his full body as he caught the supersonic strings with his blade. It was beyond his power to counter, or even to properly parry, but the precision of a surgeon allowed him to angle his weapon just so and deflect the attack off the flat of his sword's edge.
An outright unholy shriek of string on metal blasted across the battlefield, forcing everyone who suffered it to clamp their hands over their ears in agony. It was only by employing all the energy he could muster in his legs to use the Moonwalk technique he'd only just puzzled out that kept Law from being sent flying, and all the force he had in his body to keep Kikoku from shattering under the strain, but though sparks flew and steel shrieked, neither he nor his blade broke.
Even with all that effort, the Overheated string only just missed its intended targets by a scant meter, searing the air as it blasted past them and into the sea, where it tore a steaming chasm through the water.
The attack persisted for four seconds—four seconds that felt like they lasted four eternities—until the weight of the string soaked in the sea forced Doflamingo to abort his attack and disconnect the cable from his palm. Once the remnants of the assault finished whipping past him, Law allowed himself to plummet back onto the Tang, where he landed hard and only just managed to keep himself upright by leaning against the boat's sail. He couldn't feel his legs, and his left arm was hanging dead at his side with a steaming Kikoku clutched in his rigour-locked fingers, but he did have just enough life left in his neck and other arm to angle a casual smirk up at the rapidly angering Warlord, and flick the brim of his hat just so.
"Hey there, Captain," Law drawled in an ever-so-casual tone. "Long time no see, huh?"
"YOOOOOU…" Doflamingo outright rumbled, his face pulled back into a smile so wide it was visibly painful, and his voice and body both quaking with a raw, primal fury. "You, you of all people, did not just do that!"
"So what if I did, huh?" Law asked, swinging (flopping, really) his arm out wide in invitation. "What are you going to do about it?"
The Yaksha twitched, spasmodically, before he slammed a palm into his face, his entire body twitching. "Fufufufuuuu… Oooooh…" He peered out from between his fingers. "You. Little. Bastard, I am feeling so many emotions right now, all of them murderous~!"
In response to the unholy fury bearing down on him, Law's amusement only deepened, and he lowered his head, his eyes glaring up at the demon through the shadows his hat cast. "…Doflamingo."
At that name, the intensity of the Warlord's focus somehow intensified.
"I'm making you a promise. Two, actually." Law's arm rose up, his index finger raised. "The first… so long as I'm involved in things, you will not kill anyone else."
Doflamingo's twitching increased as his head jerked into a curious tilt. "And the second?"
A second finger joined the first. "That the next time you see my face…"
Law's smirk matched his nemesis's in malevolence, and his arm twisted upside down to flip the Warlord off.
"It will be the day you lose your smile," he declared without shame, and with absolute confidence. "And the day you fall."
"OMINOUS!" With that single bellow, the Warlord righted himself and soared higher up, doing a good impression of Christ on the cross as he cackled. "And just intriguing enough to buy you shitstains your lives! Congratulations, I won't kill you today! Any of you who survive and make it to the New World, consider yourselves cordially invited to face me yourselves! Dressrosa's shores will forever be open to anyone who's stupid enough to want to try and test their luck. And hey, who knows…"
Doflamingo smiled down at the assembled pirates, his glasses and teeth flashing with pure evil.
"Maybe it'll work out better for you this time. FUFUFUFUFUFU!"
And with that final taunt, the Warlord flung himself back to the sidelines, so that he could resume watching the world rip itself to shreds.
Kid let out an irritated tsk as he hauled his way up onto the Polar Tang's deck, glaring at Yaksha's feathered back. "I'm really starting to hate that feathered bastard," he snarled out.
"Yeah, he has that effect…" Law grumbled, his good cheer gone as he poked at his deadened arm. "And if you're all done enjoying the show and would like to get the hell out of here, I'd suggest you get on right the hell now!"
"HERE'S HOPING THAT'S AN OPEN INVITATION! INCOMING!"
Two massive serpents tore into view, slithering with desperate speed toward the Polar Tang. The source of their panic came into view a moment later: a lone figure in a white robe and mask, tearing after them, razor winds flying from his arms. And they noticed quickly that the serpents' bodies were covered in not-so-shallow cuts that were sure to cause scars, and that with the way they were desperately wheezing and gasping, the two of them were on their last legs… metaphorically speaking, anyway.
Something that their pursuer had obviously noticed. He suddenly blurred into being right behind the pair's heads, arms pulled back and fingers poised to perforate their brainstems. And he would have followed through on that action too…
"NOT ON YOUR LIFE!" CLANG!
Were it not for an illegal interference in his ever-so legal assassination.
At first, Marigold and Sandersonia were too winded by their ordeal to even properly grok the fact that they were alive, more focused on getting oxygen into their shrieking lungs. Once their lungs stopped rioting, though, they did notice and whipped their heads around.
And froze.
Because what they saw was Ace and Sabo standing with all the implacability of a pair of mountains in front of their pursuer. Their pipes were crossed against his hands, not budging an inch.
Any sign of sparkles around them was merely a hallucination brought on by hypoxia. Nothing else.
"Ahhhh, Aegis 0! I'd say you bastards always show up at just the wrong time, but really, there's never a right time to look at your pasty skulls!" the Revolutionary blond grit out through a rictus grin.
"Speak for yourself, I always get a thrill out of polishing the collection I've picked up from all the idiots the Nobles have sicced on my head!" the Pirate chuckled, tinged with a low and broiling rage. A rage that slowly manifested in flames playing along his weapon and shoulders. "What do you say, stooge, think I'm going to be getting a new piece?"
Rather than respond, the Aegis agent whipped his hands back from the lock, ducked low and made to dodge between the outlaws so that he could rush his intended victims—!
CRACK! "GRGH!"
Only to run face-first into Sabo's waiting Claw, his blackened talons shearing clean through the mask and digging into his face beneath, effectively holding him in place.
"FIRE FIST!"
Right before Ace shattered what remained of the mast and sent the agent flying, immolating his clothes in the process.
"Aww, sorry, Ace, looks like that's a no," Sabo chuckled, his mood significantly lightened.
"Don't worry, I'll settle for his bleached skull," Ace replied, extinguishing his flames. He then looked over his shoulder and ran his hand through his hair as he smiled at the Amazons they'd rescued. "Hey, you ladies alright?"
"Ah-ah…w-we're fine…" Marigold breathed weakly, staring up at him in awe.
"Well, of course you are!" Sabo laughed, tipping his hat politely as he offered them a hand. "These two are Amazons, they're tough as nails! But still, that's no reason not to offer some aid, it's only polite after all!"
"R-Right. Thanks, Sabo," Sandersonia simpered, lightly placing her hand into his, staring deep into his eyes—
"Hey, snakes! What's with that stoolie trying to turn your hides into handbags!?"
The Amazons snapped their heads around and hissed bloody murder at Bartolomeo for ruining the moment.
Who, as was typical for him, was either entirely unrepentant or completely clueless. It was hard to tell which. "I mean, why would the Government's goons be trying to off the two of you? I thought that your sister was their bitch or something."
Veins popped on the sisters' foreheads. In a swift motion, they reared up to give 'Black' Bart a lashing, tongue and otherwise. Which, as a result of their collective distraction, gave the Aegis 0 agent just the space he needed. Despite being rather thoroughly carbonized, he snapped to life, reached into his coat—
And then jerked forward as over a dozen heart-tipped arrows slammed into his back. Boa Hancock stepped up beside them and turned him over with her heel. Then, looking him in the eye, she fired a beam from her hands and left only a statue.
With that done, she faced the assembled—and rightfully wary—Supernovas with a cold stare. "I've recently terminated my employment with the Government due to… irreconcilable differences. Though I'd advise that you watch your tongue, mongrel. I don't need the Government's incentive to neuter you if you keep yapping at me."
With something of a sneer, Kid opened his mouth.
THWACK!
And then coughed, massaging his throat and glaring bloody murder at Killer.
"We're alive, for a miracle, and I won't let you ruin that with your big fucking mouth," Killer hissed quietly.
Kid grumbled, but remained quiet as Hancock strode imperiously aboard, her sisters limping on beside her. Then the attention of all nearby fell onto another figure who picked up the statue she had left behind, joining the two he was already carrying.
And while nobody was overly surprised by his presence, most everyone felt a mix of awe and anxiety at the sight of the Revolutionaries' leader before them.
"I'll be in touch soon," he said, to Hancock's nod. Then he smirked. "And while I'm not sure I have the right to say this, if it matters, you have my blessing."
Hancock blushed like a schoolgirl and looked away, smiling demurely. Around her, a collective gasp sucked in all the oxygen on board.
Almost all, anyway. Koala, for one, heaved out a weary sigh as she hefted the unconscious Isuka onto her shoulders. "And that's about all the drama that either of us can take. We'll head belowdecks, call us when we're out of this madness." And with that declaration, she headed into the depths of the submarine.
Ace, meanwhile, looked down at Dragon for several seconds. Then he bowed.
"Thank you for taking care of Sabo… and thank you for saving us," he intoned formally.
"I may not be much of a father, but there's no need to stand on ceremony with me," Dragon replied. Idly, the Revolutionary deflected a stray sniper bullet. "Take your time catching up, Sabo. And Luffy… I'll look forward to when you return. The world is still waiting for our answer."
Luffy and Sabo both nodded. Dragon made to turn, hesitated briefly, and then shot his son a warm… smirk over his shoulder.
"And… good job. Try not to die."
"Shishishi! Okay!"
And between one breath and another, Dragon was gone.
-o-
"You are a fantastic father," Karasu drawled.
"Spare me your sarcasm. I let Garp raise him. I'm under no illusions. Besides, there'll be plenty of time to catch up once he reaches Raftel," Dragon responded, the smile he'd given his son still on his face as the murder of crows set course for Baltigo.
-o-
"JIHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Shiki laughed as he hurled the first of the ship's keels, which he was floating about him, at Whitebeard.
The old pirate was having the time of his life. As much as he'd hated Roger, he had no love for Whitebeard, either, and to see him on the back foot like this… well, it was quite the balm on an ego brutalized by the loss to that damn Straw Hat brat. Who, yes, he could see attempting to escape, and who was his next target. He and Roger's spawn.
Below, the keel made contact with Whitebeard's Haki and earthquake-infused fist, shattering like the others before it. But this time, Shiki had put enough momentum on it that the shower of splinters that action produced still carried on and shredded Whitebeard in their wake. And no part of him was damaged worse than the arm doing the deed.
It could not move fast enough to stop the second keel, which slammed into Whitebeard's shoulder at high speed and obliterated the delicate balance of bones and tendons there. And with his arm destroyed, Shiki's last keel slammed into Whitebeard's chest and outright impaled him.
"JIHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Shiki floated down in front of Whitebeard, hauling the keel out in a spurt of blood. He loomed over the old pirate, grinning fit to burst, and taunted, "What's the matter, old man? Run out of heart medication? Arthritis getting to you?" With a twitch of his hand, the bloodstained keel member floated up again. "C'mon, give me a last word worthy of the legends they'll tell about me!"
Whitebeard's mouth moved, but what he said was only barely audible. Still grinning, Shiki leaned in close. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that."
"I said…" Whitebeard rasped, before slamming the pole of his bisento into Shiki's temple with enough force to send the pirate skidding a mile down the ice. "I still have my right!"
"Black Hole!"
Darkness pooled around Whitebeard's feet, trapping him in place. Blackbeard himself followed, looking just as pleased as Shiki had mere seconds ago.
"I have to thank you before you die, Newgate! I thought I'd have to pull Shiki off you myself!" he declared. "But now, I get the honour and privilege of killing you personally!"
Wordlessly, Whitebeard mustered the last of the strength in his ravaged left arm, earthquake power brimming in it. And yet, when he swung his fist, Blackbeard caught it on a hand wreathed in black, to no effect.
"Sorry, old man, your powers don't work anymore! Especially not backed by a punch that couldn't—!"
THWACK!
Whitebeard's bisento crashed down on Blackbeard's shoulder, biting deep and almost taking the arm clean off. Teach collapsed to the ground, howling in pain.
"GYAAAAAGH! THAT HURT, YOU BASTARD!"
"Overconfidence… and carelessness… those are your weaknesses, Teach," Whitebeard intoned, taking a step toward Blackbeard, who frantically scooted away on his rear. And with a flick of his eyes towards Shiki's prone form… "And you seem… content to surround yourself… with both."
Another step, and something came into Whitebeard's eyes. Something few had ever seen from the Strongest Man in the World: contempt.
"You're not him," Whitebeard wheezed, wetly. "The man Roger is waiting for… is definitely not you, Teach! That man is elsewhere, already shouldering centuries of history, already leaving the World Government in fear!"
Another step. Blackbeard frantically glanced at the new crew he had brought with him. "Stop him… stop him! Somebody kill him already!"
"I'm not interested in the treasure… but when it's found… the whole world will be turned upside down. That day is at the door… it is lifting the latch."
A dozen flintlock pistols cocked as Whitebeard reached for Teach's head. They did not drown out the words that were heard all around the world.
"The One Piece… does exist! AND IT WILL NOT! BE CLAIMED! BY YOU!"
Blackbeard desperately fired into Whitebeard's chest, the hand inches from his face…
And the hand stopped.
But these two events were entirely unrelated.
A second after firing, Blackbeard realized that very fact.
"H-He's dead… but still standing?!"