Chapter 4

Metal screeches sang through the air. Pica held his sword firmly pressed to the three Zoro held up in defense. Pica's torso had emerged from a spike he created. He had emerged in hopes to catch the swordsman off guard. However, he lost track of Kat-a potentially fatal flaw, he knew. He wanted to disable Zoro and then return to the stone as soon as possible.

The ground beneath Zoro's feet began to crack under the combined weight and force, and he began to strain under the pressure. Pica knew he would have him soon and thus pressed further to the ground.

And then there was a release. Pica was no longer attached to the stone. Now, he floated in the air, weighed down by the top of the spike. A hand wrapped around his wrist and hurled him towards the sky. His eyes graced Kat's stern expression.

Kat hopped into the air and drove her knee into his stomach. A ripple shot down his spine, and he was unable to collect his breath. Zoro then stepped in and sliced at Pica. The stone man was able to parry the attacks weakly, but he was more worried about what Kat was going to do next.

As she readied another attack, Kat's foot slipped, and she slid towards the ground. Pica returned to the ground and was absorbed in the stone. Kat cursed herself and looked at her shoulder. She pushed the opening of her suit jacket back and examined the wound. She underestimated how deep it was, for the wound wasn't a little scratch: it was a long gash in her upper arm that screamed in pain.

Zoro landed next to her and frowned at the wound. "You okay?" he asked, his eyebrows knitted together. She was relieved he wasn't upset at the failure of the plan on her part.

"I'm fine," she replied, breathless. She handed her jacket to him. "Wrap this around it." He complied, and the fabric dug into her skin. They looked for Pica, but he was completely gone. "Where the hell did he go?" she growled. Kat was glad to have a respite from fighting, but she was worried Pica was stirring up trouble elsewhere.

"We should split up," Zoro suggested. He started to head off to the north.

"I'll let you know if I see him," she called and walked to the south. She kept a vigilant eye out for anything that moved differently in the surrounding chaos, but as she got closer to a larger group of people, she found no sign of Pica. In the meantime, the blood loss was starting to drain her of all her energy.

"Kat! Is that you?"

She straightened at the mention of her name. A thin woman in a maid's outfit rushed over to Kat and hugged her tightly. "Baby 5," Kat greeted. "It's great to see you." Kat stepped back from the embrace. "I'm guessing we're on good terms now?" Before the creation of the recent top 200 list, the Donquixote family and Kat had almost familial relations. But when Doflamingo found that Kat had made it into the top fifty, and he was ranked at a mere 117, he desperately tried to find some way to push her out of the ranks.

"I was only being so mean because Doflamingo told me to," Baby 5 explained with an exasperated smile. "But I don't have to anymore because now I have a husband." A long-faced man approached from behind her. His frilled collar was almost as wide as his shoulders.

Kat raised an eyebrow. "You shouldn't put your blind faith into everyone that compliments you," she warned. "It could get you killed."

The man behind her tensed, and his long mouth formed a tight, straight line. "I'm doing things differently now," Baby 5 stated. She grabbed the man's arm. "I'm with Sai now, not the young master."

"Fine," Kat sighed. She wasn't thrilled that her friend wouldn't change the way in which she trusted people, but at least she was no longer associated with such an abusive man. "Have either of you seen Pica?" she asked.

They both shook their heads. "We can help look," Sai offered.

"Thank you. Both of you." The three parted ways. Kat was unsure of how she felt about Baby 5's new husband, but he seemed like he wouldn't mistreat her. Kat knew what the "13" tattooed on his side meant, though: he was the thirteenth leader of the Happo Navy. Even though they were greatly organized, they were still a pirate group. Then again, Baby 5 was a pirate. Maybe they would be a good match for one another, Kat figured.

The ground began to shake underneath Kat's feet, and a line of Pica's spikes rapidly trailed down from the highest level towards Baby 5's group. The spikes crashed through both the fallen and Doflamingo's army, creating heavy casualties on both side. "That bastard," Kat cursed.

Pica's head formed at the top of one spike. "So you've betrayed us, Baby 5." His high-pitched squeal was menacing and no longer funny. Two spiked walls erupted from the ground and started to close around Baby 5. Sai pushed her out of the way, taking the brunt of the force with his armament haki. Another spike ran through their group and threw everyone several feet apart.

"You're a real tough guy, dick wad! Going after the weak and wounded!" Zoro shouted. She looked over and spotted him several hundred feet away. He stood closer to the wall than she, and though she could see no visible wounds, he was panting much harder than before.

Pica's face slowly began to take shape in the wall next to him. "Hey, Zoro." His jaw opened wide, extending long past a human's limits, and he aimed to chomp the swordsman right in half. "Bite stone!"

With one of his three swords, Zoro sliced Pica's stone head right in half. The eye of one half went blank, drained of life, but the other remained vigilant. The dead half fell to the ground and crumpled, but the living half continued to slither out of the stone. "Just who do you think is on the old royal plateau?" Pica asked.

Kat started to run towards the fight. If she intervened now, she could save several minutes of more conflict. "The king of this country," Zoro shouted in response.

"The former king," Pica corrected. "He's surrounded by all the important people of his old kingdom as well as God Usopp and the samurai." A sly smile played on his face as Zoro sliced at the new stone he was creating. "What's more, it seems the people of this country are hoping for him to reclaim the throne."

"And why are you telling me this?"

"Don't they just piss you off?" Pica spat. "The king of this country is Doffy." Pica slunk back into the stone and disappeared. The atmosphere calmed until the ground began to quiver. The dilapidated Pica statue drew rocks and pebbles towards it in an attempt to restore itself to its former glory.

Kat made it to Zoro's side as he turned around. "I need to move on," she told him breathless. "Can you handle this guy on your own?"

He nodded. "Will you be okay with your arm?"

Kat looked to her wound. The blood had stained the side of her white blouse a dark red, but the bleeding had stopped. "I'll be fine," she replied, stepping towards the palace.

"Then go do what you need to." Kat nodded in return and hurried off.