Rated: M

Warnings: character death, violent death, descriptive death scene

Summary: She just wanted to make sure Absinthe was safe by any means possible, it didn't matter if it killed her in the end.

Prompt: Writing your character dying a heroic death.

Written for: BottleBattler

After Big Mom went into a coma apparently the marines thought this was the perfect time to launch an attack on the pirate crew capturing as many as they dared so they could use them in flashy executions. What they didn't know was that Mollie was there, and she may not have known the family well or liked them either but Absinthe wormed her way into Mollie's heart marking her as one of Mollie's treasured friends. She happened to reach the island before the marines marched in, the island was in utter chaos the towns were mear carnage, shells of their former purpose. She found Absinthe in a house with a small group of children along with her triplets, she almost lopped Mollie's head off at her sudden entrance.

Mollie could sense the powerful auras of some of the marines and she knew just what she had to do. "Abbey, find as many other kids as you can and get out of here, I'll distract them. I'll meet up with you later okay?"

At first, Absinthe put up a fight against her telling her she planned to fight with her, at the sound of shrill screams and the rumble of more houses being flattened Mollie all but push her and the kids out of the house and towards where she knew some Boats where at.

Taking a deep breath she clenched her fist, the hair on her arm stood up making her sensitive to her surroundings. Seeing a silk scarf laying on the coffee table she smirked, "Well well it's been a while since Karma was out on the sea's again, she can come back for one more judgment day."

Picking it up she swiftly tied the cloth around her head. She let her eyes fall shut observation haki reaching out. The world was bathed in light wisps of color the people looking like wisps of spirits in an otherwise pitched black world the buildings looking like shadows.

"Oh Karma," a man asked in monotone she turned to find an admiral. She met him briefly before he was an admiral, back in her bounty hunter days he was a good man back then. Now all she could go off about him where the tales the army told passed from unit to unit tales of all the admirals, Cheif even fought this one she believed.

The Purple Tiger.

The blind man that uses Observation haki to see.

The one man who might just let her go if she were to speak her intentions.

"Yes Issho," her own voice lowered to match his tone "Karma has come back for one last judgment day."

"It appears she has, so Miss Karma what do you say of this fight," he asked voice remaining neutral showing no emotion as he motioned towards the falling buildings. Although she could see the underlining sorrow in it for what the Marines were doing.

She stood up straighter tilting her head to look up at him if she had her trusty boa staff from back then she would have smacked it to the ground. Sadly all she could do was coat her Fist in haki and frown as her observation picked up the snuffing out of life, "This is unjust."

"Why do you say so," he asked hand holding onto the hilt of his sword. Even as he asked the question she knew he was asking more to see what type of person she was, to see how much she had grown and changed.

She breathed deeply," there are children, children are not responsible for their parent's sin no matter what the damage may be you may not shove the blame onto the child.

She watched his aura flicker and he appeared to agree with her but made no motion to speak it. He most likely knew what she was referencing, seeing her Chei- no Sabo. She had worked with him long enough for that, to finally call him by his first name. Sabo was so broken after his brothers passing he worried Koala to death and many others in the army worried for his health. He was an amazing man, a strong, loyal man who fought tooth and nail for what was right. To see him like that, to learn his brother was murdered in such a way.

"Do you dare stand in the way of Karma," she asked cooly readying for a fight. She may not win but if it distracted him for long enough…

"I am deeply sorry to say I must," the man murmured a silent 'for now' added onto the words.

She understood, why he must he had people watching him, and they would leave seeing he was in a fight of his own so maybe…

With that, they clashed. Fist against sword, haki against haki; they traded blows like old drinking buddies traded beer. The facade she made for karma was easy to slip on but harder to keep up now so different from the girl she use to be. She found her lips changing from it's neutral line to barring teeth and flaring nostrils. She was starting to put a sweat and something in the back of her head told her she wouldn't be walking away from this fight. She couldn't give up she had to give Absinthe as much time as possible to get away she would not let this man pass!

She pushed forward a growl ripping from her throat as her fist managed to catch his shoulder. She landed heavily on her feet as the admiral steadied himself.

"I have decided," he murmured the sound of metal sliding into his sheath was loud in her ears.

"Huh," she tilted her head slightly to the side in question.

"I have decided," he repeated, "that your soul is kind you fight to protect all life and in a world like this is admirable."

Was he letting her go? She almost wanted to question why but… Her head turned sharply to the side sensing some children stuck in the rubble.

"Go to them Mollie D hops-" he was cut off by an enraged shout, she sensed the other man coming. She nor Issho weren't fast enough. Her body went slack as the man's sword went straight through the back of her neck then her throat. Her eyes went wide and wild, hands shakily rose to her throat. The silk scarf that was tied around her eyes feel down and she glanced down to find the sword tip right under her chin

"Ryokugyu," Issho grumbled in obvious displeasure frowning deeply at the man's appearance.

'swords aren't supposed to go there,' her mind blearily thought eyes almost bulging as she stared at the blood-soaked sword protruding from her throat.

"Issho! you were just going to let this revolutionary scum getaway! I should report you," Ryokugyu said irritably ripping his sword out from Mollie's neck as she did so flicking the blood to the side.

She couldn't hear, she could hear she was….

Oh sea gods, oh sea gods! The pain… She felt like she was drowning. She wheezed throat constricting as blood flowed out of the wound soaking her pink shirt a deep red. She hacked blood flowing easily from her mouth and the hole in her neck trickling down her chin and chest; the blood splattering against the ground.

She fell to the ground with a thump landing on her side as she lay there dying. If she could laugh she would have, this was always how she imagined her death going. Her out alone on the battlefield protecting someone but not being strong enough, not being fast enough. Tears rolled down her cheeks, her mouth was in a firm grimace as she was in her death throws looking as if she would never smile again. Once her body went slack however one could see a trace of a smile faint and soft but forced none the less.

"Huh so D's do die with a smile on their face, I thought she wouldn't do it with all that grimacing she was doing," Ryokugyu laughed staring down at her dead body kicking it out of his path as he went deeper into the ruined town.

Issho said nothing using his haki to sense out the children that were still trapped; It was her last dying wish to help those children and he would help them get away from this massacre. It was mostly his fault fighting her, distracting her from her duties, it was the least he could do for this woman whose dead body would only be disrespected.

Authors note: Karma is the name of her bounty hunter alias, it was one she gave herself and it caught on in the community. She was pretty popular back when she was a teen, a lot of people romanticized her appearance not being able to fully see her face due to the hood and blindfold she used. She only became a bounty hunter for two reasons, one was for training her observation haki while the other was to get money to help her travel around easier. The secret third reason was back when she was younger she hoped once she was strong enough to join the revolutionaries that she could keep the persona around thinking it would be funny to have it as a side job and take money from the marines, using that money to make them fall.