nico talks a lot.

four

It was dark. Dark enough that it took his eyes a while to adjust. Dark enough that he focused on every sensation that crawled and brushed against his skin. Dark enough where he felt weight as he flexed his arms and hands and fingers and frowned when his chest ached.

He was lying on a lumpy surface. His face scratched against rough woven fibers. A quilt, he thought. If he concentrated, he could hear the rattling wheeze of his own breath. But he was not alone in this dark world. There was another. Her.

Bits of memory came to him like puzzle pieces. There had been a fight. Rebecca had been in danger. He had protected her. He hadn't finished the job because someone cried out. Now, he was lying on this lumpy surface.

The darkness was disturbed. He groaned as he rolled to the side and his body protested the unnecessary movements. He squinted at the corner of the room closest to the door. Covered in shadows, he saw an outline. The longer he stared, the more he could make out. The outline had the shape of a woman. She wore a dress and a cloak and she stood motionless as if invisible. She stared back at him.

He waited to see if she would dissolve into the shadows, a sign of an overactive imagination, but she stayed.

"I see you," Nico said to the shadow woman.

"I see you too," the woman said.

She was real. Nico saw enough movies to know nothing good happened when a random stranger appeared in the shadows. "Are you part of that group?" he asked. "The one with Amande?"

The woman stepped out of the shadows. Her dress was purple and polka-dotted. "No."

"Why are you here?"

"I've been watching you."

"Oh," Nico said. "Why?"

"Because of Doflamingo."

"He's the king, right?"

"He sits on the throne of Dressrosa."

"I'm in trouble," Nico guessed.

"Doflamingo does not like surprises. You have been a big one."

He and this Doflamingo dude had something in common. This entire experience had been a never-ending surprise for him. Stuff sort of kept happening to him and he felt as if he wasn't able to breathe. "Oh... can you tell him I said sorry? I am sorry," Nico said.

"You'll have the chance to tell him in person. Doflamingo has sent me to retrieve you."

Nico's heart hammered in his chest.

"You're part of the flamingo king's group - your family - right? You're related to him."

"I will never be a part of his family."

Nico flinched; he knocked into Rebecca.

Nico turned to Rebecca. He prayed as she shifted on her side of the bed. She frowned at the disturbance but stayed asleep. He watched her for a few moments more, tugging and tucking the quilt even more securely around her.

He felt the woman's eyes on him.

Nico wished he could hide Rebecca in the shadows. He knew this woman did not like Doflamingo, but she worked for him. It meant she was as dangerous as Amande. To get to him, she might use Rebecca.

"He won't hurt Rebecca or Toy Soldier, will he, because they did nothing wrong. I'm the one he wants?" Nico faced her.

"Only you," the woman confirmed.

"Ok," Nico said, the tension in his chest loosened. "I have my sword to bring. I promise not to slice flamingo guy with it." He grimaced as he sat up in bed. Hurt didn't even describe the pain ricocheting in his body. Closing his eyes, he told himself what he was going to do. I'm going to stand. I'm going to walk. I'm going to grab my sword. I'm going to leave Rebecca. I have to do it. Nico nodded as he pulled the quilt from around him.

Only the woman pushed him back down and tucked the quilt under his chin.

It was definitely unexpected, creepy too, but Nico looked up. He knit his eyebrows. "Your eyes are like Rebecca's," he blurted, though the color was all wrong. The woman's eyes were a bright hazel compared to Rebecca's unusual pink.

"You are brave," the woman said, the warmth in her eyes cooled. "Bravery will get you killed."

"What. You said you're going to take me to Doflamingo." Nico frowned.

"Just a moment," the woman said. "Doflamingo knows that no one can escape my Glare-Glare power, but there are many places to hide and Dressrosa is big. It will take some time. I can give you a month."

"A month?" he asked.

In a month, his birthday might have already passed. A month in this strange unknown land without his sister. He held the blanket tighter, his breaths a little harder.

"It's not a lot of time," the woman acknowledged. "It is imperative you use this month to prepare. If you don't, you will die."

Nico squeaked. "Whoa. I'm going to die. I don't want to die! I've already almost died like twice! That's two times more than normal!"

"There is a possibility Doflamingo might see potential in you and offer you a position to join his family."

Shark Boy 2.0 had said the same thing. Nico wasn't convinced. Just about everything said about this flamingo guy was in relation to something awful.

The woman must have read the hesitance in his face.

"Doflamingo may wear the skin of a man, but I'm not sure of his humanity. There are only those that are part of his family, and those that aren't. If he perceives you as a threat, he will show you no mercy."

Nico's nails bit through the thick fabric and dug into his palms. Doflamingo was no joke. He murdered boyfriends of family members. He was the reason behind Rebecca and Toy Soldier's inability to live together. Nico's stomach knotted.

"What about you?" Nico ventured. "You don't like Doflamingo, but he has to like you if you're the one to kidnap me."

"I am not you," the woman said. "Doflamingo knows the price of my loyalty. In his eyes, you are better dead than alive, especially since you denied him once."

"No, I didn't!" Nico protested. "That's a lie."

"Dellinger has told Doflamingo otherwise."

Nico gaped. "He bit me!"

He had a big scar to prove it.

"You denied his hand," the woman continued without so much as a pitying frown. Maybe biting was a custom that he was supposed to know. "You furthered aggravated the insult by engaging in a fight with a potential ally."

"Ally?" Nico asked. "This flamingo guy can shove his invitation up his feathered butt! If his allies are with a bunch of people like Amande and her family, I won't have anything to do with him!"

Rebecca stirred by his side, and Nico paused. He had to remember to keep his voice down.

"You're already so weak," the woman said. "Doflamingo will exploit every angle you have. I've already told you he doesn't care if you are a child. If you won't stand for him, then you are against him."

"Like Amande."

"A thousand times worse. He's the smartest, cruelest person I know."

A monster. Doflamingo sounded like a monster of the worst kind. Nico felt the same hatred for Doflamingo as he felt for Amande. Looking at the woman with her eyes so much like Rebecca's, he saw unease seeped through the cracks in her cool face. She feared Doflamingo. She was scared for him, or maybe it was both. It didn't matter. He knew when an adult was scared it meant serious business.

"A month. Ok," Nico said.

"Yes. It is fortunate that you have become friends with the toy soldier. He is well-known for his fighting prowess throughout Dressrosa. He might have fought in La Corrida if toys weren't barred from participating."

Nico grinned. "So, you want him to be my Mister Miyagi. Wax on, wax off."

The woman stared blankly at him. "At any rate," the woman said as Nico deflated. "It is lucky that you may be under his tutelage. It will have to be enough."

The woman drew her hood up.

"Thank you," Nico said.

"I didn't do it for you," the woman said.

"Wait. What's your name?"

The woman paused. Nico thought she might dash out of the door now or simply choose not to answer.

"Viola."

Rebecca swept her arms out and twirled. "When I grow up, I will be a beautiful woman like Miss Viola and everyone will do what I say."

"Viola." Nico nodded, swallowing his confusion. "I'm Nico di Angelo."

Viola visibly drew back as if he had slapped her in the face. He thought he offended her until she smiled at him, a simple curve of her lips as she brushed a brown curl behind her ear.

"D, huh?" Viola said. "Inevitably, the heavenly demon would want to meet his arch-nemesis. I will see you soon, Nico."

She left. Nico stared at the spot that Viola had occupied until he fell asleep, wondering if he had imagined her.

Nico cringed.

Groaning, he buried under his pillow. He attempted and failed to hide from the sun. No matter how he twisted and turned, the sun was right in his face. "I hate you," Nico muttered to the sky. He drooped like an awkward, unwatered plant as he slid into an upright position.

"Nico's awake!" Rebecca said.

He swiveled as Rebecca dived-bombed him. Her thin arms caught around his neck and she smushed her warm cheek to his. "Toy Soldier, look, Nico's awake!" she repeated. "You slept for three days. Do you remember the stories I told you?"

"Um..." Nico screwed his face. "I remember you told me a pretty cool one about a pirate, I think he was a prince, no, he was a king! The King of Pirates! Yeah! I'm sorry I can't remember more."

"That's okay. You're awake now, I can tell you all the stories again."

He swayed with Rebecca's weight on his chest, dipping further into the bed. "Rebecca, um."

"I was scared," she sniffed and Nico looked down as she trembled. His shoulder was wet with her tears. "You were just lying there and you wouldn't move. There was so much blood. You were red all over."

An itch burned in the back of Nico's throat.

"Don't leave like Mama," Rebecca cried.

"Rebecca...I." He wanted to promise that he would never scare her again, and that he would never leave her side, but that wasn't true.

Nico looked at the wood floors. His lips drew into a tight line.

"Rebecca," Toy Soldier interrupted. He placed a hand on her shoulder, gently tugging her back. "It's time to clean and re-bandage Nico."

Rebecca scrubbed her face with her arm, nodding. "Ok."

"And Rebecca." Toy Soldier kept his hand on her shoulder. Nico had the impression if Toy Soldier was human, he'd be squeezing. "Now, that Nico's awake, I bet he's hungry."

"I'm actually not-"

Toy Soldier coughed like a frog was caught in his throat. "I think he'd feel better if he would have some fairy pumpkin gazpacho... would you mind going to town to get some?"

Rebecca turned worried eyes on him, and Toy Soldier nodded over her shoulder.

"Um, gazpacho sounds awesome," Nico said.

Rebecca stood taller and wiped the remaining tears off her cheeks. "I'll get the gazpacho and milk. Nico needs milk if he's going to get stronger." She found her boots and a blue hoodie. 'I'll be right back, ok?"

Nico saluted her.

He said nothing until Rebecca was well out of the house.

"She'll be okay," Toy Soldier said. "Rebecca has eyes on her."

Nico unglued from the window. He straightened, looking at Toy Soldier as he zoomed around the cabin collecting a small stack of bandages, jars, pots, and pans. It took Toy Soldier awhile before he was back at his bedside.

Toy Soldier placed the items at the lowered end of the bed. He gestured for him to bend as he cut and removed the bandaging.

"We weren't at the ports," Nico said. "Rebecca and I were just walking. And-"

"I know," Toy Soldier said. "Thank you for protecting Rebecca. If I lost her too, well, I don't know what would have happened. I owe you."

Nico supposed those were the type of words that made people feel good, however. His hands trembled and the burning itch in his throat was itchier. He had done little protecting. He survived.

Toy Soldier hummed as he cut away. The image of Charlotte Katakuri's scarlet eyes was like a brand on his brain.

"Nico, you're safe."

"No, I'm not," Nico said, his heartbeat in his ears. He picked at the threads on the quilt. "You didn't see the way he looked at me, or how Amande played kickball with me. I knew I had to keep moving if I stopped for even a second, I knew she was going to kill me. Rebecca was on the ground, far away."

It was easy to see now. She looked smaller in his memory. Amande's shadow had covered her. Her evil sword had been poised above Rebecca, ready to slice her in two.

"I told her not to do it. She didn't listen."

It was hard to recall what happened next. There had been an outpouring of anguish.

"It's okay if you were scared," Toy Soldier said.

"I was scared," Nico said. "But not at that moment."

He had needed to right the wrong committed against him.

"I'm not allowed to say hate. Bianca says if I don't like something or someone I say 'I dislike them.'"

When Nico looked into Amande's menacing fish-eyes, he knew she was serious about her promise to chop Rebecca up limb by limb. He had hated her and he was angry. His anger freed his mind of pain and panic. He had known only one goal: get rid of Amande.

"I hate Amande. I just know I was going to kill her if it was the last thing I did."

"What stopped you?" Toy Soldier asked.

Nico glanced at Toy Soldier. The question was unexpected. He thought he was going to agree with Bianca and tell him that children weren't allowed to hate.

"Uh..."

A scream. The details were more than a little fuzzy.

"I don't remember."

Toy Soldier didn't press him for details. He grabbed the used bandages and put them down on the floor. Nico paled when he saw the amount of dried blood, an ugly burgundy, on the white cloth. It was best he kept his attention on his hands. Nico chewed on his lip, his stomach twisted back into knots and once he more he picked at the threads.

Toy Soldier unscrewed one of the jars he bought. Whatever it was, it smelt like a sewage. Toy Soldier put some on his hands. The sludge was an even worse brown color. "I murdered people when I was a little older than you," Toy Soldier said.

"What."

"l was known all over Dressrosa because of my misdeeds."

"But you're a toy."

Toy Soldier laughed, a brittle sound. "Yes, I'm a toy. A long time ago, I was a boy."

Sort of like Pinocchio. No, Toy Soldier was nothing like Pinocchio. If he said he had been a real boy, Nico believed him.

"Oh, why'd you kill people?"

"I'm going to speak to you honestly, Nico. I would appreciate it if you kept it between us."

"I will, Toy Soldier."

"Thank you."

Nico nodded and Toy Soldier slathered the nasty smelling stuff on his chest. His fingers twitched with the urge to pinch his nose.

"Revenge," Toy Soldier said. "Those men I killed - they were boys - I couldn't see that then. At the time, I only knew they were the reason behind my best friend's death. I had felt their death was the only true justice."

"Like, an eye for an eye?" Nico asked.

"Exactly."

"Was it bad?"

"Bad?"

Nico nodded. He heard the mellow string in Toy Soldier's voice. "I mean, are you sorry for killing them?"

"Yes, I regret it every day. It was a stain I couldn't get rid off."

Nico pulled away from Toy Soldier's hands. "But, they killed your best friend, Toy Soldier. They deserved what was coming to them."

"No," Toy Soldier said, ignoring his squirming away from the foul-smelling lotion thing. "It didn't bring my best friend back. It was just another senseless life taken."

Nico scowled. "I won't say sorry for almost killing Amande. In fact, if I could go back, I would because she's still alive. She still can hurt me or Rebecca and if she does something, it will be my fault!"

His vision blurry, Nico looked outside where it was sunny and bright. Dressrosa was beautiful. He kept looking until he saw clearly. "It's winter back home. There was a lot of snow."

"Dressrosa is a spring island. We rarely have snowfall."

"I'll forget it's my birthday. It almost always snows on my birthday."

"When's your birthday?"

"January 28th. I'm turning eleven."

"Eleven, that's a special age. We'll have a big celebration."

"No, we won't," Nico said.

Nico avoided looking at Toy Soldier. He ripped out quilt threads.

"If you're afraid of Amande and Big Mom's pirates coming back, they won't. Doflamingo is particular about the people he allows within Dressrosa."

"It's because of Doflamingo."

"What do you mean?" Toy Soldier asked.

Nico said nothing. The itchiness returned.

"You can tell me, Nico."

Nico thought about how his week started. He should have known it was going to be bad when his school principal, Dr. Thorn, tried to kidnap him and his sister. Dr. Thorn also turned out to be a monster. Nico kind of already suspected that. The confirmation had been nice.

"Did he threaten you? You don't have to face him alone."

"Yes, I do. He's not interested in you or Rebecca. He only wants me. That's what Viola said."

"Viola?"

"She visited last night and she says I should learn how to fight from you."

"Nico, hold on."

"I have a sword and I promise I'll be a good student. I'll practice every day, please."

"Nico." Toy Soldier set the jar down. "I don't know what Viola told you. You don't have to do this alone."

"It's okay, Toy Soldier. Flamingo dude just wants me."

"That's not the point."

"So, you won't train me."

Toy Soldier looked at him once. He applied the rest of the lotion on his wounds before he wrapped him up tight.

Nico refused to look down.

"I'll go with or without your help."

"I had the feeling."

"Viola said you were my best shot at survival."

"She doesn't remember the first time I fought against Doflamingo."

"You fought the king?"

"It was a long time ago. I lost."

"Ok."

"You must rest, Nico. I will change your bandages again in a few hours."

"But, you didn't tell me if you were going too-"

"I will teach you, Rebecca too. It doesn't seem as if I have much of a choice. Toys should protect children."

"No one will protect me, but me."

"Nico."

"Can we change the topic, please," Nico interrupted. He dropped back down on the bed with a yawn. He got comfortable on his pillow. "I have a question."

Toy Soldier hummed encouragingly.

"Do you believe in Gods?"