"Let's go, Luffy!" screams Run, taking the stairs sometimes three at a time as he sprints back up the staircase beside Luffy. "Get this-" He grasps the collar of his coat and rips it off only for it to disappear in a puff of smoke. "-stupid thing off me!" They reach the top, sprinting down hallway after hallway as fast as their feet will carry them until they eventually catch sight of Smoker, standing outside of a large closed door. They slow to a stop behind the man breathing heavily as they catch their breath.
"Red hair, too," grunts Smoker. "Good. Are the two of you ready?"
"No!" cries Luffy, panting. "Do you have any idea how fast I was running?! My sandals almost caught fire!"
"Almost?" Run echos, observing the trail of flames that Luffy has somehow managed to create in his wake. Regardless, Smoker presses a button on the wall, and the door begins to swing open. "Oi! I said I wasn't ready! I'm trying to catch my breath! Oh! Run! When we get in there, be careful! He can choke you with his abilities!"
"Listen, Vergo is my enemy!"
"And Caeser is mine! Keep your hands off him!" The door finally swings wide open, revealing Caesar and Monet but no Vergo. "Oh! There he is!" Without a pause Luffy charges forward. "I won't let you get away this time!" He punches Caesar square in his stomach, and sends him sailing across the room to crash into the wall.
"Damn it!" growls Caesar. "You're so annoying!" Luffy lunges forward, arms outstretched as if to capture him in a bear-hug.
"I got ya!" The man moves skyward in an instant, dodging Luffy's bear-hug by the skin of his teeth.
"No, you don't!" Run appears behind him the next second, grasping him by the back of his coat. "Huh?" Caesar glances back at the inky black hand grasping tight to his body. The red head spins and throws him straight to the ground, smashing through one of the couches in the room. Luffy lunges again as the man quickly pushes himself to his feet. "Stay away!" Caesar moves skyward once again as Run lands beside Luffy. "Flammable Type!" He produces a match in each hand. "Miok Gas!" Flames roar to life, surrounding the two and engulfing the room almost completely. "Straw Hat! Why are you attacking me?!"
"I don't know yet! But I've been told something fun would begin if I kidnap you!"
"You formed an alliance with Law, didn't you? Did he tell you to do that? You can't trust him! I'm sure he'll betray you! Don't do it!"
"You can't tell me..." Luffy throws an arm back, stretching it towards the opposite wall. "...what to do!"
"Do you still wanna get hurt, rubber bastard! Karakuni!" Luffy and Run both grunt loudly, feeling like they're unable to draw a breath.
"I can't breathe again!"
"That's because I removed the oxygen!" Luffy throws a punch at Caesar who simply opens up his body to avoid it completely. "You can't hit me with such a-"
"Soru!" grunts Run, appearing in front of Caesar once again. "Sea King's Bite!" Run's fist smashes into his jaw, sending a spray of blood erupting past his lips. The red head feels a tight grip on his shoulders moments before he's yanked backwards. He drops out of the air, landing beside Luffy as Caesar reforms and reappears in front of them. "Whew~! Thought I was gonna suffocate for a moment..." Luffy and Run both look around, taking note of the lack of fire surrounding the man. "...but looks like there's only a certain distance he can affect!" Caeser licks his lips and then spits out a small mouthful of blood.
"That's right! It's only in a certain range that you can't breathe! But are the two of you sure that you can keep that distance?"
"That's all I needed to know!" shouts Luffy. "Here we go, Run! Second Gear! Gum-Gum...Jet Pistol!" Before Caeser can react, Luffy punches him square in the face, his head snapping back from the impact. He quickly collects himself, and rushes forward, his body shifting into gas.
"That hurt you, bastard! But...!" He reappears in front of the two of them. "If you come closer, you can't breathe!" He produces a strange hilt from the folds of his gas robe. "Here's your oxygen!" A blue flame erupts from the hilt as he raises it. "Blue Sword!" Run moves in an instant, appearing behind Luffy and grasping him by the back of his shirt.
"Soru!" The two disappear from Caeser's vision, flickering back into existence several meters away as a wave of flame circles the room. "Dahaha~! Safe! A second later and you might have ended up charbroiled."
"Thanks, Run!" pants Luffy, staring at the man.
"You're quick, red hair!" laughs Caeser. "You can dodge all you like but in the end you still can't do whatever you want to me! Not if you want to kidnap me! But I can still attack you however I want!"
"How annoying! That technique makes me unable to breathe." Caeser charges forward, and flaming sword poised to strike them down. "Again!"
"Now! Prepare to be burned and sliced!" The two dodge quickly, trying to maintain some literal breathing distance between themselves and Caeser. Luffy appears in the air above the man.
"Gum-Gum...!" Gases rapidly begin to swirl around Luffy.
"Gastanet!" A massive explosion fills the air, and Luffy comes dropping out of the sky, panting heavily. Caeser closes in quickly on Luffy. "Go to hell, Straw Hat!" As he raises his weapon he catches a shadow out of the corner of his eye just before his head jerks left, vision flickering.
"Sea King's Rush!" gasps Run, watching Ceaser be thrown across the room. He gasps heavily when the air returns, and grunts when it's just as quickly removed. "Luffy!" Caeser rapidly reforms in front of the red head, weapons raised.
"Gum-Gum...Jet Pistol!" Caeser's head snaps back, and he follows sliding backwards. "Damn it...stay away from us!" When he finally manages to stop himself, and presses a hand against his jaw.
"How annoying!" growls the man. "You damn...Haki users!"
"He's just gonna keep closing the distance, Luffy," pants Run. "No matter what we do he's gonna end up suffocating us if we don't take him down quick."
"That's right! You want to catch me, don't you? I'm afraid that's impossible! No matter how strong you are, once I remove the oxygen you won't be able to breath and you'll both quickly die!" A huge cloud of gas forms behind the man as he strikes a match. "So, catch me if you can!" The gas surges forward, and explodes into a huge wall of fire, nearly engulfing the two of them before they can dodge it. "Why don't you give up, already? You've got two options! Either you leave this room with your tails between your legs...or face complete immolation! I want to show the broker Shinokuni's power in this experiment! Killing you by fire is less than ideal! Karakuni!" He sucks the oxygen from around the two again, snuffing out the surrounding fire. Luffy responds by slamming his fist against the ground.
"I will catch you! If I can't breathe...then I'll kick your ass in one breath!" Luffy's hands and forearms turn an inky black to match Run's own. "Let's go!" Run charges forward, disappearing from Caeser's sight.
"Make sure to clench your teeth, Caeser!" Run tells him with a grin, appearing in front of Caeser with his fist raised. "Now, Burst!" Caeser barely reacts in time, avoiding the Haki infused punch. The wall in front of Run shatters instantly, a storm of dust and debris scattering in all directions and raining down around the room as Caeser reforms several meters behind him. As he turns to face the red head in surprise Luffy appears behind him.
"Gum-Gum...Jet Gatling!" As his fists close in, however, he's surprised when they strike not Caeser but a strange wall suddenly shielding him. "H-Huh? What's this?! A wall?!"
"Kamakura," Monet tells him. "I'm impressed. Only someone like you could break this wall!" The wall cracks loudly, and then very suddenly shatters completely as Luffy lands.
"A Devil Fruit user?"
"Damn you two!" growls Caeser. "I'm going to-" Monet stretches out a wing in front of him.
"Master," begins Monet. "You must go. This fight is meaningless."
"Hmph. You're right! We're in the middle of an important demonstration! Goodbye, Straw Hat! Be as wild as you want! I already have an idea of how to turn you all into test subjects without fail! You should look forward to it!" His body shifts and he rapidly begins to disappear.
"Ain't happenin'!" Luffy shouts, lunging forward. Monet, however, grasps both his shoulders with her talons.
"I won't let you go after him. If anything happens to the Master then Joker will kill me." Luffy smirks, and reaches up to grasp her by the ankles much to her surprise. "What-"
"Go, Run!" The red head moves immediately, sprinting to the door while Monet tries to free herself from his grip. The red head quickly disappears through the door, and picks one of the halls at random, sprinting at top speed. He's not sure which direction that Caesar has gone, but he can't just stand around looking for a clue, after all. He runs as quick as he can through the halls, chasing in the direction he thinks that Caesar has fled to. All the hallways look the same as he runs in a direction he's not even sure is correct.
"Who the hell's," begins Run panting. "Idea was it...to put so many...damn stairs in this place?!" The minutes tick by as he runs, cutting a winding and twisting path through hallway, and down several flights of stairs before eventually finding himself in front of a large door, leading towards a dark room. "Found it! Caesar!" His voice booms down the hall as he charges forward into the dimly lit area. "You can't just bow out like..." As he charges out of the hall he finds himself standing across not from Caesar but Vergo instead. "...oooh-ho, boy. I'm sorry, I thought this was the way to the can." Lying several meters away from the man is a heavily beaten Smoker and Law. "Aah? Still alive over there, Law?"
"I'm still here, red hair-ya," Law grunts.
"Dahahaha~! Looks like he really put you through the wringer, huh?" He briefly turns his attention to Smoker. "Smoker, too. I was startin' to like him, ya know."
"Don't...lump me in with you pirates, brat!" complains Smoker, shifting and lifting his head to glare at the red head.
"I could kick his ass fine, if he didn't have my heart," Law tells them all.
"You should be quiet, squirt," Vergo says, raising Law's heart and squeezing it tightly. Law writhes violently in pain as Vergo turns to face the red head, heart held firmly in his hand. "You're a member of Straw Hat's crew...his First Mate. It's good that you're here. I can eliminate the three of you-"
"Is that a friggin' human heart?!" Run demands, pointing to the heart in Vergo's hand. "What the absolute fu-" Vergo briefly flickers and a loud 'smack!' echos through the room as the man reappears in front of Run, an arm outstretched and a pair of extended fingers inches from his eyes. "How dirty! Two can play that game!" Run raises a foot and stomps on Vergo's foot, a soft 'crunch!' sounds and a stifled grunt escapes the man. The red head immediately raises his knee and slams it into Vergo's groin. Run leaps back from the man as his face turns a sickly shade of green and he doubles over.
"Y-You...kneed me in my...?!"
"Hey, you started it, pal. Personally, I hate dirty fighting but if you're gonna start it make sure you can finish it, too. But that's not important..." Vergo lifts his head to glare at the grinning red head who now holds the heart he'd only just been clutching. "...lookie what I got! Should've-" Vergo once more briefly disappears from view and Run turns his shoulder sharply, his knee rising and driving into the stomach of an unprepared Vergo. The contents of his stomach spew from his mouth and nose as Run raises his elbow. "Sea King's Sway." He drives his elbow into Vergo's back, arching the man unnaturally moments before he smashes into the steel floor hard enough to dent it's surface. "Now, now! I don't believe this belongs to you, Vergo!"
"Th...This Haki...! It's...?!"
"Pretty strong, right? Yeah, you can thank my old man!" The sound of his footsteps retreating echos through Vergo's ringing ears, and the man slowly pushes himself up onto all fours...before actually coughing up a mouthful of blood onto the floor. Run stops in front of the battered Law, staring down at the man for a moment before crouching down. "I take it this belongs to you?"
"What gave you that idea, red hair-ya?" asks Law, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Are you going to hand it over already or just stand there?"
"Dahaha~! Man, you are grouchy!" Run complains, handing Law's heart over to him. "Ya know, if I wasn't such a good guy I'd make you say 'please' first, Law." Law looks past the red head to the slowly standing Vergo whose face has still yet to regain it's color after his low blow.
"Somehow, I don't think that term applies to you."
"Whoa, hold on a minute. I am an unfortunate victim of circumstance, alright? Besides, he started it." Law shoves his heart with a soft grunt, and slowly stands now as well.
"Vergo is a dead man, Joker," Law announces. "I know you're listening!" Laughter echos loudly from Vergo's coat as he stares at the two. "You're about to lose your right-hand man. Straw-Hat-ya will take care of Caesar. That means, you're also gonna lose SAD. You couldn't see this coming because you were overconfident. So, why don't you keep cackling like always and think about your next move. But you won't be laughing for long because...we're going to do the unthinkable!" Vergo responds by sheding his coat...and coating his body completely in Haki. The transponder snail begins laughing wildly as Vergo picks up a large bamboo pole.
"Nice try acting tough, squirt," laughs 'Joker'. "But are you sure you'll survive? It looks like you've pissed off Vergo. Do you remember what happened last time? How did it go? You pissed Vergo off and what happened? It must have been horrible! Aren't you afraid of him? Even with your incomparable swordplay his Haki will block your every attack. You're no match for Vergo!"
Vergo lowers his stance, and then immediately launches himself at the two men. Law grasps the hilt of his sword...and in an instant, cuts not just Vergo but what seems to be the lab and the mountain surrounding them in half. Run whistles in appreciation of his fine swordsmanship.
"It's been two years since the War of the Best," Law says. "Did anyone actually accomplish anything? All you did was stay calm. All Whitebeard did was end an era. The Navy Headquarters rounded up new forces. The big-timers didn't take any action! It was like everyone was preparing for something. That war was only a beginning. You always told me...that the new era of the daring ones is coming along with an unstoppable swell! I broke the gear! Now, there's no turning back!" The facility and the surrounding mountain finally come crashing down, bring with it a storm of dust and rubble.
"Broke the gear?" echos Vergo. "No turning back? That's laughable." Vergo crawls in Law's direction. "Law!" He turns, and splits him into multiple pieces...which he quickly sticks to the railing surrounding the platform they've been fighting on. Run approaches the downed Smoker and crouches down beside the man with a grin on his face.
"Hey, Smoker, you still with us?" Run questions him, reaching out to give him a firm pat on the chest. "C'mon! Let's go! Up and at 'em, Smo-" Smoker swats his hand away and leans up to glare at the red head. "Ohh! Now, that's a look you shoot your enemy!"
"We are not friends, red hair," Smoker tells him. "No matter what deal we have, don't forget that."
"Aah, here I thought that Law was grouchy."
"You'll regret this, Law," Vergo says. "You have no idea what you've done. You let a little bit of fame go to your head, and you'll lose because you have no idea of Joker's past. You-" Law splits the man's head in half, and turns away from him.
"This room is going to explode," Law tells him. "You're going to die here, Vergo..."
"Hhng...why...are we...taking this again? It's heavy!" complains Run, pulling the large cart over a chunk of stone by it's rope. "And why...am I the only one...who is pulling it?! This thing ain't exactly light, fellas!" Law glances over his shoulder at the red head briefly before looking forward again.
"Because you're in perfect health, red-hair-ya," Law tells him. "And this is the truck they use to transport SAD containers. I'm gonna let everyone ride it. This laboratory is going to collapse soon. We have to escape as soon as possible. Understand?"
"Not exactly." The hall ahead of them finally seems to be coming to an end, opening up and revealing a large number of people gathered.
"Straw-Hat-ya!"
"Huh?" grunts Luffy, turning towards the voice and waving when he recognizes the three. "Ohh! Run! Tra-guy! Smokey! I didn't expect you to come from that way!" The Marines gathered in the hall all begin crying tears of joy when they spot Smoker approaching them. Law quickly scans the room, and spots the large destroyed door across the way.
"Oi! What happened to Caesar?"
"I kicked his ass and he got blown away along with the door."
"Our plan was to kidnap him!"
"I don't even wanna catch the bastard anymore!"
"That was the plan, like it or not! What are you gonna do if he runs away?!"
"Who cares about that jerk?!"
"You think you can just change a plan as you like. I shouldn't have trusted you! Let's go get him!" Run tugs the rope sharply and begin pulling the cart in the direction of the destroyed door while listening to the two of them continue their argument.
"Hey, Zoro!" calls Run. "Gimme a hand with this, would you?"
"Huh?" grunts Zoro. "Why me?"
"Because I'll buy your first two drinks if you do it and don't complain." Zoro grunts and huffs in irritation but approaches and grasps the rope in front of the red head. "Where are Chopper, Brook and Usopp?"
"They're on their way. Where have you been?"
"I got turned around chasing after Caesar and ended up bumping into Law and Smoker." The two guide the huge cart into the hall beyond the destroyed door and return to wait for the rest of their crew. The whole facility continues to shake and large chunks of concrete continue to fall down all around them. Spotting Robin among the crowd, Run approaches her with a grin on his face...which quickly disappears when he spots the blood on her shoulder. He moves quickly, pushing several Marines out of his way with ease as he goes to her. "What happened?" He moves around to get a better look at her shoulder, gently pushing the collar of her dress down to examine the area.
"I fell down some stairs," Robin tells him.
"Nico Robin."
"Mm, I'm fine. I let my guard down for a moment and Monet managed to cut me before I could shield myself." Run leans forward and presses a kiss to her temple.
"We should get it examined as soon as possible. I don't trust Caesar or his people, so who's to say they haven't put something on their weapons."
"Hey, you all!" call Law. "We gotta go! Get on the cart!" At Law's orders, the children quickly move to get into the cart along with the Marines. Only the Straw-Hat crew remains behind, waiting for the rest of the crew to catch up with them.
"They're not here yet."
"Aah, they'll make it," Run assures her. A loud alarm begins blaring, and the door in front of them slowly starts to close. Beyond it, they can see a cloud of the gas covering the island racing towards them rapidly.
"Oi!" Law shouts. "What are you doing, Straw-Hats?! All of you get on right now! If we let Caesar get away, our plan will be ruined!"
"What are you talking about?" Luffy asks. "This isn't all of us! Some of my crew aren't here yet!"
"Luffy!" screams a familiar voice. "Hey, everyone!" The children break out into cheers upon spotting Chopper and Mocha moving at full speed in their direction. Chopper and Brook barely squeeze through the door before it closes, bringing with them a group of Marines. Usopp comes dropping down beside the crew from a staircase overhead.
"Let's go!" screams Law. "We don't have anymore time!" They quickly load onto the cart, and begin their escape through the tunnel which Law tells them will lead to a tanker that the Marines can use to leave the island. Luffy immediately jumps up on the front.
"It's so fast!" laughs Luffy.
"Hey, Luffy," calls Run, looking pointedly at the pink dragon weeping over an ash covered person. "What's with...the dragon?"
"I found him." The dragon continues his crying, calling out 'Father' several times before blacking out over the body. "Huh? Momo!" Run looks away from the dragon towards the back of the cart...his eyes slowly widening.
"Uhh...Luffy? Problem." All heads turn in the direction the red head is looking to find the same cloud of gas flowing down the tunnel after them.
"I can see the exit!" shouts Usopp.
"There will be gas at the exit, too," Law says. "Can anyone here generate wind?"
"I can," Nami tells him. They rapidly charge towards the exit with pieces of the tunnel collapsing around them. Sure enough, the closer they get more they can see the gas gathered at the exit of the tunnel. It's closing in on all sides, and rapidly. "Sorcery Climate Baton! Gust Sword!" Her weapon produces what seems like a small tornado projected directly in front of them and into the gas, scattering it completely. A chorus of cheers erupt from the children and Marines as they sail out of the tunnel and back into fresh air, slowly coming to a screeching halt on a dock.
"You made it here finally!" booms Franky. "I was getting tired of waiting!" Standing on top of the tanker in the distance is none other than Franky, piloting his suit of armor he used on Fishman Island. Luffy, Usopp and Chopper are over the moon to see it again, gushing about how cool it is. The moment the children and even the Marines get an eyeful of it, they're just as quick to jump on the band-wagon.
"Huh? Buffalo!" shouts Law, looking down at the docks. "And Baby 5!" Everyone's attention shifts to the two of them standing by Caesar.
"Gonna go out on a limb here and say they're not allies of yours," Run says.
"No. They're my enemies!" One look at the group before them is all it takes for them to snatch up Caesar and, surprisingly, take flight away from them. "We can't let them get away!"
"I've got it!" Usopp tells them.
"I've been running all day...now I feel like attacking!" adds Nami. "Go! Weather egg!" Usopp douses his sling-shot in a little bit of water, and it very suddenly doubles in size...and begins eating the rubble on the dock around the cart. "Now, hatch! Thunder!" A huge thunder cloud forms over the fleeing Buffalo, Baby 5 and Caesar. "Thunder Breed...Tempo!" A bolt of lighting strikes the three of them dead on, and naturally, they begin dropping right of the sky towards the sea.
"Alright! Here we go!" Usopp braces his sling-shot. "Go, Chomping Grass! Special Attack! Charging Shooting Star!" All the rubble that his sling-shot has eaten is instantly fired off, striking Buffalo, and knocking him out. But the real surprise, is the Sea Stone Cuff's that fly out, and wrap around Caesar, stopping any chance of escape as he plummets down and falls into the sea with the other two.
"YEAH! WE CAUGHT HIM...!"
"Aah, Franky!" Run shouts, pulling the rope towards himself hand over hand. "How come I always end up doing the heavy lifting?" Caesar is beaten, the gas has been pushed back, and the children are finally safe. It's exactly the out-come all of them had been hoping for. Naturally, now it's supposed to time to celebrate. But it seems that their work isn't done, yet. They still have to figure out how to help the samurai, who Run has finally learned is named Kin'emon, and they have to help fix the tanker for the Marines. The plan is to send the children back with a small group of Marines while the rest stay and await another Navy ship.
"Go, go, go!" cheers Usopp. "You can do it, Run!" The Marines cheer the red-head on as the broken mast steadily begins lifting skyward.
"No, it's fine. Don't help or anything, fellas." Robin giggles softly while Run continues his pulling.
"Honestly!" Franky huffs. "If I'd have known we were gonna use this tanker, then I wouldn't have fought here!" As it's finally lifted up and into place, Franky quickly goes about repairing it. He's in the middle of driving a nail when Chopper come sprinting down the deck screaming about Law murdering someone. He sprints to the railing of the tanker and shouts for Luffy to stop him...and moments later, Brook begins screaming about murdering someone as well. "What is going on?" Run walks to the railing of the tanker to look down just in time to see the pink dragon, Momonosuke, change into a child and run to jump into Kin'emon's arms.
"So that was his son."
"They're finally reunited," Robin says, stepping up beside him. "His persistence paid off in the end."
"Yeah. Seems all's well that ends well." The red head leans on his hip against the railing, looking down at parent and child reunited. He wonders if maybe he'd have thrown himself into his father's arms at the age if they were separated for a long time. He also shudders sightly when he imagines the war-path that Shanks and the rest of the crew would have gone on if he'd have been snatched away from them like Momonosuke. After a few moments the red head turns away from the two and goes back to helping Franky repair the tanker for the Navy. The repairs of the ship have just finished when Sanji finally completes the meal he's been cooking the entire time, and sets out a slew of dishes for Kin'emon and Momonosuke. While the kid seems hesitant to eat the meal prepared for them, Kin'emon digs in right away. He even goes so far as to scold his son for turning away from something prepared by their saviors. The kid digs in seconds later, stuffing his face as quickly as possible. The Marines and children aren't far behind, crowding around the giant stew-pot that Sanji has been working away on.
"Oi!" shouts Sanji. "Show some manners! Let the children eat first!"
"If we're gonna celebrate then let's grab some sake from the ship, Red," calls Zoro, grinning.
"Dahahaha~! Sounds good to me!" agrees Run with a broad grin. "Let's liven things up around here!" Before either of the two men can take off however, Luffy calls everyone's attention. Enemy forces are on the way...so they need to hurry up if they're going to have a celebration. They quickly go about setting everything up, serving the food, pouring the drinks and listening to the music strummed out by Brook. Everything is going well, but their celebration really gets going when Mocha joins in, having recovered from her near-death experience in the facility.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and when things finally wind down, the Navy quickly set about getting the children safely onto the ship. To their surprise, however, the Navy suddenly throws up a banner to block them from the children's sight. They go on and on about how the Navy are good and pirates are evil...even if they don't sound thoroughly convinced by their own words.
"Stop it!" demands Tashigi. "How shameful!"
"B...But Tashigi!" screams one of them. "If we don't keep talking about how bad they are...we'll start to like them!" Another surprise comes when all the Marines start crying their eyes out while the Tanker sets sail with the children. They wave to them as they sail away from the island, calling out that they're gonna grow up to be pirates. When the children finally leave their sight, they turn towards the Sunny. "Straw Hat! The next time we meet, we'll be enemies! Look forward to it!"
"Haha!" laughs Luffy. "Alright! Now, let's set sail...!"