Chapter 74
It was around sunset when the village was made aware of what had happened, or at least the broad strokes. With the clarification that rather than being the one responsible for an attempt on Hancock's life, he had foiled the one who was responsible, the Kujas' opinion for Luffy became overwhelmingly positive, and a feast was being set up ASAP to celebrate.
While Marguerite was being properly treated by the tribe's healers using their own supplies, Luffy and the Boa sisters had returned to Hancock's throne room after a quick patch job with Chopper's supplies and a stern admonition to Sandersonia to take it easy. Well, in between effusive praise of the emergency kit and more than a little professional shock at how damn effective it was for a glorified first-aid package.
While Hancock was comfortably seated in her serpent's coils and Nyon was standing at her side, her sisters had promptly collapsed around the throne's heated columns, completely exhausted. Even Luffy, with his by-now infamous stamina, was swaying on his feet.
And it was this sight that made Hancock's current decision for her. One that Luffy was… less than happy with.
"You want to talk tomorrow?!" he protested, visibly distressed and a hair and much tiredness away from stamping his foot in frustration. "But, but—!"
"Monkey D. Luffy," Hancock interrupted, her voice gentle but firm. "I'm certain that whatever aid you have to request of me and mine is urgent, but please accept the facts: my sisters are wounded, I myself am still recovering, and you are plainly exhausted. This is no state for us to be discussing anything, especially matters of grave import."
"But this is really—!"
GRoooOOOoooWWLLL…
Luffy gagged on his words as a Sea King growled from inside his stomach, his face flushing with embarrassment. "That, uh, that was…"
"Proof of what we're talkin-nyon about, whipper-snapper!" Nyon cut in. "We're all on our last legs and tails-nyon! Unless the situation demands we speak right here and now, immediately, then-nyon surely it can wait one more day! And we still have that feast being prepared, I'm sure you'd enjoy that before any-nyon serious talks."
Luffy, pouting, dearly wanted to argue, but some instinct also told him that chances to rest between now and when he saved Ace would be precious and rare, and he needed to be at his strongest to succeed. A week wasn't a lot of time to work with, but it was enough that he had a little bit of slack. Chopper would be saying the same thing.
…well, actually he'd probably be yelling a lot at that moment, all while trying to chain him to his bed and—yeah, he saw where the old woman was getting at now. Aaaand now he was missing his crew again. Great.
Also. Feast. Definitely not passing that up.
Smiling a bit melancholically, his eyes straying to the bag he still held, he nodded. "Alright, tomorrow, then. I guess I'll go find Marguerite… and that feast… and leave some food for Marguerite while I'm there…"
"Most likely nyon-t in that order," Nyon murmured, smirking.
"Wait!"
Everyone in the room jumped and looked to the one who'd spoken. Looked to Hancock, who was staring directly at Luffy, a frown marring her features.
She stared for a few seconds longer before speaking. "…I will expect a very good explanation for how and why you are here once tomorrow comes. But before anything else…" Her eyes closed, and though her head would not bow, her voice trembled. "Your intrusion bought me the time that I needed to fight through the paralysis. You saved me. And you saved my people. So. From the bottom of my heart…"
Hancock's eyes opened, and she smiled, without caveat or reservation.
"Thank you."
While the other Amazons in the room reeled as if struck by a poleaxe straight in the chest, Luffy merely blinked in surprise before smiling right back and waving her off. "Maaaah, no problem! You're really nice, so of course I helped! Anyway, we'll talk tomorrow! See ya!" And with that, he left.
"Enjoy the village, Monkey D. Luffy," Hancock called after him, still smiling as she waved him off.
And once he was gone, she kept smiling… and kept waving…
Up to the point that Nyon cocked an eyebrow at her suspiciously. "Uhh… Princess? Are you…?"
And it was at that point that Hancock straight-up collapsed into Salome's coils.
"WHAT THE NYON!?"
"SISTER!" the serpent-women in the room hollered, unwinding from their pillars and snapping back to human as they rushed over to check on their sister.
All three of the women knelt over Hancock, Salome hanging overhead and hissing in concern, all of them out of their minds with worry—before simultaneously blinking in confusion.
"Why is she smiling?" Marigold questioned.
"Why is she blushing?" Sandersonia concurred.
"What on-nyon earth is she muttering about?" Nyon concluded and lowered her head near Hancock's to hear better.
She then looked up with a perfectly flat expression on her face. "She appears to be fantasizing."
Nyon knelt down again for another listen.
"About names…"
Once more.
"For her and Straw Hat's…"
And again.
"Eighth child's grandchildren. No, wait!"
Aaand last one.
"Make that great-grandchildren. Yes, she's planning out the names of her and Straw Hat's descendants all the way to their eighth child's great-grandchildren," Nyon nodded decisively. "So… I very confidently diagnose with being very, very, veeeeery in love with that boy. Any questions?"
The conscious Boa sisters gaped at the elder in slack-jawed shock, the awkward silence periodically punctured by the sound of Hancock's rapturous and disjointed giggling.
Then, all at once, Sandersonia was livid again. "Cross," she hissed. "He kneeeeeew."
Marigold, shocked, snapped her stare to her sister. It took a moment before the pieces slotted together, but when they did…
"I," she declared in the calm of a storm's eye. "Am going to kill him."
"I'll help," Sandersonia nodded just as decisively. Then she winced, clutching her side. "Ow. Owowowow. After I heal up."
"What the devil nyon has gotten into you two!?" Nyon demanded. "And how is Cross to blame for this happening?"
"We are going to be living with this for the rest of our lives," Sandersonia pointed out, prompting an understanding wince from Nyon.
"Someone has to pay, and it's not going to be our sister or Luffy, so it might as well be the one who undoubtedly found this whole thing funny," Marigold concluded.
Nyon stared at them for a moment, then pinched the bridge of her nose. "All right, I think you two have been up for way too long. Let's just see about getting you some proper rest and—!"
"Skree! Skree!"
"Oh, what nyon!?" Nyon barked, furiously wheeling on the new source of noise.
It was a bat. A messenger bat, with a missive tied to one leg. All annoyance and irritation drained from the gathered Kujas at the sight… or at the least, was redirected.
For the messenger bat could have only come from one place and one entity.
Expression pinched, Nyon retrieved the message from the bat, unfurled the paper, and began to read. With every word, her face went through contortions that would've impressed a gymnast, finally settling on Arctic iciness when she was done.
"If you have any of this ill-conceived anger left by tomorrow," she bit out, tucking the missive away for safekeeping. "Then I believe that you'll receive a channel through which to vent it quite soon-nyon." She paused, eyeing Sandersonia's bandages, which were stained red. "And you! You should've known better to shift with that injury!" She raised her cane…
"I'm heading to the healers right now!" Sandersonia yelped, fleeing the throne room to the snickers of her sister.
-o-
Hina had never seen Marineford more packed and busy. Most of the soldiers that weren't posted there full-time rarely spent more than a few days in Headquarters before deploying again, and never all at the same time; the demands of the Pirate Era were just that vast. But now? Now the island was packed with nearly 100,000 soldiers, and Hina's ship had had to be towed through a forest of masts by one of the fancy new steam tugs to get to its berth. And upon disembarking, she and her party of Jango and Fullbody had had to rely on her Commodore's coat parting a path through the sea of troops on the streets for them to get anywhere in a reasonable amount of time.
It would follow, then, that the mess halls scattered throughout the island would be equally packed. Especially the central mess in the main building that could house and feed nearly 10,000 men at once. And indeed, it was packed to the rafters.
Yet in spite of the wall-to-wall bodies, the talk and gossip, which was usually loud and raucous, remained at a low roar rather than the usual din. And Hina had found a table easily by grabbing one left empty around a large knot of strange soldiers.
Hina had heard of the soldiers, had seen the small, odd vessels run up on the beach as her battleship pulled in. Hell, she'd gotten a snail-message from headquarters six hours out to "Ignore them, they're on our side, please and thank you." She hadn't heard much more than that, though.
As such, now seemed as good a time as any to scope them out and acquire some actionable intelligence.
Sitting down, the Mason took the opportunity to scan over the cluster of foreign men. There looked to be a little over a thousand of them. Although they had a variety of faces, their facial structures tended towards angular, square-jawed features. All were clean-shaven, their heads cut down to a buzz, down to their shirtsleeves, and each had a dark-grey woolen coat on the bench next to them, and a woolen cap on the table.
More than their features, though, they were quiet. Little talk passed between the men, but what there was, was playful and friendly in a dry, understated sort of way. And more importantly, in a completely unfamiliar language.
In other words, their appearance answered very little. Which made it a very good thing that Hina wasn't working on this particular enigma alone.
Metal clattered on metal, and Hina looked up to find Vice Admiral Jonathan's aide-de-camp wearing his usual grim expression as he sat down across from her.
"Lieutenant Commander Drake," Hina greeted, respectfully inclining her head. "Hina doesn't believe we've met."
"Iron Cage Hina," Drake replied back with a nod of his own. "I know you by reputation. You do good work."
Hina risked a glance around. Nobody was giving them a second look, the tables in the immediate surroundings were all seated with familiar and trusted faces, and a Lieutenant Commander eating with a Commodore wasn't too far a gap in rank. She leaned in a little closer.
"Drake," she said under her breath. "What can you tell Hina of these… strangers?"
At that, Drake's grim expression deepened. "Scuttlebutt is that they're indigenous peoples Akainu encountered in the New World and recruited in exchange for a fast-track to membership in the World Government. And Jonathan all but confirmed it." He paused to let Hina suck in a breath through her teeth and Jango and Fullbody to stop choking on their mashed potatoes. "He goes everywhere with some strange priestess, and those guys—" He inclined his head towards the unfamiliar soldiers. "They're one of three battalions Akainu brought with him."
"Indigenous, meaning isolated, meaning they hadn't heard of the World Government," Hina mused, frowning at the thought that occurred to her. "And Hina assumes that they don't have Transponder Snails, and so have never heard of the SBS either?"
Drake snorted harshly. "Nope. And while I don't know about the priestess, the other three battalions probably wouldn't have turned down the offer. The ones who arrived on their own ships are raiders, barely a step up from pirates. Hell, from the rumors, they were actual pirates two generations ago, they just settled down to farm. Kept up their fighting skills, though, and they're scarily eager to go back to fighting and pillaging. From what we've picked up, Akainu's giving them a pass on their past because it's 'part of their culture', though I have no doubt he'll figure out how to keep them pointed at 'acceptable targets'."
At the last, Drake gave his meat an especially vicious stab with his fork, and Hina couldn't blame him. The Masons had spent many a meeting thanking whoever they thought would listen that looting their own citizens was not a thing the Marines did, though given how often the broader Government did, they also knew that was to some degree hair-splitting. Regardless, this threatened to end that little bit of morality.
"Then there are the knights," Drake continued after another bite. "And not like the armored guards the World Nobles have, either, these guys paint their armor, and they brought their horses. Or at least the monsters they call horses. Either way, they're the real deal. And the minute they heard the World Government fights pirates, they were eager to sign up. From what I've heard, they recruit a lot from the coastal villages in the area, so they have plenty of reason to hate pirates on a good day."
Suddenly, a door was thrown open with a loud bang on the other side of the mess, and Drake sighed explosively. "Speak of the devil…"
Hina leaned back to get a better look. There was no armor to be seen, though the men pouring in were wearing straight-edged swords at their hips. Their clothes were… well, fancy was the best way to put it. Very heavy on ruffles and lace and poofy silk and gold thread. And those tight pants… Hina found herself involuntarily fanning her heated face. They were very tight pants indeed, on some very strong legs.
Regardless, they came in full of swagger, good cheer, and outrageous facial hair. The gathered Marines were clearly trying desperately to ignore them, only for the knights to start to mingle. A pit in her stomach opened as many Marines reciprocated back.
"Yeah, they're a friendly bunch, and unlike the Víkverir—that's the guys from the ships, they're pretty friendly themselves—they like to mingle." Drake all but spat the last word out.
Another bite and Drake then nodded at the nearby wool-wearers. "As for those guys… well, the rumor mill has practically nothing about what their country is except that it's some kind of winter island. Other than that, we know they wear white a lot, they make some really nice rifles, they brought skis… oh, and they demanded both some artillery for them to use and construction of several of some sort of hot steam room they call a sauna."
Hina's frown could've cut the table as she listlessly stabbed a piece of ham-like substance. "And you said they all came from the New World, meaning they are all top-grade fighters. Troubling, Hina finds this very, very troubling."
"No, you don't say," Drake snorted darkly. "Tch, a year ago I'd have been glad to have them on my side once the fighting started, but now, not so much. Plus, the end-message doesn't change: I've had Jonathan run roughshod over me enough times to know a power play when I see one."
"For Akainu, or the Government?"
Drake didn't answer. He didn't need to.
"Ah, many pardons?"
Hina flinched and glanced up at one of the men from the other tables, a round-faced blond man. His expression was studiously neutral, but there was a hint of curiosity.
"Apologize for rudeness, but you are, ah, prikaatikenraali… ah, that is, commodore, yes?" he said in a thick-as-mud accent. It took a minute for Hina to decipher.
"Yes, Hina is," she replied in a blandly polite tone. "May Hina help you?"
"Perhaps," the man nodded. "We are looking for new drink for ration. Your rum is very strong, but is too sweet, yes? In Suomi, use drink of potatoes, you know it?"
Drink of potatoes? What… oh. Hina glanced over at Fullbody and Jango, who had patently abandoned their meals in favor of gaping. "Petty officers, assist Mister…"
"Hulkko. Korpraali Petri Hulkko."
"Assist Mr. Hulkko with requisitioning sufficient North Blue vodka from the quartermaster. And do not take no for an answer, Hina knows the man has a considerable stash squirreled away."
Both Marines glanced forlornly at their meals before simultaneously sighing and standing. "Yes ma'am," they chorused, Fullbody adding a resigned, "Please follow us."
Something approaching happy flitted across the corporal's face as he followed after. Curious man… but still an enemy, and as such…
Hina grabbed Jango's arm as he passed by her, yanking him down so that she could hiss orders to him unheard. "Get them as drunk as you can and pump them for intelligence. Tactics, training, all of it."
The hypnotist nodded curtly before hurrying his pace to catch up to his friend and their new 'ally'.
"Well, at least now we have a name," Drake groused. "Suomi… never heard of it, but I'll bring it to Jonathan. Maybe he'll be able to locate the place."
"Hina hopes he'll be able to dig up some weaknesses too," Hina said just as grimly. "Because if not, we'll have to discover them on the fly, and that… is not an endeavor Hina looks forwards to in the least."
"Hear-hear, Commodore," Drake nodded, raising and clinking his glass with hers as the two of them delivered a grim salute to the inevitable hell to come.
-Dawn of The Fourth Day-
-144 Hours Until The War-
Luffy awakened well-rested in a vaguely familiar place, a mild hunger in his belly, and a mild worrying sensation in the back of his mind… Ace.
Opening his eyes and getting to his feet, the memories of yesterday rushed back to him: after that stupid assassin and the stupid robot-mongoose-centipede-monster-thing that the Government sent, Hancock made him wait and rest until today. The celebration party had been put off for the same reason, but he had at least gotten to know more of the Amazons besides Marguerite.
He couldn't help but grin and at the memory. The warrior women were fun to be around when they weren't trying to murder him. Really strong, too!
But his joy lasted only a moment longer. Losing a day was necessary, but it still left him with far too little time. He checked for his pipe, felt the duffel bag beside it, and moved to the door of the feast hall he'd fallen asleep in.
An entourage was already waiting for him, as armed as always, but this time, smiling and pleasant to be around.
"Good morning, Luffy. The Snake Princess will see you as soon as you can arrive. We're here to escort you to the palace," said the giantess that had nearly crushed him yesterday.
"Saga of 'Marguerite is still recovering'," added a stocky, deep-voiced woman beside them.
"She deserves her rest after what the last few days have put her through. I'm sorry again for attacking you, we shouldn't have been caught up in that assassin's rumor-mongering and lies," finished a black-haired woman with a no-nonsense expression.
"Mah, mah, it's fine, Hancock got her back for it," Luffy said, though saying that made him frown and cross his arms as they walked. "And I'll get her back someday, too," he muttered grimly.
A collective flinch ran through his escorts as they instinctively reached for their weapons. "Ahem…" Kikyo coughed, her brow twitching as she got her instincts back under control. "Ah… Captain Luffy? I realize that you're receiving special treatment, but it would still be wise to address the Snake Princess by her proper title. Less… potential problems." Even as she said this, she didn't really expect him to listen.
Which made it something of an honest surprise when he did respond. "Ehhh, but why?" Luffy groaned, tilting his head in confusion. "I call Vivi her name all the time, and she doesn't mind. So why does it matter if I call Hancock by her name?"
The Amazons honestly froze up at that, the gears in their heads churning pointlessly. It took a minute, but when Luffy didn't stop they all scurried after him.
Once they were caught up, Sweetpea raised her finger tentatively. "Uh… Saga of… 'Empress Hancock does listen to Vivi a lot'…"
"E-Even so!" Kikyo frantically retorted. "Princess Nefertari is a friend of yours. The rules of engagement are different in that case, so—"
"Ehhhhhh?" Luffy groaned again, tilting his head even further. "But aren't me and Hancock friends too? That's what she said, right? 'Cause I saved her life and everything, and she gave me lots of meat?"
Somehow, under the circumstances, that logic was utterly irrefutable. And very painful for the Amazons to think about.
"Ah… shall we just continue to the palace? In silence, perhaps?" Aphelandra weakly proposed.
"Eh, sure!" Luffy agreed.
That lasted all of a minute before—quite unfortunately for the Amazons—Luffy decided to speak up again.
"Oh, hey, I know!" he laughed eagerly. "Why don't we sing! I know a great song that Soundbite taught me!"
For obvious reasons, this prompted no small amount of panic from the Amazons. "A-Ah, Saga of 'I don't think that's—'!"
"Ooooooh!" Luffy, heedless of their protests, belted out with oblivious glee. "I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves, EVERYBODY'S NERVES! AND IT GOES! LIKE! THIS!"
The warriors immediately clamped their hands over their ears. Kikyo groaned in frustration when that only helped a little.
"I'm beginning to understand why the World Government wants this one dead," she muttered
"Saga of 'No kidding'…"
But even as Luffy sang, he couldn't silence the worry in his heart. Over his brother, over his crew…
For now, he just hoped things this meeting would go all right.
-o-
"THE WORLD GOVERNMENT DID WHAT!?" Luffy roared.
The strongest individuals on the island were all assembled in the palace's throne room, glaring at a crumpled letter lying on the table they had set up. Even Marguerite's single eye was filled with rage, propped up as she was in her seat.
"Yeah, that was our response too," Sandersonia hissed, agitatedly drumming her fingers on her crossed arms. "It makes no sense to send her an obligatory summons to the war if they planned on killing her, especially after their attempt failed. But…" The anaconda woman grit her fangs and ground her fingers into her temple. "That doesn't change the fact that the assassin and these summons are 100% official. We were thinking that the former could have just been a World Noble acting on a whim…"
"But between that witch mentioning the Government itself instead of any Noble's name and that… abomination that she brought with her, her orders could only have come from the top," Hancock explained, the tint in her cheeks subdued from the grim nature of the subject.
Luffy groaned and scratched furiously at his head. "But why would they want to kill one of their Warlords? Especially when they're going to war?!" He gave Hancock a quizzical look. "Did you do anything to them?"
Hancock reeled and flushed, her response instantly devolving into an incoherent stammer. Luckily, she was saved from any further embarrassment by a derisive snort from Nyon. "Shockingly enough, no."
And just like that, Hancock was flushing for a whole new reason. "BITE ME, HAG!"
"The Snake Princess hasn't had much exchange with the Government at all," Nyon continued, ignoring Hancock's aggravated sputtering. "Until recently. Since the debut of the SBS, I believe."
Nyon's expression turned grimly contemplative.
"After years of nyon-thing but the cold shoulder, you agreed to chase after Black Bart, but let him escape. That had to raise some suspicion on its own. And then-nyon, you subdued Shiki and turned him over, an unprecedented exception. With Black Bart alongside Straw Hat in that battle… someone may have drawn the correct conclusion about your opi-nyon of the SBS. An ally of the Straw Hats in the Warlords would be the last thing the government wants."
The silence that fell over the meeting was grim. Hancock slumped deeper into Salome's comforting coils, a hand dragging down her face.
"An ally of the Straw Hats…" she repeated, before adding, "Or an ex-slave, after what they did to those who ransacked Sabaody."
That darkened the mood even further, with one exception. Marguerite, despite her injuries, sat bolt upright in her seat, her face a mask of abject shock and horror.
"An ex-what?!" she cried, staring at her teacher, her empress, clear dread in her expression. "Then… then, t-the Gorgon's Mark… you're saying…" She slowly cast her gaze over the other two 'Gorgons.' "I-It was actually—?"
"As lethal as we said it was…" Marigold croaked, both herself and Sandersonia an unhealthy shade of grey. "Our only lie… was that it would have been our lives that ended should anyone bear witness to them, not the viewers. Assuming… Assuming we let them survive."
Though it had been a few days, the SBS blaring the atrocities of the Sabaody slave market and of the World Nobles still sat heavy in Marguerite's mind. Connecting that to the behavior of her rulers over the last decade… well, it made more sense than she liked to admit. But that was for later. Now, they had a crisis to try and wiggle their way out of.
"But… even so, are you sure?" she pressed. "I mean, all of this was… was…?"
"Seventeen years ago…" Sandersonia whispered, just loud enough to hear. "And the scars still burn as if they were fresh…"
Marguerite ran some quick calculations, forcibly repressed the urge to vomit at what she came up with. "If… If they last saw you that long ago, when you were—hurk!—t-that young… t-then how could they know now?"
"An Amazon woman with the Love-Love Fruit and her sisters with snake Zoans," Hancock sighed in resignation. "Even if we weren't extremely recognizable… we were all too…" A heavy shudder racked all three sisters. "Popular back in those days. I imagine we left quite the impression. They've likely always known who we are. They just didn't make an issue of it so long as I was kept on a different chain."
From the expressions going around the table, nobody was happy that the World Government had known that ever-so-slightly important fact for so long.
Abruptly, Luffy slammed his fist down on the table. "Okay, so we know why they tried to kill you, I understand that! I hate it, but I get it! But that still doesn't explain this!" He jabbed a finger at the letter. "If they know that you know they tried to kill you, why try and order you around anyway? Why are they letting you stay a Warlord?"
"So that they can try again."
All eyes whirled on Nyon, her expression even grimmer, and then most of the room just collapsed in resigned fatigue.
"You're kidding," Marigold groaned, running her hands up her face.
"I only wish I was," Nyon sighed. "Con-nyon-sider the facts: either you accept the summons and are escorted to Marineford, a war zone where any number of 'accidents' could happen, or you reject the summons, lose your title, and allow the nyon-Navy and World Government to repeat what just happened with even less subtlety and far more firepower. Either way, you won't be spared from the ones who want you dead."
"Then…" Sandersonia hissed. "Then why stay with them at all, huh!? We accepted their leash to avoid this exact situation! If-If they're going to try and kill us anyway, then let's get them first! We can tell them to go stuff their war, we can fight—!"
"And then, we will die."
All of Sandersonia's bravado whooshed out of her. Not just because of what was said, but because of who said it.
"S-Sister—?" she breathed, shocked
"I am strong, Sonia. As are you, and Marigold. And together, there are few on the seas capable of matching us," Hancock said wistfully. Then her gaze hardened. "But we are not invincible. We are mortal, and we can die. And even worse than that, if we were to die, then so too would the island. If we fought, all of Amazon Lily would suffer for it. And that is something that I will not allow! Not if I intend to keep my throne for even a moment longer!"
Speech finished, the Warlord slumped back into her throne with a tired groan. "Ophiuchus almighty, life was so much easier when I didn't give a damn about anyone but us three. Is it too late to go back to being a sociopathic but beloved tyrant?"
Marguerite's expression was pointedly cold as she pointed at the bandages encircling her head. "My gaping eye socket says yes."
"Ugh…" the Empress spat. Shaking her head, she looked back at the man who had won her heart.
"…what is going on, Luffy? The World Government wouldn't dare risk my ire, even if they can put me down, without an incredibly pressing motivation. And even a war with Whitebeard would not qualify. So, tell me, Monkey D. Luffy. What secrets lie at the heart of this conflict?"
Luffy winced at the reminder of the hell to come, but the Kujas were already involved. They deserved and needed to know what was going on.
So he shared as much as he could, as much as he remembered, and thankfully Sonia helped to fill in the pieces that he forgot or missed. From the horrorshow they'd gone through after Hancock and her sisters had gone down, to the gut-wrenching revelations shared in the Rip-Off Bar, to the separation that had led to their present meeting.
And once Luffy had concluded, Sonia picked up the explanation with her own version of events. Along with a rather… difficult addition.
"The Revolutionaries arrived that evening, once the Straw Hats were… divided," Sandersonia intoned, staring at the tabletop and tracing a pattern with her fingertip. "Took me and Koala to Baltigo—don't ask me how, they had me blindfolded the entire time—and I waited there until I was good to return here and… well, from what I picked up there…" She let out a morose sigh. "I…I don't know exactly what Dragon is planning to do about the war, but… once he learned everything we had to pass on from Cross, all he told me was that… well, that he would have his end of the bargain ready by the time of the war if you wanted to accept. I'm…" Sonia glanced aside. "I'm pretty sure that whatever plans he makes are going to be independent of the Masons. Whether or not he'll help with the war… frankly, I couldn't say."
CRACK! "HISSSS!"
Everyone in the room jumped at the sound of something breaking, followed by a very pissed off bout of hissing. Immediately, eyes darted to Hancock, who was flexing and clenching one of her hands. Salome, meanwhile, was glaring at the back of her head and had pointedly shifted her coils away from her reach.
Aside from the clenching, though, Hancock was very still, and eerily quiet. No breath misted out of her mouth, and her whole body was trembling with barely contained tension. Finally, she heaved out a deep breath and relaxed. Though the Amazons could tell that she was suppressing more than truly relaxing.
"…and what reason does Monkey D. Dragon have to hesitate? He cannot be unaware of his son's relation to Fire Fist at this stage," Hancock posed, her tone seemingly calm as she glared directly at her middle sister.
Sandersonia flinched back under her sister's gaze but swallowed and answered. "I-I asked Koala the same thing when I heard. And according to her… well…"
~o~
Cross disconnected from the rest of the Masons, and everyone else made for the stairs to the Bar's main room. But before everyone could leave, Cross's hand shot out and grabbed the elbow of the last person in line, holding them back.
"When you talk to Dragon, I want you to make one thing as clear as possible: I'd happily welcome his help, but I'm not asking for it."
Koala's expression contorted from confused to disbelieving to incredulous in two seconds flat. She wheeled around to fully face Cross, shouting, "Cross, are you out of your mind?! What the hell is wrong with you, this isn't the time for pride—!" At Cross' expression, she hastily backpedaled. "Alright, that was too far and I apologize, but still! I… Cross, what are you thinking?! This war, it's, it's—!"
"None. Of his business," Cross bit out. "And that's not me saying that, that's the Revolutionaries' core principles."
Koala, who, of course, knew those principles well enough to debate the underlying philosophy, tried to come up with a rebuttal. But all she could manage was a weak, "That… that's not true…?"
"It is and you know it is," the Anarchist retorted, reaching up to fiddle with the brim of his cap. "The Revolutionaries fight for civilians, but these are Marines and Pirates. Technically the White Hats are doing exactly what they're supposed to be doing, something that Dragon has no grounds to oppose. That I know he won't oppose. The man didn't help intervene in the War the first time around, and he wasn't exactly there to raise Luffy to begin with. I understand both times and I don't begrudge him for it, because this is a war that needs to be fought and it's no place for a child, but the fact remains: what makes you think he'd do it just because I asked him to? He owes me because I just handed him the biggest boost to his cause he's probably ever had. What kind of repayment is it, if I ask him to risk losing it all?"
Koala flinched and looked away, her hands clenched at her sides.
"…even if he's willing to take this lying down, there's no chance in hell that Sabo will. Or Hack, or a hundred others, or…" Her voice hitched, and she reached up to wipe tears from her eyes. "Or me. We-We'll fight for this, Cross. We've fought for a worthy cause our whole lives, you can damn well bet we'll fight for this one too."
Cross stared at her blankly for what felt like an eternity, before slowly walking around her, still blank-faced. "Then fight for it, if that's what you wish. I'm not saying I don't want Dragon's help. If he decides to give it, then all the better. But that decision's up to him, and him alone. It's not mine to make."
And with that, Cross started up the stairs.
"Not anymore."
~o~
Throughout the explanation, Hancock's lips were pressed into a thin line. At the end, she breathed out her nose and said, "I suppose someone must keep their focus on the long term."
Luffy said nothing, but his expression conveyed no surprise. He must have known already. And if Hancock knew anything about the rubber-man at all, then he probably didn't blame his father for his decision any more than Cross did.
With all the facts now laid out at her feet, the Snake Princess saw only one viable, logical route forward, both for herself and her home. Decision reached, Hancock stood up and gave Luffy a warm smile. "Your actions and your pleas have moved me, Luffy. Jeremiah Cross trusted that you would find aid on my island, and he was once again correct. I will support you as much as I can manage. Through hell and hellfire, till death do us pa—!"
THWACK!
"—grk!"
It took every ounce of Hancock's considerable willpower to keep from activating her Devil Fruit and petrifying the oh-so-innocent looking troll that had just surreptitiously slammed her cane against the Warlord's ankles. Instead, she coughed into her fist, brow twitching. "In any case… the point is, you will have my full aid to help you save your brother, you have my word."
"You will, really?!" Luffy beamed, his smile ear to ear. "That's so awesome! Thank you, so much! I'll pay you back for this someday, Hancock, I promise!"
And with that, the gravity of the situation, all that had allowed Hancock to maintain control, was overwhelmed by the rush of love Luffy's words delivered like Cupid's arrows. She felt her body keel back in a faint…
THUD! "GAH!"
And pratfell right onto the floor, Salome very pointedly slithering off to the side instead of cushioning her fall. Hancock loosed a paint-peeling glare at the snake, to which the reptile dryly presented the bruised scales she was sporting.
"If you hiss the word 'union' at me again, I will turn you into a full wardrobe."
Salome's ever-so-polite response was to hiss tonelessly at Hancock, as well as stick her tongue out at her.
Hancock narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "…I'm going to assume that was instinctual and preserve the friendship."
"See, this is why I prefer Bacura," Sandersonia remarked as she ever so innocently twirled a lock of hair about her finger. "Felines are so much kinder, so much more affectionate—!"
"Psh, yeah, you only say that because you always foist off his boulder-sized hairballs to anyone who isn't you…" Marigold grumbled, balancing her chin in her hand.
The verdette whipped her hand to her breast with an offended gasp. "Treachery!"
"Not if it's true, it isn't," Marguerite opined in a snide tone, Kaa hissing out a chuckle.
"Conspiracy!"
In response to all of this, Hancock let out a long-suffering groan. "Sweet Apophis, I'm surrounded by loons and fools…"
"Now that's hypocrisy! Hiss-ss-ss-ss!"
"SAY THAT AGAIN YOU BIG-HEADED BUFFOON!" Hancock roared, lunging across the table and yanking on her sister's elongated tongue, which did absolutely nothing to stop the laughter. No help came from Marigold, Marguerite, or Nyon, who were content to watch in various levels of amusement and exasperation.
"Shi…"
Everyone froze at that sound, that sound that cut through the din. Froze with Hancock still holding Sandersonia's tongue, mind.
"SHISHISHISHISHISHISHISHISHI!" Luffy laughed, so hard he fell back on his ass clutching his stomach. "Shishishi… it's just like being back home with my crew." He looked over them again and grinned. "Actually, you remind me of me and my brothers, too… it's been a long time since we were all together…"
While that dampened the mood a tad, Luffy was never one to let such moments linger. "Eh, it doesn't matter! You'll all get to meet them soon enough anyway!" he laughed.
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence as Hancock finally let go of Sandersonia's tongue with a look of disgust. So it fell to someone else to end the rollercoaster of a meeting.
"Well, if we're done," Marigold sighed, heaving herself to her feet. "I'll send out Gladiolus to see if Momonga still awaits us. With any luck, we can be on his ship in—"
"Wait, 'we'?" Hancock's head snapped to her sister. "What 'we'? There's no 'we', I'm the only one—!"
She then found herself in the very undesirable position of all six individuals in the room staring at her like she was—
"You're being an idiot, Hancock."
Her face turned a lovely shade of red as multiple emotions warred on her face.
"Seriously, what part of the last twenty-four hours makes you think that anything is going to keep us from coming with you? Amazon Lily won't crumble from a few days without us present. Not when we have people we can trust to leave in charge," Sandersonia said, looking to Nyon… and Marguerite. "And before you say anything about my injury, we've got several days before the war, that's plenty of time for it to heal well enough for me to fight. Seriously, that doctor of Luffy's is packing the good stuff.
Hancock's color rapidly shifted from red to a deep purple. "I refuse! You are going to stay here, where you can be safe and—!"
"Stop being stupid and just let 'em come," Luffy cut in.
Aaaand the Pirate Empress immediately went from purple back to red, with a side order of swooning…
THUNK!
And topped off with a sprinkling of fainting. And since Salome pointedly didn't catch her head again, this time she was down for the count.
It should be noted that Luffy had enough good sense to worry about this.
"H-Hey, I didn't mean—! Sh-She was being—! Is she going to—?"
"Don't fret about it-nyon, Straw Hat," Nyon huffed.
"Yeah, she'll be fine when she wakes up, no hard feelings," Sonia assured him.
"So you can stop panicking now. Both of you," the elder added with a pointed look at Marguerite.
The Kuja froze mid-inhalation, her nascent hyperventilation cut off before she could really work herself up into a panic. That didn't, however, do much to reduce her anxiety.
"L-Lady Sandersonia, you-you're making a mistake," Marguerite pleaded, staring desperately at the suddenly impassive verdette. "I-I was only in charge for three days, a-and I whipped the entire island into a mad frenzy! I was completely out of line, I tried to kill Luffy—!"
"Maaah, that's alright, you didn't even come close to hurting me, even if you tried really hard!" Luffy chuckled.
"NOT. COMFORTING," Marguerite snarled out. She took a deep breath. "Honored Sisters, please, I beg of you. For the sake of the island, you need to choose the best person for the job. And that… that's—"
"You," Marigold bluntly informed her. "With the three of us gone, that person is you, Marguerite, and had we or our sister had a say in things before our… episode, we'd have still picked you."
"…what?" Marguerite whispered, her eyes starting to moisten. "B-But… but I—!"
"Oh, you made a hash of things, total flub-up right there," Sandersonia agreed. "But you know what else it was? Not your fault. Not really. You were faced with a problem you could have seen coming, and what did you do? Give up? No, you did the tribe proud and you persevered. Could you have done things better?" The anaconda-woman shrugged. "Sure. But then, you could have done worse, too. Bottom line… we trust you. Trust you with our people, trust you with our home. We did before, and we still do now. And that's a fact."
Marguerite's sniffling intensified as Marigold smiled reassuringly. "Besides, Granny Nyon will be here to help you this time. You don't have to deal with all of the pressure yourself."
She nodded slowly, still struggling to hold herself back.
Nyon stepped over to pat her arm. "You can cry now, dear."
And with that, she broke down.
For the first time in a good long while, good tears were shed on Amazon Lily.
-o-
Three days after the most explosive series of SBS broadcasts yet (and that was saying something!), the question still on the minds of the world was what had happened to the Straw Hat Pirates. Cross's most explosive broadcasts had also been his most ominous, and after a bloody battle between the captain and Bartholomew Kuma, not a whisper had surfaced of the Straw Hats' fate. And everyone who could have supplied an answer had disappeared: Foxy, Duval, Koala, Sandersonia, Rayleigh, and even Takoyaki 8's staff had gone underground. Even the knowledge that the crew's ship guards were still present and guarding the ship was of no help; they no longer had voices, and wouldn't have explained anything if they did.
The ignorance disturbed many, but on the Sabaody Archipelago, none more than the ten Supernovas. Even those among the Damned. Plans though they had made, none of the action would be in the public eye until the day of the war. And it was this unease that led to the Supernovas, one and all, doing the same thing:
Absolutely nothing.
All nine of their ships had long since been coated. Each crew had lined up a knowledgeable fishman guide to show them the way to their island, where they could enjoy some time in the lap of luxury before heading into the ocean of their dreams. But from the shortest-tempered to the calmest, not a single Supernova made any move to leave. They gathered in spots about the archipelago day by day to woolgather, and nothing more.
Their crews tended to spread out or stick on their ship, having learned very quickly not to press their captains on the departure. The captains themselves, and their top brass, though? They had a very specific spot to woolgather at.
Sure, it was overpriced as hell and the bartender started getting twitchy whenever someone looked to be getting themselves worked up, but there was nowhere the Supernovas would rather pass their time than the Rip-Off Bar.
Typically, their days passed in a routine drudgery: drinking, playing poker, counting money… Even Apoo's blatant wiretapping became mundane by the end of the first day. Tempers spiked now and then, but nothing ever came of it.
Because no matter what anyone did, what anyone said, what anyone tried to pull, they all knew it was inconsequential. Knew it amounted to nothing in the face of what was to come. Nothing, compared to the looming event that had them all crushed into utter silence.
And so, they waited.
Waited for the bomb to drop. Waited for the war to start.
They waited for the world to end before they started the next leg of their voyages so that they would have some idea of what fresh new hell they were about to sail into.
-o-
In the early afternoon on Amazon Lily, every member of the Kuja Pirates was gathered together at the Empress's behest. Though all three sisters bore signs of the last day's trials, they stood before them unflinchingly but with an underlying tinge of nervousness. Nervousness of the kind that the crew had experienced several weeks prior when, in strict confidence, the sisters had disclosed part of the truth about the "Gorgon's Curse". None of them were inclined to pry, to ask what kind of event had scarred them so much that they had created that story.
Frankly, they were scared to imagine what could have hurt the strongest warriors on the island that much.
Not that they would ever show it, of course. They were Kuja, pirates and Amazon both. To them, strength was beauty and fear wasn't a word in their cultural vocabulary. So showing any trepidation? Now, of all times? Simply inconceivable.
Admittedly, the sight of Marguerite standing beside the sisters, rubbing the bandages across her face and refusing to look meet their eyes didn't inspire confidence in anyone. But still, culture was culture, and they wouldn't let it show. Which was why Rindo's reaction to the summons was to casually tug out a cigarette from her pack and light it up. "Well? We're here like you asked, and it's just us. Going to tell us what this is all about, then?"
Hancock's response, rather than anything verbal, was to let out a deep breath, straighten up in Salome's coils, and let her coat fall off.
The real testament to the warriors' fortitude was that they managed to retain any composure at all in the face of their Empress's topless form (though more than a few of them choked on their tongues in an effort to keep said composure). It still took them all their strength. At least, until Hancock spoke, her tone somber.
"You are aware already of the attempt on my life that occurred yesterday," she said, her voice even but bleeding raw with emotion. "We—my sisters and I—have called you here in light of what I realized after escaping death, something only possible from the help I received from another. Help that any of you could have rendered yourselves, had we not deceived you out of pride and fear. We have discussed this at length… and we will deceive you no longer. Not if the cost of hiding our shame is our lives."
"We expect you to keep what we're going to tell you secret from the rest of the island, for now," Sandersonia continued, her eyes closed and her arms hugging herself. "We'll tell them the truth someday, but right now, we're only barely comfortable sharing it with you all. And this… is not the best of times for us to be dealing with any potential judgement or… dissension."
"And there likely will be dissension. We will not be surprised if some of you resent us for what we're about to tell you. Because… it would be right to resent us…" Marigold dropped her face into her palm with a tired groan. "The things we have done… people have died for this, we have killed for this secret. And now it only comes out because we nearly died for it as well. We couldn't be any more pathetic…"
The Kuja Pirates' trepidation had long since curdled into existential dread, but that statement… it was almost more than they could comprehend. Culture and protocol be damned, Ran stepped out from the crowd, her expression one of confused desperation.
"Please, Honored Sisters," she pleaded. "Just… please just tell us. What could be so terrible, so… so horrific as to bring shame on ones so incredible as yourselves!?"
Once again, Hancock did not verbally respond. Instead, she slowly turned in place, Salome's coils shifting to bear her back to the crew. Her beautiful black hair was the final curtain hiding the eyes—the scars—that she had not allowed anyone to see. Marigold and Sandersonia did not move, the former scowling resolutely and the latter shivering as she hugged herself harder, Marguerite and Kaa rubbing against her to provide some comfort.
And it was in the midst of these reactions that Hancock's hand moved to grasp the base of her hair, trembling every second.
"…for seventeen years, we have carried this pain in silence," she whispered, likely not even conscious of the fact that she was speaking to anyone else. "Never once did we think that we could allow ourselves to trust anyone with it. We were determined to never let our guard down for the rest of our lives. To leave the island behind if anyone ever learned and lived to tell of it. Now… see the truth with your own eyes, and understand why."
As half of her mind screamed at her to reconsider, her hand moved, pulling her hair aside and allowing everyone gathered to see the mark imbued there, one that they had become familiar with through countless raids on World Nobles' ships. The Hoof of the Flying Dragon. And the only reason they knew for that symbol—that brand—to be on someone's flesh was… was…
The Kuja Pirates… well, to say that their jaws dropped would be an understatement of the highest order. Some staggered back as though physically struck, others fell to their knees. Even Daisy's smile was gone, and Rindo's cigarette fell out of her lips.
Only Ran mustered enough brainpower to speak, and that only because she'd maxed out her existential dread budget for the day. "I-Is that…" she wheezed out, scarcely even daring to breathe. "W-What I think it is?"
The sisters nodded wordlessly.
"H-How?!"
And so it all came out.
Not all at once, oh no, that would imply any of the sisters were in any shape to manage something as mentally scarring as that. Even leaving out the finer points, the story came out in fits and bursts, hampered by the sisters' mouths refusing to work at random, or their memory willfully blocking out what they couldn't bear to recall.
But turn by turn, they told what they could. Told of their capture, told of being sold on the very same stage that the Straw Hats had torn apart from the ground up. Told of being branded like cattle, and the years of being treated like worse. Told how they came to truly acquire their curses, for what else could anything that came of such horrors be called. They even told of their escape from the depths of that hell, and how upon their return, they had decided to turn their backs upon those years once and for all and to never speak of it again.
Until now.
When the explanation was finished, Hancock was on her knees, Salome barely keeping her upright. Marigold's fortitude had faltered, leaving curled against the wall, and Sandersonia was sobbing uncontrollably into Marguerite's shoulder.
"Empress… Captain."
Rindo was the first to break the silence, loosing a very angry-sounding snarl before closing the distance between her and Hancock in a few quick, hard strides.
"How…
Hancock flinched as she felt her subordinate's hand touch her back, touch her brand.
"How…"
Hancock's eyes clenched shut as the hand clawed into her back. And then twitched in surprise when a weight collapsed against her back, arms wrapping around her tight.
"How could you ever think that we would reject you for something that was never even your fault!?" Rindo demanded, her tears now flowing free as she embraced her captain for all she was worth.
It probably goes without saying what happened next, but that was the breaking point: the rest of the Kuja Pirates rushed to envelop the three sisters in comfort and acceptance. It was several hours before their tears finally stopped.
And no matter how much it hurt, no matter how deep the scars that had been reopened, the tears they had caused were all for the better.
-o-
A celebration party had been a long time coming, solely for the sacking of Saobody. Hancock's salvation, by multiple definitions, only added to the need. Wounds were too fresh last night, and so only a general celebration feast was held by the village to celebrate their Princess's revival and her savior, but as the afternoon waned and the summons still sitting ominously on the abandoned meeting table, it was finally time to indulge themselves.
So while the village itself set up and started a nice and festive festival in town, the Kuja Pirates had set up an out-and-out rager on the deck of the Perfume Yuda. And while this party was similar to all the ones the veteran had participated in over the years, this one possessed one single, albeit crucial difference.
"C-Come on you sh-shtupid sherpent. HIC!" Boa Hancock, the Pirate Empress and one of the strongest women in the world, slurred as she chased her irritated serpent-partner across the ship's deck. A positively luminescent blush highlighted her features, and she was sporting the most carefree smile any of the Kuja pirates had ever seen. "Jusht try it already! If that decred-decrec—HIC!—OLD hagsh' shnake can be a cane, zen you can be a pipe! C'moooon, jusht tryyyy!"
[I am suing you for this, you hear me?!] Salome hissed over her lack-of-shoulders. [First I make the Union, and then I'm gonna—WAGH!] The serpent's eyes widened in horror as she was suddenly stopped short. [Oooooh, skin me with a rusty—WAAAAAAGH!]
"Sheeee? Yer—HIC!—doing it!" Hancock cackled as she spun her panicked partner over her head. "Now, shtraighten out and shtiffen up your shpine, then we can really practish! SNAHAHAHA!"
[SUUUUIIIIIING!]
The difference, in case it wasn't clear, was that for the first time in the history of the Kuja Pirates, their top officers were taking equal part in a celebration. Oh, they'd attended in the past, but it was the attendance of an introvert dragged there under duress by their extroverted friend, just a few orders of magnitude more imposing.
Regardless, tonight they were clearly intent on making up for lost time.
"Hey, hey, HEY! Nono, don't you dare, stop!" Ran yelped in a panic, trying and failing to yank a barrel out of one of the ship's Yuda Serpents' jaws before it could finish guzzling the lot of the booze. And she could only look on in despair as it and its twin started nosing around for more. "Alright, who the hell got Caduceus and Asclepius into a drinking contest?!"
"Zat would be me!" Sandersonia laughed, swaying her scaly head above the pile of casks between the two mega-reptiles. The barrel she held in her grip did a lot to explain her slurred speech. "I juzt thought zey oughta have a bit of fun iz, iz all, hehehe!"
Ran scowled up at the anaconda-woman, one eye twitching. "They have downed almost half our stock! Give me one good reason to not turn your tail into a new pair of boots!"
Sandersonia swayed extra far in one direction before abruptly knocking her barrel back like an oversized shot and tossing it away without a hint of care. "Beeeecaaaauze… I am up on zese two lightweights by three! HAHAHA!" The anaconda-woman threw her head back and started laughing—
"Ow…"
Before abruptly cutting off, a petulant expression on her sauced face.
"…my sidehole hurts."
"THEN STOP DRINKING! YOU'RE GOING TO WAR WITHIN THE WEEK, REMEMBER!?"
"…eh, I'll stop when I'm dead."
"THAT COULD COME SOONER THAN YOU THINK!"
And as for the oldest and ostensibly most grounded of the three Gorgons? Well… even she had elected to cut loose, her alto voice singing one of Soundbite's favorites:
"Smell those shrimp they're beginnin' to boil, Wastin' away again in—!"
"Alright, stick a cork in it!" Marguerite snapped, the flush in her face only half as much to do with the booze she swilled than usual as she (ineffectively) shoved a laughing Marigold in the side. "That song got old after the first time, if you want to poke fun, do it about something else!"
"Zahahaha!" The way that Daisy quickly started laughing immediately told Marguerite that she'd made a mistake. "Can do! We'll start thinking up nicknames right away! How does One-Eye sound, or Ol' Gapey?"
"Have you felt any predilections to read pornography in public yet?" Rindo asked bluntly, oh-so-casually blowing out a smoke ring. "I'd advise avoiding facemasks from now on, I hear that when combined with eyepatches, the urge becomes overwhelming."
Blue Fan started to dig around in a bag. "Oh, oh, and we can go shopping for stylish patches if you want, I've got a few designs myself if you—!"
"But there's booze in the blender, And soon it will render, That frozen concoction that helps me hang on!" Marguerite desperately belted out, her crewmates cackling like the vicious harpies they were at the new crimson hue on her face.
Truly, everyone onboard was having a roaring good time. Even those guests who were friends rather than crewmates.
"Yo-hohoho, Yo-hoho-ho~!" Luffy sang out, laughing as he watched the Kujas around him try his chopsticks-in-the-nostrils trick. "Come on, everyone! Yo-hoho—huh?"
A tug pulled at Luffy's elbow, and after a glance to see that his 'students' were still practicing, he let himself be dragged. Through the crowds he went, straight to the prow of the Perfume Yuda, isolated somewhat from the rest of the party.
"We need to talk," Elder Nyon intoned, letting go of Luffy's arm.
Luffy blinked in confusion, scratching at his head. "Uhhh… okay? What about?"
Nyon's grave expression softened considerably. "Luffy… you're a fine young person, even for a man. Strong, skilled… But nyo matter how much you've been told, how many tricks you have in that bag of yours, how many allies you have, there remains a strong chance that you may fail. And I think it would be best you come to terms with that possibility before it becomes a reality."
Luffy languidly blinked, then smiled warmly.
"If I fail… I'll die. And if I died, then that would hurt my crew, so I won't die. And that means that Ace won't die! Simple, right?"
"That is not an answer, Straw Hat!" Nyon snapped, before visibly calming herself. "Look, just give me ten minu—GWEH!"
Being an advisor for one of the most egotistical women alive, Nyon was used to being interrupted mid-sentence. What she wasn't used to was having it be by having a pair of chopsticks shoved in her mouth.
"Shishishi! Come on, granny, smile! It's a party, right?" Luffy laughed, very blatantly ignoring the deathly glare Nyon was shooting at him. His nose twitched, and ignoring became oblivious. "Oooh, is that barbeque boar I smell? HEY, SAVE SOME FOR ME! I WANT MEEEEEAT!"
And before Nyon could get another word in edgewise—or at least work the chopsticks out of her mouth—he was gone.
The elder spat out the utensils, slumping and letting out a defeated sigh. "Why do the young have to be so stupid…" Nyon lamented to her sympathetic staff-serpent. "It usually leads to them dying early."
The best that the snake could offer her was a hiss of sympathy.
Well, that and a glass of heavily spiked punch it snagged with its tail.
Nyon took the glass and stared into its depths for a long moment, before scoffing and taking a begrudging sip.
"Well," she huffed. "Even if I can't help him nyon-ow, I can at least be around to help him at the end."
She turned her eyes back to the party. Back to the three women whom she called her daughters, more relaxed than she had ever seen them before. And at that sight, a small smile played on her face.
"On the other hand, those two have brought about several utter impossibilities in the past week alone. What's one more in the grand scheme of things…" she wryly mused.
And with that, she knocked back her glass and went to rejoin the party, both to celebrate the fantastic outcome of the recent past, and to pray for a better tomorrow.
-o-
Momonga's mood as he watched the approach of the Perfume Yuda teetered dangerously close to mutinous. Between the unreasonable orders he had received, the messenger hawk that had confirmed Boa Hancock's attendance and conditions, and the even more unreasonable orders he'd received in response to those conditions…
Shady dealings were clearly afoot, and he had indeed found himself a mushroom, kept in the dark, and fed bullshit. He hadn't appreciated being treated that way as a cadet, and he especially didn't appreciate it now.
But Hancock was here, the Yuda Serpents towing her vessel pulled up beside his ship, and now he could complete without a bloody assault on Amazon Lily, so he shoved the frustration aside.
One of the mighty serpents bowed its head to form an improvised bridge, right where Momonga stood in front of a disciplined block of his Marines. On the other side stood Boa Hancock, the Gorgon Sisters, and the full crew of the Kuja pirates, just as stone-faced as his Marines. Oddly, the green-haired Gorgon Sister, in contrast to the scanty animal skins of her compatriots, wore a zip-up jacket.
"The conditions are exactly as I described in our letter," the Warlord opened, her head tilted to look down on him. "Either you agree to meet them in full, or suffer the consequences for wasting my time."
Momonga scowled at the arrogant tone of voice, but once again shoved the feeling down. Professionalism. "Orders came back from the top. I am to… comply with your demands, and take you to Impel Down. However ludicrous the mere concept may be…"
"It will be you, your sisters, and the snake, eh?" he grunted out, nodding when the 'Empress' signaled her confirmation. "Very well. Now come aboard!"
The Vice Admiral tapped his boot impatiently as his impromptu 'charges' came aboard his battleship. He remained impassive, even as Boa Hancock shouldered past him aside in a very deliberate manner, and promptly, effortlessly charmed his men into forgetting it. Though he did tense some when the green-haired one leaned in and hissed at him in passing. It was overall a considerable relief when the Amazon party was aboard.
"It was worth the wait. Now I can finally complete my mission…" he said, quietly, to himself, before adding aloud, "Even if you are late."
Hancock turned away from his gaga men long enough to shoot him a sneer. "Not that it's any of your business, man, but the bat only arrived yesterday, whilst I was in the midst of recovering from an attempt on my life the day prior. One that if I knew no better I would attribute to your political masters."
Momonga's eyes narrowed, the only sign of the shock and rage that warred in his heart. "That is a very dangerous accusation you are making, Boa Hancock."
"But considering how my apprentice lost her eye to an assassin capable of using her finger like an icepick, not an unfounded one."
"That does not prove anything. CP9 is defunct, its operatives are still at large—!"
"If you are truly so deluded as to think that the World Government has but a single assassination unit under their command—" Momonga's eye twitched. The woman had the audacity to sound pitying! "—then your stupidity is beyond all description."
Before Momonga could reply, Hancock turned away from him. "We have wasted enough time. Let us be off." She then raised her voice to her crew. "I must be going now. I entrust the kingdom to you while I'm away."
Marguerite nodded and bowed her head respectfully, something Momonga mentally took note of. "We wish you good fortune in battle, Snake Princess, Gorgon Sisters!" A third prayer for the sake of a certain rubber-brain went unsaid.
"Then we shall depart," the Snake Princess declared. "Marguerite, we leave the island in your hands."
"And Rindo," Marigold added, smirking. "We leave Marguerite in your hands so that she doesn't start another lynch mob!"
"Wha—!?" The blonde archer reeled back, before righting herself with a luminescent blush on her features. "It hasn't even been a week, it's too soon to be making that a joke!"
"Apparently it ain't! See ya~!" Sandersonia sang as she walked away.
And so it was that the Marine battleship sailed away, a blue streak to impress every sailor on board trailing after it.
It was only once the two ships were out of earshot—and more importantly, immediate reach—of one another that Momonga turned his head to give the Warlord a grim stare. "…I still don't understand."
"Hm?" Hancock sniffed, glancing his way. "Did you say something, man?"
"Tell me why," the Vice-Admiral demanded, his hand openly resting on Josho Kiryu's hilt. "Why would you want this. Impel Down is known as the Pirate's Hell. Nobody is allowed near it, not even Warlords, especially not Warlords. So why. In the name of sanity. Do you want to go there."
Hancock remained silent for the longest time, and for a moment Momonga actually thought she was ignoring him.
But then she turned to face him, and even though he had a good two feet on her, Momonga simply could not suppress the feeling that Boa Hancock was looking down on him. "Because unlike the rest of my 'colleagues', to use that word in the loosest of terms possible," she hissed. "I am neither sociopathic nor uncaring enough to take part in your mass suicide pact without reason. If I am to take part in this rank idiocy, then I will look upon the root cause with my own eyes."
She then took a single step forward, and before he could stop it, Momonga's foot took a step back. All while a full score of his men collapsed around him.
"So either take me to Impel Down…" the Pirate Empress intoned, her eyes burning with power and fury. "Or turn this ship around, before I make it turn around."
Momonga ground his teeth, impotent outrage burning in his gut. Outrage that especially flared when his only response was to submissively turn away. "Tsk… you think too much of yourself, pirate."
"So you say," Hancock drawled, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she stepped past him. "But then, I'm not the one starting a war."
Momonga couldn't help but flinch, having no response to that, but he damn well did have a response to her sisters snickering as they made to follow her.
"Hold it!" he barked, freezing everyone on the deck.
Hancock visibly rolled her eyes before looking back at him. "What?" she drawled.
Momonga snapped his arm out, jabbing his finger at and honestly surprising Sandersonia. "The Navy received numerous reports of a serpent Zoan taking a very active part in the Sabaody Riots several days ago. A Zoan whose description your sister matches. I trust you are aware that if any of your subordinates aided in felonies against the World Government, there will be significant consequences."
Hancock stared at the Vice Admiral—not a glare, just a flat stare—before scoffing dismissively. "If all males are truly as foolish as you, I despair for the human race."
"Excuse me!?"
"Consult your charts, man," Marigold chimed in, though her focus was more on her nails than him. "Amazon Lily lies a full week's sail from the Archipelago, and the 'riots', as you called them, happened a little over four days ago. Our sister could not have taken part in them and be here with us right now. Clearly you are mistaken."
"So unless you have some definitive evidence implicating my sister in the crimes you've accused her of," Hancock declared. "We'll be retiring to our cabin now."
Momonga opened his mouth—
"WOO!"
—and was interrupted by the green-haired Amazon letting out a shout and stretching her arms above her head.
"It is a scorcher today, just blazing!" she laughed, seemingly speaking to herself. "Oof, I am just far too overdressed for this heat, I need to lose a layer." And with that said, she stripped off the jacket she was wearing to display the shirt she had on underneath.
A burnt and ragged t-shirt that prominently declared 'I Rode the Bubble-Coaster and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt'.
Momonga literally gagged on his outrage, trying and failing to produce the words to describe the special kind of hatred he felt towards these bloody. Stupid. Pirates!
"Hm?" Sandersonia blinked lazily under his glare, giving him a cocky smirk. "See something you like, sailor? Fair warning…" The ship's deck shuddered as the woman snapped into her scaly form and slammed her tail down. "I'm more woman than you could possibly handle."
At this point, Momonga was ready to explode, something the snickering he could hear behind him was not helping. At all. It was a wonder he still had any control of the situation with both his superiors and his charges taunting him. He snapped out a heading to the crew and directed a pair of grunts to show the sisters to their room before heading back to his quarters for the night, all his willpower devoted to not stomping there.
-o-
"C'mon, man, don't chicken out on me here."
"If I'm a chicken because I'm not stupid enough to risk a court-martial, if Momonga catches us, or petrification, if they catch us, then slap on the white feathers! I'm not that suicidal!"
The two grunts outside of the Boa Sisters' room exchanged looks before the first speaker shrugged.
"If I die, I die happy, right?"
"You're on your own, moron!" the other one snapped, stalking off in exasperation. The first one snickered as he slowly eased the door open, watching to see that his companion was gone. And once he was, the sailor sobered up and slipped inside.
He came face-to-face with three irritated Amazons, but didn't flinch at the death glare they were leveling at him. Though he did start to sweat at the glow in Hancock's hands.
"Reporting on Sagittarius's orders," he said, and he definitely sighed in relief when the Warlord relaxed. "Few of us are onboard; we'll make a point to have one of us delivering your food during your journey. Is there anything that I should report?"
"Inform him that things are going according to Ophiuchus's words so far," Sandersonia answered. "But our standing with the Government is compromised. It is unlikely that Hancock will retain her Warlord title much longer, and equally unlikely that we will be safe from attacks on your side."
The man's fists clenched, but he nodded. "I'll tell him to rearrange the planned formations. Though if worse comes to worst and you resign on the battlefield, we would appreciate your help in reducing the numbers of some of our… new recruits," he said, dragging a hand down his face. "Let's just say you have a lot to catch up on…"
"We shall see. That is enough for now; inform us as you can," Hancock stated. "As your cover story, inform your galley that we desire whatever cuts of the Sea King I saw floating outside remain."
"With at least a third of it kakuni," Marigold added.
"And plenty of xiaolongbao," Sandersonia put in, grinning. She then shrugged shamelessly when her sisters shot her accusing stares. "What? Watching him eat makes me want to eat. I've got a pretty stretchy stomach too, you know."
Hancock shook her head and dismissed the grunt with a wave of her hand, who made a display of slamming the door behind him.
After a few minutes of silence, Marigold loosed a heavy sigh and asked the question lurking in the backs of their minds.
"Do you think we're ready for this?"
Hancock's only response was to stare longingly at the bag sitting on her lap, protectively running her hand over it and the precious cargo within.
"We have to be, sisters…" she whispered.
"We have to."
AMAZON TREACHERY
-o-END-o-
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"Puru puru puru—KA-LICK!"
"Sagittarius."
"One of your arrows reporting, sir."
"Fly true."
"Things are already veering off course. The Government seems to have decided that Boa Hancock is a liability; they attempted to assassinate her on Amazon Lily and further attempts are expected on the battlefield. Her sisters have joined her, but further protection would be welcome."
"…Understood. We will arrange matters as we must."
"Furthermore, sir, while understandable… Anaconda provoked Vice Admiral Momonga with blatant proof that she was on Sabaody, though her alibi was ironclad. They may attempt something en route to the prison."
Jonathan let out the smallest of sighs before nodding. "The risks of working with pirates… Keep me posted."
"Yes, sir."
"Dismissed," he finished. As soon as the call disconnected, he turned to regard the other person in the room, just as she finished hanging up her own snail. "So. Changes on Amazon Lily and changes here at Marineford. Care to bet on the likelihood of a hat-trick for Straw Hat's voyage into hell?"
"No deal, I already have news," Tsuru informed him, her expression as grim as death itself. "And because of it, I know you're wrong. Straw Hat isn't just diving into hell…"
"He's about to take on the Ninth Circle itself, and all it has to offer."
IMPEL DOWNFALL
-o-BEGIN-o-
Cross-Brain AN: We're not going beyond a Triple Tap just yet, so you can rest assured we're done for now. Before we proceed to the next arc, however, we'll spend the next chapter taking a peek at how the rest of the crew is doing.
…other than Cross and company, of course.
