It takes a fair bit of running and hissed reminders that they have to be quiet, dammit, for Zoro to finally catch up with Lucy. When he does he grabs her 'round the waist from behind, and her legs kick the air a little as she laughs. He's tempted to spin her around or throw her over his shoulder or something, but he's wary of making too much noise or drawing any more attention than they already have, so he sets her on her feet instead.

Lucy turns around in his arms, still huffing with giggles, and her eyes are huge and shining with laughter, the apples of her cheeks red from the wind and honestly, what is Zoro supposed to do in the face of an expression like that? Even the stupid beard can't hide how beautiful it is. Not kissing her feels like a waste.

But they're in the middle of the city now, strangers among a sea of colorful natives and animated toys. They can't call attention to themselves by kissing or being otherwise disruptive. Franky was right when he warned them off of too much PDA—Lucy's meant to be a guy, and they have no idea how open-minded Dressrosa is or isn't.

"C'mon," Zoro tells her, clearing his throat and stepping away, removing the temptation. "Let's explore a little."

Lucy pouts—the beard somehow just makes it more obvious—but seems to get why he backed off. Her attention turns to the world around them, and they take their time strolling through the streets.

Because Nami has incredible skills with navigation and the wind was with them—and Nami coerced it when it wasn't—they actually arrived at Dressrosa a day earlier than expected. Trafalgar quickly turned this into an opportunity, and sent the six of them ahead as a scouting party. Apparently it's safe so long as they go unnoticed, because Doflamingo is notoriously bad at Observation Haki and can't stand having people around him who are good at it, like any true narcissist.

Trafalgar has a suspiciously detailed knowledge about Doflamingo and his crew. Zoro didn't ask, but he did notice. It could just be due to extensive research. In theory.

Lucy trusts him. Zoro's pretty sure she's right to.

Lucy walks beside him, and their hands brush every few steps due to how wildly she swings her arms. It's absurd how tempting it is to take hers in his own, but Zoro focuses his attention outward, on the city itself, and tries to stick to the mission.

Normally, the six of them really wouldn't be anyone's first choice for an espionage mission. Well, Sanji would be, actually, and maybe Usopp, but he, Lucy, and Franky, in particular, are possessed of a general inability to keep quiet or any sort of low profile. But part of the objective for this scouting mission is to take out some of Doflamingo's top lieutenants while they have the element of surprise, and the guy's not expecting them. They needed people with a lot of firepower on the island. And Usopp, who, in Nami's words, would "be the brains of the operation."

Fair assessment, honestly.

So now the six of them are spread over Dressrosa in pairs, trying to assess the general condition of the island and maybe take out some of the enemy along the way, if it can be done inconspicuously. Zoro can sense Kin'emon and Franky a few blocks away, and Sanji and Usopp are together somewhere far to the north—far enough north that he can't pinpoint where they are, exactly.

Dressrosa itself is…interesting. The atmosphere is warm and lively, with lots of street performers and spontaneous cries of laughter and boisterous greetings between friends and lovers. The streets are decorated in bright colors, usually bold bolts of cloth strung from buildings seemingly hewn from the rocks ringing the island's shores. Flowers fill most of the window-boxes, and the people are dressed colorfully as well. The clothing is varied enough that he and Lucy don't stand out much, but the women seem to favor long dresses with fitted bodices, loose skirts, and lots of ruffles. The men typically wore a leather vest of varying lengths over loose, long-sleeved shirts and dark trousers.

The toys add another wash of color to the island. They were each unique and seemed completely independent of anything but their own intentions.

Yeah the toys are…odd. Zoro's not sure what to make of them. Lucy seems simultaneously interested in them and uncomfortable, which is pretty unlike her. It makes Zoro wary of the little…creatures…but none of the toys bother either of them, or call out, and that almost makes it stranger, because they certainly interact with everyone else.

Still, despite the vague sense of wrongness itching at Zoro's senses—and if he's getting it, he knows Lucy's Haki must be screaming at her right now, since she's the one with heightened empathy and shit—Dressrosa seems…vibrant. Both the scenery and the people. Kind of pleasant.

It's the type of place he might take Lucy for a date, if he thought about it. And he has been, ever since the stupid cook brought up wooing.

The fuck even is wooing anyway? Isn't it for trying to convince someone to like him in the first place? He's pretty sure he and Lucy have that covered. Right?

"Hey! Handsome boy with the green hair! You and your pretty date come here, yes?"

Zoro turns around, eye settling on a little old lady with a flower cart. She's dressed like she doesn't have much in the way of money—a blue-gray burlap dress, her leathery skin pulled back over yellow, uneven teeth and broad, rough features. Her steel-gray hair is pulled back in a neat bun, revealing once-brown eyes clouded with cataracts. A toy shaped like a dog with a slinky for a belly hops around her feet.

He looks down at Lucy, who stares at the little old lady with curiosity, and Zoro can see the questions building behind her eyes. Well. Alright then.

Zoro sighs. "How'd you—"

"There's no fooling old Alvera. I may be blind, but I can still see, ya see?"

Zoro raises an eyebrow, and looks at Lucy for confirmation. She nods.

So the old bat has a natural affinity with Observation Haki, just like the little girl on Skypiea. He wonders if she knows.

"Now come, pick your flowers you two. I've done this for every couple on the island, mmhhm." She nods to herself and sets the cart down, right there in the street with a no-nonsense gesture to bid them over.

Zoro looks down at Lucy. She shrugs, curiosity shining in her eyes.

Ah what the hell, it's not like the old lady hasn't blown their cover already.

"It's ten berri for a bouquet," the little dog-slinky warns. It's the first time one of the toys has actually spoken to them, and it's weird. Lucy actually shivers a bit beside him. Haki tells him it's out of discomfort. Or maybe revulsion.

Zoro fishes the money out of his pocket, knowing Lucy wouldn't have thought to bring any with her. It seems cheap for a bouquet, but Zoro's not sure what the economic conditions on the island are like. The people seem wealthy enough, nothing like Alabasta at the peak of their drought and post-war economic devastation, but…

"You two are strangers to this island, yes?" Zoro, figuring there isn't much point in hiding it, nods. Lucy chirps in the affirmative beside him. "Then let me tell you how the tradition works, children."

"There's a story that goes with it," the dog interrupts. "You have to tell the story, Nan!" The toy's voice is high and reedy, like that of a young child. Zoro wonders why one would make a sentient toy sound like that. Lucy is looking at the dog with an increasingly troubled expression.

"Oh, yes, the story. Well, it's said that once, long ago, a young girl travelled through this place, during one of the dark periods of our history." The old lady's expression turns sort of blank, like she's restraining some great emotion. "This country is one comprised of peace-loving people, strangers, but it is also a people of great passion. We enjoyed a long stretch of peace under the previous dynasty, but it ended in violence and bloodshed. There have been many dark periods before that, and I'm sure many will come." The old lady's expression clears, turning less serious. "But at any rate, the story goes—a young girl, one seeking the secrets of the world, travelled to this island and saved us from a terrible fate—the character of which no one living knows. While here, she fell in love. Her affections were returned, but her lover knew she was not meant for life on our quiet island. The young traveler was a seeker of adventure, and belonged to the sea. He felt himself inadequate for her, and unsuited to her life. So he went out and picked her a bouquet of flowers, rested them beside her as she slept, and hung himself from a tree to force her to leave and meet her destiny. The young traveler woke and was horrified to discover her lover's death. She wept inconsolably over the bouquet, heartsick and grief-stricken, and kept the flowers alive for ages with just her tears.

"The girl understood, however, why her lover did what he did. Though she did not agree with his assessment or his actions, she wanted to respect his wishes. Besides, even in the deepest throes of her grief, the sea called to her blood. So eventually, when she finished her time of mourning, she planted the still-blooming flowers under the tree he hung himself from, and watered the flowers in a spray of her blood as she swore to live as he wished for her. She went to sleep that night in the bed they shared, planning to leave the next day. But as she dreamed, a miracle occurred. The flowers grew and bloomed under the light of the full moon, until from their buds emerged the body of her lover, whole and healthy.

"It had been a year since his death, and his corpse should have long-since rotted in the earth. But instead he stood on well-muscled legs and, knowing he had been long-absent, walked to his lover. She woke immediately, and the two were reunited joyfully. They soon left our island for the sea, where they remained sailing until their deaths and after, their destinies reckoned upon the waves." The old lady grins, her smile toothy and yellow. "It is said here in Dressrosa that the man discovered the exact conversation of flowers which would give two lovers a second chance, given enough grief and love. His actions, though misguided, were born of a selfless sort of love, one preoccupied only with his lover's best interests. Likewise, though it would have been easy to run to the sea to escape, or bury her grief instead of experiencing it, the girl expressed her own depth of emotion in the long year of his absence. And, even after experiencing such grief and loss, she forgave her lover, which takes courage and character and a willing heart." The old lady's eyes sharpen somehow, even blind as she is. "Which of you, I wonder, has lost everything and yet been willing to forgive?"

Both he and Lucy shuffle a bit, uncomfortable. There are a few…obvious similarities between them and the couple in the story. He assumes Lucy's feeling a bit of guilt over their two-year separation. He's remembering Thriller Bark, and the absolute certainty that her life is worth more than his. Lucy's hand finds his, and he doesn't have the heart to tell her off.

"The point of the bouquets my dears, is twofold—one, to honor a love so great it conquered death itself, and two, to rediscover the arrangement which begets love a second chance, even from death. Each of the flowers has a different meaning, you see, and speaks a different message when placed properly with one another. They say a couple's bouquet can channel the fate of the participants, and even predict the success of their relationship, and if you pick the same arrangement as the lover from the tale did, you can never be separated from your true love ever again. Not even by distance or death."

Lucy smiles. "That's a nice story. Is it true?"

The old lady chuckles, "Well it's fun to think so, isn't it!"

"I think it's definitely true," the little dog toy says with surprising vehemence. "People can come back from the dead for sure."

Lucy looks at the dog intently, confusion and concern written all over her face. The little old lady, too, seems pained. "Of course, dear," she tells the dog. Then she straightens, beckoning Lucy and Zoro closer, to peer at the cart. "Now, over time, the tradition has evolved. The flowers' recipient picks most of the flowers, and then her lover picks the last. So, my dear, please go ahead, and choose wisely. The first is most important."

Lucy leans over the cart with her brows furrowed in concentration, eyes squinting. Zoro squeezes her hand once, because he can, and he likes the feel of her palm sliding under his.

"This one!" Lucy decides, pointing to a white star-shaped flower bending gracefully over a thick green stem.

"Angrec," the boy repeats in surprise. Alveda gives nothing away and deftly plucks it from her cart.

"And that one. And that one there. And that. That. Oh! And that one!"

"White Violets. Honeysuckle. Hemp. Live Oak. Osmunda," the dog repeats dutifully, his voice pitching in confusion more and more as Lucy goes. Zoro has to admit he's a bit surprised too. He expected her to go for the really gaudy flowers, the ones with the most color and biggest petals. But mostly she's picking…bunches of leaves and white flowers.

Well, whatever. It's Lucy's bouquet. She did say her favorite color is green now.

"Uh…that one. And that one. Also that. And that."

"Ivy. White Oak. Tulip. Red Carnation."

Zoro gets the feeling this is going to be more than ten berri.

Well, whatever. He would tell her to slow down, but she…actually she seems really into it. Sort of focused. He's pretty sure she's picking everything with a reason in mind, not just pointing to things at random.

"Black poplar. Bay Tree. Box Tree. Passion Flower. Hollyhock. Liverwort. Locust Tree. Pink Dianthus. Fennel. Chamomile."

There's a pause as Lucy considers the cart. Then she gives herself a serious nod. "Yep. I'm done now."

"Alright, handsome boy." Alvera turns to Zoro with a gruff gesture. "Come here and pick your flowers."

"I thought I only pick one?" He asks, almost rhetorically. He's already scanning the cart.

"Not today boy, not today. Pick the most important one last, ya hear?"

"Yeah yeah," he waves off the old lady. Fuck, he has no idea what he's doing. Whatever, he's pretty sure Lucy won't care much. "Uh. That. That. Whatever that is. And that. And that. And…yeah, that. That's it."

"Four-leaf clover. Lucern. Oak Leaves. Statice Stinuata. Juniper. Forget-me-nots."

Alvera collects the flowers and branches, and adds them to Lucy's picks. She ties a gold ribbon around it and shoves the whole thing in Lucy's arms, who fumbles it a bit before catching them. He's pretty sure a branch of something gets caught in her beard.

"How much?" Zoro asks, already fishing more out of his pockets. Lucy picked a lot of flowers, no way ten berri covers it.

"Free of charge," the old lady tells him. Zoro blinks in surprise.

"Err…you sure?" He's not against free stuff but…well the old lady has to eat, right?

"Positive. You two are going to change things around here, right?"

Both of them freeze, uncertain. Alvera doesn't give them a chance to respond.

"I remember how it was in the old days, before this king. The others may have forgotten but I have not." Alvera taps her eyes, and gives them a gruff nod. "I can see things others can't. I know things they don't. This king is a bad one, no matter what anyone tells you." An old sort of grief crosses Alvera's face. "Dressrosa isn't free. All of us are enslaved, even if no one knows."

"How can that be?" Lucy asks, confused. "Are there Celestial Dragons here?"

"It's not like that," Says the dog, his high, child's voice thick with emotion. "It's not like that. We're—"

"It's something everyone must discover for themselves," the old lady interrupts with a quelling look at the toy. It's…strange.

"At any rate," Alvera continues, "Your bouquet is the most fascinating I've ever made. The two of you are meant for great things, I believe."

"We're going to be the Pirate King and World's Greatest Swordsman," Lucy says absently, shifting the bouquet to one arm.

Zoro smacks his forehead with his palm. "You're not just supposed to share that."

Lucy blinks, and the dopey expression is only heightened by the beard. "Oh. Right." Then shrugs. "But we are."

Zoro gives a long-suffering sigh, and the old lady chuckles. "Well. Off with you then. Go see the rest of the island. Discover its secrets. Have an adventure."

"And—and remember the toys!" The dog begs. "Look at them, see if they seem strange to you, or sad, or—"

"That's enough dear," Alvera says firmly, and she goes to the handles of her cart to lift it away. "Enjoy the island! Look with everything but your eyes! And enjoy yourselves—no form of love is ever discouraged by the people of Dressrosa!"

And then she's gone, with the downtrodden toy dog at her heels.

Zoro stares after them. "Well that was…weird."

Lucy sniffs her bouquet, curious. "Well at least we have more money for meat now."

Zoro smirks and leads her down the street by her hand, taking the old lady's words as advice and permission. "Maybe they're vegetarian here."

Lucy freezes, horror dawning over her expression. "That would explain so much. No wonder everyone's depressed! Zoro! We have to save them!"

Zoro laughs, utterly amused, and the sun beats down upon their shoulders and the streets and dust kicks up around them as performers dance and move crowds and hearts. Dressrosa is beautiful, colorful, and loud, and it's easy to slip into the lull of the place, set at ease by the atmosphere. It's a great place for a date, and Zoro wonders if they have the money for some of the nearby vendors.

But there's a low thread of discontent, one that has his katana humming in uneasy response, and judging by the tight grip of Lucy's hand in his, he's not the only one who feels it.

Things on Dressrosa are…strange, to say the least. Lucy keeps getting bombarded with assaults to her senses, a level of desperation she's only felt in the midst of atrocities, or at least attempted ones. She can't pinpoint the source, either, which is…weird. And the whole atmosphere feels strangely…familiar. Lucy almost feels like she knows Dressrosa but she doesn't and it's…odd.

She and Zoro met up with Franky and Kin'emon not long ago at a café, where they met a weird old gambler with no eyesight. Lucy's not sure why she keeps meeting badass blind elders today, but she does. Then Zoro took off after one of his swords when—and she's not kidding here—fairies stole it. At least, that's what the locals all said when Zoro freaked out. They seemed bizarrely calm about the existence of invisible thieves.

Kin'emon went off after Zoro in an attempt to retrieve him—or maybe retrieve the katana, it wasn't clear. So Franky was the only one with her when she discovered what 'Mingo had been so certain she would want.

Ace's Fruit.

He was right. She wants it.

Not to eat, obviously, but. She can't let just anyone have it. She has to find someone who's worthy of it. Someone good and brave and who Ace would approve of.

Several of her crew members come to mind. Sanji especially, since he already uses fire in a lot of his attacks. Zoro wouldn't want it, would think of a Devil Fruit as cheating. She's not sure Usopp is suited. Franky might be a good choice, but he already rejected it. Robin has a fruit. Nami might want it, but she kind of doubts that, since Nami loves swimming.

So she doesn't know exactly what she's going to do with it, but. She can't just stand by while someone else takes it away. It's Ace's Devil Fruit. His legacy. It's a part of him.

"You okay, Aneki?" Franky whispers lowly. He's been a really good sport about this. She knows it's…a less than ideal deviation from their goals. But she needs this, and Franky seems to understand. Franky gets brothers, especially the kind you don't share blood with.

"I'm fine," she whispers, frowning down at the paperwork. It's slow going, because Lucy's still not great at reading. Robin's taught her a lot, and she learns more all the time, but it's slow going. At least she's not dyslexic, like Ace was. Then she'd never figure any of it out. She always though it was impressive, how good he was even with a barrier like that in front of him. Ace always said things like that are meant to be overcome.

The woman tending the booth seems to grow impatient with her, and snatches the papers to fill it out herself.

"What's your name?"

Annoyed, Lucy starts to answer unthinkingly. "Lu-uff! Hey!" Lucy rubs the back of her head, right where Franky just smacked her. She sends him a petulant glare. Franky seems unbothered, and tucks the bouquet she got with Zoro under his arm in huffy impertinence.

"Luffy? Your name is Luffy?"

Oh. Right. Disguises.

Well, Luffy's kind of a dumb name, but it's not like it matters.

"…yes?"

"Great! Just step right in and try not to die," She tells Lucy cheerfully, and hands her a card with a competition number and her pseudonym on it. Lucy nods at her and turns to wave a goodbye to Franky.

"Be careful, Aneki," he mutters, casting suspicious eyes at the other participants and attaching the number to her shirt. "Most of the people here don't have much honor."

She grins at him. Franky is always trying to take care of everyone. He's got a big heart, her cyborg. It's a common quality on her ship.

"I'll be fine," she promises. She's not concerned. None of the people here pose much of a threat to her. "See you after I get the Mera Mera Fruit."

Franky nods, a grin and glint of pride in his eyes. "Good luck!"

And Lucy enters the arena without even a glance behind her.

As it turns out, the contestants in the tournament are all pretty rowdy and kind of fun. Lucy is attacked five times in as many minutes, and even though none of them even so much as touch her, it makes her feel kind of at home. People who are too free with their fists are her kind of people. Or they used to be, before she had to restrain herself in order to avoid killing most.

While normally she might be a bit disappointed with the general quality of competition, it's actually a good thing this time around. She needs to get the Mera Mera Fruit as quickly as possible, and get back to the task at hand, so Torao knows she's his friend.

In the armory she collects a helmet and a cape. Mostly because they look cool, but also because they'll help disguise her more. She assumes there'll be a lot of attention on her, and it's going to be too obvious she's a girl if she doesn't have the help in hiding her face and shape. She also meets the blonde prince guy that wants to kill her, and even though he seemed stronger than most of the people here, she found him kind of boring, too.

Eventually she makes her way to a quieter part of the arena. There's a statue there with a big muscly guy called Kyros, and he looks out over the lobby in almost regal solemnity.

Lucy tilts her head to him, noticing the similar design of their helmets. She wonders if Zoro knows of him. The guy has a sword, and the date on the statue is from about twenty years ago. If the guy was good enough, Zoro probably heard stories about him as a kid. His sensei was fond of motivating his students with tales of the greats, apparently. Lucy bets it had a similar effect on Zoro as hearing about the Pirate King did on her.

"Are you…interested in that statue?" A meek voice asks. Lucy turns to face a helmeted girl with long pink hair braided down her back. She's dressed almost exactly like the gladiator in the statue, with a cape and helmet, and uses the same sort of sword.

She's also missing a shirt and pants, clad only in glinting, flimsy cloth covering her most important bits. The only thing that looks properly protected other than her head is her feet and hands, clad in thick leather gloves and knee-high metal boots.

Lucy tilts her head toward the stranger, curious. She must be really good if that's all she fights in. The people here really like swords.

"He must be pretty important if he gets his own statue," she responds. The girl walks forward, and Lucy notices her boots have a heel on them.

Damn. She must be really good. Like, as good as Nami and Robin are at running around in heels all the time.

Except…Lucy can hear her Voice, and it's not exactly weak, but…well there's no way she has any Haki. Which means she really is as unprotected as she looks.

"Gladiator Kyros is a legend, here in the pits," the girl tells her, and green eyes shine oddly when she sets her sights upon the statue. "They say he won his freedom by defeating three thousand opponents without a single loss, and only one hit."

"That's impressive," Lucy agrees, and makes a mental note to ask Zoro about him when they meet again. She bets her swordsman has heard of this guy. His story is exactly the kind he likes best—an underdog achieving something spectacular.

"It's just a story," the girl tells her, strangely despondent. "No one's ever met him before, or even heard of him. It's a fairytale for us gladiators. Something to tell ourselves when the sun doesn't warm our cells."

Lucy frowns at the girl. It sounds like…well that sounds like the girl can't leave. How strange.

"I like this statue though!" Lucy tells her, trying to remain encouraging. The girl looks…very tired.

Her new friend smiles, the expression a little wobbly on unpracticed lips. "…me too. It's a story worth believing in."

Lucy grins at her, and opens her mouth to ask a question when two shirtless gladiators interrupt.

"Rebecca-chan!" One of them coos, "you look lovely today! The armorer outdid himself this time!"

Lucy frowns in consternation at the man, confused, and his partner chimes in, a touch more serious.

"You won't win today, invulnerable woman. You and your cursed line will end on the tip of my sword." His voice is steady and filled with wrath unlike anything Lucy's heard in the arena today. Even the blonde guy earlier didn't hate Lucy as much as this guy hates Rebecca.

Lucy raises an eyebrow at both of them, turning to see what the other girl's reaction would be.

Rebecca doesn't indicate that she heard them. Instead she just stares serenely at Kyros' face, her expression blank and calm. Only the clench of her fists, the creak of her leather gloves as her fingers press together, gives her away.

"Oi! You hear me girl?" the angry one takes a menacing step toward Rebecca. "You and your ilk have cursed this land long enough. I'll—"

"Gladiator Alejandro," Rebecca interrupts, voice level. "You will not beat me today, just as you have not beaten me on any other occasion. You still have not corrected your footwork, and you are weak on your left side. Perhaps you may present a challenge when such flaws have been improved. Until then," Rebecca gives the two men a cold, almost haughty glare over her shoulder, "be gone from my sight."

Alejandro shakes, his hand grips his sword, and then he calms.

"You'll die on someone's blade soon enough," he finishes. Rebecca flinches slightly, so subtly Lucy wouldn't have caught it if she weren't right beside her. "I'll see you in the arena."

Then he and his friend retreat, heading deep into the bowels of the colosseum.

"Wow, they hate you," Lucy comments when they're gone.

Lucy was kind of aiming to lighten the mood, and is terrified she achieved the exact opposite when Rebecca sniffs, wiping her forearm over her eyes, her helmet bumping across it.

"O-oi," Lucy tries, hoping to calm her.

Rebecca shakes her head and sniffs one more time. "I'm—I'm fine. That always happens." Then she straightens, and her gaze sharpens on Kyros' statue.

"…why?" Lucy asks, utterly confused. Rebecca seems like a nice girl. There's no reason people should hate her this much.

Rebecca gives Lucy a bewildered look, and then chuckles. "You're not from around here, are you, Luffy?"

Lucy shakes her head in the negative. "I grew up in East Blue." No point lying. Her accent gives her away. The question reminds her of the old lady with the flowers though, and how she kept talking about the island's history and stuff. Like there's something wrong with the island now.

"I've heard that's the calmest sea," Rebecca says dreamily. Lucy decides not to tell her about the realities of her childhood, or that the Grand Line seems to be far more functional on the whole than any of the Blues. The government certainly gets away with less here. Or at least there's enough powerful people around to stop bad things from happening, or fix them, as the case may be. Rebecca's expression pinches warily as she casts a careful gaze at Lucy. "My grandfather…was the king before the current one."

Lucy's mouth drops open. "So you're a princess?" She grins. "Cool!" She wonders if Rebecca would get along with Vivi and Shirahoshi. Oh! And Hancock! She's a queen, but Lucy thinks it's not so different.

Rebecca's mouth quirks up at the corners. "Unfortunately…it's done me more harm than good. My grandfather…the people believe he committed a terrible crime against them. He was deposed by Doflamingo ten years ago. Three years ago, they found me, and I was taken here so the people might express their lingering rage by aiming it at me."

Lucy blinks at her, the conversation sounding sickeningly familiar. It was the same with Ace, wasn't it? Taking rage out on the object's children, on people innocent of their crimes.

At least Ace was a pirate though. Rebecca…well she's a gladiator now, but what harm could she have done barely past puberty? She looks several years younger than Lucy, even considering how developed she is.

A realization dawns on Lucy as she thinks about it. "The armorer…dressed you?"

Rebecca winces, and crosses her arms. "After I came here, I became a woman, in their eyes. They say it adds to the entertainment." Rebecca scowls. "The age of majority on Dressrosa is twenty-one, but that does not seem to matter to anyone but me and Soldier-san."

Lucy shakes her head in disbelief, and feels a spark of rage curdle in her heart on Rebecca's behalf. "What did your grandpa do?"

"Nothing!" Rebecca snarls, whirling on Lucy, and there's vehement indignation written all over her face. "Nothing, I'm sure of it! The Grandpa Riku I remember…" Rebecca takes a deep breath, calming herself. "The people accuse him of…terrible things. Starting fires. Senseless murder. Theft. They say he just snapped one night, and begged them to hand over all their savings. Then he slaughtered hundreds of Dressrosi." Rebecca's hand curls in a fist over the hilt of her sword. "But Grandpa Riku was a pacifist, just like my mother. Just like everyone on Dressrosa used to be. He'd never…not even if he was mentally ill…"

Lucy gets the feeling Rebecca isn't talking to anyone but herself at the moment. "Your grandpa must have been a cool dude if you still think that." Lucy likes to think she'd have felt the same about her own, if she was in Rebecca's shoes. Lucy thinks, even if everyone told her otherwise, she'd always know Gramps was a good and well-respected Marine, that he'd never do anything that wouldn't be in line with that. It isn't in his nature. Hell, he proved that, didn't he? At Marineford.

This conversation is reminding Lucy of too many sad things.

Rebecca smiles, her expression warm and not for Lucy at all. "He was. My mother, too."

Ah. They were both gone then, probably. Well, it was none of Lucy's business, at any rate.

"So if it wasn't him, who was it?" Lucy asks, hoping to distract her new friend.

Rebecca's eyes go sharp, her expression cold. Her Voice sounds like the whistle of a sharp blade. "The one who stood to gain the most, obviously."

Lucy blinks rapidly in confusion, utterly lost. "…who?"

Rebecca shakes her head, and the mood around her dispels. "Nothing. No one important."

Lucy looks at her skeptically. "…right."

"Block B, please approach the arena." A voice on the speakerphone calls. "The winner from Block A has nearly been determined."

Lucy perks up, curious. She meant to watch the other groups too, but…well whatever. She can watch the rest.

"Wanna come watch with me?" Lucy asks, a little restless. She wants to see what she's up against. Also…Dressrosa seems more dysfunctional than Lucy initially realized. She thought it was just the toys, but clearly…if Rebecca's being treated like this, and no one's speaking up for her…

There's something wrong with this place. Something dreadfully, dreadfully wrong. And it's so familiar, somehow, a similarity that seems just out of reach.

Rebecca gives her a small smile, but waves her on. "Go ahead. Maybe I'll join you later."

Lucy shrugs, and trots away. "Alright. See ya!" But at the entrance she stops, and turns to her newfound friend. "Hey Rebecca?"

The girl turns away from the statue to face her. "Yes, Luffy?"

Lucy offers her the biggest grin she can. "You seem pretty cool to me."

Rebecca blinks in surprise, and then her eyes water a bit, but this time Lucy doesn't think she needs a hug.

"…thanks, Luffy."

There. That feels better.

Lucy gives her a quick salute, and bounds toward the viewing platforms.

So, it's not listed on the OP wiki that either Trafalgar or Doflamingo have any ability with Observation Haki. I took that and ran with the idea. Narcissists are notorious for not being able to stand it when someone's better at something than them. Doflamingo literally thinks he's a god, so…

The story the old lady tells is meant to be about the same person as the one in the book Robin and Lucy read together in the first chapter. Lucy, obviously, would never put that together, but if she ever told Robin...

Okay, all the flowers Lucy chose have meanings in Victorian Flower Language, and they are:

Angrec: Royalty

Black Poplar: Courage

Bay Tree/Laurels: Glory

Box Tree: Stoicism, Constancy

Carnations, Red: Yes

Chamomile: Energy in adversity

Fennel: Worthy of all praise, strength

Honeysuckle: Bonds of Love, generous and devoted affection

Hemp: Fate

Hollyhock: Ambition, Fecundity

Ivy: Friendship, Fidelity, Marriage

Live Oak: Liberty

Liverwort: Confidence

Locust Tree: Affection beyond the grave

Passion Flower: Faith, Belief

White Oak: Independence

Osmunda: Dreams

Pink Dianthus: Boldness

Queen Anne's Lace: Regal, Sanctify

Tulip: Love, Fame

White Violets: candor, innocence

Zoro's picks:

Juniper: Succor, Protection

Four Leaf Clover: Be mine

Lucern: Life

Oak Leaves: Bravery

Statice Stinuata: Loyalty

Forget-me-nots (In Japanese Flower Language): True Love

I WAS going to have Zoro pick Red Camellia for Lucy, because it means love in Hanakotoba. But then I discovered that Samurai hated Red Camellia because they felt it has a poorly lived life. Apparently as they die, the whole blossom of a red Camellia flower falls off the branch at once, and this was undesirable. They much preferred Sakura blossoms, which bloom and then die, petal by petal, in a matter of days. Obviously, Zoro was Oda's original Samurai-esque character. For a long time he was the only character in the series which seemed to take inspiration from Japanese culture, and he's a samurai. I couldn't just pretend I didn't know. So instead I went with forget-me-nots, which, according to Wikipedia, mean "true love" in hanakotoba, rather than "don't forget me," as they do in Victorian Flower Language. I assume the name in Japanese is probably different. I wanted the last flower to have a Japanese meaning because Zoro, so here we are.

Also: Four-leaf clover apparently means "be mine" in Victorian flower language. He followed this with Lucern, which means "Life", and thus he asked "be mine for life." Lucy preempted Zoro by including the Red Carnations, which mean "yes."

The whole bit where Rebecca is dressed as she is in order to further subjugate her is actually grounded in canon. There's a line where the announcer is talking to his assistants, and they're asking if she's cheating with extra gear or something. The announcer responds that they already restrict Rebecca's weight limit more than any other contestant. I took this to mean Rebecca basically had to choose to fight in her skimpy outfit in order to at least keep a helmet and her sword and shield. The cape she chose for its full-body protection and also, probably, the similarity to Kyros' statue. I took the idea a step farther, and said the armorer actively dressed her in a way that was objectifying in an attempt to minimize her agency, influence, and power. Rebecca is having none of the shit though, and the fact that they keep trying to further oppress her is proof, in her eyes, that she's having an effect. So she still gives her speech every time she fights, hoping the people will remember that Riku was a good king to them, and that Doflamingo has changed much about their country, mostly for the worst.

(IT'S AN EASY FIX, ODA. YOU CAN HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT TOO. YOUR PRETTY CHARACTERS CAN BE BADASSES. I'M NOT EVEN MAKING YOU GIVE THEM SHIRTS. GAH.)

Lucy's views on the Grand Line being "less dysfunctional" than East Blue are largely influenced by the events of her own childhood, the adult population's inability to fix any of the problems she witnessed, and a blind spot where she does not realize most pirates don't run around performing acts of charity for every other person they meet.

That was a lot of author's note. Thanks for reading! Let me know if you liked it, or if you hated it, too!