"…I'm not blind you know."

Lucy freezes in recognition, and turns to face an old enemy.

Well, she says enemy. Lucy remembers Bellamy as being a particularly vitriolic wannabe pirate that made her have a fight with Zoro. Or that made her do stuff that made her have a fight with Zoro. Whatever.

"…Oh?" She asks carefully, not quite willing to confirm his statement.

"Not like I'd ever be fooled by a dumb moustache," he tells her. It's weird how jovial his tone is. How easygoing. "I'm not likely to forget a woman who never showed me any fear."

"That's because you aren't scary," Lucy responds, ignoring the implication that this guy's scared lots of women into submission. It isn't exactly news, given how he spoke to her in Mocktown. "Why're you here?" She asks, eyeing the Donquixote Pirates crest tattooed on his chest. There's a scar bisecting it, one obviously left by a sharp blade. It reminds her of the one Mihawk left in Zoro's flesh.

Bellamy snorts. "I don't live on Jaya. I can be where I want, and Doflamingo wants me to win the tournament," he says casually. He's definitely in 'Mingo's crew then.

"I'll beat you," Lucy says confidently. She's pretty sure she's still way out of Bellamy's league—she denied herself her nakama for two years to make sure she's out of everyone's league.

Bellamy gives her a fierce grin, a glint of competitive relish entering his eyes. "You didn't last time. Had to send your stupid swordsman to take care of me. I owe 'im a good beating for that one. He left me a reminder, too." He taps the scar on his chest casually, like Zoro didn't nearly kill him.

"Zoro volunteered," Lucy says absently, "I had more important things to do." And, as she recalls, Zoro needed to hurt Bellamy a lot more than Lucy did. "He'd wipe the floor with you if you challenge him, just like he did back then. It's be worse, even." Especially since Bellamy had the balls to talk to her in the first place

Bellamy doesn't seem all that intimidated. "We'll see how you do without him around to protect you. I'm not the same as I was back then, at any rate." he warns. Then his voice lowers, and he looks at Lucy over his sunglasses. "I went to Sky Island, Straw Hat."

Lucy's eyes widen, genuinely shocked.

"Lost my crew," Bellamy says casually, like that doesn't weigh on him heavily enough to steal his breath forever. "But when I got there my whole world turned upside down."

That…would explain why Bellamy seems so different. Less needlessly aggressive, maybe. "You didn't hurt them, did you?"

Shit, and they'd all been so tired when she and her nakama left, exhausted from the long-term stress of Eneru's observation and the lengthy battle, and, though excited, fatigued by the rising prospect of integration.

"You'll certainly never know," Bellamy snorts. "But anyway, I'll see you in the arena, if you win your block, that is." He turns to walk up to the arena proper, waving casually as he goes. "Later, Straw Hat."

Lucy watches him go, and narrows her eyes.

There's something different about Bellamy. Something changed. He's still callous and violent and proud, still dark and unfriendly, but...he didn't try and threaten her—not physically, not verbally, and not even with her own identity. Instead he seemed almost...cordial. Like they were old acquaintances. Even his trash talk about Zoro wasn't...malicious, exactly.

There are some people in the world that are hard to like. Bellamy's certainly one of them, but...she thinks there might be something worthwhile about him. Something….something good.

Lucy hopes she's right. She'd much rather there was one more decent person in the world than otherwise.

Cabbage needs to chill. Seriously. She never did anything to him, probably, and she's pretty sure none of the others did either.

"So how's Garp doing, Straw Hat?"

"Haven't seen him in a while. How d'you know him?" she answers unthinkingly. Then freezes, eyes widening as Cabbage stiffens in shock and sudden killing intent beside her.

"Garp beat me once in the past," the large man with the misshapen head answers cordially, but his voice slips into something chilling at the next words. "I decided to hate him through our grandchildren's generation."

"You're Straw Hat?" Cabbage queries angrily, checking her face against his wanted poster.

"Nope! Luffy. I am definitely, definitely Luffy." Normally she wouldn't care, but Torao needs her to care, needs her to keep her secrecy, so here she is.

"As his granddaughter, you'll have to make up for the injury he dealt me," the giant of a man says calmly, stroking his beard.

"If you're mad at Gramps, take it up with him," she growls. Seriously, what is with people taking out their grievances on innocent parties? It's not like Lucy ever did anything to the big guy.

"So you are Straw Hat Lucy," Cabbage presses.

Lucy puts up her palms defensively. "Nope! I'm a dude named Luffy!" Her voice screeches up at the end, way too high-pitched for a guy. She coughs. "I mean—" She pitches her voice low, tightening the muscles in her lungs. "Hey. I'm a man. Named Luffy." She flexes, and tries to channel Franky. "Grr."

Cabbage blinks at her. Lucy holds the pose.

"Aw screw it, I don't want to wait until the arena to hit you," the big man growls. He draws back a fist, and Cabbage draws a sword, so Lucy leaps up and out of the way, escaping both blows.

…huh. Cabbage seems pretty good with a sword. She should tell Zoro, so they can have a duel, and he can get that much closer to being the World's Greatest.

"IF I'D DISCOVERED YOUR FATHER'S MISERABLE EXISTENCE YOU'D NEVER HAVE BEEN BORN!" The big man howls. Lucy frowns down at him from the roof of their platform.

"I don't think he did anything to you either," Lucy sighs. "It's Gramps you're mad at. Take it up with him."

Below her, the big guy and Cabbage clash, the two of them struggling against each other in a test of nearly equal strength.

They're both assholes as far as Lucy's concerned.

"I'M TRYING TO WATCH THE MATCH," Lucy howls, and drops to the floor between them, only to deliver a swift kick to the giant's jaw.

The big man flies up, hits the roof, and drops. Haki swirls around him though, and Lucy knows he's nowhere near finished.

"…You could only be Garp's blood," the giant growls, and something in his Voice tells Lucy that he has will, has power, and her own will stirs in indignant response.

"Take it up with him if you got a problem," she repeats.

"You make enemies just by existing," Cabbage muses, his expression predatory.

"I'm Luffy, not Lucy," she insists, trying to salvage this.

"Grandfather! We must not get disqualified! We have a mission to accomplish, a mission!" Two men who look sort of similar to the big guy barrel in, crowding him back and away from Lucy and Cabbage.

Finally. Someone speaks sense.

"I'll kill you, Straw Hat!" Cabbage howls.

Lucy flips over the edge of the platform, holding onto the ledge with just her fingers.

Great. Just great. She's going to have to hide here until her round starts, isn't she? It's too bad Cabbage is so nutty. She was starting to like him.

Lucy turns to look over her shoulder at the mess of an arena, covered in carnage.

…well at least she has a decent view.

Lucy's finally getting annoyed. Here she gets a chance to fight, and this old geezer just wants to live his revenge fantasies through her.

Chin Jao stands, and wipes blood from his mouth with a grin, eyes glinting. "Only his bloodline could produce a fighter like you. What a scary family."

Lucy trembles in rage. "FUCK YOU," she howls, and a lash of Conqueror's rises inside her, cracks the stone of the arena, pushes everyone but her opponent into the water. "If you're gonna fight me, fight me 'cuz you want to!" She growls at the old man. "Don't fight me because you hate Gramps!"

"GARP WILL WEEP AT YOUR DEATH THE WAY I DID WHEN I DISCOVERED MY TREASURE OUT OF REACH!"

Conqueror's Haki spreads and heats and cracks, and Lucy spins into a low stance, coiling to strike as Haki turns her arms black.

She's warmed by it. Feels the electric lash as her will crashes against and surpasses Chin Jao's own.

"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!" She screams, and she meets his fist with her weak hand as her Haki-black elephant gun slides home, slamming straight into his forehead.

Chin Jao slumps to the stone, the ring cracking clean in two as he impacts it, and the dust settles as she heaves. A tear runs down her face, and Lucy wipes it away quickly, before anyone can see. Instinctively she seeks her nakama out with Observation Haki. Most of them are way too far away to feel, but Sanji's nearby, and Zoro's on his way back. And she can sort of feel Franky at the very edge of her range, though the way his Voice trembles in horror and righteous indignation doesn't offer much reassurance.

She lets out a slow breath, frowning at herself. She thought she was over this. She thought she resolved her issues with Gramps and his decisions back on Ruskaina.

Except...except there's still that little voice inside her that sometimes rears its head, the one that asks how could he? It was Ace.

Gramps couldn't save Ace without betraying his dream. It's confusing, because Lucy understands-she knows what giving up a dream would mean, would never ask someone to do so, and yet…

...part of her wonders if some dreams aren't more worthy than others.

Lucy would never make herself the arbiter of such a thing though, and that's why she has to forgive Gramps. Or at least keep trying. She's discovering that some things are harder to forgive than others, that sometimes it takes a lot of forgiveness, over and over and over again, until it sticks. It's possible, she knows, that it never will, and it'll still be just as hard to forgive him in ten years as it was the first time.

Maybe her frustrations are simply rising again now that she's beating her way towards a memento of her dead brother. Maybe memories she thought she'd long-since laid to rest are sharpening again, now that she's expecting Gramps to seek her out soon.

Or maybe she isn't, if her outburst is anything to go by. Maybe she's just fooling herself and hoping she might get the chance to speak with him, but never will because Gramps no longer wants anything to do with her.

Chin Jao groans and stills, his breath the only indication of life.

"Luffy WINS!" The announcer crows. Lucy shrugs and turns to the edge of the arena. Chin Jao wasn't bad. Definitely stronger than she was expecting to find here.

She's gonna get that Fruit. Then maybe one day she'll tell Gramps about it, and they can share a cup of sake to remember.

"Seriously, can't we just cut the damn thing open?"

"That, too, would qualify as strange behavior."

Zoro heaves a sigh. He's not cut out for this subtlety shit. And meanwhile, Lucy's inside fighting.

He still can't believe she didn't call him back to enter the thing with her. He lives for shit like this.

"Perhaps we can ask the man who's been staring at you for the last ten minutes and crying softly to help?" Kin'emon suggests, a little doubtful.

Zoro shrugs. The dude Kin'emon is talking about is…odd, sure, with his shitty green hair, but he's also probably their best bet.

Zoro would appreciate it if he would stop crying with that weird smile on his face though.

"Oi! You!" Zoro calls.

The green guy squees.

Whaaaatt the fuck.

"ZORO-SENPAI HAS SPOKEN TO ME!" He screams through thick tears, expression rapturous. "I CAN NOW DIE IN PEACE, HAVING WITNESSED THE GLORY OF LUCY-DONO AND HER SWORDSMAN."

Zoro raises an eyebrow. Ooookkay. "How'd you know our names?"

"WHAT UNCULTURED SWINE DOESN'T KNOW THE NAMES OF THE GREATEST PIRATE IN HISTORY AND HER CREW?" His face is a mask of indignation. Zoro blinks at him in utter bemusement.

The guy seems to realize who he just yelled at and then immediately begins an exercise in self-flagellation, banging his head against the bars in a facsimile of a full kowtow. "FORGIVE ME, ZORO-SENPAI, YOUR HUMILITY TOOK ME OFF GUARD."

Yeah, whaaaaaaaat the fuck.

"I do not think that was his point of confusion," Kin'emon mutters. Then louder, "Do you think you could retrieve Lucy-dono for us? Do you know where she is?"

The green guy's eyes go round and wide, the size of dinner-plates. "The way you just referenced Lucy-dono…are YOU an acolyte as well? And so close to their radiance! Please, teach me your ways!"

Zoro shares a look with Kin'emon, and they decide, mutually, that they're going to ignore that bit.

"…Look, can you just find Lucy for us? We need to talk to her."

The guy's eyes lock onto Zoro, his mouth dropping open in shock.

"You're…you, in particular, are looking for Lucy-dono, Zoro-senpai?"

Zoro has no idea what is going on. At all.

"…yes?" He's pretty sure, anyway. He's not sure why that feels like admitting to murder when it comes to this guy though.

Green-hair freezes. Then he trembles. Then his expression becomes practically manic and he screams in nonverbal syllables of ecstasy.

"What is wrong with him?" Kin'emon asks, flinching back.

Zoro looks on, nonplussed. "…I have no. Idea."

"IT CAN ONLY MEAN ONE THING!" Greenie shouts to…no one, apparently. The sky, maybe? Some deity? "THE SHIP OF ZOLU HAS FINALLY SET SAIL."

"Why is he expositing his inner thoughts to the sky?"

"Beats me."

"IS IT TRUE, ZORO-SENPAI? ARE YOU AND LUCY-DONO ROMANTICALLY INVOLVED?"

What the hell is his life.

"I—yes? Why am I telling you this?"

"I can assure you, Lucy-dono and the thief of the treasure of Wano are indeed romantically involved. They express their ardor quite frequently, physically, and in full view of others. It is indecent."

There's more inarticulate screaming. This time the guy screeches so hard his voice cracks and Zoro swears he spits up blood.

"Dude, what is wrong?"

"YOU'RE MY OTP!"

Zoro…doesn't know what that means. "What."

"I'VE WRITTEN FANFICTION ABOUT YOU!"

Zoro's still lost. "What?"

"YOU TWO MAKE PASSIONATE LOVE TO EACH OTHER. I'M VERY THOROUGH IN MY DETAILS. AND GENEROUS ABOUT YOUR VIGOR AND STAMINA."

Okay, he got that bit. "What?"

"SO YOU MAY PROPERLY PLEASE LUCY-DONO."

And that is Zoro's first-ever interaction with what is commonly known as, a "fan."

It's amazing how quickly the crowd's mood sours the moment they catch sight of Rebecca. It's like she's poison.

It's just as ridiculous as Chin Jao taking his hatred toward Gramps out on Lucy, or the rest of the world hating Ace for Roger. Rebecca's not her grandpa. She's just a girl.

Down the arena, the gladiator holds herself with a sort of regal pride that reminds Lucy of Vivi. There's some kind of gentle strength in her, something Lucy could never achieve if she tried her whole life. Lucy's strong in other ways instead.

"If I might make a recommendation," the announcer says snidely, "it's that Block D concentrate their efforts on defeating—or better yet, killing or permanently maiming—the hated princess—the gladiator, Rebecca!"

The whole crowd cheers in bloodthirsty agreement. Lucy feels it through Haki, and it makes her stomach drop in a sick swoop.

Her brand of Observation Haki can be more trouble than it's worth, sometimes.

"By the laws of this kingdom, conscripted gladiators are afforded the right to make a statement at the beginning of a fight!" Rebecca shouts, her voice strong. The crowd boos almost violently. A few people throw things at her. The other contestants sidle away from her, obviously hoping to avoid association.

"Yes, yes, make your statement little girl, it's not like you don't say the same thing every time," the announcer grumbles. Rebecca takes no heed, and removes her helmet to let the crowd see her face.

"King Riku is innocent!" Rebecca declares. Her voice is high and clear and determined. The crowd howls in furious response. "The previous dynasty practiced nonviolence, and pursued peace at every opportunity. It is a tradition passed from parent to child in my family, and as Riku passed it to my mother Scarlett, whom you all loved, so too did she pass it to me!" Rebecca replaces her helmet and raises a fist in the air. "To prove this I will injure none of my opponents, and yet I will still win! I swear it! One day you will see, and remember, Dressrosa!"

The crowd gets impossibly louder, and their rage nearly chokes Lucy with its potency. Rebecca steps back into line, and most of her opponents are giving her skeptical or pitying looks. Some look disgusted by her.

"Yes, yes, the king everyone saw attack us is innocent, yada yada yada. It's the same every time with you, isn't it? And might I say, you're looking particularly ravishing today, Gladiator Rebecca. Our armorer always does such a good job with you."

Lucy can see Rebecca flush in embarrassment or indignation even from here, and from under the helmet.

"Patriotic brat, isn't she," a gladiator on Lucy's left mutters. "Facing that kind of ridicule and she still gives that speech like she believes it every time."

"I wonder if she still thinks it'll make any difference," says another gladiator behind Lucy. "She's been saying the same thing for three years now."

Down in the ring, Cabbage proves her right—he's a decent sort that doesn't tolerate bullying or ridicule, and shames the crowd into backing off of Rebecca.

"Oh, it has," Lucy tells the two gladiators. She gives them her broadest grin. "I believe her."

And, as Lucy expected all along, Rebecca keeps her promise.

Lucy is approached by the simpering—crying?—green-haired rooster guy who beat Bellamy a while back, and is led, very accommodatingly, to a window, where she finds Zoro and Kin'emon.

"Oh hey guys!" She waves cheerfully, happy to see them. Zoro relaxes a little at the sight of her, in a way she's pretty sure is unconscious. Kin'emon gives her a nod of acknowledgment.

"Lucy-dono," the man says gravely. "Have you managed to keep your identity concealed?"

"Er…" Well there's Bellamy, and Cabbage, and Chin Jao, and Rooster and… "Yeah, let's go with that."

"Oi, if there was a tournament, you should have called me," Zoro says waspishly, looking very irritated indeed.

And, yeah, he's right. Zoro loves stuff like this even more than she does. "Sorry Zoro! There wasn't time!"

Zoro gives a little scoff, and judging from the twitch of his fake mustache, just barely refrains from pouting.

…eh, he'll forgive her eventually. Probably. She'll make it up to him by siccing him on Cabbage, or something.

"Your mutual and unhealthy obsession with competition is not currently the most salient issue!" Kin'emon interjects. "The others are trying to hail us," he explains, holding up a vibrating Den Den Mushi.

"Sanji here. We've got Nami, Chopper, Brook, Momonosuke, and Caesar on the Sunny."

"It's Franky! I've got Robin, Usopp, and the rebel army with me. We're under a tree."

"I was there earlier," Zoro mumbles. "It's where I found out my girlfriend was in a tournament and didn't invite me."

"Let it go, man!" Kin'emon hisses. Zoro huffs.

Lucy shrugs at him apologetically. "You can have Cabbage."

"Cabbage? Why would I want cabbage?"

"I'm here with Lucy-dono and the thief!" Kin'emon tells the snail.

"Hey guys!" Lucy greets cheerfully. "I'm trying to get Ace's Devil Fruit!"

"Wait what?" Nami asks, sounding startled and a touch concerned.

"So we've got everyone on the line but Torao," Franky says. "Where is he, anyway?"

"Confronting Doflamingo," Sanji explains heavily. "Pink Bastard discovered us somehow and attacked the ship. Torao roomed him away. Dunno where he went."

Lucy's about to search him out, see if she can find his Voice through Haki when—

It happens in a sort of blur, a crunch of concrete and stone as dust rises and one figure emerges from the debris, dressed in a feathery pink coat and loud striped pants.

Lucy's seen him before. At Marineford.

He looks bigger now, away from other giants.

He's got a gun in his hand, and before him, at the center of the cracked and broken earth is—

"Torao!" She yelps, surprised and concerned. Dammit, he didn't try and get 'Mingo on his own, did he? He was supposed to wait for her if they were going to fight. Or actually, they weren't supposed to confront him at all, were they?

Zoro and Kin'emon both drop to an offensive stance, turning their backs to Lucy and clearly intending to try and separate 'Mingo from the prone captain they've spent the last week trying to befriend.

"The boy pushed his luck…" whispers the cruel, low voice of their enemy. Then he raises the pistol to Torao, cocks the gun and—

There's a blur of green and black as the pistol fires, and when the moment passes there's Zoro, standing over Torao with two swords drawn, and staring down 'Mingo with cold calculation in his eye.

"You're a quick one," 'Mingo purrs. The smooth rage in his voice makes Lucy tense. "Redirecting bullets. It's a neat trick for a swordsman."

"I learned from the best," Zoro replies. Lucy sees Torao's hand twitch, and hopes he's about to wake up. They're going to need his help if they're going to get out of this with all their parts intact.

Then there's a low tap on the earth as a man with scars over his eyes and dressed in purple approaches, his gait easy.

"The guy from the café…" Lucy whispers, not taking her eyes off of Zoro and 'Mingo's stand-off.

"My my, such a ruckus you youths are making." He taps his cane on the ground once more, and the air around them trembles with weight.

"Kin'emon!" Lucy orders, and the samurai complies immediately, rushing 'Mingo in an attempt to aid Zoro as he lunges toward their opponent.

The purple guy steps between them, catches Zoro's strike on the same blade he stops Kin'emon's, and then—

"I am an Admiral," the man says regretfully. "I must protect our assets."

There's a groaning in the earth, a separating as a perfectly round hole opens beneath Zoro and Kin'emon, and they helplessly fall into it.

Lucy cries out for them, for Torao, and puts her hands on the bars to peel them away—

Weakness fills her, saps her strength. She slumps limply to the ground, utterly useless.

"N-no," she mumbles in denial. "I'm—I'm here." And she swore she'd be there for the people that needed her, that she'd never let them down again.

There's a sharp report of a gun, a low, unconscious scream from Torao, and then the Admiral's, 'Mingo's, and her friend's Voices disappear from outside.

But Zoro rallies, his Voice filled with irritation and concern and determination, and Lucy latches onto it, uses his strength to bolster her own as she stands on shaking legs.

Self-loathing won't help anyone now, least of all Torao. She needs to go after him, help save him, not moan in frustration over missed chances.

"Guys? Guys, what's happening, what's wrong, where's Torao—"

"Shut up, shit-cook," Zoro groans, and Lucy eyes his heaving frame carefully, trying to detect any injuries. She sees and senses none, thankfully, but Zoro seems frustrated with himself—a sentiment Lucy shares.

"Doflamingo just arrived with Trafalgar. Thief-kun managed to prevent him from shooting Trafalgar, but then the new Admiral arrived. Doflamingo escaped with our ally."

"He shot Torao," Lucy says quietly. "When you guys were in the hole. He shot him even though he didn't need to."

Zoro glances at her, and she knows he's checking her over, just like she did for him. "Lucy, those bars—"

"Sea Stone," she confirms. "I think…I think they never intended to let the competitors out."

"…It was a talent mine," Robin states after a moment. "The tournament. Doflamingo probably expected his subordinate to win, but he'd be able to keep some of the strongest in the New World as a slave-labor force."

"He's probably turning them into toys," Franky disagrees. "Easier to control that way, and he takes out some of the underworld competition either way."

"Turning them into…?" Lucy starts, uncertain.

"Toys," Franky confirms. "No one'd even remember them. Look, Aneki, there's a lot to fill you in on, but…this country is one of extreme light, but it's built on foundations of extreme darkness."

Oh. That's. That's why it felt so familiar here, in a sickening way. It's like Goa. A glistening city that dumps trash on the poor and sets them ablaze when they decide it's unbecoming.

"Wait, so, the flower lady with the dog…" Lucy locks eyes with Zoro, and sees him come to the same realization.

"…it was probably her grandkid," Zoro whispers quietly. He looks as disgusted as she feels.

"Aneki, I know we were going to leave Doflamingo alone, but…Robin and Usopp and I, we're sitting with a bunch of really brave rebels right now. People willing to fight, no matter their chances." Franky sniffs loud enough that the Den Den Mushi picks it up. "What will happen to them if we don't take Doflamingo out?"

Lucy wants to respond. Wants to tell Franky that yes, of course they're not going to just let 'Mingo be. But she knows there are things Franky's prepared himself to say. Things that take courage to speak, and she wants to honor that.

"I want to fight with them, Sencho!" Franky cries. Lucy blinks rapidly in surprise. Franky almost never calls her that. "I have to, no matter what you tell me!"

Oh, that's what this is about?

Lucy wants to hug her cyborg. Like she's ever been able to deny her crew anything she can possibly give them. She's certainly not going to kick him off the crew over it. They're pirates—the whole point is doing whatever the hell they want.

But…but maybe Franky wasn't around long enough before Sabaody to know that. Maybe he never learned that he doesn't have to beg Lucy for what he wants, or risk getting left behind. Maybe he doesn't know that the agony of her fight with Usopp on Water 7 was unusual, and the only time such a thing occurred in her crew's history.

"Franky…" Lucy takes a deep breath. "Remind me to tell you how we met Usopp sometime."

"Aneki…?"

"We've never been able to turn our backs on people brave enough to fight," she says with a wry grin to Zoro, who smirks in response. "…screw the plan. Go HAM."

Franky sniffs again on the other end of the receiver. "…Thanks, Aneki."

"Don't thank me. We'd be doing this anyway," she tells him, fingering the edge of the window. It looks like they have Sea Stone plating all the way through the arena. It's amazing she didn't sense it before. "'Mingo shot Torao." She lets a little steel enter her voice. "No one hurts our friends. And that includes your rebel army now, right?"

She's surprised when seven voices respond with an enthusiastic affirmative over the receiver. "Aye, Sencho!"

"C'mon, Lucy, we'll meet out front." Zoro tells her, facing the entrance of the colosseum. There's a glint in Zoro's eye that indicates he's unlikely to refrain from property destruction much longer.

"Wait, Lucy-san, we need to meet up—aw, shit."

Lucy runs after Zoro and Kin'emon, keeping pace with the receiver. "Sanji?"

"Are you kidding me?" Nami screeches, "Big Mom is after us now?!"

"Just her ship, although that won't make us less dead, yohohohoho!"

"The guys from Fishman Island are there!" Sanji's voice calls. "The ones who were threatening the candy makers!"

…which means they were the ones present when Lucy threatened Big Mom. Great.

"They're after Caesar!" Robin says urgently. "Sanji-kun, Nami, you have to get the ship away!"

"But you can't lead a freaking Yonko to Dressrosa!" Franky interjects. "The country is already under the thumb of a Warlord, and they're about to get caught up in a conflict between two of them, an Admiral, and the future Pirate King—they won't survive a Yonko too!"

"Torao said to send him on to the next island before he left with Doflamingo," Sanji says. "Next island—he didn't mean Dressrosa, did he?"

"We can't go back there," Nami says suddenly, and there's steel in her voice. "Lucy, listen—we have two things Doflamingo wants here on the ship. Caesar and Momonosuke, for whatever reason." There's a pause, and all Lucy hears is the slap of her sandals against concrete. "We should protect those things."

Lucy blinks in realization. "You're saying—"

"I'm saying we need to split up. Temporarily."

No one speaks, but the ringing in Lucy's ears is horribly loud.

"Those of us on the ship, we'll go ahead to Zou. We have the Vivre Card Torao left us, so it should be fine." When Lucy doesn't answer, Nami continues. "Lucy, I don't know why Torao is so hellbent on taking out Doflamingo, but he was willing to lay down his life just to prevent him from even getting an advantage. There's not much we can say in the face of that."

No, she wants to scream, no no no no no, I'm not letting you leave, we're not splitting up again, I won't survive another two years, stay, please stay, please—

Nami's right.

Her stomach gives a nauseous roll, sickened by Lucy's acquiescence, but Nami's right. Nami's always right.

Lucy wants to be Torao's friend. That means proving he can trust her. She won't manage that if she goes and wastes his sacrifice like that.

Dammit. She just got them back.

"B-but, Nami…we just got back together. Are we really…?" Chopper's voice echoes her own sentiments unknowingly, and Lucy steels her jaw.

"Chopper, Nami's right." She forces a smile. "It won't be like last time, anyway. It's on our terms, and it won't be long. Alright?"

"A-aye, Lucy!"

Lucy swallows a lump in her throat and pushes steel into her voice. "Sanji! Chopper! Nami! Brook! Take the ship to Zou! We'll meet you there!"

"Aye, Sencho!" Her soon-to-be wayward crew replies.

"Right. Lucy-san," Sanji's voice calls. She can feel the smirk even from here. "Permission to fire upon the ship of a Yonko?"

Fuck, Lucy loves her crew. "Do what you want, Sanji. Just make sure everyone stays alive."

"Aye, Sencho."

"Great. See you in Zou. Get Torao back in one piece," Nami bids them. "Oi! Sanji-kun! Don't antagonize them—" The receiver clicks off, and just like that, Lucy's ship and half her crew are out of reach.

Fuck, she hates when people leave.

"…They'll be fine," Usopp says wobblily. Lucy wonders if he thinks he's telling a lie or not.

"Of course they will," Zoro scoffs. "It'd take a lot more than a Yonko's ship to take them out."

Which was, of course, Zoro's way of saying he thinks Sanji's strong. Her boys. Always pretending to hate each other.

"We'll take care of the sabotage mission. Just get Torao back." Robin says, voice soothing.

"Right. Be safe, everyone." And Lucy scowls deeper, remembering the gunshot and Torao's pained cry. "Now let's kick 'Mingo's ass!"

There's a roar of approval from the other end of the receiver, more noise than her crew could possibly make on their own, and it dawns on Lucy that her crew is leading armies now, rather than stopping them or being one.

How's that for irony?

Zoro is hands down my favorite character. In Dressrosa he's been led around by his hair to a tree trunk in the middle of a sunflower field for 95% of the arc to that point, and then he sees Luffy fighting in the tournament and his first reaction is "dammit, why didn't he tell me? I live for this shit." Please never change, Zoro.

Don't lie. Bartolomeo=all of us. Also, yes, this was written in part to poke fun at people who write fanfiction and make racy fanart of real people. And I do mean real people, not just actors as characters in fictional series. It is for this and many reasons, but primarily this one, that I'm very glad I am not a member of One Direction. Before you get offended, I'm also making fun of myself here. I am almost 200k words deep in a story about fictional characters. I clearly have no life.

The phrase "go HAM" is shorthand for "go hard as a motherfucker," which I just thought you all should know.

Alright! Things are getting heavy! Sorry there was no Sabo this chapter but it was already pretty long. Next time, kay? Let me know what you thought-constructive criticism is welcome!