Do yourself a favor and go put "In the Hall of the Mountain King" on right now. Go on. I'll wait.

"You know what you're doing, Straw Hat-ya?" Trafalgar asks quietly. "You kill Doflamingo, and all Kaido's wrath over SMILE turns on us."

They're still on the plateau, and haven't quite decided what to do yet. Lucy's not being particularly helpful in this regard, her general planning ability ending somewhere around "I'm going to kick 'Mingo's ass," but the details on how, exactly, are unclear.

Which, really, Zoro never expected any different. Watching the others beat their heads against the brick wall that is Lucy is amusing though.

Trafalgar's comment is the first time anyone's suggested backing out, however, which makes sense given present company.

Lucy turns to the other captain, the look in her eye dark the way it sometimes is when she's genuinely pissed. "So?" she asks dismissively, and Zoro wonders, absently, if it's inappropriate to feel attracted to her right now.

"So, we'll have to face an angry Yonko, head-on." Trafalgar's eyes grow sharper. "Are you prepared for that?"

Lucy's expression is like stone, that perfect poker face she gets when her anger goes through the roof. "If I wasn't, I'd do this anyway."

Zoro slides Wado into his haramaki because yeah, that sounds about right.

Trafalgar, however, was clearly not expecting that answer, and stares, disgruntled.

Lucy takes a couple steps toward the other captain, and Zoro spies the fist clenching at her side. "Take a good look around, Torao," she hisses. "I can't leave this country where it is." And then a little kinder, "I don't think you can either."

Trafalgar shuts up, which is probably for the best.

"Right. We're leaving," Lucy decides. Then she hooks an arm under Trafalgar's armpits, while her other snakes out to Zoro, and suddenly he's hauled uncomfortably close to their ally, both of them pinned to one side of Lucy's waist.

Trafalgar reacts immediately, squirming away. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, STRAW HAT-YA?"

"KICKING 'MINGO'S ASS. I SAID THAT."

Zoro sighs. "This is not the most embarrassing thing I've ever done with you." The fucking chimney would probably never be topped. He hopes.

"SHE'S YOUR GIRLFRIEND MAN, STOP HER."

Zoro raises an eyebrow as Lucy makes to leap off the plateau, bracing himself for a rough landing. "How?"

"AT LEAST DO SOMETHING."

Zoro considers, and asks, "How're we gonna get there?".

"Go straight!"

Fair answer. Zoro accepts.

"THAT'S NOT AN ANSWER."

"You should watch your blood pressure man, you're leaking." From his bullet wound, which is why Lucy's refusing to let the guy walk anywhere until they have to fight.

"HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM?"

"I'm resigned to our inevitable victory."

"What?"

"I'M COMING FOR YOU PINK BASTARD."

Then his girlfriend jumps off a cliff.

Lucy knew Dressrosa would be full of enemies when she launched herself off the plateau with Zoro, Torao, and Torao's sword under her arms, but she may have underestimated how annoying the general population would be when they were trying to hunt her. Them and 'Mingo's crew. Lucy's a bit limited in what she can do, still carrying Torao, but Zoro cuts a path for her, doesn't let anything near her, and if she wasn't so pissed she'd be a bit more distracted by him because damn he looks good in that suit.

At any rate, the fact that the entire population of Dressrosa and then some stand between Lucy and Doflamingo's reckoning is largely irrelevant, for the most part. That is, until the blind admiral shows up again.

Lucy drops Torao immediately, and Zoro steps closer to help her guard him as her friend swears at her from the ground.

"I regret that I must do this," the admiral laments, "but duty bids me forward."

Lucy lunges, fist winding up. The admiral is formidable, a terrible enemy to have. She can tell, with her Conqueror's Haki whispering of his will. And he must be skilled, or the Marines would not have taken him.

Her fist is stopped with a sword and Lucy's instincts scream as she flings herself back and away from the old man, keeps herself between him and Torao's prone form. He can't help them fight—he's still recovering from the sea stone, hasn't even gathered the energy to heal himself—so it's up to her and Zoro to keep him protected for now. Zoro rushes forward, two katana drawn, and trades quick blows with the man, dodging nimbly as the earth shakes and craters beneath his feet.

It occurs to Lucy that this is the first time she and Zoro have fought together against the same opponent since their reunion. The time apart doesn't seem to matter though—the energy between them flows as it always has, their movements precise and in sync, just as they've been since that day in Shells Town.

It's almost fun, honestly, and the part of Lucy that relishes a good fight, that likes fighting alongside someone as strong as Zoro against someone as powerful as this admiral is nearly joyous. She'd enjoy it more though, if most of her wasn't so furious at Doflamingo and irritated with this man's interruption.

Then the earth rumbles and the island coughs up a man, which pretty much brings an end to the fight.

Along with actual Krakens and islands in the sky, a literal mountain of a man is not something Zoro ever expected to see in his lifetime. But, well. Here he is.

The fact that his voice is apparently caught in an eternal register only dogs can hear only adds to the absurdity, but it does make Zoro a little less miffed about the guy running off without finishing their fight, earlier.

Lucy giggles on his right, clutching at her stomach. "What the hell? His voice is-"

"Straw Hat-ya, shut up!" Trafalgar hisses. "That's Pica!"

Lucy just laughs harder, grabs Zoro's arm to support herself in her mirth. "No seriously, what the hell?"

"He will murder this entire quarter of the island if you don't shut up, Straw Hat-ya!"

As if to corroborate the statement, Pica lifts his right arm, nearly blocking out the sun, his eyes locked on Lucy's still-laughing form.

Zoro sighs. "Lucy, you have to stop antagonizing your enemies."

Lucy, too busy reaching down to grab Trafalgar again, gives one last burst of laughter. "But his voice!"

"MAY YOU ROT IN HELL, STRAW HAT!" Pica squeaks.

Zoro slaps a hand over his mouth as he runs, determined not to laugh aloud.

Lucy catches it though. "See, you want to laugh too!" She accuses, gleeful.

"What is wrong with you two?" Trafalgar complains, once again hoisted under Lucy's arm.

"Nuthin, we just thing funny things are funny. What's wrong with you, Torao? Why aren't you laughing?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe the THREE THOUSAND TONS OF ROCK ABOUT TO CRUSH US?"

"You need to relax Torao, that much stress can't be healthy."

"YOU'RE THE CAUSE OF ALL MY STRESS, STRAW HAT-YA."

"Lucy," Zoro warns with a glance behind him. The giant fist is descending fast, the shadow already upon them. "Less talking more running." But he's not that worried. They shouldn't have a problem outrunning the fist. The guy's big and heavy, not agile, and at their current pace it simply shouldn't be an issue.

Or so he thinks, anyway, until Lucy fucking trips.

Zoro's too far away to do anything by the time he realizes. When he does he shouts her name and takes two steps back to Lucy and Trafalgar, but then the giant fist closes the gap between earth and sky and the shockwave sends Zoro soaring.

It's fine though—he senses Lucy and Trafalgar shoot in a vaguely similar direction, which means they're both fine and will remain so, and when he lands he just follows his Haki over to their signatures.

When he arrives Lucy's crouching over Trafalgar, checking his bullet wound again, while Trafalgar tries, unsuccessfully, to swat her away. They both look fine, and a knot of tension releases in him.

"C'mon, just let me see it,"

"I'm a doctor, Straw Hat-ya, I know what a bullet wound is supposed to look like. It's fine."

"I think Chopper would question your cognitive capacity for diagnosis at the moment."

"Where the hell did you even learn a phrase like 'cognitive capacity'?"

"I dunno. Robin, probably."

Zoro steps up to them, looking down at their ally. Trafalgar looks terrible, which is probably to be expected considering the fact that he got shot in the shoulder about an hour ago. His adrenaline's probably worn off, and he's probably going into shock now, if Zoro's remembering Chopper's rants correctly. And if he was in sea stone cuffs, that's probably affecting him too.

"Zoro, you made it!" Lucy cheers. She stands to greet him with a huge smile on her face. "I could kinda sense you, but not really, either." She makes a face. "Stupid Haki..."

He cocks his head to her, a little amused. "I'm not the one who nearly got crushed." He looks around, trying to get his bearings. "I think the castle's that way," he decides, pointing to his left.

Lucy squints at him. "No, that's the way we came." She frowns, and points in what seems to be a mostly random direction. "That's straight," she declares, suspiciously definitive.

"You people are too dumb to live," groans Trafalgar. Zoro glares down at him. "How hard can it be to find the giant castle?"

"Pirate Hunter? Trafalgar Law?"

Zoro looks up, hand going to his katana. It's a guy in a white cape with long, perfectly curled blonde hair. He looks like Sanji, just a bit, with the nose and eyes, and Zoro wonders if this guy was born in North Blue too.

"Cabbage?" Lucy asks, surprised. Zoro blinks at her in confusion.

"Trafalgar…" the man growls lowly, "DIE!"

The guy takes a gouge out of the pavement, right where Trafalgar was a second before.

"Hey! Paws off!" Lucy protests, her left hand hauling the other captain around by his collar. "He's my friend!"

"I am not!"

"Oh?" The blonde guy blinks in surprise, and sheaths his sword. "I see. My mistake." He bows to Lucy, who blinks in general confusion.

Zoro understands the feeling. He is also very confused.

"I thought you hated us for taking your popularity, or whatever?" Lucy asks, and the look on her face says she can't believe that's a question she has to ask.

"You know this guy?" Zoro asks, a little disbelieving. Lucy makes friends with everyone, but usually they're not quite this unstable.

Lucy nods. "In the colosseum. His name's Cabbage."

Zoro frowns, and then turns to Lucy with wide eyes, stomach dropping with growing disgust and horror. "Wait, then what the hell did you mean earlier when you said I could 'have Cabbage?!'"

"Too much information," Trafalgar complains, looking sullen and vaguely disturbed.

"Oh, he's good with a sword," Lucy says, gesturing to the guy's hip. "See?"

Zoro sighs, relieved. "Lucy, we really need to work on your word choice."

"What? What'd I—"

"That's not my name, anyway," Cabbage snips, irritated, "And yes, I'm still displeased with the amount of attention you and your cohorts have received, but I owe you Straw Hats," the man proclaims, tone turning reverent. "God Usopp saved my life. I owe you all a great debt."

Lucy looks at Zoro.

Zoro looks at Lucy.

"Er, you sure it was Usopp?" Zoro asks, curious. Not that he doesn't believe the guy is capable of something like that, but. He's a bit surprised.

"I shall never forget the image of him when he saved us all—nay, when he saved the world itself!"

Lucy shrugs, and presses her hat to her head, grinning bemusedly. "Well, I'm always happy when people compliment my friends, I guess."

"And I have a gift for Trafalgar," blondie says, tossing the guy's white hat before him. Zoro doesn't miss the way the guy's eyes widen in surprise when he sees it, or the way Lucy gets an almost maternal look on her face in response to whatever Trafalgar's feeling. "And now I'm off to repay my debt to you, Straw Hat!"

Lucy looks up at Blondie, wary. "Er, how?"

"By killing Doflamingo for you, of course!"

Lucy's expression immediately goes petulant and angry. "What? No! I'm gonna kick Doflamingo's ass. Me! I said so earlier!" She looks at Zoro, her expression expectant.

"It's true," he agrees, amused at the way Trafalgar twitches. "She said so earlier."

"See? So I'm gonna!"

"GARP'S GRANDDAUGHTER. HALT."

Lucy scowls. "Shit."

Zoro crowds closer to her, defending her back as she reaches down to pick up Trafalgar. It says something about Lucy's general tenacity that the guy just sighs, shoves his hat on his head, and lets her carry him again. Zoro smirks a little when he asks, "More colosseum friends?"

Lucy makes a face as they take off running. "He's not my friend. He's obsessed with Gramps."

"Wait, Straw Hat! I'm killing Doflamingo!" Cabbage calls.

"No! We are! For the great favor Garp's granddaughter did for me, Chin Jao, founder of the Happosui army!"

Zoro raises an eyebrow. "I don't think he wants to kill you."

"What favor?" Lucy complains, nose scrunched as she leaps over debris. "I punched him a lot, but not much else."

"I'M STILL HERE, YA KNOW," Cabbage yells from somewhere behind them. "NOTICE ME."

"GARP'S GRANDDAUGHTER, YOU MISUNDERSTAND! I NO LONGER HOLD A GRUDGE AGAINST YOUR FAMILY, AND WISH TO KILL DOFLAMINGO AS A FAVOR!"

"What?!" Lucy shouts, annoyed. "You too!?"

"I HAVE BEEN RELIEVED OF MY QUEST FOR VENGEANCE."

"How lovely for you," Trafalgar drawls.

"What was that?" Zoro asks.

"Nothing."

"I'M KILLING DOFLAMINGO," Lucy shouts, glaring. The two of them take the next corner hard, and Lucy nearly overbalances with Trafalgar hefted over her shoulder. Zoro would carry the guy instead, but. Katana. "ASK CABBAGE, I ALREADY TOLD HIM."

On their left, a building collapses, and from the dust, a broad, hulking figure emerges with a helmet and beard that reminds Zoro of the giant back on Little Garden.

"Oh, it's him," Lucy says in surprise.

"Let me guess," Zoro drawls, "another colosseum friend?"

"I punched him in the face?"

"Straw Hat," the giant says solemnly. His massive strides let him keep pace easily, and Zoro pushes for more speed. "let us forget what happened in the match. I now owe God Usopp my life, and wish to repay both of you with Doflamingo's head."

"Cut it out already! I'M killing 'Mingo!"

"We of Prodence are long-time allies of Dressrosa! WE shall kill Doflamingo!"

"Nay, WE shall dethrone Doflamingo!" Says a really big guy in a red coat.

"My debt will be repaid in blood!" Says a long-arm guy.

"No, me!"

"I called it first!"

"My honor demands it!"

"SO DOES MINE!"

"Lucy," Zoro sighs, shaking his head. "You have too many egomaniacal friends."

"Not like either of you are much different," complains Trafalgar. "Like I said, I can walk."

"Nah, you're bleeding, and you want to help me kick 'Mingo's ass, so you have to be awake when we get there," Lucy informs him.

"I never agreed to this plan in the first place?" Trafalgar protests hal-heartedly.

"STOP FOLLOWING US! I'M KICKING 'MINGO'S ASS, AND THAT'S IT!" Lucy shouts, the look on her face adorably irritated.

Fuck, when did he start describing things as adorable? What was it, the first time he saw Lucy asleep or some shit?

...actually, yeah, that's. That's probably it.

"SHUT UP YOU IDIOTIC SAVIOR."

"WHAT KIND OF HERO DOESN'T LET PEOPLE SAY THANK YOU?"

But Lucy is distracted by something up ahead. "Oh hey, it's Moocy!" Lucy calls gleefully, blithely ignoring the stampede behind them. Zoro looks up to see a heavily bandaged bull, missing a horn. Zoro's not even surprised when the bull snuffles Lucy eagerly.

"You're ridiculous, you know that?" He tells her fondly as she leaps onto the animal's back with a friendly pat. Zoro settles himself behind her, guarding the rear as she dumps Trafalgar between them, not even allowing him to sit up properly.

"I hate you both so much," he grumbles.

"Let's go, Moocy!" Lucy cheers. The bull brays happily and Zoro laughs a little as the army of would-be debtors scramble behind them.

"This isn't even the craziest thing that's happened this month," he marvels. Lucy shoots him a windblown grin over her shoulder.

"I'm gonna have to work harder to impress you, then!" She shouts over the wind.

Zoro laughs. "Sure, but I gotta warn ya—" Zoro nods to the fleeing soldiers before them. "They won't be able to keep up if it gets much crazier."

Between them, Trafalgar makes a pained noise. "Please. Do not try harder. No one can survive you trying harder."

Lucy laughs and so does Zoro and they charge a castle on a one-horned bull with an aggressively honorable gang of fighters at their backs and soldiers fleeing before them.

Fuck, he's missed shit like this.

Pica rises in human form before them, and one look at the savagely thrilled smile on Zoro's face tells her his bloodlust just went through the roof.

It makes sense. This opponent ran away from him earlier, and Zoro doesn't take too kindly to that. Lucy feels her own excitement rise in time with his, gleeful on his behalf.

Lucy lifts the bull up on her shoulders, leaps, and carries the creature and Torao over to Pica's other side as Zoro leaps off.

Moocy lands, and she swings up to his back with his horns, not even looking behind her as she feels Zoro rush his opponent.

"I'll see you later!" She calls, grinning. Zoro's gonna be happy when this is all over. He loves a challenge.

"Yeah, leave this to me!" He replies, and from the corner of her eye she sees him holding Pica back easily, two swords crossed as he grins in the face of his opponent.

Damn. How did she get so lucky again?

"I have business with Straw Hat! Leave!" Pica squeaks, and Lucy almost laughs because if he thought Zoro would just step aside to let Pica aim at her back, the guy is sadly, sadly mistaken.

"Our captain has no business with a worthless rock like you," Zoro sniffs, a sliver of protectiveness in his voice, cutting through his excitement. "Live with it, you soprano-voiced dumbass."

Shit. Lucy's going to have to kiss him when this is all over.

"Is he going to be alright?" Torao asks, his voice quiet and kind of hesitant. Lucy looks down at him over her shoulder, confused. "Pica is strong."

Aw. He's worried.

"Zoro's the strongest person I know."

He stares for a moment more, and then huffs. "I guess he'd have to be to put up with you."

Lucy blinks down at him. "Huh? Did you say something, Torao?"

"No."

Lucy shrugs, unbothered. "He's never ever gonna lose," she tells him with a grin. Torao looks skeptical. "He made a vow."

They're much too far away to see Zoro now, but they can still feel the stone shake as they exchange blows. Torao looks behind them, where Zoro's Voice is fading out of sight.

Lucy really needs to improve her range.

"Straw Hat-ya," Torao says after a moment, "The original plan was to get others to hurt Doflamingo, to take him down with as little involvement as possible. But…" Torao's eyes narrow. "I want to be the one to hurt him."

The admission is quiet, and it doesn't surprise Lucy at all. Gently, she asks, "He hurt you, didn't he?"

Torao swallows. His expression remains bland, but he presses his fingers into his bullet wound with punishing pressure. "There was a person I adored. Doflamingo killed him." Lucy breathes out harshly, her breath stolen in sympathy. "Donquixote Corazon. Former top executive of the Donquixote Family. He saved my life. And…" Torao hesitates, like this part is the most painful bit to say. "He was Doflamingo's biological younger brother."

Lucy's eyes widen involuntarily, and she doesn't dare look away from Torao's face, or the determined, wrathful expression upon it.

Shit, and she thought she hated this guy before.

Lucy has a soft spot for older brothers, she knows. Good ones especially, who love their younger siblings and take care of them and sacrifice for them. She can't help it. It's one of Ace's legacies—Ace's, and Sabo's too. She can't imagine the kind of person who kills a brother. She can't imagine it at all.

"We're going to take him down," she promises Torao. His eyes search hers and she makes sure her face books no room for argument.

"...We have no choice at this point, Straw Hat-ya." He says eventually.

"Yeah," Lucy agrees, and she looks ahead, rage and determination curdling in her gut. "But we would do this anyway."

Pica is an irritating enemy.

It's not because he's powerful. He's got strength of a kind, but he's no swordsman—there's no connection between him and his blade, no understanding of how a sword can be an extension of the body. To Pica his sword might as well be a thin club, and nothing more.

Rather, Pica is irritating because his ability allows him to turn cowardice into an art form. Zoro cuts him in half, he absorbs himself into the rock, and he's throwing a bothersome-but-not-problematic attack at Zoro again. If anything, fighting Pica is sort of tiring—cutting through endless stone as this fight demands would have exhausted him two years ago—but it's far from a test of skill or even endurance. It's more like playing whack-a-mole than anything.

Ten minutes in and Zoro turns to the bastard, raising an unimpressed eyebrow. "Did you really think you had a chance against my girlfriend?" Honestly, if the guy had nothing on him, there's no way he'd have posed a threat to Lucy.

Pica wails in high-pitched rage and just his stone head flies toward Zoro. The swordsman cleaves the guy in half lazily.

"Zoro?" A familiar voice calls. "What're you doing down there?"

Zoro looks around in surprise, spotting one of his nakama some distance away. "Robin? Why are you flying?"

"Rebecca-chan wanted to fight."

"Z-Zoro-senpaaaaiii!"

Oh, it's the green dude. "Yeah, but why are you flying?"

"Nevermind, just make sure Pica doesn't get us!"

Zoro shrugs. Robin can explain later. "Will do."

"I won't let anyone pass!" Pica squeaks, and then absorbs himself into the giant stone shell beneath his feet.

...well that's annoying.

Zoro looks up just in time to see the human head in the center of the neck he cleaved apart earlier. The massive fist above them clenches, begins to move, and Zoro grins, because this is getting fun again.

Zoro runs for the edge, gaining speed and power and leaps. Wado rings with purpose as he sets the blade between his teeth. Kitetsu wails, unbalanced and bloodthirsty, and Shusui moans a heavy void.

"Three-sword style…" he mutters, his voice only slightly muffled by his katana after many years of practice. "One-Thousand and Eighty Pound Phoenix!"

Zoro twists, pressing deep into the movement as the air splits and moans around him. Pica's mountain of a body groans at it is cleaved in two, his high voice wailing as his right side crumbles to the island below.

Zoro smirks around his katana. He smells blood.

Finally.

"Let's see you run away from that, coward," he challenges, and lands easily on the left arm that was just poised to hurt his nakama.

Interesting. The right side crumbled but the left didn't. Which means…

Thirty yards ahead of him, Pica's head emerges from the stone. He's panting heavily, with blood on his lips.

"You bastards seem to be forgetting something," he complains casually. Pica yelps, realizing he's been found, and his eyes, round with terror and shock, lock on Zoro. "The Straw Hats aren't just Straw Hat Lucy and God Usopp," he grins, lets his aura flare with intimidating bloodlust that has Pica flinching. Wado screams with clarity and drive, high-pitched and aching. "I'm destined to be the World's Greatest Swordsman one day."

"Thank you, Zoro!" Robin's voice calls. It's fainter now, the distance between them far greater. He looks up, and can sort of make out the smile on her face. He salutes her casually, returning her gratitude with a grin of his own.

"You gonna be okay from here?" He asks. He's kind of in the middle of a fight right now but Lucy'd never forgive him if he let one of their nakama get hurt. Hell, he'd never forgive himself.

"We should be fine now!" She replies, her feet touching down on some rubble. She pushes hard off the remains of Pica's arm, and floats to the next boulder, her companions close behind.

"Later then!" He agrees. Robin's not soft. She can take care of herself.

"I...I'm nowhere near finished!" Pica squeals. Zoro turns back to him, eyebrow raised.

"Oh?" He smirks, lets himself lean into his darker urges as his aura flares. A good fight is always a good time. "Good. It'd be pathetic if you were, you soprano-voiced bastard."

A facsimile of Usopp's head flies past her and concusses a green-haired little girl.

It's weird, sure. But Lucy doesn't really care.

She grabs Torao's shoulder—he declared he was ready to walk on his own once they got to the sunflower fields, operated on himself to eject the buckshot in his body and everything. He still looks kind of pale, but not like he's about to keel over, so Lucy figures he's ready as he's gonna be.

She grabs his shoulder, shoots a hand up to the top of the castle, and leans into it as the ricochet pulls them up.

They sail high over the ledge, wind whistling in her ears, and Torao, now used to the motion of her jumps, lands beside her easily.

There is a storm here, and wind buffets them, but as Lucy looks up Doflamingo appears, sitting relaxed and languid on a throne too big even for him. A man in a bulky blue overcoat stands behind him, staff whirling. Doflamingo's smile is wide and joyless, his chin propped nonchalantly on his fist.

He doesn't look concerned.

He should be.

"'Mingo!" She calls, angry and vengeful. "I'm here to kick your ass!"

"Same here," echoes Torao. There's a determination in his stance that wasn't there before, and Lucy feels the thrill of a fight echo around in her heart beneath the general rage Doflamingo has inspired within her.

And then she sees the trembling man at Doflamingo's feet, sees who it is, and all the world could burn for the fury it ignites.

"Bellamy!" She shouts, and Torao reaches out to grab her arm, hold her back as she unconsciously steps forward.

"Oh, are you two friends?" Doflamingo asks, his horrible smile wide. "I thought I was doing you a favor. A peace offering if you will, after your fight in Mocktown." The man's teeth seem sharper, suddenly. "He threatened to let every member of his crew rape you, if I recall. Threatened to make your crew watch. He beat you and one of your precious nakama—the Pirate Hunter. I thought this would help clear the air between us."

The smile on his face says he knew destroying Bellamy would give Lucy no such satisfaction. But beside her, Torao is steady and agitated, waiting to see what her response will be.

"He did those things," she allows. "But he's different now. Let him go."

Doflamingo chuckles, low and humorless. "What a weakling you are." He shakes his head, directing his remarks to Torao. "You could have done much better than this one, Law. A hotheaded dumbass like her was never going to get you what you need." His face looks disappointed, despite the ever-present smile. "What is it? Do you want to fuck her or something? You were less impulsive than that even as a child. More cunning. More ruthless."

"I was saved," Torao snarls, and he lets go of Lucy as he forgets himself. "I was saved. And I'm never going to be like you."

Doflamingo's lip curls. "Pity. At any rate…" his foot digs into Bellamy's side, and from the way he moans she knows there's a wound there. "Perhaps the winner shall decide his fate?" Doflamingo's heel grinds deeper into Bellamy, and Lucy hears him whimper, just a little. "This one lost in the colosseum, then refused to assassinate you, Straw Hat, and then came here to accept death at my hand." The smile is cruel and mocking as he looks down at Bellamy. "Oi. You're pretty pathetic, ain't ya? Killing you would practically be a mercy."

Bellamy whimpers, but says nothing. Lucy can see the tears on the concrete, from pain or humiliation or both.

She knows, now, what she noticed before. There's loyalty in Bellamy. A kind that's rare. It's a quality Lucy understands and values, one that reminds her of the Whitebeards and the way they bled gladly for their captain, her burgeoning Observation Haki making her own eyes water in unconscious empathy, at the time. She wonders if Doflamingo knows what he has in Bellamy. She wonders if he's capable.

He's not worthy of it. Doflamingo never was. But Bellamy believed in him, and maybe still does. Bellamy is willing to die for him, was willing to follow him, and Doflamingo is not allowed to make a mockery of that.

"You call yourself a pirate?" She asks, and her voice is low and dark, even to her own ears. She feels Torao turn to her in surprise.

"I don't call myself anything but God," Doflamingo chuckles, and he reaches down to pull Bellamy's face from the ground, so she can see the blood and dirt and tears, the swollen flesh making him look inhuman. "Being a pirate was just convenient."

She growls low in her throat and takes a menacing step forward. Conqueror's Haki slips and cracks against the confines of her skin, and the concrete beneath her feet splinters in response, but she does not let it go. She's not certain she has the control to avoid hitting Bellamy.

Torao notices her advance, and flings an arm out to stop her. She does not turn away from Doflamingo, and glares at him out of the corner of her eye in question.

"Straw Hat-ya, calm down," he whispers urgently. "Remember, don't show your anger, your hatred. He's too good at using it."

Oh, but this isn't anger or hatred, she wants to tell him. This is far, far worse.

Lucy knocks his arm away—not hard enough to hurt him, but hard enough to make her point. "You're the one who fed Bellamy that crap about treasure and shit, aren't you?" Doflamingo raises an eyebrow, and Lucy presses forward. "About pirates and the age of dreams being over?" She curls her lip in disgust. "What a crock of shit."

"Straw Hat-ya—"

"You send your crew to fight in your place, and you don't value loyalty." She takes another step forward, Haki building in her like a high-pressure valve. "Let Bellamy go. You don't deserve him."

Doflamingo chuckles, humorless. "I never thought I'd see a woman defend a thug like him, with the kind of things he's probably done, but here you are." He clicks his tongue at Bellamy, shaking the man like a ragdoll. "She's wrong, though, isn't she Bellamy? You're just scum."

Bellamy's misshapen face is wet with tears. "Just...kill me...already…"

"I think you're just a coward," Lucy accuses bluntly. "And you're certainly no pirate."

Doflamingo's face darkens into his smile. "A coward, you say…?" He laughs again, and it is a shivering sound. "I don't think I've ever been accused of that before."

"Straw Hat-ya…" Torao warns, and she realizes why the moment before it happens.

Doflamingo rears back, Bellamy's head still clutched between his fingers, and slams him into the ground. Bellamy lays there, limp and unmoving after a drawn-out moan. Lucy snarls, inarticulate with rage, and a coil of Conqueror's Haki slips from her grasp, lashes against the rooftop on her right and cracks the cement.

No one seems to notice except the blue blob of a man behind Doflamingo.

"A coward…" Doflamingo muses again. Then he smiles, the showman's glee returning. "Says the woman who sent half her crew away. What, were you afraid they couldn't hack it against me? Against my Family?"

Torao starts beside her, and she realizes he didn't know. Lucy lets the grin on her face speak her rage at the reminder of her missing nakama. "We'll still kick your ass."

Doflamingo's smile deepens, curls in rage. "Oh, Law. What a choice you made. Truly, this was suicide, wasn't it?" The man shakes his head and stands, kicking Bellamy aside. Lucy's fists clench. "That brat's got a curious ability, see. One that can turn the tides of war. She did the same in the War of the Best, rallying all manner of people to her side. Including you, if memory serves. She's just a brash idiot though, liable to get herself and others killed." Lucy's chest tightens at the reminder of Ace and she releases a hissed breath. Doflamingo's fingers grip the armchair so hard the knuckles turn white. "And with your antics, Law, you two have made me very, very angry."

Lucy steps forward again, but Torao snags her collar, pulls her back. "Wait, Straw Hat-ya—"

Doflamingo's fingers dance, and string coils before them into a perfect copy of the man. The clone lunges for Torao, and he draws his sword, parrying every blow. Lucy sees Doflamingo before her and charges, only to be met with Bellamy wielding two swords inexpertly, dully, and with tears streaming down his face as he attacks her clumsily. She dodges with ease, not even bothering to roll out of the way of his strikes.

"Please, Straw Hat...stop me…" he weeps. Lucy sees three filaments glinting in the sunlight above Bellamy's head, and understands.

She looks at Doflamingo, snarl on her face to meet the cruelty of his smile, and stops Bellamy's next attack with her forearm, not even bothering to watch.

"A clone and my friend?" She demands looking him right in the eye, and the roaring in her ears drowns out everything except the ring of Torao's blade and Bellamy's soft weeping. "I knew you were a coward."

As funny as that whole sequence with Luffy running through Dressrosa with Law and Zoro under his arms is, I actually thought it was really bizarre that Zoro didn't protest at least as much as Law. But it was fucking funny, and it WAS pretty cute to see Zoro's general resignation, so I kept it. I hope you enjoyed "In the Hall of the Mountain King" as the soundtrack for the chase scene.

My favorite all time Law line is "the bull had more room." This is when he was on Cavendish's horse Farul and was complaining about the lack of space. He's just, so done at that point he's not even fighting it anymore. I unfortunately couldn't include it because this is already damn long and it was just an unnecessary scene.

So I recently discovered there's a fan theory that says Zoro became the world's greatest swordsman while training with Mihawk in the time skip. I really, really hope that's not true because damn, that would be one hell of a letdown after nearly twenty years of buildup, Oda. But! There's this line in Dressrosa, where Zoro's fighting Pica, and he specifically says he'll be the world's greatest swordsman "one day." So, unless he beat Mihawk but decided he couldn't become the world's greatest until Luffy was the Pirate King (which, I admit, that would be pretty fucking adorable and not exactly out of character), I think it's safe to say that a badass Zoro vs. Mihawk fight is still in the works.

"What a crock of shit" is one of my all-time favorite swears, just saying. This might be one of those really regional ones but it's a goodie. Especially since, in-dialect, it's actually an iamb, and sounds like "wudda crock a shit." Fun facts. Batshit, too, is a good swear.

Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you thought!