Whole Cake Island
Part Nine
"A mirror? Inside of the wedding cake?" Bege asked.
"If you can put a mirror up in there, we can jump straight from the mirror world into the inside of the cake! That'll be pretty sweet, right?" Luffy laughed.
"That would be an easy way to get into the wedding," Neo said. "No one would expect an attack coming from a wedding cake."
"Are you crazy?! Don't tell me you're planning on destroying the cake!" Brulee said. "You lot have no idea how much Mama's been looking forward to eating it!"
"Hey, you! Back in that forest, you made copies of Nami and the others, right?" Luffy bent down to Brulee.
"Oh, yeah! Brulee can take the image of someone reflected in a mirror," Chopper said. "And project it onto someone or something else!"
"And what about it?" Brulee watched him with suspicious eyes.
"Neo, come with me!" Luffy took her hand and pulled her away from Law.
"Straw Hat! Don't jerk her around like that!" Law growled.
"Where are we going?" Neo asked.
"Back to the forest to get those animals." Luffy grabbed Brulee and slung the woman over his shoulder.
Neo tilted her head.
"What are you doing?! Put me down!" Brulee shrieked.
"To the mirror world!" Luffy dashed towards the mirror hanging on the wall.
Neo gasped as their bodies slide like pasta dough through a pasta machine then reformed in a room full of mirrors. "That was so weird."
"Hey! Come back here!" Law said.
Neo turned back to the mirror to find Law pressing his hand to it. "Luffy, let Law through."
"What?! No way!" Brulee said.
"Okay." Luffy shoved Brulee's head through the mirror.
Neo held out her hand to Law and pulled him through.
Law glared at Luffy. "Don't do that again."
Luffy chuckled then ran off. "Let's find a mirror close to the forest!"
Neo smiled at Law before they joined Luffy in their search.
Five minutes of peaking in mirrors passed before they finally located a mirror that was close to the forest.
Exiting the mirror world into an unoccupied home, Neo wrapped her winds around them and flew them to the forest. Animals gathered around the second she landed. She stroked each one. "Hello, friends. I need your help. Will you come with us? Thank you. You're all so sweet."
"That was easy." Luffy planted his hands on his hips.
"You all are going to die!" Brulee snapped from the ground.
"Let's go!" Luffy threw the woman back over his shoulder and led the way back through the mirror world.
...
"Okay, we brought a bunch," Luffy said. "Make all these guys into me."
"What?!" Brulee's eyes widened. "No way! I'm not helping you!"
"You have to! You're on our side now!" Luffy said.
Neo yawned and slumped against Law. "I'm sleepy."
"Then rest. We have time before the wedding starts," Law said.
"You sure?"
Law nodded.
Neo yawned again, rested her head against Law's shoulder and fell asleep.
...
"Neo. Neo, wake up."
Neo shifted and opened her eyes. "Hm?"
"Time to go," Law said.
"Okay." Neo looked around to find the room they had been in was different. It had a long table and chairs instead of couches. The Straw Hats were scattered around sleeping with the fishman trying to wake them up. "Where are we?"
"We moved into Bege's body while you were sleeping. We're at the wedding right now." Law took Neo's hand and helped her off the floor. "Jinbe's been trying to get them to wake up for several minutes now."
"I think I can help with that." Neo stood then summoned her water crystals. Hoovering them over the sleeping pirates she drizzled cold water on them.
"Cold!" Luffy jumped off the floor.
"I'm awake!" Nami said.
"That feels good." Chopper sat up with a smile. "Nice and cold like snow."
Neo turned her attention to the Luffy clones, seeing that they had somehow managed to convince Brulee to change the animals. She stroked them. "How are you all doing? That's good. Don't worry. A little bit longer and you'll be set free."
The animals nuzzled her. Their warm, soft fur called for Neo to curl up with them and sleep. But she knew she couldn't. They were too close to executing their plan.
Only a few minutes passed after everyone woke up before they piled into the mirror world.
"Hurry, guys! We're running out of time!" Luffy said running along side the train guy that was pulling everyone else.
"That's because a certain someone decided he needed his beauty sleep!" Jinbe said.
A few minutes later they gathered at the mirror then heard a gun shot.
"There's the gunshot! That's the signal, Luffy!" Nami said.
"Be careful," Neo said.
"Okay! We got this!" Luffy said. "Here we go! I'm going to make you give me back Sanji, Big Mom!" He dashed through the mirror.
"Okay, guys." Neo turned to the animals. "Follow Luffy."
The animals squawked, tittered, and chirped before followed the pirate.
"I hope they'll be okay."
"They'll be fine." Law gave her shoulder a squeeze.
Neo slowed her breath. Mere seconds passed before Big Mom's screams poured through the mirror. "Guess Luffy's plan worked."
"Time for us to go, too, Pedro," Jinbe said.
The mink nodded.
"Be careful, everyone," Neo said.
Jinbe and Pedro smile then left to fulfill their part of the plan.
The remaining Straw Hats stepped through the mirror and onto the damaged wedding cake.
"Remember you're only going out as a sniper," Law said.
"I know." Neo took his hand and went through the sugar floated through their nostrils. "Smells so good."
"Sure does." Carrot nodded, white ice spotted her lips and chin.
Neo shifted closer to the edge. She might not be much help but she was still going to do all she could to keep her friends and family safe. The commotion Luffy and the animals caused a lot of commotion below. Some of the guests were running from the area while others remained at their tables. Her eyes drifted to Luffy when he engaged in battle with a tall man wearing a large scarf around his face. "Mochi. He's using a mochi devil fruit. That sounds good."
Neo scooped up some icing from the cake and wiped it on her tongue. She tensed, readying her crystals, when Luffy got caught in some mochi. Before she could make a move, Jinbe jumped in and freed him before exchanging words with Big Mom. She shifted her attention to other members of Big Mom's crew. She commanded vines and roots to raise out of the ground. They grabbed onto the enemy, holding them in place for a few vital seconds. She whispered out to the animals to block the enemies' paths, tripping them. She giggled when several of the enemy glanced around in wonder of what was going on with these mystery attacks.
"Put in your earplugs, Neo," Law said.
Neo stuck them in her ears a second before she saw Brook swing a hammer down on the photo Bege spoke up. She then spotted Pudding pointing a gun at Sanji. She growled and moved forward. "Sanji!"
"Neo! You're magic is out!" Law grabbed her.
Neo gritted her teeth as she watched helplessly as a man, with a genie coming out of his belt, attack Sanji.
"What the heck is going on out there?" Nami asked.
"It's been three seconds," Chopper said.
"What about the scream?" Carrot asked.
"Something went wrong," Law said. "It's clear Big Mom is upset but nothing's happening."
"What should we do?" Neo bounced her attention between Luffy and Sanji before settling on the Straw Hat captain. Luffy grabbed the photo pieces and ran for Big Mom. The man with the scar started attacking him again. "That guy... I can't place his name."
"Katakuri," Law said. "One of the best fighter's in Big Mom's crew."
Luffy threw out his arms, getting the pieces of the photo in front of Big Mom.
The emperor opened her mouth. And screamed.
The people below started dropping to the ground.
Nami, Chopper, and Carrot left the safety of the cake and put earplugs in Sanji's family before Sanji appeared and smashed the candy that kept them in place.
Bege and two of his men pull out the launchers. They fire.
Law cursed under his breath when the missiles did nothing to injure Big Mom.
"Well, that's not good," Neo said.
"Let's go." Law warped them down to join the others in a mad dash for the mirror.
Just before they reached the mirror it shattered in front of their eyes.
"Rook: Ein Groser Vater! Big Father!" Bege leapt into action. His body transformed into a large castle tank. A wooden draw bridge lowered. "Get in!"
Law grabbed Neo's hand and warped them inside. Katakuri's mochi wrapped around Brulee, pulling her free.
Neo glanced around to make sure everyone was safe. Her eyes landed on Sanji's family. Rage built in her chest. "You! Who said you can come in here?! Get out!"
"Shut up, girl," Yonji said. "We have every right to be here."
"No you don't! It's your fault we're in this mess!" Neo stomped closer to the Vinsmoke family. "If you had left Sanji alone then we wouldn't be here right now!"
Judge glared at her. "Watch your tongue, girl."
"You watch yours!" Neo summoned her crystals.
"Easy, Neo." Sanji placed a hand on her shoulder.
Neo glanced at him.
"It's fine." He smiled.
Neo glared at the Vinsmokes before banishing her crystals. Wrapping her arms around herself she walked back over to Law. "Idiots."
Law pressed a kiss into her hair. "Easy now."
"You're amazing, Bege! I didn't know you could turn into a such a huge castle!" Luffy said.
"This ain't the time to be singing and dancing! Look around you!" Bege said. "Blast it! Our assassination plot, one whole year in the making, went up in smoke. This is the first time I mucked up an assassination!"
"The emperors really are on a different level, aren't they?" Brook said.
"Well, what now?" Jinbe asked.
"Now isn't the time for calm chitchat. Haven't you figured that out?" Bege said. "This castle is literally me! It's pretty sturdy, but it isn't impregnable! If this castle gets destroyed, I die. And if that happens, the castle disappears, you all get tossed outside as monster chow. Outside hell awaits us. And if we don't get moving it'll come for us. Get it?! Understand our utter despair yet?!"
"Hey, it's not my fault, okay, Bege?! Those launcher are the most cutting edge you'll find anywhere in this world, and-" Caesar said.
Bege grunted, blood flew from his mouth and he crashed to the floor.
"Hey, Bege! What happened?!" Luffy asked "Are you okay?!"
Big Mom's eye peered in the window. "You... did you try to betray me, Bege? Get out here! Straw Hat!"
"Wait, Mama! It's me!" Chiffon said. "Bege is my husband! We have a child, too! Please forgive this! Over look it!"
"Chiffon! As always, you're just like that bloody Lola! I thought I told you not to show me that ugly face!" Big Mom punched the castle. "So you're an accomplice in this assassination plot, too?! Don't think you'll live to eat breakfast tomorrow!"
"How horrible!" Neo pressed hand to her mouth. "How can anyone say that to their child?!"
"Calm down." Law rubbed her back. "Some parents aren't as caring as you are."
"Mama hates me because I look so much like my twin sister." Chiffon hugged her baby. "Lola ran off a long time ago in search of a man that she can love instead of an arranged marriage."
"I'm going to go out there and beat them all to a pulp!" Luffy ran for the door.
"Me too!" Neo followed him.
"No you're not!" Law grabbed Neo.
"No! Chopper, stop him!" Nami said.
Chopper, in his human form, grabbed Luffy.
"Let go!" Luffy said.
"Yeah! Let go!" Neo said.
"Not going to happen." Law tightened his hold.
"You two need to stop and think! We came here to save Sanji, remember?!" Nami said.
"We got our poneglyph rubbing too," Brook added.
"We also succeeded in our plan to save Sanji's family! We've done what we came here to do! If you've got time to fight with them, then you've got time to help us come up with a way to get out of here! If we were to fight, we would have brought Zoro and the others! Tell me I'm wrong!" Nami said.
"Oh, right. I forgot." Neo stopped struggling.
"The only reason we were able to infiltrate this far is because of how few people we have. Let's all go to the Wano country safely, where Zoro's waiting for us," Brook said.
Bege fell again.
"Bege!" Chiffon rushed to his side.
"But look! Bege," Luffy said. "Okay fine! So what do we do?! He's taking attacks that are meant for us!"
Bege sat up, blood ran down his face. "I'm in pieces over here, and I'm not going to let you lot be the ones making it big!"
"Wait just a second, Bege!" Brook held out a hand. "No going down with the ship nonsense or anything of that sort, okay?!"
"Plus, I did what I promised I would! Give me back my hear right now!" Caesar reached for Bege.
"Down with the ship, eh? Not a bad idea. Honestly, I never gave crap what happened to you lot. Not from the beginning. But my dear subordinates are here, and my beloved wife and son. And I won't let them die!" Bege knitted his brow.
His men cheered in agreement.
"There's one only way that all of us will make it out of here with our heads still on our shoulders," Bege said. "This room is definitely inside me, but no matter how I toss or tumble this room won't move an inch. And that will stand true even if I turn back into a regular flesh and blood human. Listen up. With you lot still inside me, I'll turn back into a human. And then Caesar will grab me, and fly us all out of here."
"Hey! Quit putting my life on the line whenever you feel like it!" Caesar shrieked. "What you're asking me to do is suicide! They'll turn me into a honeycomb they moment they see me! There's about a zero percent chance that harebrained plan will never work! Most of them use haki, too! Gas or not, they'll get me!"
"Answer me one thing, Sanji," Judge said. "Why did you save me? We fell into their trap. Hook, line, and sinker. That would have been the end of your hated enemies, no?"
"My father wouldn't have liked it. Fixated on the bygone grudges of my childhood days," Sanji said. "He'd have been shocked at how small a man I'd become if he saw me laugh at the death of my own blood. I won't live in a way that won't let me look him in the eye. I refuse! I ran away from Germa thirteen years ago. Vinsmoke Sanji died at sea. And that's what you wanted." He grabbed Judge's scarf and pulled him to his knees. "So admit it. Tell me you're not my father, Vinsmoke Judge! Don't you dare show your face to us again!"
Judge stood and turned away. "I understand now. I swear. I swear to never again approach either you or the East Blue."
"I've done my mission! This stuff wasn't in the job description!" Caesar continued to rant.
Neo ignored him and walked over to Sanji as his former family headed for the gate. "You okay?"
Sanji took her hand and kissed it. "Better than okay, my sweet fairy."
Neo teared up but brushed them away. "I'm happy for you."
"Time to move this along," Bege said then looked at Neo. "Think you can push the enemy back?"
"I'll do what I can." Neo nodded. She checked to make sure the Vinsmokes were gone before closing her eyes. Searching out with her magic she pushed the enemy back while moving herself and her allies forward. "Um, we have another problem."
"What now?" Nami asked.
"The chateau is about to fall," Neo said.