Whole Cake Island
Part Ten
"What?!"
"Neo, what are you talking about?" Law asked.
"I'm not sure but a large chuck of the chateau just crumbled away from the rest," Neo said. "We're going to fall. Hold on. I'm going to move us faster." She refocused, moving the winds faster. Exhaustion seeped into her body with each passing second. "My magic is fading."
"Just a little bit more," Bege said. "We're almost home free."
"Just a little bit more," Carrot and Chopper chanted. "Just a little bit more."
Neo closed her eyes. She could feel them getting farther away from Big Mom and her crew. Finally, her magic faded. Bege's tank body dropped to the ground. She dropped to her knees.
"You did well." Law knelt beside her.
Neo smiled.
"Get out!" Bege opened the gate. "This is where we part ways."
They walked down the drawl bridge.
"Thanks, Bege," Nami said. "I really thought we were done for."
"Quit it with the thanks. Makes me feel like I did something good. Gross." Bege curled his nose.
"I'm the one that carried you lot out here, though!" Caesar pointed at himself.
"Actually, Neo did that. And, shut up, trash! Do you remember what you were doing to those kids on Punk Hazard?!" Nami glared. "We've no use for you anymore. Just go die or something."
"Here." Bege tossed Caesar his heart. "You're free to go."
"Should have just crushed it." Nami huffed.
"I agree." Neo nodded.
Caesar cried with joy but everyone ignored him.
"Father, it looks like they were all saved somehow-rero!" Vito faced the way they had came. "The castle turned into cake."
"That's Streusen's power. That guy was a mystery to the end. I have a feeling he'd be pretty strong in a fight, too," Bege said. "So I guess they weren't all killed, but their castle's in pieces. I feel a bit better now."
"Hey, hey! Goodbye!" Luffy waved.
"That's what it's been since the beginning. It's just that the first bit of running away harder than it needed to be. You lot should hurry, too. They'll be after us in no time," Bege said. "You've got a day's journey ahead of you once you make it to your ship. That's how long it'll take to get out of her territory."
"You're right," Brook said.
Bege hammered a sign in the ground telling the enemy which way the Straw Hats went. "Godspeed, gentlemen. Castle Tank!"
"Quit with the stupid gags!" Sanji said.
"Shut up!" Bege called back. "That's for our survival!"
"I hope the animals got away safely." Neo stared towards the crumpled cake.
"I'm sure they did," Law said.
"Okay, we'll go get the shark submerge." Brook climbed on top of Chopper in his reindeer form. "And take it back to the Sunny."
"Okay, be careful," Luffy said. "We got to get going, too. Off to that coast we first landed on."
"Come on." Law turned his back to Neo and knelt down. "You're tired."
"Okay." Neo climbed on him.
With Nami riding on Jinbe's shoulders, they raced back towards the ship..
"Everyone, hurry! They'll be after us any minute now!" Nami said.
"Quit talking so high and mighty! You're just riding on Jinbe!" Luffy wheezed.
"It's okay because Nami's cute!" Sanji said.
"Yes! Cute and frail!" Nami said. "The shortest route is to pass through here and then cut through the seducing woods!"
"Back into that forest? Will we be okay?" Luffy asked.
"We'll be fine," Neo said.
"What's that?!" Nami pointed to the giant tree with another smaller tree with him. "It's King Baum! So you're still alive!"
Law warped them up to the top of King Baum.
"What are you doing?! Get off me!" King Baum said.
"We don't have time." Nami pulled out Lola's vivre card.
"I'll remember this, you monsters!" King Baum ran forward.
"Wait a second. Didn't you get Lola's vivre card stolen away from you?" Luffy asked.
"One of them. I actually cut it into two ahead of time," Nami said.
"This guy's fast," Jinbe said.
"Wedding Cake!" Big Mom appeared behind them on a flying cloud with a sword in hand. "Give me the cake!"
"Oh! I wanna fly on a cloud!" Neo giggled.
"Big Mom's already way over here?!" Nami gasped.
"Wedding cake! Eat this! Elbaf Spear! Foreign Threat!" Big Mom sliced at them.
Law warped them, barely missing the blade.
"Whoa! That was a giant's move!" Luffy said.
"King Baum!" Big Mom said.
"Mama! Forgive me! They threatened me!" King Baum said.
"This is bad! She's going to send out another one! We need to get down and fight her!" Sanji said.
Law warped them again. "I can't keep this up forever!"
"Wait! King Baum! Who was that woman back there? Your girlfriend?" Nami asked.
"My fiance," he said.
"Then, you need to live," Nami said.
"You're right! I can't die here!"
"Run, King Baum!"
"She's must be some sort of demon," Pedro said.
"Who? Nami or Big Mom?" Neo asked.
"Both."
"It's no use! We won't be able to fully dodge the next one," Luffy said. He rushed forward but Nami grabbed him.
"Stop, Luffy. I've got a plan!" Nami said.
"Wedding..."
"She's making me want cake," Neo said.
Nami pulled out her baton.
"What are you doing?" Luffy asked.
"Black Ball!" Nami spun her staff. Balls of black fly out. "Thunder likes thunder."
Neo shivered at the thunder and lightning in the clouds. "That feels good!"
Big Mom moved to strike again but the cloud she rode moved the other way and she fell.
"Yes! If we make it to the woods, this one's in the bag," Nami said. "After all King Baum is the Lord of the forest."
The forest cleared a path as they moved through the area.
"Hey! I see the Sunny!" Luffy shaded his eyes.
"Nami, your plan was so cool!" Carrot hugged her.
"You're amazing, Nami!" Sanji sang.
"If Big Mom isn't riding Zeus, we can actually shake her," Jinbe said.
"Zeus?" Neo asked.
"That's the name of the cloud she rides."
"Yup. I"m Zeus." The cloud flew beside them. "Say, you know, those little thunderclouds? Give me more!"
"Black ball?" Nami asked. "They're that good?"
"I've never eaten such rick, silky thunderclouds before," Zeus said as Luffy poked him. "Do ya have more? Do ya?"
"Hey, cloud. Forget about that. Let me ride on you," Luffy said.
"No can do. Only Mama, who gave me her soul, can ride me," Zeus said.
"Aw. So you're just a cloud?" Luffy pouted.
"Okay," Nami said. "But will you become my servant in exchange?"
"I will!" Sanji said.
"She's not asking you," Jinbe said.
"If you do, I'll let you eat black balls everyday," Nami said.
"What?! Really?! Oh no, what should I do?" Zeus said.
"Not loyalty to your boss, eh?" Jinbe said.
"He's so cute." Neo stroked the cloud. "I'd like to keep him, too."
"I mean, you can become such a big cloud. You can even cover the whole sky." Nami grinned.
"Really?! No one's ever complimented me like that!" Zeus said.
"Seducing Woods! Stop them!" Big Mom cried out.
The forest moved in their path.
"What?! The trees turned their back into their mischievous selves!" Luffy grabbed his head.
"Then let's just blast them out of our way as we go," Sanji said.
"That won't work! As we try to clear a path, we'll get lost! That's the sort of forest this is!" Nami said.
"Yes, that forest plays havoc with you," Jinbe said.
"I know! Neo can lead us out!" Luffy said.
"Sorry. My magic's out again."
King Baum charged through. "Move! I won't sit around and let myself die here!"
"King Baum!" Heat fell upon them. "You betrayed Mama, did you?"
"Prometheus!" King Baum's eyes widened at the large sun tailing them.
"Room! Shambles!" The group was warped off before the fiery sun engulfed King Baum.
"Wedding cake!"
"What is going on with her?! Why does she keep screaming about wedding cake?!" Nami asked.
"It's one of Big Mom's eating fits," Jinbe said.
"Eating fits? What's that mean?" Luffy asked.
"They're tantrums. Until she get her hands on what she wants to eat," Jinbe said, "she rages with no regard for what or who is around her. She's not even aware of what she's doing. Looks like her order this time around is a wedding cake. Which means the fact that she didn't get to eat the cake at the ceremony is probably what set this off."
"Luffy! Dang it! Why did you have to destroy the thing?!" Nami said.
"But our plan worked, didn't it?" Luffy said. "It tasted really great too."
"It was good cake," Neo said.
"You both ate some?!" Nami said.
"I did too. It was so yummy," Carrot said.
"Whatever!" Sanji said. "Hurry up! We shouldn't be too far from the ship."
"But that's the thing with this forest! Can't tell if you're going in a straight line or not! Are we even going the right way?" Luffy said.
"Hey, Mister Tree!" Neo stopped and fluttered her eyelashes at a nearby tree.
"Uh." The tree twitched.
"Can you please tell me if we're heading towards the ship?"
"So cute!" the tree said. It pointed to its right. "Keep going that way. You're almost there."
"Hey! Why are you helping her?!"
"But she's so cute! How can I not?!"
"Could you all be nice and help us out here?" Neo turned towards more of the trees.
The trees twitched, clearly divided on listening to Big Mom and giving into Neo's cuteness.
"She sure has a way with this forest when her magic's working," Jinbe said.
Law smirked.
"This way, everyone!" Neo waved. "We're almost there!"
"Nami, keep giving Zeus those thunder balls," Jinbe said. "If he goes back to Big Mom we're done for."
"Get back here, Zeus!" Big Mom said.
"How dare you disobey Mama's orders!" Promethus said.
"Neo, keep talking to the forest," Law said.
"Okay!" Neo sang. She glanced at Promethus burning more of the forest. "Poor babies. They don't deserve this."
"Jet Gatling!"
Neo glanced back to see Luffy punching the sun. It deflated to a more cartoonish look before flaring up again.
"Neo, do you think you can sweet talk that thing?! We're going to get fried!" Nami wailed.
"Um." Neo hummed. "He seems to be very loyal to Big Mom. So... not likely."
"We're dead." Tears poured down Nami's cheeks.
Jinbe whipped around. "Spear Wave! Passing Shower!"
Promethus shimmered and shrunk.
"It worked!" Luffy said.
"Of course it worked! He's just animated, concentrated flame!" Jinbe said. "Think of him as just a talking wildfire!"
More of Big Mom's pirates charged in on them.
"Wait, Pedro! Luffy, stop Carrot!" Jinbe said. "We can't get separated from each other! We'll never be able to find each other again! Focus on defense and run!"
Luffy grabbed Carrot.
Zeus bit down on Nami's baton. "Don't mind if I do! A yummy little cloud!"
"Ah! Zeus!"
The cloud rose and turned black.
Sanji grabbed Nami and kept running.
"It's going to be big!" Neo looked up at the cloud. "Oh! Nami! Use Zeus!"
"Right!" Nami waved her baton. "Breeze Tempo!"
A giant lightening bolt came down and struck the ground. Everyone stopped running.
"Whoa! That's some crazy firepower!" Luffy adjusted his hat.
"I'd never be able to make that much lightning with just the clima-tact," Nami said.
"That blast... they might have all been completely destroyed, no?" Pedro said.
"Do you think she's gone?" Neo asked.
"Doubt it," Law said.
Heavy thumping footsteps filled the air.
"Oh, that's creepy." Neo shivered.
"Mama's footsteps?" Jinbe said. "Impossible. There's no way."
"Wedding cake!"
"Is she going to climb up here?" Luffy asked. "Is the hole too deep for her to climb up?"
"Um... she's walking through the ground," Neo said.
"She's what?!" Law asked.
"I can feel it now," Neo said. "She's walking right towards us."
"During one of her eating fits, nothing can stop her," Jinbe said.
"We have to go!" Neo sweep them all up in her winds. "I'll fly us as far as I can!"
"Straw Hat pirates!"
"Huh? Pudding! Chiffon!" Nami said.
"Argh! Pudding! What was all that?! You tried to trick us!" Luffy said.
"I told you! We should have just tied her up when we had the chance!" Pedro said.
"You wanna fight?!" Luffy aid.
"What?! No! I don't want to fight! Here me out!" Pudding said.
"Get lost!" Neo turned her crystals to Pudding.
"Wait, Neo! Let's hear her out!" Sanji said. "My dear Pudding! You're safe! I'm so glad your beautiful face is unhurt!"
Pudding fainted.
"Sanji!" Neo pouted.
"Sorry, Neo! My sweet little fairy!" Sanji hugged Neo.
"We don't have much time! Get to the point, Pudding!" Chiffon said.
"You bastards! You miserable louts! I'd never save you in a million years!" Pudding glared at them with her three eyes. "Even if you make it to your ship, it's useless! Mama will chase you lot to the ends of the earth! She'll send you to the ocean floor!"
"If that's all you have to say then I'll suck the air from your lungs!" Neo snapped.
"Wait! Please, Neo!" Chiffon said. "Hear us out! We have a way to stop Mama!"
"Then spit it out already! We don't have all day!" Law said.
"Mama's got it in her head that you guys stole her beloved cake. She'll chase you across the oceans!" Chiffon said.
"Huh?!" Luffy gasped.
"That's right! That's why... Sanji! Come here this instant!" Pudding said. "Watch as your friends are killed by Big Mom!"
"No! What are you saying?!" Chiffon said.
"No! I just want to vanish!" Pudding pressed her hands to her redden face.
"If you're only here to yell stuff like that, go away!" Luffy said.
"Wait, wait! No! That's not why were here!" Chiffon said. "Blackleg Sanji! Pudding said you, too, are quite good at pastry making!"
"Yeah. When it comes to cooking, I can basically do anything," Sanji said.
"Okay! Then help us make this cake! The only thing that can stop Mama is the right kind of cake. Make it! And she'll let you go free!" Chiffon said.
"A cake?" Neo asked.
"For what you guys did for Lola! I'd lay my life on the line for you all!" Chiffon said.
They want Sanji to go with them? No way. I'm not letting him go with that girl anywhere. Neo frowned. "I'm going with Sanji!"
"No! You're not! You're staying right her with me!" Law said.
"I have to go! I don't trust Pudding! We just got Sanji back! I'm not losing him again!" Neo glared.
"Fine." Law sighed. "But I'm going with you."
"Be careful, Neo," Carrot said.
Neo nodded. She lifted herself, Sanji, and Law onto the carpet while still flying the rest. "Let's drop them off at the ship first."
"Okay," Chiffon said.
"Huh? The ship is under attack," Sanji said as they flew over it.
"Doesn't matter. Straw Hat and the others will take care of it," Law said.
"Let us go, Neo!" Luffy said.
"Okay! Be careful!" Neo released them over the deck of the ship.
"All right! Let's go! Time to make a cake that'll make Big Mom faint!" Sanji said.