The tunnels were shifting and changing without anyone's notice, appearing as if they had always been as such, keeping the groups running around endlessly to never find each other. Sitting on the branch of a carved stone tree, the purple-haired woman swung her legs back and forth and laughed gleefully. Her power was perfect here within the mountain. No one would be able to see the truth. She would have these pirates running around all day with her friends until they could stand it no more. The tunnels changed to her will, shifting like snakes to keep everyone separated and confused.

"The moon is dancing in a chaos of visions,

Blood red colors that penetrates mind and soul my head is to explode ~

My body dies,

It's coming, the coming of chaos ~

Chaos come, chaos come closer.."

She laughed wickedly at the end of her song before stretching her senses out through her tunnels. It wasn't so much Haki as it was a perception of her ability to spy on any living being trapped inside her cage. The two Captains were lit up in a rage like wonderful little fires, the women were fearful and concerned, the sniper was a blubbering mess hiding behind false bravado, the fishman was standing firm but worried, the Heart Pirates were fighting desperately for a way out. Satisfied that even the firm of heart were still trapped in her spell, she turned her focus to her target of choice. The little Reaper Nobody.

"Come play, little moon, your queen awaits ~. " She sang, putting a wall between Toshiro and the only other living person near him, forcing him and his dragon onto a path to her. "Bring him to me, dear toy ~. "

As the woman set her sights on Toshiro, the others were doing their best to get away from their nightmares. In particular, Usopp was trapped between his feeling of wanting to get away from Kaku, remembering his last encounter with the giraffe man and his fellow agents, and wanting to pay Kaku back for everything he put Usopp and his friends through. His arsenal was much better than last time, but Kaku looked stronger too, the square-nosed man standing firm and intimidating.

"Something is not quite right, my friend." Jimbei spoke up. The three of them were lucky enough to stumble upon Kaku in a more open area of the mountain and the fishman took advantage to try and get around to the side. Somehow, this maneuver was surprisingly easy, and it was this that put Jimbei on guard.

"I see you replaced your ship." Kaku spoke up as if Jimbei hadn't said a word, cutting off Usopp's reply. "So I was right after all, wasn't I? Your ship was doomed and you finally got a better one. Such an old model wasn't going to survive long anyway."

"Merry was an amazing ship, she came to get us!" Usopp snapped, pulling back the strings of his slingshot.

"Usopp, wait!" Jimbei made the sniper pause. "Do not let him provoke you."

"That doesn't change the fact that it was done and should have been scrapped." Again, Kaku seemed to ignore Jimbei's attempts to diffuse the tension. Usopp was picking up on the same thing as the fishman now, noticing something odd about Kaku's presence.

"I believe this is a stalling attempt." Jimbei was able to get within feet of Kaku and the agent didn't so much as glance at him. Though they could not understand the reasons behind it, their enemy's focus was not capable of being spread so thin, and as such her 'toys' were lacking in certain senses.

"He's… he's fake?" Usopp lowered his slingshot.

The word 'fake' seemed to echo, and the image of Kaku flickered, making both men tense.

"That changes nothing." 'Kaku' stated in a monotone voice. "You were deemed unimportant to my master, weak. It does not matter what you learn, you are trapped in her maze."

"We seem to have misunderstood our enemy's ability." Jimbei scowled.

"Each one of you faces a ghost of your past, never to know if they are real, forever separated by a constantly shifting maze." The puppet explained. "There is no hope. Only chaos."

"Well for starters you underestimated who the weak one is!" Finding some of his bravery, Usopp took a shot with a seed. Kaku casually blocked it only for it to explode into vines that constricted around him, disrupting the image and revealing a grotesque body dummy mixed from rock and flesh. With a swift move, Jimbei broke apart the weakened creature and they watched it shatter and vanish. "Oh yeah! How's that two-hundred million bounty for ya!?"

"There is no time, Usopp, if everyone is dealing with these we must hurry and help." Jimbei said with a warning, cutting the celebration short. He was concerned for his companions, knowing at least a few would be facing some terrifying foes.

"Oh, yeah, how come you didn't have one Jimbei?" Usopp asked curiously even as he followed after the fishman through the tunnels.

Curious about that now as well, the fishman took a moment to think.

"Perhaps I have come to terms with the ghosts of my past, and so none of them could come back to me." He finally responded with a slight smile. "Or perhaps our enemy thinks a Fishman is not worth her time."

"Well we'll show her!"

"Indeed we will!"

Elsewhere in the endless maze, Luffy stumbled back from another unsuccessful hit on the man who murdered his precious brother Ace, Akainu. The lava user was absolutely fatal to approach in such close quarters as the tunnels, his arms dripping lava that seeped through the stone floors, the light of the liquid fire almost blinding compared to the dim lamps. Law helped his fellow Captain stand back up though he refused to turn his gaze from the sneer that never left the face of his worst enemy, Doflamingo. The pair of giant humans had them trapped, the tunnels barely tall enough for them, and both had abilities that were devastating in a small area.

"Still just an angry brat with nowhere to go." Doflamingo snickered, pulling his hand through the air as if clawing at something. In the dimly lit tunnels, the strings were barely noticed, and though he braced for it Law still let out a pained cry at the sudden gashes across his arm.

"Torao!" Luffy turned around with a fierce scowl as the older pirate stumbled back against him. Doflamingo had gone for the sword arm, forcing Law to drop his blade and hold his arm to his chest as pain shot through his whole body.

"Best not to turn your back to me." Akainu's gruff voice made Luffy turn back towards the Marine, a lava covered fist aimed at them both.

"Back off!" In a sort of panic at seeing the attack that had killed his brother coming at him once more, Luffy used his Conqueror's Haki to protect himself and Law. The wave of willpower brought down a heavy weight in the tunnel, seeking the weak minded to weaken and knock out. Law shook his head to clear away the dizziness of the effect, wondering if his ally had made it stronger since they had last met, or if it was just his rage fueling it.

He did, however, stay clear-headed enough to notice something interesting. In the after effects of Luffy's Haki, Doflamingo did stumble back, which was the first odd thing. The pink covered pirate had the Conqueror's Haki as well, so should have been fine. The other odd thing was how the man's outline seemed to go fuzzy, as if he was beginning to disappear. Despite these weird changes, though, the smile never left his face. Turning, Law noticed Akainu had stumbled away as well, the bright lava flickering in and out before solidifying again.

"Straw Hat… I think we're being tricked." Law spoke up with a scowl, the pain subsiding enough he could grab his sword.

"Huh?" Having taken no notice of the odd behavior, Luffy looked back at his companion in confusion as Law stood again.

"When you used your Haki just now, I think we caught a glimpse of their true nature." Law turned a fierce glare on Doflamingo. "Not to mention… these two haven't paid any attention to one another."

"So?"

"So, do you really think Akainu would be okay with fighting alongside a pirate, even a Shichibukai?"

Taking a moment to think, Luffy agreed that it was odd, as Akainu never stopped spouting how much he hated all pirates, even the ones who allied with the Marines.

"So you're not even real!?" Luffy shouted at the lava man accusingly.

"And?" Akainu scoffed. "You still going to let your brother's executioner walk away?"

"Like Hell-!"

"Straw Hat, don't get provoked." Law snapped.

"Hey brother."

Luffy could pretty much feel Law go stiff as they were back to back, and he looked back at the taller man in concern. Looking past him, he saw a small brown haired girl had replaced the giant Doflamingo, her skin patched with white and a scared look on her face. Who was she?

"You promised it would get better." The little girl whimpered, sniffling as tears formed in her eyes. "Why did I have to burn? Why!?"

"Lami, I-" Law's shaky response was cut off as Luffy latched onto him and pushed him aside into a new tunnel that hadn't been there before. Fire raced past the two from an attack by the Akainu look-a-like, right towards the image of the little girl. "No!"

"Come on!" Luffy forced the reluctant surgeon away from the two puppets, fleeing down the tunnels to get away from this continuing nightmare.

Still hidden away in a cut off room somewhere in the endless maze, Thursday took in everything she was told by the Human-Mink girl, who gave her name as Tebliel.

"So, this Lacia woman… everything in this mountain is her power?" Thursday asked, trying to clarify.

"Sort of. The mountain itself used to just have that cave you came in through and just a small tunnel, but with her Chaos-Chaos fruit, Lacia was free to make whatever she wanted within the boundaries of the mountain. It's easier for her when she has a set area to focus on, and since we can't see the sky no one realizes the changes." Tebliel explained carefully. "Same for her puppets. With her fruit, she can make parasites that feed off the negative memories of whoever she attaches them to, so at least she can only do one parasite a person. The more chaotic negative feelings a person has, the stronger and more effective the puppet. That's why she makes the mazes, too, to separate groups so the puppets don't have to worry about more than one target. A whole mess of Chaos to destroy her prey's mind."

"But then, how do we stop her?" Worried for her Papa and crew, the young woman wanted answers to fight against this plague.

"Getting everyone back together helps, because the parasites can only interact with their own target, so they don't respond or fight back against other targets. They will avoid each other as well unless they try to switch targets, which is the only time they even acknowledge one another. Naturally the best thing to do is go after Lacia herself, but she'll usually put herself in a room like this within her maze."

"So um, have you dealt with Lacia before?"

Tebliel shuffled nervously, her talons scraping against the stone.

"No… I mean, not as her… enemy." The winged woman said nervously.

Thursday narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Okay, that sounded bad, but look I was getting info on her for my boss because we weren't sure if she'd be a threat, because she works for this weird silver-haired guy." Tebliel spoke quickly, trying to explain her defense for knowing so much about the Chaos user. "My boss knows him, but she thought maybe we could use Lacia in our own way, but I didn't want to leave you guys helpless either. Lacia is gonna be after that white-haired kid so-"

"She's after Toshiro?" Thursday's eyes widened, and the other woman nodded.

"That whole bit I don't really know about, I just had to make sure I knew how Lacia worked so I could get in and get that boy out of here, my boss wants to help him."

"Who is your boss?" Hopeful for some assistance against the otherworldly foes that kept coming for their new friend, Thursday asked the dangerous question. Her heart sank at the answer.

"Maleficent." Tebliel answered with a kind smile. "She saved me some time ago, and she heard about the boy Lacia's after and wants to help him too! She's very powerful!"

The boy they spoke of wasn't quite sure when he got separated, but after Hyorinmaru had attacked the figure appearing as Aizen he had followed them down the tunnel and lost track of Nami. Turning back did him no good as the path had completely changed, a fact he took note of and understood wasn't good for them. Their enemy had baited them perfectly.

"Whoever you are, I won't fall for the same tricks again." Toshiro scowled at his opponent. Hyorinmaru had at least calmed down and stood beside him in the tunnel, icy spikes bristled in anger but otherwise listening to him again.

"Does knowing the trick make it any less dangerous?" Aizen chuckled menacingly, not upset in the slightest. "Does knowing it's a dream make it any less terrifying?"

The Nobody's scowl deepened at the other's words, doing his best to hold back the memory of the horrible nightmare he'd gone through just a few nights ago.

"I've learned from my mistakes; you're not getting anything out of me."

"Oh, but I already have plenty." Aizen lifted a hand and casted a silent Kido spell, Toshiro ducking under the blue lightning that took a good chunk of the wall behind him. When he looked back up, Aizen had been replaced with Xemnas, the bright red sabers in both hands. "In your current state you are nothing but a husk full of memories, and those memories fuel my existence. The darker, the better, and you have plenty of darkness."

"Get out of my head." Toshiro growled. He put a hand to the wall, using ice magic to rush a trail of ice across the stone before shooting out in a flower of frozen spikes when it came level with the parasite. The magic wore him out faster, but trapped in this maze he didn't have easy access to water to use in his normal way. Xemnas chose to dodge the attack by leaping forward. Hyorinmaru mirrored the action, backing off Xemnas with his claws and fangs.

"I shall tear you apart, you pathetic shapeshifter." The dragon threatened, icy mist seeping from his jaws as he prepared to freeze his prey.

Eyes narrowing, Xemnas backed away and created a barrier as the ice breath came at him. The ice instead created a thick block between them and their opponent, giving them a moment to breath.

"Hyorinmaru, this way." Toshiro called out, seeing a passage on their end they could go through.

'But we have not dealt with him.' The dragon argued, reluctant to run away.

"He's just a ghost in our heads, there's no telling if we even can kill it. We need to find that woman who created it." Toshiro pointed out. The dragon thought for a moment before nodding his head, agreeing. He followed his master as they headed down the new tunnel. Toshiro had a feeling he would be able to find the mysterious woman who trapped them in here, a sort of hunch that she was working for someone, perhaps even Maleficent since the dark fairy knew about her, and would be after him. If that was the case, he couldn't let himself get caught up in the past again, he had to turn the trap back against the trapper.

He skidded to a halt as a figure in black darted out from a different tunnel ahead of him. Xemnas sneered at the frustrated look on Toshiro's face.

"You cannot escape your memories." He stated. "These tunnels will never turn in your favor; I will always be nearby."

"So I guess I do need to deal with you first." Toshiro snapped, summoning his zanpaktou and Keyblade together, just as Xemnas brought back the burning sabers.

The parasite was about to speak when a bolt of lightning startled him, hitting him into the tunnel wall. Coming from where the electricity had been shot, an orange-haired figure appeared.

"Nami?" Toshiro was surprised to see the navigator again, having expected to be kept separated.

"Oh, thank goodness, it worked!" Nami exclaimed, grinning. "These tunnels are a nightmare moving around, but I spotted him darting through one and figured I'd find someone else if I followed."

"It seems the tunnels did turn in my favor." Toshiro said aloud, looking a bit smug as he glanced at Xemnas standing back up with a scowl. "Did you defeat your ghost then?"

"Ghost?" Nami cast a confused glance, before tensing up as they heard an angry shout. No, she had not dealt with Arlong, but thanks to the thundercloud hanging around her shoulders she had slipped by and been able to run away fairly well. "Uh-oh."

Quickly she hurried to stand next to Toshiro as the shark fishman chased after her, looking a little worse for wear, no doubt from being electrocuted multiple times.

"What are you…?" Toshiro allowed himself to be distracted momentarily as he observed the cloud with a face. The puppets weren't being aggressive just yet, Hyorinmaru blocking their way and causing some unseen conflict between the two parasites at how to get past the dragon to their intended targets.

"I'm Zeus." The Thundercloud replied cheerfully.

"We told you about Big Mom, right?" Nami added a question. Toshiro nodded – during their story exchanges, they told him of their recent mission against one of the top pirates in the sea, Big Mom, a terrifying giant human with the power to give and take souls and a voracious appetite that made her extremely dangerous. Her soul ability had made Toshiro quite nervous, making note to keep away from her for sure, worried what she might be able to do to someone who was just a soul. His current condition might change the circumstance, but he dared not risk it. "Well, Zeus here is part of Big Mom herself! But now instead of being her best soldier, he's mine." The navigator continued with a wink.

"You're… a piece of her soul?" Toshiro wasn't sure how he felt about that. Splitting souls was… he shuddered, unwillingly remembering what had happened in Atlantica. Someone would split themselves willingly? And to betray the person you were a part of… could they trust Zeus?

"Yeah, but Nami can make super tasty thunderclouds." Zeus replied, licking his lips.

"With Zeus and my weather eggs in here, I can make whatever weather I want, anywhere I want." Nami stated proudly, spinning her climatact. "I didn't want to let him out on the island with Dextra the way she was, so sorry for the late introduction."

Toshiro went into thought for a moment, coming up with an idea.

Xemnas finally launched an attack, creating multiple sabers within the tunnel and then launching them forward like lasers. Hyorinmaru let loose another breath of ice in response, and instead of blocking the way again the two powers clashed and negated the other, leaving only steam to lower visibility.

"Hyorinmaru, back up for a moment." Toshiro ordered his dragon. Though at first unwilling, growling a bit, Hyorinmaru caught onto what the two behind him were attempting when small bubbles filled with cold air passed by him. He shrunk himself a bit and did as he was asked, backing up behind his master.

The dragon out of the way, Xemnas seemed to stop any further attempts to attack and Arlong sneered, stepping forward instead as he focused on Nami.

"Bad idea." The woman teased, letting the cold bubbles pop. The heat of the steam mixed with the cold, causing not only heavy condensation on the cave walls but quite a bit of static as the two temperatures clashed.

"Gotcha!" Zeus grinned menacingly, shooting a bolt into the mess between them. It caught onto the static, multiplying its pathway. The two puppets had both been covered in some of the condensation, and the water made it worse for them when the lightning hit. The smell of burnt hair was definitely unpleasant.

"They practically set it up for you." Toshiro spoke up, impressed. He had asked if Nami could create some weather for him to use, but she had done one better with the circumstances presented to her and he doubted he needed to follow up after a thunder strike like that. They watched the collection of parts fall to the ground, no longer bearing an image of their memory.

"Alright then, let's get out of these horrible caves." Though proud of her achievement, Nami didn't feel like sticking around for another of the grotesque monsters to show up looking like some other monster she knew.

"I doubt our enemy will let us out, we need to find her first and defeat her before we can escape." Toshiro countered, understanding they were probably cut off from any possible exit with how the tunnels kept moving around. Seeing as he wasn't currently needed, Hyorinmaru returned to his master's shadow.

Nami grumbled but figured he was probably right. At least she knew now that their opponents weren't too hard to beat. If Toshiro could act as the cold air, she had multiple possible attacks to use, especially with Zeus, the thundercloud returning to the climatact.

They were about to head off when Toshiro tensed up, sensing something. A chill ran up his spine as he turned back to Nami, his head knowing he was too late but his instincts bidding him to still try. The visibility in their part of the tunnel was still low from the mist left behind from Nami's attack.

Nami herself looked confused at Toshiro's reaction, before her expression turned to shock as pain shot up her spine.

"When will you learn, little Shiro…" Aizen's cruel voice sneered as he held his blade through the woman's stomach. "Your nightmare will never end."

Toshiro could only watch as the new parasite pulled the blade away, letting Nami fall to the ground. The flash of orange, the familiar feeling of helplessness, it was like he was back on that battlefield again, always one step behind.

And that damned smile still on his face.

A similar grin appeared on the woman still hidden within her maze.

"You didn't think it would be so easy, did you?" She giggled. She had direct control of this new puppet, and while it blinded her to the others, it meant this one had more freedom in its actions, allowing it to attack a target not its own. "Come into my web, little moon ~."