A/N ~ I'm sorry it took so long for this chapter to be put up, but some of the events in my life have been eating my time the way Luffy eats meat. I'll do my best to post a chapter every week. Now, please enjoy. ^.^

"Now, you have two choices: You can either show me, or I will torture you long enough so that you will never be able to lift another finger."

I could see movement behind the angry, tanned face in front of me and prayed that everyone would stay put. Especially the one who was blinded by rage.

"So tell me, you defiant little bitch. Whatever will your choice be?"

For a moment, all the fears I had felt for so long, disappeared and I could see my own angry eyes in his sunglasses' reflection.

Firstly, I needed to take a deep breath. Secondly, I let out what must have been the bravest word I had ever uttered.

"Neither."

Earlier that day

The events of the past hour had gone by so quickly, I had trouble processing them.

"So, how do you like your new powers?"

Law's words of last night echoed in my head, gaining impact every time I heard them.

"I love them." I had replied. There wasn't much else I could say to express my gratitude. He had done this for me, for weak little me. He had made me stronger, I wasn't going to let him down.

Law and I were running though the corridors of the palace, avoiding as many guards as we could. Whenever we encountered some, Law knocked them out before I could even try my powers.

The Aka Aka no mi, huh? I wondered. I can't wait to test it properly.

"Saria!"

Law's voice sounded stern, as if he called me in a scolding manner.

"Y-yes?" I muttered.

"Keep on moving, we're nowhere near safe."

"-Then you take the second left, and you should be at the storehouse. Go inside, hide and don't move until I come back."

"But what are you-"

Lew sighed as we ran through the streets of Dressrosa. He looked away as he spoke.

"I have to pick someone up."

I nodded as I separated from Law at a T-junction.

"Be safe," I whispered.

A rustling sound came out of nowhere. The sudden fear that came over me was one I had never felt before. What the hell was I thinking? That, now that I had gained power by chance, I could defeat someone like Doflamingo without training? My opponents had been using their powers for years: They had mastered them perfectly. I, on the other hand, had received them a few hours ago and for most of those hours, I had been hiding behind a stack of cardboard boxes. How could I have had so much confidence without even using my powers once?

If it is Doflamingo who's entering, I'm dead meat.

"Saria?"

The soft female voice brought tears to my eyes. Of course she would have known my location; the Giro Giro no mi was a very useful fruit.

"V-Violet?"

As soon as I stood straight, and looked at the emotional woman in front of me, I couldn't hold back the tears that had been waiting to come out.

"Violet!"

Her body was warm, pressed against mine. It made me aware of the fact that it had been quite a while since we last hugged.

"I'm so glad you're alright."

Violet grabbed my shoulders and guided me back towards the cardboard boxes, where she took place next to me. We hugged a bit more before we were interrupted by another sound: The sound of Law's voice.

"I'm back," he muttered. "You can come out now."

I stood up so ferociously, I almost knocked over a few of the boxes.

"Law, finally! I've been waiting here for so-"

I couldn't finish my sentense, nor could I do anything else. All my body was occupied with, was staring and standing still. I detected a sad smile on Law's face, but other than that, no useful information was processed. Well, that wasn't true: There was one thing and one thing only. Tears started flowing again and I almost tripped while trying to move forward as quickly as possible. I wanted to hold him; to tell him that everything was going to be fine.

"Be- Bellamy..."

"..."

"What's wrong?"

Again, my brother didn't speak. He just alternated staring at me and the ground. He looked broken, somehow."

Law walked passed me, towards Viola. For a very brief moment, his hand tightly grabbed my shoulder.

"He's had a very rough morning."

In the background, I could hear Law and Viola muttering, probably improving our plan. I took a few steps forward, only to see the pain in Bellamy's face grow with every inch I gained on him.

"What's wrong?"

Bellamy grinded his teeth. If I didn't know any better, I would have sworn I saw tears emerging.

"Bellamy?"

He sighed and dropped on his knees. My eyes hadn't been lying to me: He was actually crying.

"Sarkies..." He muttered.

I looked at him with uncertainty, afraid to ask for more information than he wanted to tell me.

Bellamy stayed quiet for a few seconds, probably trying to find the right words for the continuation of his story.

"He killed Sarkies."

And that was all the information I needed. I instantly knew who the killer was, and I knew -generally- what had happened.

"I just got a call this morning, saying he was executed in Mock Town."

A fist hit the ground.

"Bellamy, your knuckles, they're-"

"He killed him! He fucking killed him for no reason whatsoever!"

The few tears started to turn into a small stream of salt water, dripping on his cheeks. I had never seen my brother like this. My brain rapidly started to search for ways to comfort him, but all I could do, was clutch my hand against my mouth while staring at the broken man before me.

"He was- was my best friend. He never hurt Doflamingo or any of his followers. SO WHY DO THIS NOW?"

"Bellam-"

"WHY?" He looked up to me; his eyes puffy and defeated. "What's the point of killing someone who didn't form a threat in the first place?"

I took a few more steps towards the shaking shoulders before me; until I could finally hold them. It was hard to properly hold someone far bigger than myself, but I did my best to comfort him the way I know our parents would have done. If they had still been alive, of course.

"Saria," Bellamy's voice was clearly weakened by the energy he had put into mourning. "We have to kill him. We have to avenge our beloved ones."

I wanted to answer him, I wanted to ensure him that we were going to murder the one who had caused all of us so much harm. But before I could speak, a sound from outside the storehouse got all of our attention in no time.

"Fufufufu, I know you're somewhere out there. How about we play a little game, my defiant doctor? Either you come out alone, or I will find every person dear to you and-"

There were probably a lot of ways I could have reacted, that were better than the one I had picked. But my uncanny rage towards this man was something I couldn't control; not now. As I stormed out of the storehouse, I could hear Law whisper something, but all my attention went out to one thought: I have to kill this man here and now; I have to end this.

How could I have been so stupid? For a brief moment, while charging towards Doflamingo, I had actually believed I could kill him. Of course, my confidence backfired almost immediately. Doflamingo now held my arms, leaving me dangling in front of him.

"Fufufufu, hello, my dear doctor. I've heard something interesting about you. Something about a Devil Fruit you stole from me."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

I was surprised by my own calmth.

"Fufufufu, that won't do. Now, you have two choices: You can either show me, or I will torture you long enough so that you will never be able to lift another finger."

I could see movement behind the angry, tanned face in front of me and prayed that everyone would stay put. Especially the one who was blinded by rage.

"So tell me, you defiant little bitch. Whatever will your choice be?"

For a moment, all the fears I had felt for so long, disappeared and I could see my own angry eyes in his sunglasses' reflection.

Firstly, I needed to take a deep breath. Secondly, I let out what must have been the bravest word I had ever uttered.

"Neither."

Then there was a brief silence. I had hoped my prayers of everyone staying where they were had been heard, but no. Unfortunately, the moments to come decided what kind of story this was going to be: One about revenge.

"Doflamingo! I will kill you! This is to avenge the ones you have hurt, the ones I loved! SPRING HOPPER!"

"Bellamy, no!"

I could hear the springs do their work, I could hear Bellamy yell something about Sarkies. After that, all I heard was the sound of flesh being pierced.

"Bellamy!"

"Fufufufu, you lowlife fool."

I could hear a sentense in my head, ever so clearly, spoken with emotion. Even though my brother had said it only moments ago, it felt as if -from that moment- years had passed.

-We have to kill him. We have to avenge our beloved ones.-

To be continued