Chapter 25: Match Point! Scatter the Allies!

The battle raged on, Sanji finding Zoro's back unconsciously. Kaku, as soon as he was free added his own combination of the two monster fighters' styles. Usopp laid down cover fire, aided by several Revolutionary and Marine snipers, to pick off the Cards that tried to bail ship. What made it past that line of defense quickly found themselves trapped in the thousands of hands Robin spawned in every opportune place, often using the bodies of the dead Cards against their comrades. Dragon and Ivankov charged the island from one side, flanked by the Flying Pan and the Mecha Lotus in her battle form. Coby and Helmeppo took the other side, the fleet of Marines led by Smoker, at his back. And Luffy was tumbling quickly towards the island, still wrapped around Bellamy. In fact, from the way the Cards were running, everything was drawing the fight into the center of Jaya. What lay there? No one knew, but they didn't care. They were chasing their prey to the heart of the damnable nest, and then?

They were going to make it burn.

Thus it came to a head. The world leaders, the Strawhats, and important representatives from both the Revolutionary Parliament and the Marines, besides the plethora of nameless grunts from all sides that fleshed out their ranks, ringing the island and crowding the collection of Cards that had survived. As one, they turned their backs to each other and lowered their specialized swords: hearts, clubs, spades, and diamonds. Then the ground began to shake and Bellamy scrambled to get to the center as the survivors began to sink into a trap door.

A strange laugh rang out over the area, "FOSH FOSH FOSH FOSH FOSH!" as in the place of the Cards the odd man Kaku had seen in the Tea Room appeared. "Well, long time no see, Strawhat Luffy!"

"HOGBACK!" The Pirate King roared, and tried to jump at his old enemy.

"NOT! So fast!" The discredited doctor hauled someone around from behind his back. "I have something that you don't want to have harmed!"

She squirmed and kicked, panicked eyes frantically screaming beyond even the measures of her gag. Somehow she was hovering above the ground, cradled in something that they couldn't see, and that enraged the Strawhats further, much to the confusion of those who had not been told the story of Thriller Bark.

"LET HER GO, YOU PERVERTED FUCKTARD!" Sanji's leg was instantly aflame, and he too tried to jump forward.

"You don't deserrrrrve her!" The invisible man growled like a big cat.

"Now, now," The smooth baritone cutting across the battlefield drew everyone's attention to the tall, broad-shouldered man in the sharp dress suit. His hair was as dark as his eyes and styled into a pair of sweeping bull's horns to either side of his head. "We're all friends here, are we not? No need for weapons and mayhem. We'll release your precious loved ones." The collective masses leaned in, "Just as soon as you three step down."

He spread his hands wide and stepped forward, the Door into nothingness dissolved behind him with soft click.

"NEVER!" Luffy shouted, once again priming himself to leap forward, only to be held back by both his father and his adopted younger brother.

"Now, let's not be hasty here. You know we can never do that. How could you ask such a thing?" Dragon's hold was tenuous at best and he knew it as he addressed their adversary.

The mastermind shook his head, "I was afraid you would say that. You see, I've been planning this for a very long time, and I know the three of you all too well. But... I'm afraid there's nothing else that will do. I will have the three of you de-throned, as it were, one way or another, and frankly, I'm not all that unhappy to do things the hard way. Absalom, show them what I mean."

The Pirate King stretched in his bonds, not wanting to hurt his family, but unable to hold still, "NO! LET HER GO!"

"Do as the man says, Blueno! You don't want to go up against Luffy again do you? I thought we'd all gotten over our troubles at Enies Lobby." Kaku could barely stand, leaning as he was on Helmeppo, who was trying to pull him back towards the Marines' flagship for medical attention.

The tall Devil Fruit User turned to his former comrades, "That's just the point. All of you have moved on, but what do we do? We hide in shadows, far worse than we ever did as CP9. I am tired of skulking! And I am tired of having this boy-who-would-be-king lording over me the fact that I was a stepping stone on his way to victory over the very people who gave us the power we use today! No more, I say! No more! I will see the end of Strawhat Luffy, AND the fallacy of a government he's cobbled together! No more am I just the escape artist. I will live in the light! I AM THE JABBERWOCK! AND YOU CANNOT STRIKE ME DOWN!"

Lucci was quiet where he stood beside them. Quiet, but... there was a darkness in him. A deep, painful blackness that radiated outward from him and sent the weaker members of ally and enemy alike scrambling out of his range. "Kaku. You are to get medical attention right now," he ordered softly. But even as he spoke his Haki was burning and pulling tight around him and fur overtook his skin and his claws came out. "Do not argue with me, Kaku."

Zoro snarled and gripped his swords harder. "We kicked your ass once, you son of a bitch, and we can do it again! Did you really fucking think we'd stand idly by while you threatened our Nakama?!"

Smoker simply spat, hand on his jute. This sort of thing was what he'd had to fight so hard against in reforming the Marines. People just couldn't accept how Luffy operated: once a fight was over; it was over! Whatever grievance he had was considered resolved. All former enemies became allies. All, save one. The only man who'd been stupid enough to actually kill a member of his family.

The Marine Admiral growled around his signature cigars, "Lucci. He's your man. But... Strawhat gets first dibs."

"I know." The leopard snarled back, "But that cat is touching my client." His hackles were up as his tail lashed. "And I'm going to take his hands for it."

Everything hung suspended for several long moments. Then Lucci was gone and the battle was on.

Cool and calm as he was deadly, the Surgeon of Death slipped through the crowd and whispered in Luffy's ear, "I can fix all of this with as minimal bloodshed as possible."

The Pirate King nodded, relaxing slightly. A wave of tension ran through the gathered masses at that, and the closest to them dared to glance at the central group. Then Law ducked away. He wove through the crowd, removing body parts as he needed, only to replace them as he got closer. Then, with his sword in one hand and his Room spinning in the other, he darted across the open space, coat billowing out behind him. His eyes were locked on Blueno and he flung the Room like a shuriken, murmuring under his breath, grasping the hilt of his sword as soon as the blue light was airborne. He leapt from the ground following the power, all in the blink of an eye.

"Shambles!"

CLANG!

His blade met the hardened arm of the former CP member, and a smile broke across the enemy's face that drained the color from the surgeon's. A hand grasped the back of his neck, and his eyes went wide. His Room! It was... turned... against him?! What?! He tried to tug back, but couldn't move. Frantic eyes sought Luffy in the crowd, and he opened his mouth, only to have horror flood his face. He spasmed in the phantom grip, black not-space radiated from the pair, engulfing the entire battlefield before anyone could move. Gone were the cleared expanses of dirt and grass, even the sky. All of it was blocked out by the blackened walls of the Door's not-space, but threaded with pale blue of Law's Room. It twisted and writhed around them, trapping everyone, but somehow, not together.

Kaya realized slowly she was surrounded in blue-swirled black. It took her at least another two minutes to realize she wasn't restrained in any way. There were no hands on her. And she heard a furious screaming like a demon from Hell, but no harsh laughter. She took a step, cautiously, and yes, she really was free.

It was a novel experience. One she wasn't sure she truly could understand, especially as she glanced around more carefully. True, while she was no longer being physically restrained or watched, she was fairly certain that getting out of the labyrinthine Hell into which the Jabberwocky had plunged them all was going to prove impossible on her own.

Wandering the twisting corridors for a while, she spied others ahead of her. Nami, suspended above the floor, which meant that foul man, Absalom, was carrying her around, and a tall, blond man with one leg on fire. Coming closer gave her a good look at his face, and she mentally noted that aside from the sunshine hair, he really didn't look anything like his old wanted posters. But being the intelligent woman she was, Kaya knew he could only be one person.

"Sanji-san! Sanji-san," she sprinted the last few feet, grabbing a hold of his arm, and panting slightly.

He supported her instantly. Though he didn't know her, he still firmly believed that no woman could actually be evil. However, at the same time, he couldn't devote all of his attention to her, like he knew she deserved, his precious mellorine was finally within his sights. All he had to do was kick the shitty pervert-cat's ass again, and both Nami and her baby would be safe.

"I'm sorry, sweet lady, if you'll just—"

"Sanji-san, you have to be careful!" Kaya insisted, trying to catch her breath more quickly. He started to respond but she shook her head, "Nami's in labor! I know you'll get us out but…"

Piercing blue eyes, one mostly obscured by his hair, flashed down at her. "Nami's what? She's... oh!" His swirled eyebrows shot up as it dawned on him what the petite white flower was telling him. He frowned in determination. "No worries, precious lady, I'll not let that fiend harm a hair on Nami-swan's head. She and the little one will be safe as they would be aboard the Sunny. I assure you. Now, find yourself a quiet place to keep your own beloved cargo safe."

He took her hand from his arm, pressed a gentle kiss to her fingers, and dropped it to her own rounded belly. Then darted away, with a puff of smoke, after where last he'd 'seen' the blasted feline, fire burning in his eyes.

Absalom was still invisible, eyes tracking Kaya as he continued to hold his precious, beloved lioness close protectively. She was so lovely. So fierce. She never gave in and oh, it only made him love her so much more. She was his perfect match.

He flinched at the threat in the vicious roaring outside the room that echoed in through the labyrinth's walls. Fuck. The things that leopard was promising...

It made him hug Nami and himself into a more defensible position. Where the fuck had that volatile blond gone?

Nami, herself, curled around her belly as best she could in the beast-man's arms. She was sweating with the force of holding back her contractions. Her little fighter wanted out! And he wanted it NOW! She knew they were concealed by his power, but she prayed that Sanji could hear her. So she did nothing to quiet the moans of pain with each ripple of muscles through her body. The gag muffled her some, and she thrashed her head to try and loosen it. It took several minutes of the men circling each other, Sanji jumping from air cloud to air cloud with his Sky Walk, and Absalom dancing just out of reach, before she finally got it wiggled out of her mouth. The soggy cloth dropped to her chest and twisted back and over the lion's arms.

"SANJI! OVERH—NGH!" Tears leaked from the corner of her eye, the contraction getting away from her with her elation at being able to speak.

The chef jerked, skidding to a stop just short of the wall—no one knew quite what would happen if he touched it—and darted in the direction of the sound, narrowing his eyes to following the distortion of air around his opponent. He zigged sideways, putting a hand on the grayed-out ground, his left leg swinging up and around into the warped shadow, confident he hit something solid by the reverberation that shivered up his muscles.

Absalom snarled and shifted Nami into a more secure hold, teeth vibrating as his left arm fell to his side, uselessly numb from the kick the chef had delivered. He'd blocked with his cannon, which was now crumpled and useless, but the reverberations had turned his arm nerveless. "Back off, Cook! You don't deserrrrve herrr!"

"You're one to fucking talk! She isn't mine anyway! Put the lady down before I make you, pussy cat!" Sanji landed on the foot he'd used to demolish the weapon, the cloud of dust giving him an even better outline of where the kidnapper was. He could see Nami shivering in his arm and used the momentum of front flipping over his left leg to slam the hell of his right into the over-grown kitty's shin, his arms outstretched to catch his Queen before she could hit the ground.

The cat-man howled as his leg gave, bone cracking and splintering, but lashed out at Sanji's hands, missing and realizing only after he hit the ground that Nami was no longer safely in his grasp. That bastard had stolen her! AGAIN! He lunged furiously for those dangerous legs, clawing, biting, wanting to make him pay but knowing his leg would not let him pursue the bastard.

He was left to quiver in pain on the floor, now visible as he couldn't concentrate, and bleeding from his shattered leg. Damn Hogback for not making him more resilient!

Two Sky Walk steps later, Sanji was setting Nami down next to Kaya. He tucked a piece of bright orange hair behind the Queen's ear with a gentle sort of nervousness, as she was currently in the middle of a contraction and couldn't answer on her own.

He pressed a kiss to her brow, taking mental note of her body temperature and the sweat, "Shh, Nami-swan, we'll get you out of here as soon as we possibly can. You're doing great."

As soon as the contraction ended, the ginger blinked up at the faces of her Nakama. "Sanji-kun. This is Kaya, Usopp's wife."

"Usopp's… oh!" The cook's eyes widened as they dropped to the slightly less-pregnant woman's stomach. "That means that's…?"

Somehow in the midst of the turmoil, hardship, and chaos, Kaya managed to smile proudly, tears in the corners of her eyes, "Uh huh!"

Sanji lifted a hand as though to touch, only to be stopped by Nami grabbing it with a vice grip. She cried out, eyes squeezed shut and her other hand pulling on Kaya's dress-sleeve. "NNNGAAHHHH!"

The physician snuck her own fingers in to rescue their savior's, and her eyes held a quiet urgency. "Sanji-san, we need a way out!"

The blond gave a nod, and stood, cool as a cucumber to make his way back to the defeated pervert. One step; a hand into his jacket to withdraw a cigarette. Two steps; cigarette to his lips, lighter in the other hand. Three steps; the lighter flicked, the cup of his hand keeping the flame from being visible. A fourth, and final step; a deep inhale and slow release, accompanied by the soft burn of the cherry on the tip as he stuck the lighter back in his jacket pocket. He took it from his lips, preceding the cloud of smoke that drifted away from him as he stood over the broken cat-man.

"Talk."

Across the twisting labyrinth, Killer looked at Bepo. Then back to the walls of the room.

"...Cap is in there," the bear began.

The swordsman responded, "Mhm."

"And we're out here."

"Mhm."

"Cap is sick and needs us."

"Mhm."

The bear wrinkled his nose at the blond, showing an inadvertent flash of teeth. "Is that all you really have to say?!"

"You're the one with the wall-breaking martial arts skills." Killer gave no reaction to the flare of temper, speaking calmly, "And you've been with Law longer. Can we break that wall?"

Bepo flushed, admonished for his outburst anyway. He coughed, "Well it's not EXACTLY Captain's Room," he brought a paw to his chin thoughtfully, "And he's not the one in control so I'm sure it's likely to be more solid than it would be normally."

"So we can carve our way through."

"Yes, I think so."

"That was all I needed to know."

In a flash of blond and black and polka dots, Killer was off the beach and slamming sickle-first into the wall, accompanied by the bear. They hacked, slashed, punched, kicked, knife-chopped, and Bepo even tried head-butting it with the reinforcement of Killer's helmet. Their attack was furious and unrelenting and…

Ended in a spectacular load of nothing.

By the time the dust settled, the fighters had left, quite literally nothing against the wall. A noise behind them, made them turn, and the smug eyebrow raise had no place on the long-nosed man with the black slingshot planted in the sand between and behind them.

"Gentlemen, if you'd allow a professional..."

He drew back his aim and his eyes narrowed, the shot was perfect, it exploded right where the other two had been beating on the wall, meaning it should have used the weakness to its advantage and brought the black-and-blue tile shattering to the ground like glass. But no. Nothing. Just like the other two sets of attacks. The sniper sighed heavily under the disapproval of the other two. Then it was like an exchange of determination among the three and they were at it again. Blades, fists, and kabuto.

So focused on their task were they that none of them noticed the behavior of the sand on the beach around them, rising to mingle in the dust cloud caused by their attempts to get through the wall.

Further down the beach, Lucci had finally calmed upon catching Absalom's howls of pain- well, perhaps 'calmed' wasn't the right word. More like, he re-engaged his higher thinking functions. Right now he was with Helmeppo tending an unconscious Kaku and snarling impotently at the combination Door-Room labyrinth every few minutes. He'd practically prostrated himself before Ivankov and was now running on an adrenaline shot, but he couldn't get in to use it while it lasted. At least, not yet. Soon. Blueno's Door had a weakness: it was a door, so it had to go somewhere. It had to have a beginning and an end.

Helmeppo, for his part, sat quietly. His partner was in there. His Admiral was without his right hand. He was saving every scrap of strength for when he managed to get inside and Coby would need him.

"Lucci-boy, sit! All that pacing isn't going to do anybody a lick of good and sure as hell isn't going to help get you into that place. Think for a bit. We've got some of the brightest minds here, right there, Helmo-boy? Running full force at the wall isn't going to break it down." The Queen of the Okama had himself set up with a tea table from the ship, and the medics from the marines were tending the scrapes and bruises that all had suffered in the initial attack, but they were cut off from everyone else. "You aren't the only one worried about the candies inside the maze."

"How can you be so calm!?" The Snake Princess fumed from her own worried pacing. "Luffy is in there! He could be hurt, could be dying! And all you can think of is tea?! Don't you care!?"

"Watch yourself, Hebi-girl." Ivankov's smile hardened. "Losing our tempers won't solve the problem, or help them."

"UGH!" Boa stamped her foot, her hands in fists and stormed away with her back to the Okama.

One of her Amazon's appeared at her elbow with a cool drink, "Hebi-hime-sama, I-I don't mean t-to speak out of turn..." She glared and the huntress wilted, but pressed forward, "L-Lord D-Dragon, L-Lord Luffy's father, is in there too."

The connection between the President and the Okama Queen was well known, and Hancock's hand flew to her mouth as she spun around again, sympathy written across her face, tears welling up in her eyes. "Oh!" With a shake of her head, she made her way back to the circle of chairs the Marines had set out for them.

She took one with as much dignity as she could muster, given her embarrassing display, "Perhaps some thought would be a good idea after all."

Her thoughts clustered and swarmed like angry clouds in her mind, tossing and pitching for some solution to how to get at the missing people inside the walls…

Another part of the maze opened up and Smoker looked around at who was in the room with him. Tashigi, by his side as always. And that Zoro brat. Fuck. Zoro would charge in headfirst and get his fool ass killed. Fucking Strawhats. And they were trapped in here with Bellamy of all enemies. Well there was nothing for it.

Zoro was going to rush the spring man when he realized he was too late Smoker was rocketing forward, a snaking column of deadly white smoke.

The cackle of laughter and spark of Haki weren't completely unexpected but the force of the fist that connected with the grizzled Marine's jaw was. The Hyena was bouncing on his legs, one punch to get some space, and then jump back to the wall, coil both legs and launched off the strange, not exactly solid, material with the force of a shotgun, fist coiled back, and tongue flying like a dog hanging its head out the window of a speeding land vehicle. And he was still laughing when they collided again in an explosion of smoke.

Smoker spread himself wide and thick and more importantly dense, making himself as good a barrier as he could between the demented blond and the two younger fighters, snarling as his upper body formed out of the smoke to meet the second attack. Unfortunately, he wasn't as young as he used to be, and the first hit had shaken him more than he realized.

The second hit connected, and even his Haki armor didn't do him much good because of the sheer force and he felt something pop. The next thing he knew, he was solid and staring up into the face that was both like and yet grotesquely unlike Doflamingo's, lip curling to bare his teeth like the cornered wolf he was.

Zoro tensed up as the fog vaporized like a morning mist. Smoker was an ally, a strong one, and the fact that Bellamy had knocked him solid so easily didn't settle well with him. But again, he was beaten to the punch… it wasn't his sword that blocked the next meeting of spring and flesh, but Tashigi's. He resolutely decided the growl on his lips was anger at the Hyena, not disappointment at being cut off twice.

"CAPTAIN!" Tashigi shrieked, dashing across the room, her sword drawn and her eyes on fire.

She always fell back on familiar titles when she was stressed. But she misjudged the distance, and slid. Her form didn't lose much, but the wild arc of her sword took it too far out of defensive range. So as she landed, on her feet, between her superior officer and the former-Pirate, her chest and stomach were wide open, an advantage Bellamy just simply couldn't let pass up. He drew back, spiraling his entire arm into a wicked spring with a nasty barb on the end. In slow motion, he released it, her eyes went wide behind her frames, someone yelled and the sickening sound of metal impaling a body echoed through the rush of blood in everyone's ears.

"NO!"

The echo came from both men, but Zoro had been faster. Through a combination of Hawk Vision and flash-step, Zoro had been able to shove Tashigi out of the way of the spring just in time... only to take it himself, right to the center of his back. Close to his spine.

Before Bellamy quite knew what had happened he was hit in the chest with the end of a jutte and forced backwards or risk the seastone tip turning him into a weakling.

The vice-admiral blinked, something warm, wet, and oh-so-red dripped onto her forehead. She wiped at it with the back of her hand, and it smeared across her skin and glasses. "Z-zoro!"

The Strongest Swordsman coughed, spat to the side, and smirked down at Tashigi. "Well... lookie there...Marine girl. Looks like... we got in... each other's way again."

He wobbled then, the spring retracted from his flesh making him hiss and choke on pain and blood.

Zoro hacked up more blood and vaguely wondered if Bellamy had hit anything important. It didn't feel like it, but then, it never did. He wouldn't know until the docs got a hold of him. But Tashigi was safe. That was what counted. He had lost Kuina… he wasn't going to let her mirror image leave this world early as well.

"W-why!? WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" She was crying. Damn it to Hell! She scrabbled out from under him, her sword on the ground, forgotten. "YOU STUPID PIRATE! WHY DID YOU DO THAT!?"

He laughed. "Why? Why wouldn't I? I wanted to."

Smoker turned his attention to the boy. "That's all you have to give her? You wanted to?"

"We don't have time for the whole story," the swordsman shot back dryly, then promptly hacking up another glob of blood and spitting it aside. "We have a psycho spring to kill right now."

But said psycho-spring had, apparently in that single moment of interaction among the three, disappeared. The space where he had been was empty, and no sign of him remained but for a smeared bloody handprint on the black-n-white rock where he'd landed after Smoker's jutte had clocked him across the temple. Not that Tashigi was paying attention to that. Now on her feet, she pressed both hands to the front of Zoro's shirt, wadding up the material to soak up the blood ineffectually.

"L-lay down!" Her voice shook, but she tried to command him. "Y-you need... need to lay down! To stop the bl-bleeding! Ms. R-Robin would n-never forgive me, and M-Mr. Law would h-have my head, if you die."

Smoker slammed himself into the wall, looking for whatever way out Bellamy had used as Zoro, for a change, listened to a lady and laid the fuck down.

"I'll be fine, y'know," he grumbled. "Been through worse. And I couldn't let him kill you."

"B-but why!?" She was still crying damnit, and she couldn't bring herself to stop.

"I had a childhood friend. Her name was Kuina and she made me a deal. One of the two of us had to be the best swordsman in the world one day. The next day, she tripped on the stairs and died. You... you look just like her. You have that same passion for the blade. I can't... I can't stand the thought... that you might join her. It's too soon. I can't let this person die again." He sighed and ran his bloody hand through his hair. Even if they weren't really the same person, it was like Kuina's spirit lived on in Tashigi. He couldn't let her die again.

The noise she made was somehow both strangled and expelled at the same time, a fresh wave of tears pouring down her face. "W-well! I... I can't let you d-die either! D-damn it!"

Smoker's voice joined hers, raspy and deep and painful. "I am not going to fucking sit here and watch another brat die! I fucking refuse, you green haired son of a bitch, do you hear me? You're not allowed to die," he snarled at the pirate.

Zoro laughed again, and winced as the movement pulled on his wounds. "Well with both of you in agreement, I suppose it's settled then, ne? I'm not gonna die."

As soon as the words left his lips, a wheezing cough bubbled up from the hole in his chest, and a fresh pulse of the dark liquid squeezed out between Tashigi's fingers. An echoing trickle stained the swordsman's lips, and his vision doubled. Shit, maybe the springy fucker had hit something important. Well, the cook wasn't gonna be happy about that. Was the girl saying something? Shouting? Was... that sand? Oh wow... when did the world get so dark? And... spongy? Like... breathing... through... pudding...?