Final Battle
Part Three
With Doflamingo distracted from Luffy's treatment of his clone, Law pushed himself to his feet and headed for his sword. He tossed his gaze over at Neo as he went. His young love was still lying on the floor. She had rolled onto her left side, grasping her still throbbing arm from the pain of his severed one while keeping her eyes locked onto his movements. He gritted his teeth. He could easily see how desperate she was to be near him, to get away from all this fighting, and to have mentally break down while clinging to him for comfort like she always did after a stressful day. She had reached her limit a long time ago and was struggling to keep it all together and inside of her to not show Doflamingo or Trebol any more weaknesses. And with how drained she was of her magic it was going to take several minutes, probably close to an hour, for her to regain enough magic to use her solar crystal. And that wasn't going to be good for her or their baby. They both were under far too much stress right now. There was no way he could let her stay up here with Doflamingo and Trebol long enough for her to regain her magic. But he didn't know how he could get her away from here. He was low on his own energy since he has been using his devil fruit powers nonstop since this battle started. He didn't know how much longer he was going to be able to fight himself. He had enough energy to warp her away from Doflamingo, but there was no one he could leave her with. None of the fighters that were left in this country were going to be strong enough to take Doflamingo down if the man decided to go after her. He didn't want to put her with anyone that wouldn't be able to defend her to his liking. He reluctantly took his eyes off Neo when he noticed from the corner of his eye that he was close to his sword. He bent down and grabbed a hold of his sword.
"Law! Move! Get… get away from there!" Neo called out to him in desperation. Her tired voice just barely floated over to Law.
Looking over his shoulder, Law saw that Doflamingo was right behind him. He didn't get a chance to move before Doflamingo kicked him in his side. An involuntary scream left his lips from the impact. He then felt his body flying through the air before he landed on the floor with a hard thud. He couldn't hold back a scream when Doflamingo's foot stomped down on his wrist. More guilt passed through him when he felt Neo wince at the pain now shooting through both their wrists. Just more stress he was putting her and their child under. He had to figure out how to get them away from this. And figure it out soon.
"How long are you going to keep up with this pathetic little game of revenge, Law?" Doflamingo asked, staring down at his former subordinate that was underneath him.
"So pathetic! You are just so pathetic!" Trebol said.
"You just never learn. Would you like to lose another arm? I can accommodate you on that if you really want it," Doflamingo said before he started to dig his foot into Law's wrist. "All right then. I won't be killing you right off. I'll take my time and torment you and your precious lover since she can feel your pain. Maybe through experiencing this suffering she'll become an obedient servant while under my care to avoid being tortured again." He lifted Law into the air with a single kick. He then kicked and punched Law multiple times before kicking him higher into the air for Trebol to take over dealing out some torture. "Trebol!"
…
Neo screamed out at the multiple hits that were inflicted on Law's body. She gritted her teeth to try and stop herself from screaming while curling tightly into herself. She didn't want to give these two morons any more satisfaction in their torment than they already had. But the pain was too much. She couldn't hold back her cries for very long. Nor could she block her ears from Doflamingo's words. She heard everything he said about avoiding future torture. She knew he was lying. She knew he would torture her every chance he got just because she was Law's lover. Well, that would happen if she and Law didn't die here. She was grateful Doflamingo didn't know about that part of their bond. She would love to see the look on his face when she died right along side Law, if that were to happen. She hoped it wouldn't. She knew it wouldn't. They were going to get out of this alive. They were going to go home to the crew and the Polar Tang.
…
"He gives you over to me!" Trebol shot out his snot around Law's body, pulling the beaten pirate up into the air before slamming his body into the floor like he was snapping a whip. He laughed when he heard Neo scream out from the pain. "I really do enjoy how you two scream! Scream more for me!"
Law choked back his own scream with his body slammed into the floor. Forcing himself to get up, he jammed the end of his sword into the ground. Using it as a cane, he pushed himself up onto his feet and said, "I've been willing to give you one or both of my arms from the start!"
"And did your sweet lover over there agree to that since you share pain?" Doflamingo asked. He looked over at Neo, carefully running his eyes over her body. He smiled at the sight of her being curled up into herself like a dying ant, panting hard from everything that was happening, and looking very pale. "She doesn't look too good. How much more pain can she handle before she finally passes out? I know an elemental's body can take quite a beating. And since she's a royal that means she has her solar crystal to help heal her. So how much can she actually take, Law?"
"She is none of your concern," Law said before charging forward with his sword.
"He really is stupid! This jerk!" Trebol said as he watched Law continued with his attempts to take down the warlord.
Law gripped his sword and swiped it at Doflamingo multiple times.
"Pentachromatic Strings!" Doflamingo said, slicing Law across his chest.
Law sucked in a cry when Doflamingo's strings sliced into his fresh. He hit the ground, his right knee slamming into the stone floor. He glanced over at Doflamingo, looking for any chance of striking the man. He hated himself for the thought that ran through his head since it would cause Neo more pain, but he had to do it. He had to do whatever he could to take Doflamingo down. 'Neo, I'm going to have to stab myself in the foot.'
'What?! No! Law, just stop fighting already! Please! Law, let just go!' Neo tilted her chin so she could look over at Law. Her body was already riddled with so much pain that she didn't know how much longer she was going to be able to stay conscious. She was feeling fairly surprised that Law hadn't already lost consciousness himself. He was the one taking the brunt of all these attacks. She was just receiving his pain. It was obviously a lot more for him to take than for her. And she knew he was doing everything he could to keep himself conscious. She knew he didn't want to leave her alone with these two men, especially when she didn't have anyway of defending herself against them.
'I'm so sorry, Neo. I really, really didn't want to put you through this. But this is something we have to see through to the end.' Law forced himself back to his feet.
"Law! No!" Neo cried when Law went for Doflamingo again. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she pressed against her left arm, trying to force herself to get up, and summon her crystals. But she couldn't. Her body and crystals had given all they had for this fight. She needed to rest if she was going to get enough magic and energy back to help Law again. She bit her bottom lip in an attempt to keep a chorus of curses from escaping her lips. She didn't need to distract Law in any kind of way. And her cursing didn't happen very often and was always a distraction.
Law's heart ached from her plea. He wanted to take her home so badly. But he knew what he had to. They couldn't leave here yet. Not until Doflamingo was either dead or unable to move. He stomped his foot down on Doflamingo's and jammed his sword through both of their shoes and feet. His skin split and blood filled his boot making his sock become damp and sticky. His heart took another sharp jolt when Neo cried out in pain and he could feel her mind starting to dim from all of the pain. If she suffered much more pain she was going to pass out on him. He was surprised that he hadn't passed out himself yet with the beating he's gotten. But he knew he couldn't. He wasn't going to leave her completely defenseless against Doflamingo and Trebol. So he pushed himself forward and to remain conscious. He knew once she got enough rest her solar crystal would be back to heal her. Gathering his Counter Shock move around his thumb, he jutted his attack forward. The sound of his Counter Shock crackled throughout the air as it collided with Doflamingo's skin. "Room! Counter Shock!"
"What?!" Trebol cried out when Law's attack hit Doflamingo. "Dofy!"
Law's body wobbled as he pulled back. His chest heaved up and down rapidly from his tiredness as he stared into the smoke that was created from his attack. He couldn't see if his attack had done the damage he was hoping it would have done. He gritted his teeth when suddenly Doflamingo's hand shot out of the smoke and grabbed the front of his coat. His attack didn't do anything.
"I have to thank you for that one, you crappy brat!" Doflamingo said right into Law's face. He tossed Law away from him then leaped into the air. "Fallbright!"
Law gasped at the pain when the strings shot through his body. He dropped to the ground and coughed out blood.
…
"No! Stop it!" Neo screamed helplessly as she watched Doflamingo's strings shoot down towards Law. She pushed up on her left arm, trying to get her body to move, even just a tiny bit. All she did was manage to sit up before the strings penetrated Law's body. Another screamed passed through her lips while her arm gave out on her and she crumpled to the floor. Her vision blurred and split. She felt herself starting to lose consciousness. No. I won't lose. I won't pass out from this pain. If Law can handle it, so can I. I won't give him another reason to worry about me. He's worried enough. She closed her eyes. She forced her breathing to slow down and tried to over come the pain she and Law were feeling through sheer will power. This pain was nothing compared to her past pain. This pain was just physical. Physical pain would only hurt for a while. And solar crystal or not, she would handle this. Physically anyway, she had no way of over coming the mental pain of all this. She hated to see Law hurting so much, both physically and mentally. Physically she could heal him with her solar crystal. Mentally she didn't know what to do for him. She hoped he would be all right once this was all over. Everything that was happening here was bringing back the painful memories of Corazon's death for both of them. She really hoped Law would find some peace for that once Doflamingo was finally taken down.
…
"Since you care about Corazon so much, I'm going to send you to see him, Law," Doflamingo said. He brushed his coat back from his hip and took a hold of his gun. "Come to think of it, he's still not coming yet. Straw Hat, I mean. You'd think that he would be here by now."
Law pushed up on his left arm. He glanced over at Neo when he felt her mind dimming. He carefully monitored her until he felt her mind becoming aware of their surroundings again. She was trying so hard not to pass out on him. She was being such a wonderful little trooper through all of this. He shook his head. Now wasn't the time for those kinds of thoughts. He looked over his shoulder and smiled at the two men standing over him. His smile faded a bit when his body was lifted into the air by his hood and Trebol's staff.
"How can you possibly be so relaxed in a situation like this? You've been beaten. And your lover can't even sit up anymore." Trebol said, dangling Law close to his face. He then tossed Law away from him before firing his own attack at him. "Sticky Launcher!"
Law growled when he saw Trebol's spheres came flying at him. The snot spheres landed on his torso and the explosion from the attack shot him backwards. He groaned when he landed on a piece of rumble, gasping for air and coughing while fire from the explosion blazed around him.
"He's still alive." Trebol laughed. "Hey, hey, hey, Law. Don't you think you have to give up by now? You're not going to win this fight."
"You better rest now, Law," Doflamingo said, walking over to Law.
…
"Stop it," Neo said while she tried to force her body to lift up again. She couldn't. She remained helplessly lying on the floor while watching their enemy getting closer to Law. "Stay away from him, Doflamingo."
…
Doflamingo just smiled over at Neo as he continued to move closer to his target. He turned back to Law and said, "You must have learned enough by now. There's too much difference in our strengths. No matter what you do you can't make up the different no matter what kind of cheap trick you play. Now if you had the nerve to properly train your lover over there then you would have had a real chance of taking me down. I have to admit she is impressively strong just the way she is. But as I've said before, you don't use her to her fullest potential. She could be much more to you than she is now. That just makes her weak and gives her enemies the advantage to over take her or even kill her. It's like you were fighting this battle all on your own. Because of that you didn't stand a chance against me. It's sad, really."
Law lifted himself up off the rubble and into a sitting position. He kept his hat down over his eyes to keep his fury that burned in his chest and eyes hidden. He didn't want to look at Doflamingo at the moment. He was far too angry at the man for thinking Neo was weak. Neo was by far the strongest person he had ever met. She was able to go through all of that hate and discrimination her whole life and still manage to come out as one of the sweetest person he had ever met. She was far stronger than Doflamingo was or ever will be. She was just at a disadvantage right now because of her pregnancy and because of the effects of the pollution stone. He knew she would have caused far more damage to Doflamingo if she had her full strength and magic, especially when the warlord took his right arm. And she would cause even far more damage to Doflamingo through her godfather if the emperor got the chance to get his hands on the warlord. That thought brought a small smile to his lips. He only would ask the emperor for help if he needed it as a last resort. He knew Shanks would act all on his own once he found out what all happened to Neo here. He almost wished that the emperor were here. He'd love to see the look on Doflamingo's face upon facing the emperor Red Hair Shanks.
Doflamingo, unaware at the thoughts going through Law's head, knelt down in front of the young man. "Straw Hat won't make it up here that easily. If he had the nerve to beat up a so called friend right of the bat, he could have saved you but…"
Trebol laughed. "He's such a naive idiot so it's no use laying your hopes on him! No use! No use!"
"You really are nothing but a poor sap. You were born in the hell of the White Town. As a kid, your future seemed to be nothing but plain darkness that would have ended your life way too soon. Then you met my younger brother, Corazon, and he was able to extend your life expectancy through the power of the Op Op fruit. But you have been holding a grudge against me as if you were the ghost of him and living your life in hopes to get your revenge." Doflamingo tapped his fingers over his knee.
"What a fool!" Trebol said. "Such a little fool!"
"All for a man who is already dead, you've honed your skills, allied with the Straw Hat pirates, and even came here to Dressrosa. That's an amazing obsession you've had. But it's over now," Doflamingo said. He took out his gun and pointed the barrel right at Law's head. "You've just wasted these past thirteen years for nothing. I really do feel sorry for you."
…
"Shut up," Neo hissed to herself. She pulled her eyes away from Doflamingo and Law. Her warm tears flowed freely over her eyelids as she placed her hand over her face, too upset to notice her fever had came back or never left her. "Just shut up. He hasn't wasted these past thirteen years. He hasn't. He saved me. He gave me a life. He and the crew became my family. He's my love… my bonded… just stop, Doflamingo. You don't know anything about Law."
'Easy, Neo. It's all right, my love. We both know I haven't waste these past thirteen years at all. They've actually completed me.'
"What?" Neo turned her eyes back to Law.
'You know that you've changed me. He is right about one thing. I have lived my life with a grudge against him for killing Cora. All I could think about was how I could take down Doflamingo. But when you appeared, you were able to ease my mind. I've had some wonderful times with you. You brought a peace to my body and soul that I never ever thought that I would fine. I don't think I've ever told you that.'
"Law," Neo whispered. Her tears flowed faster down her cheeks from his soft words.
'I love you so much, Neo.'
"I love you so much too," Neo said, brushing her tears away only to have more replace them.
…
Trebol laughed as he bounced up and down in place.
"Your death is inevitable. So die in vain like a dog. But, if you really are willing to die anyway," Doflamingo lowered his gun to Law's chest and poked him, "wouldn't you rather make something out of it?" He moved his mouth closer to Law's ear. "It's actually meaningful for both of us. I'm only going to say this once so listen carefully, Trafalgar D. Water Law. I want you to perform the Perpetual Youth Surgery that is the ultimate Op Op technique on me and die. In exchange for that, I will grant your wish, whatever it is."
"Oh, that's great!" Trebol said.
Law couldn't stop himself from looked up at Doflamingo for a few seconds when the man pulled away before lowering his eyes and letting his hat cast a shadow over them. He asked, "Whatever it is?"
"That's right. I'll even let your lover go if that's what you wish," Doflamingo said.
"All right then," Law said.
…
"Law, what are you…" Neo started. She stopped herself when she realized what Law would ask for. She had to admit she would have asked for the same thing he did. They both wanted Corazon back no matter how impossible it really was. The man had done so much for both of them, despite technically being dead. She loved Corazon as if he was still alive.
…
"If you really mean that, it is a good idea. It's meaningful for both of us. All right. I'm in," Law said, bringing his eyes back to Doflamingo.
"You are a very understanding man. Finally, Dofy can have eternal life," Trebol said.
"Then, I want you to bring Cora back to life for me, right now! And when you're done with that, go kiss all the butts of the people in this country! No match for you? It's no use laying my hopes on Straw Hat?! It's you who is not seeing the picture here, Doflamingo! The Straw Hats have worked so many miracles up until this day! You can't take Straw Hat down! You can't take back Caesar from him as well!" Law said.
"Law! How dare you say such a thing to Dofy!" Trebol shrieked.
"Your future is the one that's hanging by a hair-" Law said before his voice got cut off by a gunshot. The bullet pierced through his torso, causing him to drop his sword and collapse to the ground while Neo curled into herself from the pain.
"What an idiot! You never will stop rebelling against me! Don't you care about your lover at all?! She's in serious pain over there because you keep being so stupid!" Doflamingo growled.
...
Law pushed up on his hand and knees, surprised that Doflamingo had missed the sure kill shot. He forced himself to not look over at Neo. He was already feeling guilt for putting her and their child through that he knew if he looked over there he would lose all control right now. If only he had been paying closer attention to her when he had the chance instead of obsessing so much over taking Doflamingo down. He would have noticed that she was pregnant and would have changed his plans, somehow.
'L-Law… don't feel guilty about this.' Neo thought to him when she felt him refusing to look over at her.
Law twitched. He thought he had concealed his feelings and thoughts from her since he was thinking about their child along with her.
Neo chuckled at him. 'Why are you so surprised? I know you, Law. I don't need our bond to tell a lot of the times what you are thinking.'
Law twitched again. Did she somehow read his thoughts about their baby? Did she discover it? She couldn't have. She would be freaking out if she did.
'I know you blame yourself for all of this because you care so much about me. But you don't have to. I've already told you multiple times before. If we live, we live together. If we die, we die together. And that's fine with me. You know I just want to be with you. I wouldn't be able to live without you. So stop feeling guilty. Luffy will make it in time. He won't let us die here. He promised me everything would be fine.'
'I'm so sorry for everything, love. I promise I will make this up to you.'
'Then you know we will live?'
'Of course we will.'
'Good.' Neo smiled. 'No matter what this moron throws at us, we're walking out of this country together and alive. We're going to go home to the crew and the Polar Tang.'
'Yeah. We're going home.' Law nodded and warped his body away from his current location and put other man in his place. 'Just bare with the pain a little bit longer. We're getting out of here alive. I have to replace my body with another since Doflamingo's going to keep shooting at me. Just keep screaming so he thinks he really is shooting me.'
'All right.' Neo focused on Law as she felt his body move farther away from her. She located him just outside the palace walls before forcing herself to stop focusing on him so much and pay attention to what Doflamingo was doing. She waited and watched for when the man started to shoot Law's body double. While waiting, she hoped and prayed the body double looked enough like Law that Doflamingo didn't notice and that he didn't notice Law had regained his right arm.
…
"Those letters on your back… Corazon? Who exactly are you aiming that satire at?! Come to think of it, your pirate crew is called the Heart Pirates! Who are you aiming the satire at?!" Doflamingo pulled the trigger. Multiple times he shot Law in the back. "You don't even sit on the heart seat so why are you bearing the mark of the heart?! Law!" Doflamingo shouted. He pulled the trigger of his gun again and again, filling the air with gunpowder and multiple booms of the bullets being fired. Even after the last bullet left the gun, he kept pulling the trigger. The clinking of the trigger continued to sound through the air as the gunpowder faded away. "How irritating can you possibly be?! Law… Corazon… this is it. No one else will succeed your stupid obsession. You're curse has been broken now!"
…
Neo forced herself to scream and curl into herself with each gunshot that went off. She really didn't like having to pretend to be in pain. But she knew she had to do this. She had to help Law make Doflamingo think he was shooting Law instead of another body. She flinched at the thought of another person getting shot. She knew she'd rather it be someone else than Law, but she still felt guilty and sorry for them. She hoped at least the person Law chose was already dead.
…
Law exhaled with relief of escaping Doflamingo's gun. He glanced up at the top of the palace where he had put his body double. Silently he apologized to his body double for the exchange and abuse. I'm sorry, body double. I'll put you back once he's done. His mind then shifted to Neo. He carefully monitored her and her blood pressure while he was away. Just like he thought, her pressure increase from having to be separated from him like this. But it wouldn't before long. He would warp himself back after the last bullet had been fired.
…
"Tra died? You've got to be kidding me!" Usopp said.
"After getting riddled by so many bullets, he can't be…" Viola started. Everyone that was on top of the plateau stared at the dark haired woman in silence when she revealed to them everything that was happening on top of the palace. This entire fight was so close to being over. The only ones of Doflamingo's forces that remained were the warlord himself and Trebol. But they had suffered a loss as well. Or so it appeared to be.
"But if that's true," Usopp said. He lowered his voice and leaned closer to Zoro. "Then Neo's…"
"Dead as well," Zoro said with a slow exhale. He glanced over at the sniper standing beside him before looking back at the palace. "You heard their story just like the rest of us did. She wouldn't be able to live without him anyway. It would only be natural that they died together."
"No. She can't be," Usopp said. He turned his eyes back to the palace. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth before exploding with rage. "No! I won't accept it! I can't! She can't be dead! Neither of them can be! What about Chopper, Robin, and Sanji?! I know we've only known her and Tra for a very short about of time, but they love her!"
"I know they do. We all managed to make a connection to her during the small amount of time we spent with her," Zoro admitted. "But we can't change anything here. Dead is dead."
"But that's not…" Usopp said but didn't finish. He didn't know what to say. Zoro was right. If Law and Neo were really dead, then there was nothing they could do about it.
…
"Dofy," Trebol said. He watched as his young master shot Law multiple times. He knew that if Doflamingo killed Law they would lose the Op Op devil fruit since it would disappear from his body and reappear in another part of the world.
Doflamingo smiled and looked over his shoulder at his family member. "It's all right. We can always get hold of the Op Op fruit again when it reappears later."
"You… you're right. Then, all there is left to do is…" Trebol's voice trailed off. A smile curled onto his lips at the thought of the massacre that was about to take place.
"To take care of everything," Doflamingo finished. He then laughed before holding his hand into the air above his head. He curled his fingers into his palm, causing his string birdcage to close in on his command.
"Doflamingo!" Luffy screamed as he came busting up from the level below.
…
'Law! It's Luffy!' Neo glanced up at the rubber man. Relief washed over her from just a few seconds of seeing her friend.
'I'm coming back!'
Neo felt even more relief when Law had finally returned to the palace, it caused her heart rate to go back to normal with him close again. She wanted to look at him so badly, but forced herself not to. She forced herself to remain curled into herself as if she had passed out from the pain that Doflamingo had caused them. 'I hope Luffy will be okay with this. I feel like we're lying to him.'
'It'll be fine. I'll let him know we're alive as soon as I can. Just stay down. And try not to say anything to him when he comes over to check on you.'
'I'll try not to.' Neo exhaled then allowed herself to close her eyes and relax her body as much as she could while waiting for their next move to come.
…
Luffy glanced down at the warlord below him. His eyes locked onto his prey with a furious glare. "There you are!"
"You're late, Straw Hat. Since I emancipated him, Bellamy became free, didn't he?" Doflamingo turned to Luffy.
"Don't play dumb with me! You knew full well what was going to happen!" Luffy threw back his right fist and blew into his left thumb. The air he blew into his body went to his right fist, extending it to a giant size fist. "You knew that he wasn't going to run away! Gum Gum Elephant Gun!"
"Spider Web!" Doflamingo strung out his strings like a spider's web and captured Luffy's enlarged fist when the young pirate threw it at him. He chuckled. "I see. So Bellamy didn't run away after all."
"What's so funny?!" Luffy asked before throwing his other fist towards Doflamingo. He grabbed the warlord's string web, shrunk his right fist back down, and pulled himself through the string web. Once through it, he turned back to his enemy, coated his fists up to his elbows in his haki, activated his second gear, and fired rapid punches. "Gum Gum Hawk Gatling!" He kicked up a lot of dust with his rapid attack that blocked his vision. He panted from all the fighting he had been doing while watching the dust clear around him. Suddenly, two white walls like objects shot up around him.
"Break White!" Doflamingo crossed his arms over his chest, causing the string walls to close in on Luffy.
Luffy jerk his body to his right. He managed to roll his body out of the way of the strings before they could enclose on him. He landed on the floor just before the strings followed him. He had to jump back several times when the strings followed after him unaware that they were herding him to a particular spot. "Oh, shoot!"
He jumped and landed once again. This time his right foot slipped a bit on something wet. He lifted up his foot to find blood was now coated on and dripping from his sandal. He turned around to see where the blood was coming from. His eyes widened upon seeing Law lying on the ground and right in the middle of a bloody puddle. He dropped to his knees. Placing his hands on Law's back, he tried to wake his friend up before rolling him over on his back. "Hey, Tra! What are you bleeding so much?! What happened to your arm?! Hey! Stay with me! Tra! Hey! Tra! Wait! Neo! Where's Neo?!"
Luffy's eyes shot up from Law's body. He desperately looked around for his missing female friend. Anger flared up in his chest like a wildfire when he located her lying on the ground about thirty yards away from them. She wasn't moving either. From his view point he didn't see any blood on her but he did noticed she had a vine wrapped around her right arm for some reason. He shot to his feet and ran over to her. Carefully slipping his arm around her shoulders, he lifted her off the ground and to his chest. "Neo! What happened up here?! Are you okay?! Answer me!" He placed his hand on her cheek, cupping her gently as he ran his eyes over her face and body. "Neo…"
"She should be fine after a while. I'll get her the medical attention she needs when we're out of the country. Law, however, is dead. It's obvious that he is." Doflamingo said as he walked closer to Luffy.
"You're lying!" Luffy snapped. He carefully laid Neo back down on the ground while promising her that everything was going to be just fine. "Just hold on, Neo! I promise that he's not going to get away with this! And don't listen to him! Tra will be fine! And he's not taking you anywhere! You're staying with us! I'll take care of everything from this point on! I promise you'll be fine!"
…
Neo felt her heartbreak upon hearing how worried and furious Luffy sounded. She wanted so badly to open her eyes and tell him that they were all right. She gritted her teeth as carefully as she could to keep herself from crying and from blowing their cover. 'Law…'
'I know it's hard. Just hold on a little bit longer.' Law sent his presence over to her. Calmly wrapping his own calm presence around her, he managed to keep her tears at bay and relaxed her back into a calm state.
'Thanks, Law. I'm calm again.' She mentally smiled when Law sent her a mental picture of him kissing her forehead.
…
"I'm not lying at all. It seemed like he trusted you so much but what a shame," Doflamingo said. He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked over at Law then looked over at Neo. "She trusted you too. But you let her down as well. He did mention something of interest to me though. He said that you could work miracles. Well, can you, Straw Hat? Can you work miracles? I didn't think that you were all that strong when I found against you, though. But we can fight so I can test your skills again. There are only the two of us here now."
"How dare you!" Luffy hiss. He jumped to his feet and ran towards Doflamingo, his anger burning hotter in his chest. "Gum Gum…"
"Pentachromatic Strings!" Doflamingo said. He threaded out his strings and snapped them at Luffy like a whip.
Trebol followed Doflamingo's lead and fired his snot at Luffy.
Luffy dodged Doflamingo's strings then Trebol's snot. "Battle Axe!" He shot his foot in the air before bring his foot back down towards Trebol. He growled when his hit foot missed Trebol and landed on the ground. The stone floor crack and snapped under his large foot before an involuntary grunt left his lips when several of Doflamingo's string shots landed on his chest. He was forced to drop back down to the ground. He then tried attacking again with his armament haki and his giant whip attack. "Gum Gum Giant Whip! Armament Hardening!"
Using that attack, Luffy was aiming to hit them, figuring he wouldn't, he used the attack to create another one. When the two men dodged his attack, he kicked up some of the stone debris that was lying around the palace floor. He coiled his legs into springs and coated them with his armament haki. While the enemy was distracted by his former attack, he jumped up to the now floating debris and bounced around on it.
…
"What the heck is that?" Trebol asked after he and Doflamingo dodged Luffy's giant rubber whip. He looked up at the rubber man to find the young pirate was bouncing off of stone pieces hovering in the air from his giant whip attack. "What is he doing?"
…
"Gum Gum Spring Bullet!" Luffy said after landing on one of the stones that lined him up with his target. His legs were still coiled like springs. Making sure he was aiming at his target, he pushed off the stone with all the strength that he had in his rubber body. He flew directly towards his target as Doflamingo put up three string spider webs. He pushed against the webs until his body when flying backwards from the energy released in the attack. He grunted when his body collided when the floor.
"You almost got me that time," Doflamingo said.
Luffy pushed himself back up to his feet. His chest heaved up and down with his desperate pants for air while his arms hung by his sides.
"I'll let you follow Law in death shortly," Doflamingo said while he walked towards Luffy. "Let's bring this game to an end all ready."
"Mingo!" Luffy growled. He started to charge forward but stopped when he, somehow, heard Law's voice telling him to stop.
Wait.
"What?" Luffy said. His eyes widened in disbelief at the sound of Law's voice reaching his ears.
I'm alive. Neo's all right as well. Listen carefully, Straw Hat.
Luffy gritted his teeth and started to turn around. He wanted to see his friend. He wanted to make sure that he wasn't just hearing things. But he stopped when Law told him to.
Don't turn around! I have a plan!
"Everyone's going to die now. Sooner or later. Straw Hat, did you notice? The rules of the game have been changed," Doflamingo said.
"The game?! What are you talking about?!" Luffy demanded.
"Well, this is what I'm talking about. The Birdcage that is surrounding the country has started to shirk little by little. It's just like an umbrella closing slowly," Doflamingo said, pointing to the sky like it would help get his point across.
"What?!" Luffy looked up at the top of the Birdcage. He saw it. It was slow movement, but the strings where definitely closing in like an umbrella does.
"The strings will cut up everything in this country. Within an hour or so, everything and everyone will be destroyed. Wherever you run, it's no use," Doflamingo said. "I have no desire to save anyone here. What would the advantage of letting the people who learned the secret of this country survive? Everything, all the towns, all the people, all of the animals, every single one of your allies, and even you. All of it. So that just means that your friends died just a little bit before you. Isn't that right, Straw Hat? That's what he liked to call you, wasn't it?"
"He died so miserably while waiting for you to come here," Trebol said with a mocking laugh. "Oh, Law, he shouldn't have messed with us at all."
"Today, Dressrosa will perish," Doflamingo said. He lifted his eyes and smile to the Birdcage, basking in a moment of glory, before bringing his gaze back down to Luffy. "Oh, but you don't have to worry. I'll build a country again somewhere else. There's plenty of room and time for that."
"Mingo! I won't let you get away with this! All I have to do is kick your butt and everything will be okay!" Luffy charged forward.
"Weren't you listening? I was just telling you that there's no possible way you can't do that!" Doflamingo said. He held out his hands to his sides before swiping his strings at Luffy like they were claws.
Luffy back flipped away from the strings then retaliated with several haki infused punches. He jumped into the air when Doflamingo swiped at him again.
"Fall Bright!" Doflamingo's strings came down and hit Luffy in his shoulder.
Luffy's body rolled with the hit to his shoulder. He righted himself enough to land safely on the floor then charged back towards Doflamingo.
"You just never learn! Bullet String!" Doflamingo pointed his finger at Luffy and fired three string shots.
Luffy dodged them swiftly then prepared his own attack. "Gum Gum…"
"Go to hell! Together with Law!" Doflamingo said as Luffy came closer towards him.
"Shambles!"
"Law!" Doflamingo took a step back when Luffy disappeared and was replaced with Law.
"You're the one that's going to disappear today! Doflamingo!" Law said. His body hovered in the air before the warlord. In his left hand, he held his gamma knife. The green glowing knife crackled and snapped with the power it held.
"Go!" Luffy said after his body landed on the ground where Law use to be.
…
Neo carefully monitored Law and Luffy's positions from her fake unconscious state. Once she felt Law switch places with Luffy, she had regained enough energy to push herself up into a sitting position. Unable to stop herself, she called out for Law, hoping he could deliver the finishing blow on Doflamingo. "Law! Do it! Stop him!"
She looked to make sure Law was okay. Her eyes ran rapidly over his damaged body before she quickly adverted her eyes from what he was about to do. Despite how much she despised Doflamingo for everything he's done to Law and for killing Corazon, if the man was going to die here, she still didn't want to see it happen.
…
"This operation will destroy you from inside your body!" Law felt out when Neo had adverted her eyes before jamming his green, crackling knife like attack into Doflamingo's body. "Gamma Knife!"
Doflamingo gagged and spit out blood when Law increased his attack. He felt the inside of his body being ripped to pieces from the green knife being pressed into him.
Law shoved his Gamma Knife farther into Doflamingo's body. He didn't even flinch when blood flew out of the older man's mouth when his head went flying backwards. He didn't even smell the iron anymore. With all the blood that had been shed, his nose had gotten use to the smell.
"Dofy!" Trebol gasped at the shock of the damage being doing to his boss and for Law still breathing. "Law! How are you still alive?! How did you make an Op Op attack without creating a Room?!"
"We are in my Room right now!" Law replied. "It'll shorten my life a bit but I have a Room inaction so large that you can't even see the boarders."
"What?!" Trebol shouted.
"All for this moment, this strike!" Law pushed his sword farther into Doflamingo's body. The crackling sound of the attack vibrated through his ears. No one can defend from an attack on the inside of their body. Even you can't counteract this technique. He watched Doflamingo. Carefully taking in the pain he was causing to the man. He enjoyed the twisted expression on Doflamingo's face as he felt the man's body giving out on him.
Doflamingo dropped to his knees.
"Dofy! You are a king! Don't fall to your knees anymore!" Trebol shouted.
Doflamingo tilted his chin down at hearing Trebol's words. Struggling slightly, he reached up with his shaky right hand, he grabbed a hold of Law's face and squeezed him. "You'd better know what you've done!"
"It's no use! Even if you kill me, it's far too late for you to survive!" Law said.
"I won't let you get away with this!" Doflamingo lifted his left hand to Law. The tips of his fingers sparkled with strings. "Law!"
…
Neo flinched and whimpered at the pain and presser that appeared around her face. And despite not wanting to look, couldn't help but turn her eyes back to Law when she realized the pain she felt was coming from him. She found the source of their pain was from Doflamingo holding onto Law's face. Her heart skipped erratically when Doflamingo lifted his left hand up to Law. She could see his strings starting to come out of his fingers. She tried to summon her crystals while simultaneously trying to stand up. She barely lifted herself off the ground before dropping back down. A faded silhouette of her crystals appeared for half a second before fading away. She clenched her left hand in aggravation and yelled out at Doflamingo. "No! Stop it! Leave him alone!"
She tried to move and summoned her crystals again but relaxed when she saw and felt Luffy charging forward. She parted her lips to scream at him to hurry up and save Law, but she quickly clamped her mouth to stop herself. Both Doflamingo and Trebol were distracted with Law. Neither one of them noticed the rubber man running towards Doflamingo and Law. And she didn't want to give Luffy away. Hurry, Luffy! Don't let him kill us!
…
Don't worry, Neo! I promised you before I won't let anything happened to you or Tra! I might not have been here to prevent his arm from being taken, but I refuse to let his and your lives be taken away from you! Luffy ran faster. He made sure to keep himself hidden until he could jump up and appeared behind Law's shoulder at the correct second. He kicked Doflamingo as hard as he could in the stomach before the man could attack Law. With two solid kicks to the warlord's torso, he managed to push him back and free Law. "Gum Gum Jet Stamp!"
"Dofy!" Trebol screamed while he watched Doflamingo skid across the floor before coming to a stop on some rumble. "Dofy! Are you all right?! This can't be happening! Our king has been brought down by such small fry pirates like them!"
Doflamingo laid there for a few seconds to recover from the unexpected hit. He then lifted his right hand up and placed it over his face. He couldn't believe this was happening either. These younger pirates were so far beneath him that he shouldn't have been having this much trouble in taking them down. It made him feel extremely angry.
"You jerk!" Luffy said. He wanted to continued his assault but was stopped again by Law. He looked back over his shoulder to find Law was pulling himself towards Doflamingo.
"Wait, Straw Hat!" Law said before the younger man could proceed with whatever he had planned. Pressing on his left arm, he looked up at Luffy while he pulled his body across the floor towards Doflamingo.
"Tra," Luffy said.
Law ignored Luffy as he proceeded to pull himself across the floor. His mind wandered back to the first time that he had met Corazon, when the man had taken him to all those hospitals to try and find a cure for his white lead disease, how the man stood up for him when the doctors and nurses called him a monster, how the man had forgiven him for stabbing him in the back that one day, and how he had sacrificed himself for his freedom. He growled, "That bastard…"
"How can you still move like that?" Luffy asked as he watched Law. "You're so beat up."
"That bastard is my responsibility!" Law said. He pulled himself all the way over to Doflamingo and pushed his body to his feet. Tired from everything, and panting hard, he still managed to hold out his hand and formed a small Room around himself and Doflamingo. "Room!"
…
"Law…" Neo said. She closed her eyes as Law's memories of Corazon passed to her. She understood how Law felt on a lot of the things he had dealt with in the past. Both knew what it felt like to be treated like a monster. And both knew that was an important bonding moment in their lives. That was the first thing that really connected the two together, a share similarity in their past. Law knew what she had felt and was able to connect with her in that way. Though neither of them even knew what actually caused her magic to bond them together. But neither of them cared. All they knew was they wanted to be together no matter what happened.
…
Cora… I can finally attain your ambition. Law looked down at Doflamingo. "It's over! Doflamingo!"
…
Author's Notes: Awkward stopping point despite being the same in the episode. But this chapter dragged on and on for me. I kept repeating myself a lot: He got up, he fell down, he charged forward. Ugh! Not caring much for this chapter. I need less of this fighting stuff and more Neo and Law fluff.
Sarge1130: Yeah, she is such a mother hen, isn't she? But a very cute one. I guess Neo 'digivolved' then. Lol. I wanted to do something with her wings and now I have. Wonder how that's going to affect future chapters?
Loveanimation4life: Glad you like the liquid crystals. Genius? Make me blush why don't ya. I'm glad you like it so much. I really hope that I can turn this into a completely original book and publish it. I love the idea so much. And Neo is so cute. We'll see on the crystal wings sometime in future chapters, they might appear again. I'm looking forward to some Neo and Law cuteness too. I really need it after all these fighting chapters.
Apple Bloom: Glad you like it.
