LW: So, last chapter Caesar somehow beat all the Straw Hats, and Law was having a heart attack. So we'll contiue from there.

Rubber King & Mirror Master - New World Chaos: Unleash the Beast, A Calamitous Eve

Hidden corridor in Caesar's lab

"You think the boss doesn't know what's going on?" the man asks, as Law struggles to push himself off the floor "I had hoped you were smarter than that" he sighs deeply, then continues "To be perfectly honest, we don't trust this Caesar bastard anymore than you do. The guy's creepy, untrustworthy and most of all, shady as fuck, which is why the boss sent an undercover agent to keep us up to date and in the loop on the goings on around here, the lovely Monet here" he nods as Monet grins and waves with one of her wings in his direction "Rumor has it you're a Warlord now, you really have grown up since we last saw you, getting a promotion like that"

"When did you get here, Vergo?" Law pants out heavily

"Honestly, I just arrived. I'd been in Dressrosa and hitched a ride on an S.A.D. tanker leaving port back to Punk Hazard, and it seems, that was the correct decision after all"

"Then why target me, I didn't do anything to you" Law scowls.

"Not yet you haven't" Vergo agrees "Which is good because you'd be dead otherwise. I hate to break it to you Law, but there's no fooling us grown-ups"

"In that case, maybe I should just deal with you quickly" Law cries, reaching for his sword, only to spazz out in pain.

Vergo smirks "One more thing," he says, squeezing Law's heart, while haki-ing up his bamboo stick "Show some respect" he shouts, cracking the Warlord over the head with his weapon, blurring his vision and filling it with stars "It's Mr. Vergo to you" the corrects, then continues to beat the Warlord black and blue.

At the lake

"So, has anyone got a plan for these blob things? I'm not sure they're even sentient, but they're clearly some kind of threat given the way the centaurs booked it long before the stuff started raining down" Zoro asks as little Smileys continue to rain down, merging and growing in size as time goes on.

"Not really, which is bad because some of these are mine and Kaos's size by now, if they are actually dangerous, they're going to be very difficult to deal with" Brook agrees.

"You shouldn't be worried" Alvida says, sneaking up on the ⅔ samurai, who was staring into the lake "Sanji will be back in no time, if Nami's body is built for one thing, it's speed" she winks, trying to improve the overall mood in the area.

"Um, guys, we have a problem" smooth and clothing DF eaters turn to Brook and Zoro "We kind of poked the blobs with our swords, and it turns out they spit poison gas… so we're out of ideas"

"You didn't need to poke it, we already figured it out when I sliced one up and it plumed toxic smog, while reforming like nothing happened" Zoro grumbles.

"Did you remember to use haki?" Alvida asks

"Wouldn't have mattered if I had or not, the thing's not like that cause of a Devil fruit, it's just a sentient slimeball" Zoro argues.

Meanwhile, underwater

'Ok, my natural firecore is keeping the frigid cold of the water at bay for the moment, meaning I can focus on hunting for that torso. But it's so murky down here, I guess the old method I've got is my Observation haki' Sanji thinks as she swims deeper, avoiding the plumes of death that run off of the slime balls that fell into the water rather than made it to the other side of the lake 'I'm not in the best of positions for this though, my Observation is basic, and the torso is probably giving off a weak signature due to being submerged. I can barely tell it from the dying fish all over the place…. Is that a shark?' she thinks as something darts behind her. Turning she found there was a shark… with a human torso in its jaws.

'OH COME ON!' Sanji mentally screams, while high above her the Samurai screams out loud, feeling the pain as the sharks' teeth cut into his flesh.

'Get back here you bastard!' Sanji scowls as she clings to the shark's dorsal fin 'And stop chewing on that, I need it in one piece to get back to the surface' she grimaces as her grip is lost as she slides down it's back, though she did get its attention as the shark turns to face her 'That'll work. Maybe….'

"Thunder Stamp!" Lighting arcs across her thigh and down her leg, dissipating into the shark as she drives a pointed toe kick into its underbelly, causing it to release the torso before swimming away into the gloom.

'Ok, this is the last of our Samurai jigsaw puzzle, now to get it back to shore and put the poor fucker back together again' Sanji thinks as she grabs the collar of his kimono to stop it from sinking, then starts to swim upwards as fast as possible, her limbs aglow with electricity as she pushes her body to its limit to escape the toxic debris before her lungs gave out.

"Lightning Step: Blue Walk!"

Just before Sanji either ran out of air or the poison got to her, the cook bursts from the water with a loud crackle, still lugging the torso with her, both crashing onto a thankfully slime-free section of land right next to the rest of the group.

"You're alive!" Brook cheers.

"And you brought back the torso" Zoro smirks.

"Just like you said you would" the samurai cries, then yelps as Alvida separates his head from his legs, preparing both for the recombination of all his parts.

"I don't know what to say" the samurai blubbers "I never thought this day would come, that I was a whole man once more" the now fully intact man cheers, and the current group of Straw Hats realise, this man is big…. Taller than Brook and while shorter than Kaos, he was probably close to the researcher's Pre-timeskip height "And now I am whole once more, I believe a proper introduction is in order…" the samurai says, crouching slightly to be more on line with ¾ of the group "Greetings, I am the Samurai Kinemon, I hail from the town of Kuri in the land of Wano"

"That's nice…. But I'm getting frostbite from the cold water in a glacial biome, please magic me up some fucking clothes!" Sanji cries as she hugs herself, already starting to shiver.

"Right sorry" Kinemon says, placing a stone on her head and poof-ing up a winter coat "There we are. I am most grateful for the noble actions you've presented me with, may I know your honourable name good sir?"

"Cut the sir crap, you get your body back and suddenly you're mister manners, back when you were a severed head all you had was insults and backsass remember?" Sanji bellows, Kinemon's personality switch pissing them off.

"He has a point, you'd think it would be the other way around" Alvida hums "Being all polite while he needs our help, and then being a dick after"

"Especially given him being an asshole could have very easily led to us NOT helping him when he was at his most desperate" Zoro agrees.

To their surprise, Kinemon drops to his knees and adopts the full submissive, apology pose "You are correct, I was a terrible person, and yet you still risked it all to help me, my life is truly in your hands. I will strive on my honour as a samurai to one day repay my debt to you"

"You idiot… but I suppose that is fair" Sanji sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Um, sorry to ruin the moment, but we're kind of in danger, due to all these toxin-spewing slimeballs, which are surrounding and encroaching upon us" Brook informs them all, reminding the group of their current situation.

"Didn't I tell you to deal with them while I was gone?" Sanji asks irritably.

"Well yeah, but they recombine when cut and spew poison gas when struck, so we ran out of ideas pretty quickly" Zoro admits, not seeing any reason to lie or beat around the bush.

"You moron, you can't just 'give up' Nami would kill me if anything happened to her body, we need to get back to the others pronto!"

"If I can make a suggestion, since blades, ice, and Miss Alvida's attempt to use earth failed, maybe we should use fire to destroy, or even just disperse these globular beasts long enough to escape" Kinemon argues, standing once more, and drawing one of his swords.

"I'd have suggested that sooner, but I don't think Nami's body can use Diable Jambe as safely as Sanji's if at all" Alvida admits.

"And I'm not willing to risk it" Sanji agrees.

"This blade before you, it burns as it cuts, which is how I obtained the moniker, of 'Foxfire' Kinemon" Kinemon reveals "Allow me to blaze a path"

"You have a magic sword too, great now there's 2 of them" Sanji groans.

"3, that I'm aware of" Zoro admits "Tashigi has an ice sword and a fire sword"

And so Kinemon shows off his skills, and not only ignites one of the slimes with a single slash, but when it inevitably explodes he does something potentially more impressive, parting the flames that rush toward them with a few quick slashes of his katana.

"He cut the flames too, damn that actually is impressive" Zoro mutters, Sanji staring in open-mouthed shock, Alvida giggling and Brook, his jaw had actually fallen off his skull for a moment, but was quickly retrieved.

"I have cleared the path for us, let us return to your companions and continue our hunt for our offspring" Kinemon states formally.

Remaining Laboratory - Actual Lab area.

"We made it, there's no sign of Caesar of the return of the bird lady, we're in the clear for now" Chopper sighs in relief as he and Kaya slip into Caesar's lab unimpeded.

"We need to find any information about the NHC10 Caesar may have in here, so we have at least a starting point for developing a cure" Kaya agrees, scanning the lab for any files or notebooks, finding just one lying on the main table "Found it, maybe" she hums.

"Grab it, hopefully it'll have something helpful there, I'll check his supply for sedatives" Chopper nods.

As Kaya picked up the book, she noticed the edge of something much older, blueprints of some sort, peeking out from some of the beakers and equipment "CPX?" she mutters aloud, moving equipment to get a better look at the designs "Oh dear"

"What, is something wrong?" Chopper asks, shuffling back to her "CPX? Oh no not another one, maybe even a division of World Government Super Soldiers, we just about managed to fight CP9" the reindeer frets, though the medic was unsure, especially given some of the designs on the page… looked similar to the suppression seals that had been put on Artemis and Valentina a couple hours back.

"I don't think it's Cipher Pol, I think the PX, is something more like Kuma, that's what was written on the Pacifistas after all" Kaya suggests.

"And the fact they had sealing done on them, means this was some kind of magic-based pacifista…. Oh thank God" Chopper sighs, seeing something written at the bottom of the plans, below the various potential upgrades for this female test subject

'Modifications and augmentations, as well as the subject's personality, make reproduction unlikely if not beyond our budget to do so. Prototype successful proof of concept, but project is too resource intensive for it's end result'

Kaya frowns "So not an army like the Pacifista, but there is one out there, much like Kuma himself, a cyborg death machine" she shivers "But enough of that, we need to save these kids!"

"Yep, who needs cyborg death robots or bulletproof boobs when we have giant kids to detox?" Chopper agrees

"Say what now!?" the syrup girls blanches.

Outside

"Sir, the airship is ready for you" One of the hazmat-wearing satyr calls out, as Caesar watches his men chain up the Straw Hats as well as Smoker and Tashigi.

"Excellent, time to go retrieve the children, it's time for your candy delivery" he singsongs, heaving a net of brightly coloured sweets over his shoulder like a demonic Santa Claus "Put those ruffians in a cage and take them to my quarters, I'll deal with them after I have the children once more under my control. And someone find the escapee, he can't be allowed to interfere with my plans any longer!"

Back with Law

"Wow, you really don't hold back" Monet hums, noting how quickly damage was accruing as Vergo continues to beat Law with his haki-coated bamboo staff.

"It's his punishment" Vergo states bluntly.

"Vergo" Law wheezes "The G5 marines are on the island right now, and since traitor or not, you're supposed to be their Base Commander, you may want to avoid running into them" he advises, getting a jab to his sternum for his troubles.

"How considerate. But frankly, I don't need your advice. And I'm only going to say this one more time, you're to call me… MR. Vergo" he states, squeezing Law's heart again, to get the message to sink in.

The Destroyed Labs

"I hope Chopper and the others get back soon, the sleep spell's gonna wear off again soon" Artemis sighs, the click of metal on metal the only sound in the lab besides their soft snoring.

"But you said you can keep applying it" Nami squeaks.

"I can, almost indefinitely, but even so, I don't know how it will react as the withdrawal symptoms worsen, and the pain increases. Dreamless sleep only goes so far" the sorceress admits.

"Unfortunately, it's all we've got at the moment, especially because, unlike your magic, they'll develop resistances to my Sleep Stars a LOT sooner" Ussop grimaces, as they hear the pained wheezes and croaks, of the children coming to and demanding the drugs/candy "Crap"

"Shurororo. So, this is where my children have run off to, kidnapped by pirates, oh good golly gosh!" The trio turns as the gasman makes his appearance, drawing the eyes of all in the ruined lab.

"MASTER!" the children cheer, he must have candy! And it turns out he did, a whole bag of it, showing it off for all the good little kiddies.

"That's, the master?" Nami whispers.

"That's the asshole who kidnapped my sister, yep" Artemis scowls.

Near the Lake

ROOOOAAAAAARRRRGGGGG!

"Ok, big pink and ugly seems mad, anyone know why?" Alvida asks.

"I don't think anything has changed, at least not over there" Brook hums.

"Could be that someone decided to blow up all the little slimes over this side?" Zoro suggests, getting a huff from Kinemon.

"So that thing is their progenitor? Regardless, there was no other option to free ourselves from our confinement than slicing through those little blob creatures, so I have no regrets in killing them"

"Fair enough, but I think we're about to have bigger issues than the moral quandary of killing toxic slime beasts, the thing….appears to be transforming" Sanji grimaces as the blob was for lack of a better term, solidifying, becoming more than a flowing pink mass of death, forming limbs for one, and a mouth, thought it was mostly just a void under its eyes.

"It's hideous!" Kinemon gags

"It's… a frog now? I got nothing" Alvida sighs.

"Actually, it looks more like an Axolotl" Zoro argues, mostly due to the long body, and finny, head nubs.

Either way, the creature hisses lowly, and fires another sludge ball, this time aiming directly for the pirates, who just barely manage to dodge out of the way as it lands where they'd been observing the beast. Said blob immediately forming its own axolotl body and proceeds to chase them.

"Can this creature create unlimited minions or something?" Kinnemon asks as they run.

"I don't think unlimited is the correct answer, the one over there is getting smaller, it was less noticeable before, but after this one, the shrinkage was definitely on the significant side" Brook argues.

"Which means it'll run out of mass and projectiles eventually, so what's the point? Unless…. Shit they're not it's kids, they're the same creature!" Sanji gasps.

"I don't understand, how can the same beast be multiple smaller things?" Kinemon asks in confusion.

"I think he means that the slime thing is a singular mind, which can split its body up. Explains why the blobs were able to merge so easily, it wasn't fusion, just reformation" Zoro explains, getting a nod from the cook.

"The blobs that are raining down, are the slime beast flinging itself across the lake, piece by piece" Alvida realises, as more giant globs impact the frozen side of the island "We need to get to the lab, inform the others and figure out how to deal with these things before the whole thing gets over to this side"

"Indeed. To the Laboratory!" Brook cries, the 1st of the Straw Hats as Kinemon was already running in search of Momonosuke.

?

"You're awake" Luffy's eyes slowly open, hearing Law's voice to his left

"What are you doing here?" he grunts.

"I could ask you the same thing" Law sighs.

"It would seem that everyone but Kaos has been captured, at least the ones who attacked Caesar I mean" Robin notes "actually, the only marines captured were Smoker and Tashigi, very strange" she adds.

"We're all trapped in this cage… also why is Vivi drooling on me?" Luffy asks in confusion, as the princess was still unconscious.

"1st time jitters?" Robin teases "She is still new to her Devil fruit, so much like Miss Tashigi she's feeling the full effects of the Seastone through her entire body"

Luffy blinks "Oh yeah, Smokie and Shigi got body swapped too, that's hilarious!" he cackles, an angry growl causing him to turn in that direction "There you are Smokie… are you cold?"

"No you idiot, why would you ask that?" the Vice Admiral growls.

"Thimble nips" Luffy responds, getting a choked laugh from Robin and the now conscious Shirahoshi, meanwhile Valentina wasn't even trying to hide her cackling and Victor just smirks.

"That's not important right now" the body swapped Yuki Onna snarls.

"But what is, is that we're all wrapped in Seastone chains, probably as a precaution given that while some of us were known power users, others like Vivi, haven't made the papers just yet so are unknown quantities" the ninja sighs deeply, the seastone was as much as itch as a drain on her power.

"Ah, I see you're all awake, that's good" Monet coos as she enters the room.

"A Tengu!" Luffy cheers.

"That was actually closer than I expected…. But no, she's a harpy" Victor corrected.

"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes"

"The fuck!" Tashigi yelps

"So that's how Caesar's been able to fly under the radar for so long, he was working with the Commander of the G5, Vergo" Smoker sneers.

Elsewhere in the facility

"We've located the intruder, he's almost at Lab 5"

"We'll handle this"

After what felt like at least 10 minutes of nothing, Kaos was almost surprised to actually encounter resistance, even if it was the form of only 2 enemies, neither dressed in hazmat gear, but modified, pitch-black marine outfits.

"It seems we found him, Monet will be pleased"

"Indeed Wamu, now, launch the Poison Gas Bombs!"

"On it Hans!"

Boom!

Boom!

As the corridor filled with the dark smog, they waited for the gagging and screaming, only for there to be nothing.

"Hm, this is strange, Caesar's weapons don't usually kill people quickly or quietly, in fact it feels like they're designed for maximum suffering" the elder muses.

"They must be holding their breath, which just means they'll be easier to kill when I blitz them" Hans grins before surging forward in a burst of Soru.

Shing!

Crash!

The impact disrupted the poison gas enough Wamu could see what was happening. The intruder seemed to be unaffected by the gas, and had managed to grab Hans from the air, blade-like fingers piercing his eye sockets, before slamming him into the ground hard enough to leave a crater. The entity in front of him also turned to face him, which was when Wamu saw the fist sized hole in it's head, right where the right eye should be. Scowling he quickly activates his Den Den Mushi.

"This is Commander Wamu, did we have any intel on the pirate's abilities?"

"Negative, all we know is what we saw. Caesar has no other notes on these intruders" he gets in response.

"Well keep an eye out for the one that got away from Caesar's gas attack, it seems he can create some kind of doll of puppet, though I'm currently unsure if it's autonomous or something he needs to control" Wamu relays "I'll deal with it but keep an eye out in case he can make more than one" he states before slitting his wrists to form Blood lashes, the tips hardened using his haki.

"Agni!" The entity growls, before his right hand ignites, incinerating the younger vampire in a matter of moments, though due to the clear brain damage the facial impalement did, at least Hans didn't feel anything. Turning its head to the other vampire, the shadows on its face shift almost forming a smile, before his left hand's fingers contort into sickle like blades, and from his right palm spits a katana, a shiver running down Wamu's spine as pale blue embers crackle across the blade's edge, Kaos swinging Wyvern Blade: Indigo in his direction, producing a minor puff of flame in the process.

The entity's intention clear Wamu lunges forward in a burst of Soru, his lashes clang against claw and sword, the steam erupting with every blocked slash, though he believes he has the edge when the arms of the creature begin to crack, revealing a Vantablack, tar like substance beneath its silver/metallic 'skin' though that does come at the price of a kidney stab from Indigo, which he responds to by slamming him into the wall with both lashes, resuming their almost back and forth, bouncing around the corridor, doing only minimal damage, not for lack of trying on the vampire's part, to his annoyance.

"What are you after, despite having a weapon strong enough to slay, you only attempt to wound or incapacitate, a foolish error when facing a vampire. There is more to this game of yours, are you a distraction, or a sacrifice?" Wamu finally asks as the 2 stand ready for another clash.

"Neither" Kaos' voice was low and tinny "You have something I need, and in order to retrieve it in any usable state, you must be alive when I take it. Be a good boy and scream for me!"

"Room!" was hissed as in a form similar to Conqueror's haki, a crackling, red/purple tinged energy pulse floods the corridor, Kaos's metallic face cracking into a rictus grin as he makes one more lunge to retrieve his objective.

Later

"Preparations are fully underway, those navy soldiers are about to be live test subjects. Sorry, they're your guys Vergo" Monet chuckles as she ends her call.

"They're a means to the end, my guys, are the Young Master and his family" Vergo states bluntly "That being said, what is Caesar doing?"

The harpy smirks "Well, I don't have all the details, but he did have the mooks unleash Smiley, so he's clearly at the centre of whatever he's planning"

"Hmm. I'd like to get at least a quick look at whatever he's planning with this newest experiment before I go" Vergo states aloud "So, everyone outside will die?"

"Probably, it does seem to be his specialty. But don't worry, we'll be safe in here" Money assures him.

"Hey! Vergo, what the Hell is wrong with you, those are your own men out there, and you're just going to let them die? Bastard!" Smoker bellows.

"Basically" Vergo admits with barely a shrug.

"What were you expecting, the man's a traitor to his core" Law sneers.

"You know, it's quite a sight, seeing so many big names all locked up in one place" Vergo notes idly.

"It must be pretty nostalgic for you and Smoker, reminds me of when we first met" Robin giggles.

"Yeah, Alabasta, what a wild ride" Luffy nods, his wriggling awakening the bleary-eyed Vivi.

"We were right, someone was manipulating things in the background from G5" Tashigi whimpers, wishing she wasn't "I, just never expected it to be all the way at the top"

"Unfortunately, it's the worst-case scenario, but also the one that makes the most sense, as being the Boss meant nobody would question his explanation of what was happening, whether they made sense or not" Smoker sighs.

"So, the weird guy with a steak on his cheek is a bad guy?" Luffy asks.

"That sounds like the jist of things, though we probably should have guessed just from the fact he's working with Caesar and his bird" Valentina confirms.

"Indeed, though it's not like he changed, he's been dirty from the start, since he infiltrated the Navy" Law continues "He's a pirate, always has been"

"He's been a traitor, all this time?"

"Yep. Deep cover, joined the Navy, worked his way up from the bottom on Joker's orders, his man on the inside"

"Joker? The Underworld Broker!" Smoker gasps, then growls "I'm an idiot, how did I never notice he was a rat when he was right there in front of me?"

"Because he's been a marine so long, the rot was buried deep" Victor hums.

"Don't beat yourself up over it, instead commend the rat for evading even the great White Hunter Smoker" Vergo taunts "Since you and Tashigi got here, I've been on high alert, and it's been exhausting. It'll be nice to know I don't have to keep my head on a swivel anymore. And you keep running your mouth Law, didn't I punish you enough last time? Though you did say I would have issues with the G5, and we both know that's not true" the traitor chuckles lowly, before fixing himself a drink "They'll never suspect a thing, but I already know what needs to be done if they do, but I'm sure a man of your intellect can figure it out on your own. In the meantime, Vice Admiral Smoker, Captain Tashigi, you have no future, you die today, in this wrecked place, there is no other outcome, especially if my secret is to remain as such. Caesar can handle the punks outside, they are more on his level after all. Still, this is Joker's territory, we can't allow anyone to know his true identity and live…"

"Really getting heavy Alabasta flashbacks right about now" Robin mutters, getting nods from the V's

"...but don't worry, your deaths will be recorded as mere accidents, as they always are" Vergo finishes, having turned out the pirates entirely.

"So… if we're gonna die anyway, who's Joker?" Luffy asks, though it was directed at Law, rather than Vergo.

"Well, let's start by saying I know Vergo, because I knew Joker" Law answers.

"That… was really unhelpful" Shirahoshi huffs.

"Joker is just an alias he uses for Underworld deals, his true persona, you know very well. One of the most dangerous pirates you'll ever see, one of the 7 Warlords: Donquixote Doflamingo"

"Damn it, we have done this before… now we wait for Kaos to fuck the bird lady" Valentina sighs deeply.

"Actually, we never formalised our relationship, physically, until After Skypeia" Robin corrects.

"Never considered the 10000m high club?" Vivi slurs, nuzzling into Luffy "Seastone suuuucks!" she whines.

"I, feel like this conversation has gone off the rails" Law mutters.

"Get used to it, but on the bright side, it should return any minute now" Tashigi assures him, Smoker nodding, albeit reluctantly.

"Doflamingo….. Who's that again?" Luffy asks, accidentally returning the conversation to Doffy.

"He was at the Battle of Marineford. Surely you remember that Straw Hat?" Smoker groans.

"I remember the fight but I don't think I fought him. Damn it where's Kaos when you need him" the rubber boy pouts.

"You may not have fought him, but it's not like he's easy to miss being 10ft tall with a pink feather coat" The vice admiral complains

"I think I remember seeing something pink, also 10 ft isn't that impressive, Brook's almost that size and Kaos is even taller" Luffy argues "Wait, he was the guy who cut off Crocodile's head, right? Flamingo guy?"

"Close enough" both marines sigh.

"He's not someone you'd forget, or take lightly" Law adds.

"Yeah, can't argue there" Smoker nods

"Also, while it was never confirmed, I heard that shortly after the Battle, Doflamingo ruthlessly cut down Gecko Moria. It's actually because of that, along with the Blackbeard's betrayal, that there were openings for both Trafalgar, Buggy, AND Nylock" Tashigi continues.

"Really, that's just nuts" Luffy hums.

With the kids

"Hello my dear children, I'm here to take you home, and give you all the candy you desire" Caesar purrs in a silky smooth tone as he enters the ruined lab.

Master!" the kids cheer, while Nami, Ussop, and Artemis prepare for a fight.

'So this is the bastard that kidnapped and experimented on all these kids' Nami thinks, fists clenched and starting to internally boil.

'It seems I have a target for my latest project, sooner than expected' Artemis thinks more neutrally, as she slips what seems to be a charm bracelet onto her arm.

"If he's here, then what happened to the others?" Ussop grimaces, hands shaking with concern.

"Shurororo, you should all be ashamed, how could you do such a horrid thing?" Caesar accuses with faux outrage.

"How could we do as we were asked, to get the kids out of the prison your goons put them in? I dunno, I think it was that someone forgot to lock the door I guess" Artemis shrugs.

"Excuse me? I should be ashamed, what about the horrible shit you've done to these kids, kidnapping and experimenting them, for years! You're the one who should be ashamed and disgusted with yourself!" Nami scowls.

"Ussop, if shit hits the fan, distract Nami, she won't like my contingency plan" Artemis asks, though given the look in her eye, it may have been an order.

"Try not hurt the kids too badly, I don't want Nami to come after you for it, or have to watch Robin learn haki just to make sure the neck snaps" Ussop whimpers, but nods.

"Hello children, I have lots of yummy candy here for all of you to eat, just come back to the lab with me, and it'll all be bet.." the gas man coos as he opens the sack to retrieve more candy.

CHOMP!

"AHHHYYYY!" Caesar shrieks as long teeth dig into his hand, pulling it free the empty sack drops to the ground, the entity currently chewing on his hand, also having eaten all the drugged candy he'd brought with him to entice the kiddies.

"Is that?" Ussop whimpers.

"No way" Nami gasps.

"Mom's gonna kill him, no doubt about it" Artemis grimaces as Medusa's needle-like fangs pierce Caesar's glove and latch onto his hand, the gas man too panicked and pained to dissipate into gas and free himself, her head wings flaring angrily as her eyes glowed an ominous purple.

"Get off me, you little hellion!" Caesar screams, swinging his arm around frantically "I don't care what experiments you would be good for, release me or get splatted!"

"Keep your filthy mitts off my SISTER!" Artemis bellows, tackling the gasman and getting him in centre mass with a haki-infused headbutt, managing to separate the toddler form the bastard while he was in a dazed state "You're not getting your hands on these kids, you hear me?"

"You little bitch, you dare lay a hand on me!? I am the greatest mind this world has ever seen, a luddite like you wouldn't even dream of understanding my genius!"

"She ate all the candy"

"Not fair!"

"I want Candy!"

"Make her spit it out"

Medusa's response, was to belch a fireball, luckily she'd been pointing in Caesar's direction, unfortunately he pretty much swatted it out of the air as he drained the oxygen from the air around him.

"If you want Candy children, there's plenty more at the lab, but in order to get it, you need to KILL THESE INTRUDERS!" Caesar bellows, the madness and rage blazing in his eyes.

"For Candy?"

"For Candy!"

"Shit, this is worse than I expected!" Ussop frets, while the conflict was clear in Nami's face. Artemis on the other hand, with her sister held close to her chest, had much less conflict, or moral quandry on what she was supposed to do, Dark magic sparking between her fingertips.

"Dominari" she chants ominously, though she may not have needed to, as unexpected help had been awoken by Caesar Clown's screaming

"Caesar!" Brownbeard bellows as he slaps away the pipe the kids had been carrying to kill the straw hats, with one of his own, then takes a swing at Caesar, who disperses harmlessly, but in doing so takes his focus off the pirates.

"You too, seriously did the Yeti Cool Bros kill anyone I asked them to today?" Caesar scowls as he reforms.

"Forgive me Straw Hats, I finally see the truth, the Monster that my former master truely is" Brownbeard shouts as he continues to swing at the gasman, either hoping to tire him out, or because he didn't have any other options, probably a little of both.

"Now that's a bit harsh isn't it, I underestimated you, but you clearly survived so it's all water under the bridge right?" Caesar grins, which just sets Brownbeard off once more, charging after the gas man, trying to smash him with his pipe. This did nothing to the logia, but did scare some of the children, which would ruin the Clown's plan "Careful children, this man is very dangerous. Go to the flying Gas Balloon and I'll take you all back to the lab once I've dealt with his ruffian" Caesar orders.

"Yeah, that's probably not going to work out too well, but we're happy to take your balloon gasbag, Shisese" Artemis grins, before with hand gestures similar to another puppet master, the kids start to leave the cave "Let's move while he's distracted!"

"Caesar! It's my fault you were able to trick me, I'll bear that sin myself, but I won't let the others go through the same Hell. Given them back to me Caesar, I'm taking my men and leaving this Goda forsaken island!" Brownbeard declares.

"Oh you stupid man, you're not the captain of anything anymore. You all pledged your allegiance to me in thanks for saving you all those years ago. All fools like you, who can't make it in the New World, are good for is my test subjects, your lives only worth however long you can provide me data, and even then if your death would give me more, that's what you shall do, Shurorororo!" Caesar cackles, pissing off the Alligator man even further.

"I'm gonna smash you!" Brown beard bellows as he swings his pipe down like a hammer.

"Gastanets" Caesar whispers.

KABOOM!

It was a good thing the kids and pirates had all fled the scene, heading for the balloon, as the explosion that followed the attack filled almost half the ruined base, flames licking at Ussop's heels as they fled.

"That was, way too close" the sniper whimpers.

"You think he survived that?" Nami asks, then freezes as the hissing of gas is heard, directly behind the foursome.

'Shit, so close' Artemis thinks, holding Medusa tighter, as Caesar unleashes another Gastanet attack, at point-blank range.

KABOOM!

Meanwhile at the lake

"These things don't know when to quit!" Brook yelps as another smile ball tries to tackle/smother him

"It's not like they need to stop, they have 1, maybe 2 jobs, to get all their parts to this side of the lake and clearly, to attack anything it sees" Alvida argues, as another glob flies overhead, landing almost directly on top of them.

"Damn it, it's still trying to box us in" Sanji grimaces.

"And I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing, that it appears that was the last of it" Zoro notes, unable to see any more of Smilie from this far away.

"I'd say good, as it means that no more will be sent over to us, and it's not like the blobs weren't already merging and fighting us while it was firing it's parts over" Kinemon suggests.

"Yes, but now it can solely focus on reformation, so the pieces will most likely attempt to combine even faster than they already were" Sanji counters.

"The one behind us IS getting rather large" Brook agrees.

"Not important, regrouping with the others is the top priority, then we can worry about this exploding slimeball" Alvida states bluntly.

Caesar's chambers

'This, wasn't what we planned to happen' Kaya thinks with a grimace, having used her syrup to scout ahead, and found not only the bird woman Law warned them about, but that Law and the rest of their crew had been captured, as well as Smoker & Tashigi.

"Shurorororo!" only grappling him with her tendrils prevented Chopper from leaping in shock as Caesar's made cackling was heard nearby.

"This is Caesar, are you there Monet?" the gasman asks from the Den Den Mushi on the counter.

"I'm here, yes" the harpy hums

"I retrieved the children without difficulty, despite, one small hiccup. You lost the brat and she ate all the candy I brought to entice the kids"

Vergo is surprised when Monet pales "Is she ok?"

"Unconscious like the rest of her ilk, but relatively unharmed, seemed the drugs gave her quite the appetite, Shurororo. Anyway, back to business, did you prepare Smilie's food while I was gone?"

"I prepared everything as you asked, down to the letter, as I always do" Monet replies, though she was still a little fretty as she accepts a cup of tea from Vergo "The marines are still outside the shutters, and we can transfer the Straw Hats whenever you desire. And the visual Den Den Mushi are on standby outside awaiting your orders to activate and begin broadcasting"

"Excellent. Meaning that once my adorable Smilie arrives, we can broadcast the experiment live for our various associates to see" Caesar grins, while Monet gives an unseen nod "Wonderful my dear, patch me through to all the receivers right now"

"Right away sir"

Various locations

"Fond greeting to the various brokers out there, I apologize greatly for the short notice on the broadcast, but you're about to witness something extrordinary. I've found the perfect opportunity for this demonstration. This is a poison gas weapon I developed, much like the one from 4 years ago, but with some new features added to improve it's effectiveness, which i know the Government would never be able to recreate. Anyway, it just so happens i have some uninvited guests on my island, and in doing so have graciously volunteered to assist me in this live fire test, which you're about to watch firsthand. Intimidation, war, annihilation, it has a variety of uses. If it happens to tickle your fancy, I would be more than happy to make a deal."

Garag Mach

"Well, shit" Alistar hisses, while Cipher cackles manically.

Konoha

"So Stella's intern is still alive, interesting, Kukuku" Orochimaru grins "Let's see if his arrogance has finally outweighed his incompetence after all this time"

TBC

LW: And the experiment begins!