As soon as Aria burst through the doorway, a shout rang out and a bullet plowed into the doorpost beside her. Inside, the Straw Hats' shock hit her senses—ice, mint, metallic, ginger, bitter-sweet—all in a heartbeat.

Without hesitation, she sprinted towards the forest, knowing she stood a better chance there and it would reduce the risk to others. Suddenly, a blue transparent dome shimmered around her.

"He's a monster," the black-haired man said. Spice, sourness; he was insulted. "I'm not letting you fight him alone."

Aria ducked as another bullet shot out. "I'm surprised your captain let you follow me," she said, keeping her eyes on the forest ahead. "I told you, this is my fight."

Law shot her an angry look, dodging a bullet; he had good observation, she noted. "Straw Hats not my captain! I'm just traveling with him to get back to my crew. We have an alliance."

Aria glanced behind her and a chill ran down her spine. Kaden was heading for them. There was no time to ask about that.

Law hadn't been kidding about Kaden being a cyborg.

His blue hair was longer, and his eyes had a sickly yellow tint. The last time she saw him, his arm wasn't mechanical. Now, he was taller, and a gun was integrated into his arm. Despite the changes, the sardonic look on his face remained, twisted now into a mask of rage.

"Fine, want to help? Don't get hit!" Aria snarled at Law as they entered the forest.

It was no effort to climb into the trees then suppress her haki. Aria waited as Kaden appeared below her, his head whipping around wildly. Bright and sweet, she could easily taste his excitement.

The sight of the tether protruding from his skull made her stomach churn. Had he experimented on himself? Perhaps he lacked haki and could taste emotions, just like her.

Movement caught her eye and she spotted Law hiding nearby. He met her gaze but ducked as the blast from a shotgun went out.

Kaden laughed. "I know you're here Aria."

Aria shivered at the coldness in his voice. There was a hollow ring to it. His arm wasn't the only mechanical change he made.

"I finally figured out where you went," he called out, slowly moving through the undergrowth in a circle. "It took me five fucking years, but I finally realized you weren't with Red-Hair." He paused by a briar. "It makes sense you've been hiding in the territory of an old Yonko."

Aria shrank against the trunk as he looked up. Crap.

He aimed and pulled the trigger of his shotgun faster than she expected. He only used one hand to aim; she felt sick.

Aria grunted, biting her tongue to stifle a scream, barely dodging the worst of the blast. Scrambling to her feet, she notched an arrow and flashed her haki out just before shooting. Blood streaked down her arm, her muscles screaming at the movement.

A pained scream rang out. The taste of blood and oil.

She didn't dare look back. Scaling another tree, this one with a blind, she stopped and ducked down behind the short wall. She pressed a hand against the three bleeding holes in her arm.

Someone walked below; Kaden. "Not going to face me?" A click, then the shotgun went off. Bark flew from a tree nearby.

Aria took a deep breath and stretched out her haki.

Bullets shot through the bottom of the blind.

"Can't hide from me now!" Kaden shouted as Aria fell, then scrambled to her feet and fled.

The blue dome appeared again and suddenly Aria found herself by Law. She could hear Kaden in the distance, raging. "What…what did you just do?"

"I'm a devil fruit user," Law explained curtly, not offering more details. "He can sense haki signatures pretty easily."

Aria glared at him. "Yeah, I guessed that when he just shot me in the back one second after I stopping hiding mine!" She was very lucky her armament was automatic anymore. Her back stung like hell, but that was better than bleeding.

Law glanced at her, then ducked behind a tree as Kaden looked in their direction. "What's on his head?"

She paused, eyeing Law warily. "It's…it's an experiment."

He shot her a dark look. "Is it the same as yours?" At her shocked expression, he snorted quietly. "I knew the second you said you were from Punk Hazard and pointed out your hair. Your braid is synthetic, isn't it?"

"Yes," Aria hissed, ducking behind a tree as Kaden shot in their direction. She was amazed he hadn't found them yet.

"What happens if it's cut?" Law asked.

Aria stared at him. "Nothing good. Why?"

He didn't look at her, but a glowing sphere appeared in his hand, "Room," and then the blue dome appeared around them. "Shambles."

She hissed as he disappeared. A rock dropped where he had been standing.

"Found you!" Kaden's voice was disturbingly close and Aria was knocked back as the butt of his gun connected with her temple. An arrow was sticking out of his shoulder; the other end poked through his back.

The forest spun and it was two heartbeats before she could get up.

And only one for Kaden to press her against a tree, the shotguns end pressed against her throat.

Aria struggled to move. The tree pressed against her back painfully, the bark scraping against the back of her neck.

"Finally. Five years of searching and I get to finally kill you," Kaden snarled, his finger posed just in front of the trigger. Strong ginger, burning, rich; he was enjoying this!

Aria growled, but she was pinned too well. "Why?" she choked out. "Why do you want to kill me so bad?"

Kaden pressed the gun against her throat harder. "It's your fault the experiments were discovered."

Her fault? Her fingers tightened around her bow. Maybe if she kept him talking, she could figure out how to get out of this. "How?" Black spots darkened the edges of her vision.

"You escaped," he spat. "Then got caught by the fucking marines!" His brow was lowered, he was panting heavily, and Aria shivered at the mad gleam in his eyes. "They did some digging about your tattoo and found me out."

"So what?" Aria hissed through her teeth. Her mind raced. He was too close to use her bow. A flash of white at the corner of her vision caught her attention, but she forced herself to keep glaring at Kaden.

Blackness bloomed over her sight as he pressed against her neck harder. "You. Were. Supposed. To. Die." Kaden snapped out each word slowly. "I kill you, they reinstate me."

That explained his determination then. The bitter-spice that flowed out was too much; she struggled to stay conscious.

There was another dome – Aria cursed as Law dumped her far enough away that Kaden's cursing was barely audible. Her free hand flew to her throat and she coughed at the sudden intake of air. "Stop doing that, dammit!"

"You're welcome," Law snapped at her. "He was about to kill you. Want your kids missing both their parents?"

Aria glared at him as she took deep breaths but didn't argue.

"You've got a ranged weapon, use it!" Law said, meeting her glare with one of his own. "He's toying with you."

Of course he was, Aria wanted to yell out. Instead, she got to her feet and looked around. She knew this spot and grinned. "You just made this easier." Ignoring the confused look he gave her, she scrambled up the steep incline a few feet behind them. A sweet, tangy taste touched her briefly.

This was her favorite hunting spot, and a place to relax. She kept a special bundle of arrows here but didn't think she'd have time to get them. The little cave, about ten feet up the incline, was perfectly situated to see the ocean, the forest, and the town.

"What's so special about this place?" Law asked, joining her a moment later with his ability.

"These." Aria held out a strange-looking arrow. The straight shaft wasn't any different from her other arrows, but the end was long, thin, and unusually narrow. There were thin wooden flares instead of feathers along one end. "Cyborg or not, he won't be able to walk if I can hit him with even one of these." The tip was coated in a thin poison, something she mixed herself.

Kaden's gun went off again. He was moving towards the incline. His cursing was loud but indistinct. He must be using haki and an ability like hers to keep following them this well.

Law ducked into the shallow cave. "Whatever you do, do it soon. You've been shot twice already."

Aria flinched as the shotgun went off, rocks raining down from above them. Kaden grinned up at her from the forest edge. She growled at the bitter-citrus taste radiating from him.

Without thinking, she dashed down at an angle, barely dodging another gunshot. Flashing out her haki, she didn't look behind her as she let loose a regular arrow from the short string.

Kaden screamed and she heard him give chase as she reached the woods.

How many bullets did he have? He shot again, then again, and another time. Aria tried to duck, but the third shot caught her full on the leg and she stumbled.

Hissing through her teeth, she dragged herself behind a wide tree as he stalked forward. She pulled her haki in tightly. There were bullets in her leg; she could feel the smaller pellet-like shapes against bone.

"You got tough, I'll give you that," Kaden said after a moment. "But I saw you take that hit. You're no devil fruit user, but even you can't handle seastone very well."

Aria pulled out one of the thin arrows and nocked it.

"But maybe I should keep you alive." A sneer leaked into his voice. "Tell them you're dead, but use you for new experiments."

He came into view, his back to her, and she raised the bow.

He whirled around and shot before she could release the arrow.

The world went into sharp focus as she ducked and she gagged as something dripped down her back. Rolling to her feet, she ran in a jagged motion away from him.

Something was wrong.

Something happened.

She had no idea what caused this, but the pain coursing through her body, thudding under the temporary deafness, was white hot.

Every sound was amplified. Her breathing alone almost drowned out anything nearby. Her heartbeat sounded like a slow drum, though she knew it was beating faster than ever. Footsteps crunched under her and behind her, snaps shot through the air like pistols, Kaden's mad cackle pounded against her ears.

Every smell met her at once. Earth, bark, leaves, the almost overwhelming scent of gunpower, blood, and steel.

But not one taste.

Each footstep sent another jolt of pain through her body. It was never more than the white-hot feeling in her head, however.

"Aria!" Law's shout rang out and she flinched as he appeared in front of her.

She could still hear Kaden close by. What was Law doing?

Law grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side as another shot rang out.

She clapped a hand over her ear at the sound.

Kaden must've spotted them, as another shot rang out. Bark chips battered them as a nearby tree exploded.

"I can give you one shot at him," Law said.

Aria shook her head; a white-hot stab of pain shot down her neck. "He's mine."

"And he just did the one thing that could kill you!" Law shot at her.

Kaden's feet crunched closer.

Unconsciously, she reached behind her but…

Her braid was gone.

A ball of ice formed in her stomach. "Law."

He looked at her, jerking at the cold tone.

"If something happens," she started.

He stared at her.

The footsteps stopped. A click sounded.

"Use the blue Den Den in my room. Call the number taped to it." She finished, pinning him with her glare.

He froze, then nodded.

She knew he understood what she was about to do.

And if this went badly, which she knew it would, she knew Benn would come get the kids. Shanks' rules about kids onboard be damned.

A dome appeared, then he disappeared.

The ball of ice flooded through her limbs and she ignored the pain to climb into the tree. She didn't flinch as Kaden shot at where they had stood seconds before. Her leg screamed at her, but the pain radiating from her head was worse.

She knew this forest as well as she knew the Red Force.

Moving to the branches above him as quietly as she could, Aria leaped to the next tree.

Kaden turned beneath her, aiming but he didn't pull the trigger. He was looking away.

Aria took a slim arrow and nocked it on both strings.

Kaden whirled around, looking for her.

She pulled back, until her arm ached.

A gunshot went off. Not in her direction, but she heard his breathing growing ragged. He was getting pissed.

Aria waited, holding the arrow, her muscles screaming. The pain in her head grew, blotting out sounds.

His eyes met hers and he raised his gun.

She shot just as he did.