LW: I think we're getting close to the end of the arc guys, just a few more fights need clearing up, and Caesar needs to be punched in the face. I just feel like I'm forgetting something.
Rubber King and Mirror Master - New World Chaos: Winter Industrial Purging, Straw Hat Edition
Biscuit Room
"Moka, there's no way you can eat all that candy by yourself, so you might as well start passing it out to the others" Monet scolds "Stop being greedy and do as you're told, you'll make your friends sad if you wait any longer"
"No, I won't do it. It's full of bad stuff and we shouldn't eat any more of it" Moka cries, getting a soft sigh from the harpy.
"My, you are a difficult one Moka darling"
"Hey! What are you doing to these children?" Nami shouts.
"Yeah, you better tell us, and make it snappy, you don't know who you're messing with lady!" Ussop orders, the 2 drawing Monet's attention, her eyes widen when she sees Medusa in Robin's arms.
'Shit… that's who she meant, should have known' she thinks, before quickly covering it with her more teasing tones "Actually, I know exactly who you all are. See, unlike most of you greenhorns I do my research, so I know you all. The infamous Straw Hat pirates, though notably missing the 2 star attractions, as well as a few others" she coos "The pleasure is mine still. Good day," she nods slightly.
"You know who we are, so who are you?" Zoro asks, hand on his sword hilt.
Monet chuckles "I am Monet, eater of the Yuki Yuki no mi" she declares, before unleashing another blizzard from her wings.
"Great, just what we need, weather effects in doors" Valentina mutters.
"Brook, Ussop, Carue. We'll deal with the harpy and the kids, find Seastone handcuffs" Robin orders, the trio confused by the order "Luffy asked me to find some, probably for when we catch Caesar, not important why right now, just go"
"I will also accompany you, I must find Momonosuke" Kinemon butts in, but the more the merrier I suppose, as none of the 3 argue and allow the samurai to follow them out of the room.
SAD Production Facility
"So, care to spill what those things over there are, they look pretty ominous," Smoker asks, looking at the SAD tanks and bubbling tubes that fill the entire laboratory.
"They are, but that's not any of your business" Vergo states bluntly.
"Aw, I thought we were going to fight, guess you're even more easily distracted than I expected" Kaos chitters, Ruinous Extermination emitting a red and black aura as it rests on his shoulder.
"I wish I could keep your dirty laundry unaired for the rank and file marines, but the rot you leave in your wake, it must be expunged, so I need to take you in, and there be no shred of doubt to you deserving this fate" Smoker growls around his cigars, drawing out his jitte to fight Vergo.
"They already know, I was just with them, and your bitch of a Yuki had to go and blab" Vergo grunts, Smoker's eyes narrow in anger before shooting forward to strike the traitorous Vice Admiral, only for it to be blocked by his Bamboo stick "Seems I struck a nerve, you care about the little beastie, don't you? It's a shame that you had to discover my secrets Smoker, you always did seem like a good man, but I'm still going to kill you" he continues, pushing Smoker away then having to dodge a slash from Kaos, eyebrows raised as the blade cut his sleeve even with his armament flowing through his entire arm.
"Yeah, Dragon element doesn't play well with haki, should make this fight a little more interesting' the pirate grins maniacally, leaping to avoid a swing from Smoker which Vergo also managed to avoid, though he did so by practically folding himself backward, then countering with a spin kick and swing of his bamboo pole but Smoker dissipates to dodge the attack. Both combatants managed to avoid the bamboo bullet Vergo blew at them, though the resulting explosion was surprising.
'Seems he's not as concerned about collateral damage as I expected' Law notes, though he wasn't going to let a good distraction go to waste, as Smoker's own haki-imbued fist connects with Vergo's nose, sending him shooting backward.
"It's not that easy, is it?" Kaos asks, Law hoping he was only imagining the disappointment in the lanky pirate's voice.
Building B
"Everything is on fire… guess that little green bastard was a dragon" Sanji grimaces as he assists Tashigi and the rest of G5 make their way through the labs on the hunt for the kids, as well as the rest of his crew, Caesar and/or Vergo.
"We need to keep moving, who knows how structurally sound this place is, or what kind of boobytraps Caesar has this place rigged with" Tashigi orders, getting enthusiastic nods and an increase in speed from all those who could.
"You know Black Leg, watching you beat on that traitor Vergo made my heart flutter"
"Yeah, for a pirate, you're pretty awesome"
"You're not my type, but thanks for the confidence boost" Sanji nods and gives a gentle smile, no need to slap them down when he can tell they're genuinely appreciative of his actions.
KABOOM!
"The tank just exploded!"
"And that's our cue to leave!" 2 of the remaining G5 marines shout, panic spreading through the group.
"Shit, these explosions are letting in the Smoke too, we really NEED to keep moving" Sanji scowls, then notices Tashigi lagging a little, as well as her hair and eyes being darker than when he first saw her "You ok there Cap?"
"I'll be fine, just not good with heat, it's really doing a number on me" the bluenette pants, giving a shaky smile.
"Fair enough our doctor would probably say the same, except he's a reindeer not a… whatever you are, not that I care about that, just that you're a lady in need of an assist" Sanji responds with a shrug "Now let's get the hell out of here before this place turns into a rock garden. Vamoose!"
Caesar's Secret Room
"Shurorororo, I didn't even need to lift a finger, and those troglodytes brought Shinokuni in all by themselves" Caesar cackles as he watches through the various monitors "BUT, it's too soon. My live demonstration is not done yet" he then turns to one of his minions "You there, seal the doors to Buildings C and D!"
"Yes sir, but what about Building R?" the hazmat guy asks.
"Leave that one open, can't have them getting lost, so we'll lead them right where we want them by turning a multiple choice question into a single path to freedom, or so they think" Caesar explains.
Far Below
CRASH!
"Well, that didn't go as I intended…. But I'm away from the harpy lady so that's a win!" Luffy chuckles, before scouting his surroundings "Wow, I've not seen this much useless crap since Grey Terminal… I'm in a garbage dump!" Luffy shouts, then drops to his knees "And now I'm hungry, figures that would happen with all the running around and fighting I was doing, but this is just the worst timing ever" he grumbled to himself "There's probably not any food down here, I'd probably be able to smell the rot otherwise, but never hurts to check" he mutters to himself, before proceeding to dig through the debris as well as toss around the larger wrecks in his search for food.
"Be more careful, insolent fellow" a young, yet at least attempting to be refined voice scolds him. Luffy who'd been ignoring authority figures since he was 7 didn't care what the person was saying, but was curious as to who the other person trapped in this trash heap was.
"Hm? Are you, a talking worm?" Luffy muses aloud "Damn, I really should have tried to scan the place with haki, but why would there be another person in this dump beside me? Shows what a dumbo I am" he chuckles "So, who are you, wormy?" he asks with a smirk.
"Who am I? I should be the one asking you that!" the pink dragon wyrm thing shouts
Back to Caesar
"Curses, I loathe this stupid, secret room" Caesar grumbles as he swivels in his chair, before refocusing on the various monitors displaying his current foes "Too bad right, but once we're done I'll be free and never have to come here again, the Straw Hats have overstayed their welcome, time to show them the error of their ways. I have Joker on my side, and the opportunity to kill all of them in an ideal manner"
"We await your orders sir, everyone here is ready for battle. Though if I may speak freely, why did you summon us to Vegapunk's command room?" a satyr asks
"Yeah, wasn't he the one who turned this island into a hellscape?" another enquires "We've got a score to settle with him too, let's hunt him down and kill him next!"
'As if any of these simple-minded peons could get through Egghead's security' Caesar mentally scoffs "Gentlemen, you're my backup plan in case this all goes sideways. You men, are the best soldiers I have, or could ever wish for" he sobs, laying it on a little thick, but they were idiots so it was better to keep them happy and loyal than underplay and risk mutiny "Now, allow me to explain the current plan to you all: As I already stated, once the doors linking B to C and D are closed, the only route out of any of the buildings will lead to Building R, directly beneath us. All of our foes, should they survive, will be funneled into R as well as into our waiting clutches. The 1st floor has vents that draw in outside air, meaning once everyone is there, we can flood the room with Shinokuni and deal with all-in-one fail swoop. And the best part is it will all be broadcast to the Shadow Brokers in the New World, they will all see the power of my weapons, and my genius. Shurorororo!"
"Um, sir. I don't mean to interrupt, but did YOU create the deadly poison gas?" One brave minion asks, causing the gasman to stop laughing.
"Why yes I did" he answers bluntly, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly shifts.
"Apologies Master, it's just this seems a lot like Vegapunk's Gas, the stuff from 4 years ago, which blanketed the island in a cloud of death, and we just barely managed to survive"
"It freaks us out honestly"
"It's awful"
'Damn minions, you're supposed to be meat shields, stop trying to think for yourselves' Caesar thinks irritably, before deciding to try to work this to his advantage. As he blubbers and forces tears out he whimpers "Please, just allow me to explain first. That day, it still haunts me! Oh how I tried to stop the MAD scientist, 'No! What if this dangerous weapon exploded?' I cried, 'Just think of all the innocent people who'd be caught in the blast' 'Please Vegapunk, don't do this!' But he did it anyway, saying how Science must always push past limits Quazar, even those of human decency. And now, he's the head of the Navy's Science division, practically untouchable by mortal men, and considered the world over to be, the World's Greatest Scientist. It's not fair, it should have been me! I refuse to accept this, how can someone so heartless come to be praised like a god amongst men? Tell me, after all he's done, does he still deserve to be called the Greatest ever?"
"Master!" the hazmat goons blubber.
"That's why I must prove him wrong. I don't WANT to create a Weapon of Mass Murder, but I MUST, to show them all that Vegapunk isn't the greatest, he's nothing but a damn fool. Please trust me. Once the Navy realizes that I deserve to be their lead scientist, that Vegapunk's Accolades should be mine, then, I'll be fulfilled, and shall use my knowledge to bring PEACE to the seas!"
'Hook, line and sinker. Damn, halfwits'
"Alright, let's get started!" Caesar cries, the men rushing to the controls, sealing the doorways as instructed, and now it was simply a matter of waiting for Straw Hat, his crew, and what remained of the G5 to stumble into his trap.
Trash Heap
"Momonosuke?" Luffy repeats, looking at the pink noodle skeptically.
"Indeed, it is I!" the dragon declares, expecting fanfare… but getting nothing.
"I know that name sounds familiar, it's gonna bug me all day. Maybe Kaos will know… eh something for later" Luffy sighs.
"I assure you, we've never crossed paths in my life, but never mind that, stop staring at me" Momonosuke orders, just as Luffy's tummy rumbles "And stop drooling, you shall never make a snack out of me, for even if you were to attempt to, I would swallow you whole. Please step away!"
"You're like the least intimidating animal I've seen in years, you're almost too wimpy to eat" Luffy sighs heavily, Momo's pride taking a beating even as he is glad to not be on the menu anytime soon "So, talking eel, how'd you get stuck down here in this trash heap, and do you have any food?"
"No, I do not, any provisions I had would have already been consumed personally, but since I arrived down here without any, there is nothing for either of us to eat" Momonosuke explains.
"Well, that sucks" Luffy hums with a chuckle "Guess we're both gonna starve down here"
"How absurd. I am a noble samurai of Wano, 10 days of fasting is nothing for one such as I" Momo boasts, but is drowned out by his rumbling stomach "Tell me, who are you, and why are you here?"
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy, aged 19, married twice, and gonna be the King of the Pirates 1 day" Luffy lists off, and if Momo's head wasn't already on the ground his jaw would have dropped to the floor in shock.
"P-p-p-p-pirate? You surely jest. Pirates are large in stature and girth, hairy and muscular, quite rude and viciously powerful. You seem to be none of those things" Momo attempts to handwave, meanwhile, Luffy gets bored and starts wandering off.
"Anyway, can you get me out Dragon thing, this place is your home and you gotta leave here to hunt and stuff?" Luffy requests.
"My name's Momonosuke, and maybe I was wrong, you are as rude as any pirate. Also, your manner of speech and request, allude to the fact you're also not from this land, which is unfortunate. I too am an outsider, I only know sick children have been gathered up in this place. I know not what manner of island we dwell upon, nor what strange fate has befallen me?" Momo monologues, the tail end of his statement catching Luffy's attention "My misfortune began when I was discovered as a stow-away on a seafaring vessel nearby. At first, I tried to distance myself from the other children, but they were so kind, and were quite insistent as well. I was terribly stressed, and now regret my brashness. Of course, the true apex of my suffering occurred when I partook of that blue fruit and was cursed into this beastly form"
Luffy blinks "That's way too many words for 'I ate a Dragon Zoan Devil fruit' Momonukacola. Also, why don't you just use your powers to turn back to normal?"
Momo turns his long neck in Luffy's direction "It's that simple, I can just, change back?"
"I presume so, Chopper and Kaos make it look easy, same with Carue. I don't know personally, but it seems so" Luffy admits with a shrug, then looks up "Damn, how far did I fall, I can't even see the hole I fell in from, from down here" he whines.
"I too wish to escape this confinement, the children must know the truth before it's too late. I heard something truly dreadful before ending up in this place. Caesar unwittingly revealed a dark secret in my prescience, his kindness is a facade, his 'treatments' a death sentence and those children above merely meat to him. I can't leave them to die, I must aid them, my samurai pride will allow nothing less. And in truth, I was on my way to warn them of the danger, when I ended up down here" Momonosuke admits with clear shame on his reptilian face.
"Every time his name comes up… He keeps giving me reasons to SMASH HIS FACE IN!" Luffy bellows, Momonosuke scuttling away from the sheer prescience the rubber boy emanates in his rage "Ok Momo, time to get out of here, I want another try and pounding that gasbag into the ground, preferably before Law Kaos or Robin get there first. I'm getting us out of here!" he declares, then turns away.
"How? You said so yourself, the ceiling is beyond your sight" Momo asks, curious and concerned.
"I'm going to climb, that's how. Get on my back!" Luffy orders, the little dragon frozen in shock "And don't worry about the kids, they'll be fine. My friends are up top looking after them and trying to get them the help they need"
"Is that true?" Momo asks skeptically.
"Yeah, and they always keep their word. Just like I will, when I tell you we're getting out of this scrap heap" Luffy promises.
"I was right, you're no lowly pirate, but a valiant…." Momo peters off as he slumps forward, Luffy rushing over to check on him.
"Momo! What's wrong, speak to me! Hang in there, you need to pull it together, we can get food once we get out of this place" Luffy shouts, then steps back as the dragon boy starts flailing around and swatting at the air, small clouds forming around him before dissipating moments later. Then to Luffy's surprise, the clouds manage to remain stable long enough for Momo to walk on them, using them to 'fly' around the area on little cloud platforms. "Hey wait a minute!" the pirate cries, leaping at and clinging to the rapidly rising dragon 'Guess this is how we're getting out of here'
Elsewhere
"I sure hope the others are ok without me, they have Zoro, but he's no Ussop" the sniper hums aloud, getting an unimpressed side eye from Carue.
"They have Valentina, Artemis, and Zoro, they'll be fine qua!" the duck angel argues, getting a sigh from Ussop.
"Never fear Longnose, Duckgirl, Sir Corpse, the sooner we find Momonosuke and these hand-cuffs Miss Robin spoke of, the sooner we can return to aid our companions" Kinemon declares "Speaking of, I shall carry your body while you are scouting ahead"
"Thank you, I hadn't thought of that at the time, but it definitely saves on backtracking" Brook's soul nods, then starts phasing through walls, looking for a small boy dressed like Kinemon, and some Seastone handcuffs, unsure which he will locate first.
SAD Processing Chamber
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
"This is getting us nowhere, even with that blade of yours. Can't you haki it up to cut through his, or are you incapable of that too?" Smoker grumbles as Vergo once more blocks his Jitte, it being just an ordinary pole against a man with no Devil fruits.
"The former, Dragon Element does play well with haki, and even if I could, it's clear his armament is higher level than mine, which is why I went for this method in the first place" Kaos explains, locking 'blades' with Vergo's bamboo pole "If Hebi wasn't basically unbreakable I wouldn't be doing this, given I can't enhance its durability via armament for that same reason"
"At least you've realized, there's no getting through my armament haki, unlike Smoker who continues to pound his fists against a wall he can never even leave a dent in" Vergo mocks in his usual emotionless tones "You never struck me as a fool Smoker, stop this foolishness before I have no choice but to kill you. Why are you even fighting me, boys, it can't be for justice, one of you's a pirate, and the other is working WITH a pirate to try and kill me. I never thought I'd see you sink this low"
"Cut the crap, you've done worse as a rat than any of the Straw Hats, your being here is proof enough, as well as anything your actions as a marine has allowed Doflamingo to commit" Smoker growls, switching with Kaos and catching the bamboo in the gap between his Jitte's 2 prongs, while the pirate goes for a stab to the chest and only manages to cut open his palm as he blocks the attack by catching the blade in his hand. "Besides, 2 opponents, means I can get you to drop your guard easier" he gives a half smile then launches his free hand and boots at the turncoat, Virgo leaping back to avoid the blows, but they chase as expected, Smoker even dissipating and condensing behind him to land a sucker punch to the chin as he turns, sending him flying across the room, though he did get back up rather quickly.
With Sanji & Tashigi
"Just a little further, the Biscuit room is just up ahead!" Tashigi yells, leading her men up the stairs, Sanji bringing up the rear, kicking some of the men to get a move on when necessary.
"Those kids won't save themselves, too doped up out of their minds to even know they're in danger. Come on Marines, be the heroes everyone thinks you are!" Sanji bellows, kicking a few of the G5 INTO the Biscuit room personally.
Speaking of. The Biscuit Room.
"Moka can't run forever. I really hope this works" Valentina sighs deeply before flashing through hand signs "Earth Style: Defensive Wall Jutsu" She cries, slamming her palms into the floor, and to her relief it works, 6ft walls separating Moka from the other kids "They'll either go around, smash through, or throw the smaller ones over, but it'll give Moka a minute to catch her breath"
"I doubt that last one, they all want the candy too much to actually allow someone else to get some and not themselves" Artemis argues "Their drug-induced needs also formed a glutinous selfishness where the candy is concerned"
" I can at least slow down the small ones, just in case they do decide throwing them at Moka to stop her while they smash through is worth the risk" Robin adds, arms already in the correct position to form her blooms, only to dive roll to avoid being skewered by Monet and the giant needle-like objects she had clenched in her talons.
"I'd rather you not interfere with science dearie" Monet chirps, making a loop for a 2nd run, only for her skewers to be blocked by Zoro's swords "Pirate Hunter Zoro, 3rd highest bounty on the crew if I'm not mistaken" She grins once the surprise wears off.
"Deal with the kids, or find a way through the snowdrift she plugged the door with, I'll handle Snow Queen here" Zoro grunts, pushing the harpy back with a swing of his swords "You're a logia type correct? Should be a fun fight then" he muses to himself, before having to block and counter her returning attack, and the barrage of stabs from her 2 needle-like weapons.
"Ok, so the actual enemy is dealt with, now for the other issue, stopping those kids from drugging themselves all over again" Victor hums, his explosions not doing as much as he expected against the DF-summoned snow blocking their primary escape.
"Which is probably why Moka decided to double back and leave the Biscuit room before the other kids of Monet can actually catch her" Kaya pants "Come on, we need to find some way to subdue these kids"
"We promised Moka we'd help her, but all we've done is put her in danger" Chopper cries from Nami's arms.
"Then you guys should probably chase after them, we'll get the ice-wall down by the time you get back. Provided Zoro kicking the Ice Harpy into next month doesn't do the job for us" Valentina winks, before spewing out a large amount of clay which formed into a mole the size of a St. Bernard "Bakudan: Tunneling Mortar Jutsu. See if you can dig through the snow, it might help us make a bigger impact than if you blow up beside it" she commands the giant mole, who charges at the blockade.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
Zoro keeps his eye on Monet as he blocks her strikes, face stony and focused, while Monet was more like Valentina or Kaos, an amused little smirk on her face even as none of her attacks manage to hit their target. Of course, seeing several of the Straw Hats sneaking away out the corner of her eye, she collapses into snow and flutters in her self-summoned blizzard, Zoro scowling before realizing where she was going and rushing in the same direction, managing to catch up to them and block just before Monet's needles could give Nami a fatal lobotomy.
"That was way too close. Thanks, Zoro" Nami squeaks as her speed increases, getting out of the room at breakneck speed.
"You were fighting me, why split off to attack them, they were no threat to you?" Zoro questions irritably.
"True, but they would be in the future, plus there's the fact that picking off the weak is a sound strategy, as well as the fact that if I kill all of you, Joker might let me keep the cutie all to myself" Monet purrs, her grin having a strange edge to it, affection mixed with bloodlust.
"Red Dragon Blaze!" Artemis cries, Monet's eyes widen as a torrent of flames barrel toward her, the harpy breaks away from her lock with Zoro, but the flame still clips one of her wings "Logias may not always be their namesake like paramecia are, but instinct still wins out, switching to your element to protect yourself, and in turn falling to the alignment chart and your elemental weakness. In this case, fire melts snow" the artist explains with a D. grin.
"Project Mystic, I heard Vegapunk wondered what happened to you for quite some time" Monet hums as she reforms her wing "The power of that attack, your bounty should be a lot higher than 60 million"
"Yeah, well I've not done much recently, so haven't given them a reason to raise it. Speaking of gotta go save some kids. Kick her feathery ass Zoro!" Artemis cheers as she runs out of the Biscuit room, leaving just Zoro and Monet, the latter melting into the snow once more, to the former's annoyance.
"Oh no you don't. Master needs those test subjects uncontaminated, and it's my duty to ensure the experiment is uninterrupted" Monet states, reforming in front of Kaya and Robin before they could escape, creating another blockade just to be sure, As her jaw fills with jagged teeth she croons "Look away little one, it's about to get messy"
KABOOM!
SHING!
Almost like they planned it, Valentina's Mole Bomb tore through the 1st Snow Fence at the exact same moment Zoro sliced through the 2nd. The destruction of her fortifications was also enough to draw Monet away from murdering the 2 women in front of her, though her monstrous form remained from sheer anger alone.
"Get out of here, maybe with you gone she'll stand still long enough to fight" Zoro grunts, getting a nod from Robin and Kaya before they slip out the hole in the fence.
"That wasn't very nice, if you wanted me all to yourself you could have just asked" Monet coos, trying to recapture her playfulness, but her monster form showed that the ship had sailed a while ago.
"Tried that, you were more interested in chasing some great tits, but at least it tells me what kind of bird you are" Zoro counters, giving the harpy a half smile.
"Since those kids arrived on this island they've been given every comfort they could ever dream of, as well as the love and affection a child would desire. And yet you storm in here and try to take them from their caring foster parents, such sins are expected, of pirates" Monet sneers, attempting the emotional blackmail route…. Shame Zoro neither believes, nor gives a shit about her lies.
"If you saw it coming, but didn't prevent it, then you must be ok with it" he shrugs, raising his blades to block her wing blade.
"I already said your interference ends now. Sword Snow. Swordskin technique"
Elsewhere, in a garbage shoot
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Momo screams as he continues to rise, light finally starting to shine on dragon boy and pirate.
'Just a little further, we might actually make it out of here in no time' Luffy thinks with a smile even as he clings to the sinewy dragon like a bucking bronco, until it suddenly slows, and then stops "Huh, what's wrong, did you run out of clouds? Are you ok?" he asks in concern, both of them currently dangling from one of the clouds, Momo panting heavily.
"I'm not hungry, not the slightest bit hungry" Momo pants, though the volume of his stomach growls showed just how badly he was lying, just before passing out, his grip on the clouds, loosening only a few moments later, sending both of them tumbling back into the abyss below.
Vegapunk's monitoring station
"Hmm, seems Monet's gotten sidetracked, and let the children escape, what a pity. Still we can just steal some more later, the most important factor is showing off Shinokuni to its full potential to the Investors. Fortunately for us, the gas is already steadily flowing into the building as we speak, soon there won't be a single place in the labs these Neanderthals can hide without succumbing to my greatest creation, Shurorororo!" Caesar muses to himself, as he watches Monet clash with Zoro on one of the monitors, as well as the gas seeping into the openings in the labs caused mostly by the Lab B explosions earlier on another.
Somewhere in the lab
"Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no!" Ussop and Kinemon practically chant as they run through the corridors.
"That does seem like quite nasty thing to get caught in" Brook muses in soul form as the purple clouds of Shinokuni waft behind them
"Damn it, nothing I can do is even slowing it down, maybe I can try to learn some wind element magic from Artemis or Val" Carue grimaces, as even though she could produce gusts of wind with her 'Skipeian wings' [Though they were more the size of a Lunarian's] the toxic cloud just continues to spread and encroach upon the fleeing pirates.
"Damn it, I thought this building had been sealed already, where's the gas coming from?" Ussop groans.
"Maybe the explosions broke the seal, or more likely a wall, letting the gas in?" Carue suggests.
"It's also a small mercy the stuff seems to be heavier than air, or at least behaves like it, flowing along the ground, more like a wave, rather than engulfing the room like a wall of death" Brook notes.
"That's nice, but it means the ground floor, and probably the rest of the building will be off-limits soon enough. We need to find these cuffs yesterday. Kinemon, keep a hold of Brook, me,and Carue will split off, allowing us to cut the time in 2 and hopefully find them before all chances of getting back to the kids and the others, is cut off by the gas" Ussop suggests, coming up with a plan on the fly.
"You want us to split up, again?" Brook asks in surprise, raising a non existent eyebrow, before nodding "I suppose there's no other choice"
"Meet back up in Building R?" Carue suggests, getting nods of agreement from the other 3 "Ok, let's get moving boys!"
"Right!"
Biscuit Room
Fighting Monet actually brought back memories for the one eyed swordsman, as her snow bladed wings reminded him heavily of Mr. 1 in Alabasta, with his sword arms, though a mix of training and only the edge of her wings seemingly able to become sharpened ice, made her an easier combatant in theory, but the wings, still allowed her to fly, adding extra variables including verticality to their fight.
"You know" Monet hums as she breaks away, putting distance between herself and Zoro "I've noticed all you've done in this fight is block and defend yourself. Is there a reason you've not tried to attack me, perhaps, you can't?" she asks with a wide grin, though it drops when a noise similar to thundering elephants was heard nearby.
"There's another room back here, find the children and let's go" shouted what turned out to be one of the G5 marines, as the entire group, headed by Sanji and Tashigi appeared from the open doorway.
"I'll save you the trouble swirly brow, the kids, as well as Nami, Robin, Kaya and Artemis went that way" he points to the doorway, getting a smirk from the blond, then a wide eyed gape as he finally noticed Monet just behind the swordsman.
"When'd the bird lady show up? She's cute, and got one hell of a rack, but I'm getting weird predator vibes from her, kind of creepy actually" Sanji mutters, the marines making note of Monet's sex appeal, as well as her inhuman traits, before deciding… 'Yeah I'd still tap that' to the snow harpy's mild embarrassment.
"I'm surrounded by morons" Zoro groans.
"Hey guys, why's it snowing inside?" one of the marines finally thinks to ask.
"I hope it's not a hole in the roof, otherwise the poison gas will be soon to follow" Another realizes, shivering as they look up, and nope the roof was fine, but the snow was still falling thick and heavy.
"That, would be because of me" Monet admits casually, unleashing another blizzard in the room, before disbursing into snowflakes "I don't care who you are, it will be a cold day in Hell when I let you steal the children from under my nose" he voice comes from all directions, as marines are one by one locked down up to the waist in hardened snowdrifts.
"Great, where'd she go now?" one asks, scanning the room, but he needn't have bothered as she grew out of one of the snowdrifts in her monster form, icicle-like maw open wide to clamp down on the helpless marine, biting through his shoulder like some kind of flying shark, before slipping away into the snow despite the others peppering her with bullets.
"Stop, there's no point, she's a logia type, normal weapons won't hurt her!" Zoro bellows "Eros, any chance of a Diable Jambe, Artemis hit her with a Dragon's breath and if at least forced her to back off to recover.
Seems he didn't need to, as during Monet's next dive... She was stopped dead as her teeth met the steel of Sode no Suriyuki, the blade glowing a soft, glacial blue and its wielder, back to full strength in the artificial tundra. Surprise would be her excuse for how she'd missed the other blade until after Shiguri had slashed her wing, drawing blood for the first time that day.
"Yeah! Captain Tashigi's here to save the day!" Several marines cheered, though the Yuki paid them no heed, she had bigger things to worry about.
"She really giving you a problem Zoro, didn't think you needed me to clean up your messes" she hums, eyes locked on Monet, her slashed jaw giving her a haunting, demonic look "Men, go with Black Leg and find the children, that's an order from your Captain!"
"But, what about you?"
"I think Pirate Hunter and I can handle one cosplaying Yuki-onna, logia user or not"
"Should be fun, not gotten to fight alongside you since Marville, why not a demonic snowbird?" Zoro smirks, stepping up beside her "Gonna let out the big guns, or play with her with just the ice sword?"
"I'll see how much of a challenge she actually is, and bring Him out only if I need to" Tashigi responds, both swordsmen ready to face their foe, the harpy scowls as she flaps menacingly above them.
TBC
LW: So to recap, Moka's still running away from the other kids, Vergo got jumped by Smoker and Kaos, but is kind of holding his own, Luffy found Momonosuke and almost escaped the Trash Heap, and Zoro & Tashigi are about to double-team Monet. Let's see if any of these plot points get dealt with…. Next chapter!