LW: Ok, so things are starting to ramp up, and we actually see the arc villain do something, imagine that.
Rubber King & Mirror Master - New World Chaos: The Pitfalls of Intelligence, of Slime and Scum
Beyond the Lab
"Did someone tag us with knock-out gas, out here of all fucking places?" Alvida grumbles, as the foursome comes to, in various pain levels, mostly due to tumbling down a cliff.
"I'm gonna kill whoever did that, what if they tried to molest Nami?" Sanji shrieks, a heat haze emanating from her body.
PING!
PING!
"Ow, my skull. Wait, does that mean we're still under attack, please don't kill me!" Brook panics and flails, on the lookout for more attackers.
"Unless we're being attacked by the Button-Button fruit user, I think we'll be mostly safe… actually, shit we might have something to worry about" Zoro grimaces as the buttons he picked up began to evaporate in his hand.
"Yeah, that's not the issue, it's that Samurai's clothes don't stretch" Alvida chuckles, pointing at one of their own, and as Brook and Zoro look over, and Sanji looks down…..
"Why are Nami's boobs getting bigger!?" The body-swapped cook screams, her bust shaking from the leap and yells.
"Could be magical bullshit, what did the kid say about Fire and Lightning mixing?" Zoro asks with a shrug.
"Plasma, like the Sun, basically the opposite of mine and Chopper's Frost release" Brook answers.
"And we already knew Sanji still had access to his fire, given we were worried about his steam cooking Nami's body earlier…. But it seems instead it's resonating with her Lightning core" Alvida grins "And expands her suns with fresh plasma"
"Nami's gonna kill me" Sanji whimpers, as her breasts have already expanded by a cup and are growing. With a deep sigh she slaps her cheeks to refocus herself "Ok, I just need to avoid using my flames while in Nami's body, already something I was trying to do. Let's just get this samurai located and rescued, then find and beat up that Law guy to unswap us"
"An inspired plan. Away!" Brook cheers, following the former blond through the snow, Zoro and Alvida on his heels.
"Ok, we're getting close to the edge of the lake where you directed him to find his torso. Anyone see anything?" Zoro calls out.
"No, but I think I have a way to speed up the search, provided we're not directly above lake ice" Alvida offers, getting nods from all 3 of her companions "Ice isn't earth, but I'll just have to make do, actually I just need to be able to touch it, could you guys clear some ice and snow so I can get to the bare earth?"
"Might as well get this over with quickly" Zoro hums, using "Dragon Twister" in a way it was not designed for, clearing snow.
"Thank you. Earth Tremor: Pesquisa" Alvida cries as she punches the ground, grimacing at the cold, but knowing it was the best she had with her mace on the Sunny "There's a body just ahead of us, I think the dumbass got lost, and froze solid before we got here" she reports, moving towards an oddly shaped mound, which after a kick from Sanji reveals part of Kinemon's face.
"Yep, that's the samurai. Everyone start kicking him till he thaws, or just the frost layer breaks" the cook suggests before starting to wail on the frozen bit part man, Nami's weaker kicks meaning it was taking more than the expected, 1, to break through. Brook and Zoro each gave a halfhearted kick, but it was Alivda's 'boot to the face' technique that finally broke through the ice.
"I'm alive"
"So, did you get your ass kicked or just get lost in the snowstorm?" Sanji asks bluntly.
"I did no such thing, I was hunting for my body, when I was suddenly struck down by terrible fatigue and weakness unbecoming of a samurai such as myself. You see, when I gained my abilities, they came at a cost…."
"You can't swim, we know, you're not the first Devil fruit user we've met. Hell, half the crew are at this point. Half your rescue party is too" Sanji grumbles, getting nods from Brook and Alvida.
"Indeed, but the point is, I believe I know where my body is, it's been submerged, most likely within the lake just beyond the hill" Kinemon explains, gesturing to the water with his head.
"Given he's still alive, it's not shark food yet, but we should probably fish it out sooner rather than later just to be safe" Zoro muses.
"Indeed. The only good news would be that it would be less likely to attack us while submerged due to being immobilised by the water" Brook grins.
"You'll help me, just like that? But you're pirates, and I'm just some strange man you've only just met?" Kinemon blubbers.
"We're pirates, doesn't mean we're assholes too" Alvida huffs.
"She's right. Plus you became my responsibility when I took your head from that cell, I can't just let you get hurt while you're still helpless. But once you're back in one piece, I'm going to kick your ass, you got that?" Sanji threatens.
"Of course. I might even be ok with laying a hand on such a supple female as yourself on the field of battle" Kinemon grins, before getting a punch to the jaw, followed by Sanji dragging him behind her.
"Hm, Nami has more upper body strength than I expected" Zoro mutters, the trio following the irate cook towards the water's edge.
"Well she does have to carry around those cantaloupes, sorry, melons, it makes sense her upper body is stronger than you'd expect, even if her legs are also obviously lesser than Sanji's normal strength" Brook muses, only half-jokingly.
"Guys, we have a problem. Does that look like an angry mob to you, or is it just me being paranoid?" Alvida asks, pointing in front of them.
"Little of both as far as I can tell, that is enough people to classify as a mob, but I'm not sure about angry, they seem more frantic and panicked than anything else" Brook argues.
They actually were so focused on fleeing they didn't notice the Straw Hats until Alvida clotheslined one of the satyrs, as even she didn't think she could stop a rampaging centaur without her mace, though given they appeared to have bigger issues, they left their comrade and fled at double speed.
"So, what the fuck was that?" Alvida asks the goat man she was now kneeling on.
"There's a monster coming this way. It exudes a miasma of death and despair, and was hidden in the Burning Lands"
"Hm, that honestly kind of sounds like a demon, or at least fits tales of Demon's Yokai. Can we grab the Samurai's torso and then run as fast as possible back to the others?" Brook asks with a shiver of fear in his voice.
"It's not a demon" Sanji sighs "As much as I hate to admit it, Psycho's a sensor type, he'd have pinged an entity as powerful as this furball claims in minutes, especially given it's on the burning side, where we started on. It's still dangerous, but probably more in our usual wheelhouse"
"Devil fruit?" Zoro asks, getting nods from the other three, and a confused eyebrow raise from Kinemon.
"The Devil fruit, that made that big mountain over there" Alvida says, as the others do a double take after the statement, as the snowfall lessons, a large mass was now visible in the distance, in the direction of the lake.
Former Labs
"This bastard, I wanna do unspeakable things to him, for hurting kids like this, kidnapping, drugging, who knows what else" Nami scowls, fists clenching hard enough they creak.
"All the more reason to kidnap him, that way you can kick his ass all the way to wherever Traffy wants to bring him" Luffy huffs, then turns to head out back the way the others had come earlier.
"True, but we need to get this done quickly, else Trafalgar, Chopper, and Kaya might get discovered or set off the alarms before we can get to him" Franky argues.
Luffy grins "Don't worry, I have a plan"
"Luffy, I love you, but please, explain the plan to us, so we can make sure…. There actually is one" Vivi pleads.
"Ok"
With the Marines.
"Those bastards just stole our ship!"
"Who do they think they are, pirates?"
"That's one problem on the way to being dealt with, but we still need to take out these men, and capture that slimeball Caesar Clown. Get the damn door open already!" Smoker barks as she caves in another skull with her jitte.
"We're trying Boss" A G5 marine calls back as they continue to slam their makeshift battering rams into the door "But it's just not budging".
"Shit, there goes my arm again, why is this so hard?" Tashigi scowls as his left arm dissipates into smoke, causing him to drop Shigure.
"Because Logias need focus to be used correctly, especially gaseous ones like my Moku Moku" Smoker explains briefly "Just try not die while you figure it out, I'd rather like to return these Cantaloupes the 1st chance I get" she grumbles, before catching one of the few non-centaur/satyr in the jaw with their weapon, pushing them back but getting a shark-toothed scowl.
"I'll drain you so far you crumble to dust" the man hisses, lunging at Smoker but the body swapped vice admiral dives, then watches in shock as the man slams into another centaur, and before her eyes, are drained into an emaciated husk as his fingers dig into the desiccated flesh.
A little further away
"Room"
"Wow, that was weird, did we just teleport? Your fruit is so cool" Chopper gushes, while Kaya looks thoughtful.
"Just shut up and don't draw attention to yourself, we need to get this done fast before someone catches us" Law grunts, continuing to take point, with the reindeer and syrup girl on his heels "Caesar and the bird woman should be in the main area of the facility, I'll get what I need, while you find out all you can about the drugs he's been giving the kids"
"I understand, but your powers are exceptionally powerful and varied, it should be child's play for you to capture Caesar yourself, so why don't you?" Kaya asks curiously.
"There are circumstances preventing me from making those manoeuvres against the gasbag, leaving this our only option" Law scowls but keeps moving towards the back entrance.
"Speaking of, part of my training with the Revolutionaries was reading people, and while I'm no expert I'm decent. So while we iron out the kinks of our alliance, I feel the need to ask, why do you hate our 1st mate?" Kaya asks bluntly
"He does!" Chopper shrieks.
"I, I don't hate him" Law retorts defensively.
"But you do tense and clearly appear agitated when he's around you. Is it because he's a carnivorous Zoan? Or maybe, it's because of WHAT he is''
"What do you mean, he is a Carnivorous, mythical Zoan. He's also a dual fruit eater, which is just freaky" Chopper shivers.
"No, I meant what his zoan fruit is. I asked around while with the Revolutionaries, including Robin. Yig, is an Elder God of family, the one thing every legend states is his care and love for his children, and what he does to people who harm them. Normally that means snakes, but Kaos…. It means Artemis and Medusa, probably the entire crew if it does broaden out to family rather than just his kids."
Chopper blinks "Ah, so by working with the guys who kidnapped Medusa, he's setting off all the alarm bells and is 1 Luffy decision away from getting his throat ripped out. Makes sense"
Law just stares at the syrup girl and reindeer doctor, who have now given him a new, genuine reason to be concerned about the lanky bastard, rather than his own issues.
'The weak don't get to choose how they die'
'You're never fully dressed without a smile'
'You're not on my list Trafalgar, so walk away, or I'll rip out your tongue as payment for pissing me off'
"It's not that, I guess I've just had enough of grinning psychopaths in my time to last several lifetimes" Law sighs, anything to get this conversation over and done with "Let's just keep moving, maybe we'll even save Medusa, if only to keep my ass from getting venom laced fangs piercing it"
"True" both Straw Hats nod, not helping his mood.
"OH MY GOD WHAT IS THAT?" The scream of one of the marines actually travels enough to give the 3 pause.
"Is that a missile?" Another asks the group.
It wasn't, it was a Luffy Balloon, carrying Franky, Vivi, and Robin, while scrap from the wrecked Lab was floated to carry Kaos, Shirahoshi, Carue, Valentina, and Victor.
"Jehaha, looks like we arrived just in time"
"Hey smokie, you look like you need help" Luffy grins as he goes in for the landing, Vivi dissipates into sand while Robin blooms wings, and Franky just does his best impression of a cannonball as he leaps off Luffy's back before the rubber boy could slam into the ground.
"That's…. Straw Hat?" a gasp was heard from somewhere.
"The feast of a lifetime" one of the sharp-toothed men cackles, before getting his arm sliced off, the appendage crumbling to ash as it hits the ground "What?"
"What did I tell you, this island has a vampire problem!" Vivi scowls, silver wires flowing from her arms.
"Bitch, how did you do that?" the vampire hisses, grabbing one of the gapping G5 marines, his wound steaming as he drains the marine's blood to regrow his lost limb.
"I was an apprentice of the Angel of Death, and I missed slicing off your head by an inch, so count yourself lucky" the princess sneers.
"Great, add fucking vampires to the reasons this island is a Hellscape" Tashigi cries.
"If it helps, aiming for the head kills most things, and even if it doesn't, it will at least incapacitate them long enough to find an actual method to kill them" Kaos laughs as he sets the wreckage down to let their group out.
"Come on out Master dude! Or else we'll break down your door, kick your ass and kidnap you!" Luffy bellows, as usual not understanding the concept of stealth.
"Luffy, that was supposed to be a secret, at least until we get our hands on him" Robin hisses.
"Let him know, we'll still kick his ass and take him down, yeah!" Franky cheers, arms sparking with electricity.
"Your crew doesn't know the meaning of the word subtle do they?" Law grimaces, starting to regret his decision to ally with these idiots, even if they were quite literally his only options.
"I mean Valentina's a ninja…. But probably not, no" Chopper admits with a sigh "Should we do something about that?"
"No, we'll just leave them be, your captain got himself into that mess, he'll probably be able to get himself out of it. Now, let's get inside"
"Oh right, how do we get in, that door looks pretty well sealed up?" Kaya asks.
"Room" Was Law's answer and manoeuvre, moving all 3 of them to the other side of the door.
"Right, the teleportation this, almost forgot" Chopper chuckles, Kaya blushing in embarrassment.
"It's fine. Now do you both remember the plan?" Law asks tensely.
"Yes. You will cause a distraction to get Caesar and the bird out of the main lab…" Kaya begins.
"...while we search for information on the drugs they fed the kids" Chopper finishes.
Back outside
"Did that little punk just say he was going to kick our Master's ass, and kidnap him?" one of the centaurs asked.
"Like hell he will, let's kill them all!" Another shrieks.
"Hm, time to give Artemis' upgrades a spin. Strong Raijin!" Franky bellows, shooting out his arm and unleashing a surge of electricity in its wake "Oh yeah, that's a SUPER move for sure!" he laughs.
"Sir, what do we do?" One of the marines asked.
"Deal with Caesar's men, then if they refuse to cooperate, capture the Straw Hats" Smoker orders.
In the ruined lab
"Ok, so the drugs are strong enough that the spell didn't last as long as I'd hoped" Artemis sweat drops as the giant kids strain and writhe against the chains "So, should we hit them again?"
"It's the only option, even ignoring the pain they're in from withdrawals, they could very easily injure themselves trying to break out of those chains" Ussop grimaces, Nami nodding sadly.
"Special Attack: Sleep Star!" Ussop cries as he unloads another capsule.
"Yume no nai Nemuri!" Artemis chants, the combo once more putting the children into a dreamless sleep.
"They're not going to develop resistance to this method will they? Because this is all we have to do to stop them hurting us or themselves for the time being?" Nami asks.
Artemis chuckles at the question "I don't know about Ussop's sleep star, but magical resistance doesn't work that way, it's not a separate skill you develop, it's built alongside your own strength. You gain resistance as your own magic grows to overwhelm or block out the effects of another mage's attacks, and let's just say, it would take a savant to overpower my sleep spell" the artistic sorceress grins.
Nami's eyes widen "That's what Kaos meant back on Fishman island when he said the Fishmen weren't mages they were on Genesis, your magic gives you high resistance to enemy magic, so it had to be something else that took you out"
"Exactly. These kids are strong, and doped out of their minds, but their magic is still that of a child, small, weak and unresponsive. They'll come to as the spell wears off, but I can keep reapplying it for a long time before they can overpower it" she confirms.
Back on the battlefield
"Is she fighting us with a fork?" One of the marines asks in disbelief, before getting smacked across the face with said 'fork'.
"It's a trident!" Shirahoshi yells defensively "Technically it's my training weapon, but that's because my main one is still on the ship" she admits a little more meekly.
"So Smokie, how's the tits?" Kaos cackles as he dodges the former logia's seastone Jitte, blocking any close calls with Hebi, .
"What?" Luffy yelps, slipping in the snow and just barely avoiding getting decapitated by Tashigi.
"It seems we weren't the only ones to get a heart shuffle from Trafalgar" Robin chuckles.
"If they stop fighting us, maybe we'll ask Law to swap them back" Franky offers.
"If it makes you feel better, we'll force him to swap you back" Valentina states as a counteroffer "Hey Vic, wanna show me how your new power gels with mine?" she winks.
"No arguments here. Plus, I'm sure our scaly friend will find the concept of Soul-bound weapons interesting" the bomberman smirks before drawing his bow.
"Bakudan: Clay Bomb Centepeder!"
"Lunastra Hunting Arrow!"
KABOOM!
"I hope Law doesn't complain about the door" Robin hums as the explosion grants them access to the facility, by taking out the door and a small portion of the surrounding wall.
"I don't think this facility will last long enough for him to care. Let's go!" Kaos shouts, as Luffy rushes ahead, leaving the rest to play catch up
"Smokie, the Straw Hats are getting away"
"Smokie, something's coming at us from the air!"
"Great, it's never one thing with this place" Smoker grumbles as she turns "Ignore the pirates for now, what's the situation?" she asks, as a large, dark pink sludge bubble falls onto the fleeing ship, it slowly oozes down the mast to the people within.
"Luffy, hold on a second" Vivi shouts, getting a very bad feeling just by the slime's prescience, never mind when the attempts by the marines to 'kill' it, resulted in it leaking toxic gas from each new hole/wound.
"That's not good, any idea what it is?" Valentina asks, more curious than horrified.
"Weapon Zoan, but what it originally was, I don't know" Kaos relays, a little surprised an Axolotl Zoan even existed, it felt like saying there was a Fish Zoan Devil fruit or something "Also, whatever it is, doesn't like fire, but you won't like the end result" he winces as that statement was a little, late, as the G5 still on the ship decided the simplest solution (in their defence it usually works) for a random monster attacking their ship, was "Kill it with Fire!" which technically worked…
KABOOM!
…it just took the ship and everyone on it with it.
"Fuck, there goes our chance to get reinforcements, or at least call in that Caesar Clown had been located" Smoker grimaces, while everyone else just stared at the fireball with silent shock, even Caesar's men "Bastard!"
"Touch it and it spews poison gas, burn it and it explodes, just what kind of monster was that thing?" One mutters fearfully.
"Doesn't matter, it's dead and it even took out the ship so we don't have to do it ourselves. Look at it like a blessing in disguise" Another grins.
Plop!
Plop!
Gurgle!
Right until more of those sludge balls fell from the sky around them, and now they know what it's capable of, they know to Get The FUCK Out of there!
"More of those things, falling out of the sky" Shirahoshi squeaks.
"And we saw what just one can do" Carue panics, flailing around despite Vivi's attempts to calm her.
On the lake's edge
"Soo… is that thing alive?" Alvida asks as the giant mass of pink sludge continues to 'spit' globs into the air.
"I have no clue, it's weird that's all I know for sure" Sanji grimaces.
"I've never seen anything like this beast, and I've got around" the samurai agrees.
"Well wherever those things are going, it's probably bad news" Zoro presumes.
"Like over here, because one of those globs is coming this way" Brook notes, prompting the foursome to rapidly step aside to avoid the gooey projectile.
"This island just keeps getting stranger, the sooner we put this jigsaw back together the better" Alvida groans as 2 glowing yellow eyes peer out of the goo at her.
"This creature is a slime, isn't it?" the skeleton wonders aloud now he is able to get a proper look at the independent fragment
"A what?" Kinemon asks, still held in Sanji's grip.
"A creature of fantasy mostly, an amorphous blob with independent thought and agency. I read a book about them once, it looked just like that, only smaller and green. It had a habit of embracing beautiful women. Its slime did not harm living tissue but seemed to eat through clothing like the strongest acid, a very naughty slime monster, Yohohoho!" Brook explains and laughs, getting a kick to the face from Sanji, while Alvida and Zoro facepalm.
"Idiot. That slime will do a lot worse than melt your clothes off, look at the lake" the swordsman orders "The fish are dying from just being near the bits of it that don't make it all the way across, that thing, whatever it's made of, is poison. We need to steer clear of it… but it also means we need to fish out Samurai's torso from the lake before the toxic slime manages to infect it through sheer dumb luck"
"Well, guess that means I have to man up and take a dive" Sanji sighs before removing the winter coat, the garment poofing back into a pebble as it hits the ground "I don't want to risk Nami's body like this, but it's the best option we've got, I'm the best swimmer on the crew, and won't get lost on the way" she argues, unable to resist taking a jab at Zoro along the way "Take care of the ones behind us, I won't be long" she shouts before diving in, her muscles glowing a faint electric blue as she lunges.
"Behind… What the hell? When did they get here?" Brook screams as a whole hoard of slimes had appeared behind the group.
"The big one's firing wildly in this direction, makes sense some of them would actually land in our general area rather than over the hill" Alvida argues "Zoro, you and Brook have actual weapons, I'll keep the samurai out of danger, you hold off the slime monsters"
Back outside the main lab
Things were going about as well as you'd expect as it rained balls of death, everyone was panicking and trying to avoid getting hit by the toxic baubles.
"We need to move Smoker, there's nothing we can do" Tashigi sighs, trying to pull her boss away from the shore, luckily neither of them had been hit by a sludge ball.
"Shurorororo" a high-pitched cackle draws the ears and eyes of all those on the ground, as Caesar Clown makes his appearance, lab coat billowing like a cloud around him "Are you having fun Smiley, I'm sorry I had to lock you away for 3 years"
"Well, I didn't think he'd show himself, but it is nice to get confirmation. Caesar Clown is here on the island and the source of all this crap" Smoker snarls around her cigar.
"Huh, didn't think the bad guy would actually come out to fight you that easily Luffy. Maybe you had the right idea" Kaos grins, curious as to what the Gasman has planned now.
"Sorry for the inconvenience, he really doesn't DO water, so the only way to get across the lake is to fling himself piece by piece, but he'll reform soon enough. From the fiery depths to this land of sparkling ice, then we get the true show. A recreation of the explosion from 4 years ago, with the Straw Hats and G5 branch of the marines getting front-row seats. Shurorororo!" Caesar laughs as he swirls around on top of the wreckage of the marine's original battleship.
"Gum Gum Rocket!"
Right until Luffy surges forward, locking his arms around the egocentric logia "I got you now asshole!"
Inside
'Monet's alone, that's good and bad for us. As on the one hand, Straw Hat's idiocy may have caught Caesar's attention and drawn him outside, but on the other, he could be anywhere else in the facility right now' Law thinks as he enters the room, Monet writing in her journal, occasionally looking up to poke at a now awake Medusa with a talon or flight feather, the toddler giggling as she does.
"Back from your walk, I see. The Master's not here right now" the harpy says as she notices Law's return.
"Did he say where he was going?" Law asks, not having to try very hard to fake his curiosity.
"He didn't, but he probably went outside to watch the fighting, that degenerate can't ever get his fill of death and destruction" Monet sighs, while Medusa nibbles on her feathers, watching them both curiously.
"That's alright, I don't need him. I think I'll be taking off soon, I've seen everything, I'm done with this place" Law says with a shrug, though managing to draw Monet's attention from the child to him.
"Shame that, it'll be lonely without you, as I don't think I'll get to keep this one, Caesar clearly has plans for the little tyke" Monet pouts, but there's a glint in her eye even under the glasses, a level of amusement, bordering on sadism, that always seems to make Law twitch.
"If you're that reluctant to let me leave, I could use your help with something before I go, if you can put the baby down for 5 minutes" Law asks, trying to keep his tone neutral, even casual.
"You want some alone time with little ol' me? I'm flattered. Stay safe sweetie, I have a date with a hot stud" Monet giggles, this time Law not even trying to hide his annoyance as he turns to leave, glad the harpy followed him immediately.
Back outside
"STRAW HAT CAUGHT THE MASTER!" Screams one of the Satyr, as Luffy manages to take advantage of the logia aspect and grab Caesar while he was still solid.
"Yeah, way to go Luffy!" Franky cheers.
"That seemed a little too easy, or is it just me?" Carue winces, her feathers fluffing up due to nerves as well as the cold.
"Let go of me you ignorant simpleton!" Caesar bellows as he tries to escape Luffy's grasp.
"Nu uh, you're coming with us!" Luffy declares.
"Is that haki, or just the clown being an idiot?" Robin asks, wondering why Caesar hasn't escaped yet.
"A little of both far as I can tell. Luffy caught him off guard and both Vivi, and Smoker can tell you, Logias have to choose to transform, unlike paramecias like Luffy, meaning he was solid when he grabbed him. Though haki is probably why he still can't slip through Luffy's fingers, as it's locking his body into it's normal, human form" Kaos explains, as Caesar's minions prepare to shoot Luffy down and free their master, only to either get taken out by globs of Smiley, or else taken out by the rest of the Straw hats for taking their eyes off their opponents and zeroing in just on Luffy.
"Let's see if that Supermove you suggested can work with what she gave me" Franky laughs as he rushes at the distracted Centaurs "Thunderous Boxing: Rajang!"
"Luffy has the gasbag handled for the moment, let's clear out his reinforcements for the time being" Valentina grins.
"Enough games. You should have fled when you had the chance" Vivi scowls, silver laces wires slicing through the vampire's legs, before splitting his head like a melon "God I hope there aren't more of them"
"At least there's no clean up" Victor notes as the body had already begun crumbling to fine ash "Well, compared to most murders at least"
Finally Caesar has enough of Luffy's shenanigans "Don't get cocky you little shit!" he cries, before taking advantage of him being at point blank range to ensnare him with his "Gas Robe" technique, enveloping the rubber boy in a cloud of poisonous gas
"Luffy, hold your breath, that stuff's probably lethal!" Franky shouts.
"Correct, and unfortunately for you, once you're captured by my gas robe there's not a thing you can do but suffer and die, Shurorororo!" Caesar cackles as Luffy struggles.
"Luffy. Ignore the coat, just punch him in the face!" Kaos orders, surprising most of the crew and all the marines, though only Smoker noticed his features seemed to be fading from his face.
"Huh, minty" Luffy notes after listening to his brother and just breathing normally "Guess there was a good side to fighting Magellan" he mutters to himself, then using Caesar's shock to plant a haki-infused "Jet Spear" to his chest, sending him careening straight down until he impacts the ground with a loud THUD.
Unfortunately, due to him being a logia user, the impact itself just pissed him off, rather than do any damage.
"Swallow my poison will you, treat it like it's nothing? I'll show you the punishment for mocking my Gasu Gasu no mi powers" he bellows as he pulls something out of his coat.
"Armament: Gum Gum Gatling!" Luffy cries as he leaps down toward the gasman
"Gastanets!" Caesar counters, clapping his castanets together and somehow enveloping Luffy in a fiery explosion "I think that's enough out of you straw hat, time to say goodbye. Smiley! Get up and give the rubber boy a big hug" he orders, the slimes standing to attention, then jump up and latch onto the still falling rubber boy.
"Wait, those things can follow orders, I thought they were just goop" One centaur mumbles
"Luffy!" Vivi screams, watching him be consumed by pink slime
"And now your curtain call. Gastanet" the mad scientist cackles as he unleashes another explosion, heavily augmented by Smiley's slime, with Luffy smack bang in the centre.
KABOOOOOOOOOM!
"He, he's gone?" Carue squeaks, catching Vivi as she falls to her knees.
"Shit, guess he's not as brain-dead as he looks" Valentina grimaces "Thoughts?"
"I'd have survived the explosion, but that toxic sludge would have probably done me in before it got to that point" Victor admits with a sigh.
"No prisoners!" Franky bellows, lighting arcing off his arms from fingertip to weapon orbs "You don't get to mess with us like this!" he shouts, but the hybrids were in a world of their own, cheering for their masters 'quick and decisive' victory over Straw Hat.
"Yes my minions, praise me more Shurorororo!" Caesar cackles, all the while Robin watches Kaos countdown, to zero.
"Wow, that would have sucked to be in the middle of" Luffy muses aloud, stopping all cheer and panic, or at least inverting it as the Straw Hats were overjoyed by his survival, Caesar was confused, and the centaurs were bricking it at the idea someone survived their Master's Gastanet explosions "Ok, let's try this again. Gum Gum Jet Stamp!" he cries, shifting to Gear 2nd just long enough to kick the scientist into another pile of wreckage "I got you for real this time. Hey guys, we need something to put him in cause he's a logia so we can't just tie him up" Luffy shouts as he jumps onto the currently unconscious Caesar.
"You mean like a barrel or something?" Franky asks.
"More or less like we did with that Caribou guy, only maybe seal it up tighter, gas is more likely to escape than sludge" Kaos agrees
"Not so fast, he's going into navy custody so get back or you'll join him!" one of the G5 marines shout as they charge the pirates.
"Yeah, sorry we kind of promised him to someone else, maybe we can hand him over to you when Law's done with him?" Vivi tries to compromise, though she knows it is unlikely to work.
"Airless Void!"
"Don't underestimate me!" Caesar bellows, then grins as he watches his enemies dropping like flies, incredible what removing the oxygen from the air around him can do "Too easy, Shurorororo. Now I believe that's everyone… wait, one's missing, where did you go-o-o?" he stutters, seeing something standing in the destroyed doorway. The metallic sheen was blinding in the winter sun, but the oddest thing was the hole clean through it's 'head' now tilted in confusion, a smile cracks the plating, before it flickers into the facility "Get back here you pirate!"
Deep within the lab
"Law, are you ok?" Monet asks, as the longer they've gone down the corridor the weaker and more sickly the Warlord seemed to become "Did Caesar give you anything?"
"I'm not stupid enough to accept anything that psychopath offers me" Law wheezes, clutching his chest as he slides to his knees, his sword falling to the ground beside him.
"You are clearly in pain though" the harpy notes.
"I know you're there, show yourself" Law pants, now having fallen onto his hands and knees, just barely off the ground.
"It's me" a voice booms as footsteps echo through the corridor, and despite everything, Law's eyes bulge in shock, and fear.
"Why are you here? Why now" he chokes out, as Monet's concerned look twists to a more sadistic grin.
"How many years has it been, and look at you now. Little Law's all grown up" the man says patronisingly as he stands over the prone warlord.
TBC
LW: Oh, cliffhanger! O_O Stuff's getting serious now.