(Ross POV)
Looking at the chaos, Ross is honestly happy that his captain hadn't decided to join in on the 'fun' like his peers. They had no business being there, much like the other rookie pirates didn't. This was something the other captains had recognized as well and they had responded by leaving their respective crews to guard their ships, taking only a crewmember or two along.

And even then, most of them didn't delve too deeply into the fray and elected to fight the marines on the edges of the battle. Though of course, there were exceptions.

Trafalgar Law was sprinting back to his vessel at breakneck speed, only stopping to…move one of Whitebeard's commanders into Doflamingo's way to distract him. On the other hand, Jewelry Bonney was still engaging Bartholomew Kuma with the help of a giant walking head on legs. Though, to Ross it looks less like she was trying to hit him and more like she was trying to hug the warlord and get a piggyback ride.

Eustass Kidd had been staying on the edges, though that had little to do with him seeking weaker opponents. Now that he was done, none of the metal beasts that had given Ross's crewmembers so much trouble remained.

And as for Urouge? He was leisurely returning to his ship, dragging an unconscious giantess behind him like a modern age caveman.

Ross isn't quite sure why the big guy is so relaxed. It's not as if Urouge had gotten off scott free from their encounter on Sabaody. He had the same target on his back that the Bellamy Pirates had. Wouldn't it be normal then, to be a little more worried?

Even as careful as they had been, a bloody Admiral almost boarded the Black Pearl. Not that Ross had seen him or even noticed, but Aisa said it happened and after St. Poplar, nobody was ignoring her senses. Which meant that they almost all died without even noticing!

We didn't. We're fine. The captain handled it. We're fine. We're alive. We're fine. He. Was. Fine.

Take controlled breaths. Slow and steady. Slow and steady does it. Don't let the others see.

Today had been an outlier. Having an admiral come after you like this was only possible if you were near Marineford or endanger a world noble…again. The odds of that happening couldn't be that high. After today, the captain wasn't going to come back here again. He couldn't. Hopefully. The captain wasn't that reckless.

See, he's staying out here on the open sea. Where it's safe. Deep breaths.

Everything was fine. And it even looked like things were starting to wrap up now. Soon they'd be out of here and could kiss this terrifying place goodbye. Everything was fine.

"Hey, Ross? I'm heading in."

"...?"

(Izou POV)
"Everyone back to the ships! Board the marine vessels if you need to!" They'd done it. They'd paid a horrible price in blood, but they'd done it. "We're getting out of here!"

All that was left was to sail home and celebrate, both the lives of fallen friends and Ace's rescue. Naturally, the marines were adamant about not letting them go, but that's what the rearguard was for.

Unloading another round at vice admiral Strawberry, Izou nimbly dances out of his reach, tauntingly close but always just a step ahead. And while the enraged marine loses himself in his single-minded pursuit of Izou's own beautiful head, the sixteenth division commander generously distributes his ammunition to force the marine lines away from his retreating comrades. This is why guns were the best weapons, much more versatile and useful than a boring standard-issue saber.

"On to the paddle boat!" Izou calls out, clobbering another captain who got a little too close with the butt of his pistol, before having to dodge and roll. Damn, now his clothes are smudged.

"Do you know what you've done, pirate?" If Strawberry's face were any more livid, he'd probably not have any blood left for the rest of his body. Though, seriously, it's not him who has a cause to be angry.

"Do you know what you've done?" Izou shoots back. "This kimono is an authentic wano! You have no idea how sensitive they are to improper dry-cleaning!"

They tried to execute his brother, not on the grounds of anything he'd done, but purely because of his biological bloodline. Not only that, but they also tried to use his death as a publicity stunt.

"You…you…you bloody pirate!" the vice admiral splutters in outrage, bodychecking Izou, who doesn't resist and lightening the blow by flowing with it to gain some ground. "You are robbing the world of justice!"

"Where's the justice for my kimono? This is the first time I wore it and look at it now!" A stupid publicity stunt. And an open challenge to pops as well, one they knew he couldn't ignore. Oh, they had always known this was supposed to be a trap, meant to lead pops to his death. This was an inescapable deathtrap, but they hadn't cared and had followed their captain here anyway.

For Whitebeard was a man who made miracles happen.

"This was the chance to bring an end to decades of chaos! For peace and order!" Interlocking his pistols to block the man's downward swing, Izou smoothly shifts his weight before kicking the surprised man in his unguarded side. Just because he liked guns, didn't mean he couldn't use anything else you know.

"It's not just irreversibly stained, it's frayed!" Miracles like getting them all out of here. Izou briefly chokes when flashes of Oars appear before his eyes, but he pushes them aside. There would be time for mourning later once they were safe.

"The world shall be plunged back into darkness because of you!" Strawberry roars, a large hematoma forming where he ruptured some blood vessels out of rage. "And you're complaining about something as asinine as dirty clothes!"

Thankfully, it looked like they would manage to pull their bacon out of the fire once more. Sengoku was down for the moment, Kizaru hadn't been seen for a while and Garp was laid out flat on his back, though whether he was truly unconscious was up to debate. Izou didn't think he would be able to really scratch the man so the idea that a rookie could knock him out was ludicrous.

"Fashion is never asinine, you uncultured fruitcake!" This left only the two admirals, Akainu and Aokiji…and a few of the royal warlords as opponents of whom they had to be seriously wary off. Though on the latter, the group seemed to have fragmented. "No wonder your coat clashes horribly with that suit."

Gecko Moria was being stomped into the ground, frantically trying to prevent himself from being dragged into the water by Jinbei. All around him were piles of unconscious marines who have had their shadows cut and stolen, not that it seemed to have helped the man any.

"This coat is mark of pride! A dedication to justice!"

After decking Akainu in the face, Crocodile had gone to ground and the mad dog had let him go, more focused on getting past pops. Much like Doflamingo who had disappeared, chasing the rookie Trafalgar Law.

"It's a travesty, are you blind or is your sense of fashion so stunted as to be non-existent?" Izou sniffs, turning his nose up as if he'd smelled something repugnant. "I suggest changing your color scheme. It might let you graduate beyond being eyesore at least.."

A little way away, Hancock was sitting all pretty – Izou really wanted to dress her up – just having finished turning every combatant in her near vicinity into stone. He does note that the vast majority are marines for which he is grateful. But for the life of him, Izou can't understand what's gotten into the beautiful but deadly woman. Maybe this what was meant by women being unpredictable?

"Your flippant attitude proves once more why we cannot allow you to go free. You and all of yours will die here." Sadly, it seems like Strawberry finally managed to successfully reign in his emotions. It's a pity, as Izou had been hoping to keep the man distracted a bit longer. Case in point, the vice admiral was starting to coordinate with his fellow marines to surround Izou.

Fine then, this just meant less marines were chasing his friends.

They wanted to play? Izou could play.

(Bellamy POV)
I remember the scenes of the show immediately after Ace's release being an emotional high. All the sacrifices, all the struggles…all of it had been worth it. The wayward son was returning to his father's arms and he was doing it in style. Especially the part where he countered Aokiji's ice pheasant had given me goosebumps. Then, like any fan of the show knows, Oda decided that Luffy needed character development.

I had hated it.

And now, I had a chance to change that. It was stupid and terribly risky and anybody with a lick of reason would tell me so. But sometimes an SI has got to do what an SI does and try and change the narrative. Not to mention that saving Ace was going to solidly put me into the good graces of Whitebeard's remnants and more importantly, Shanks.

The plan was simple. Sneak up behind Ace and wait until Akainu starts taunting him. Then, while he's distracted, slap my pair of seastone cuffs on him and get the hell out of dodge. A combination of soru, my coil chassis and if needed Sarquiss' flight should be enough speed for what I had in mind, plus I could probably trust Whitebeard to cover my back. Originally, I hadn't even considered going anywhere near there, but with Kizaru out of the picture, Sengoku temporarily out of commission and Whitebeard doing much better this timeline, it seemed like a risk worth taking.

Which is why I had made my way ashore with only Sarquiss coming along as support. He didn't have to come, but he volunteered saying that he couldn't let me go alone.

In hindsight, I should have left him behind. Don't get me wrong, I'm very touched and grateful for his loyalty and support. However, that didn't mean I wanted him around when Doflamingo dropped by to say hello.

"Hello, Bellamy-kun. Fancy seeing you here." He grins at me. "Aren't you going to say hello? You wouldn't want to be rude, would you?"

"Of course not. Good day to you." This was very different from when I saw him on Water Seven. There, I had done him a favor, showing that I was a surprisingly useful pawn. That wasn't the case here.

"I don't remember teaching rudeness to my underlings, but alas some just never learn. Much like this guy." He bemoans, lightly shaking the body slung over his shoulder for emphasis. "Just popped by to flip me the bird before running off. Even threw Namur in my face, can you believe it?"

If I had been Law, I probably would have wanted to do a lot more than that. Though, if he could already switch the positions of other living beings, that begs the question of why Law didn't switch Doffy with a fish under Aokiji's ice. Or a chunk of ice, I wasn't picky.

"Namur?" When you have nothing good to say, echoing your conversational partner is always an option. This works particularly well on people with histrionic characters, who are prone to grandstanding and monologues, people like Doflamingo.

"One of Whitebeard's commanders. It's very upsetting you know, to be served such underprepared sushi." He says, making tut-tut-tut sounds. "Though, being the helpful man I am, I helped out a little. Plated him all nice and served on ice to the masses. Fufufufu."

…that was terrifying. And I'm not talking about Doffy being able to take out Namur, that I hadn't doubted for a second. Doffy was one of the strongest Shichibukai while Namur had failed to leave a strong impression on me in the show. Assuming that he was average amongst Whitebeard's commanders, his chances against Doffy were hardly going to be better than those of "Water Buffalo" Atmos. Additionally, if he was caught off guard by Law's switcheroo…well, game over. No, what's scary is the way he described the fishman's fate. I didn't see it and I don't want to see it, but it's not implausible that Namur was literally turned into sushi-sized slices.

"And I would have expected nothing else." Well maybe not the sushi bit but the cruelty was right up Doffy's alley.

"Fufufufu, I'm amazing I know. But Bellamy-kun," his grin gets just that little sharper. "Is that…sass I'm picking up?"

"I'm pretty sure Doflamingo doesn't get sass." Now this could be taken at least two ways, but the interpretation I'm hoping he will choose is the reputation of Doflamingo is so great that nobody would dare backtalk him and it would be embarrassing if someone did because that would mean his reputation isn't as great as he's claiming it is. So, let's both say I'm not.

That I'm actually sassing him need not be said, but in diplomacy it's all about the packaging.

"You're absolutely right, fufufufu. I don't get sass because I've killed everyone who tried." i.e., I know what you're trying and that's pretty ballsy of you. "Except family. Family is an exception as you well know."

"Everyone knows how much Doflamingo values family." Am I still part of your organization or are you cutting me loose?

"Which means you are aware of how I deal with threats to my family." I'm cutting you lose.

"You neutralize the threat." This is less clearcut than saying he kills them, leaving me a bit more wiggle room. And he knows this too judging by how his smile widens a fraction. "But who could threaten you?"

"The world nobles want your head for killing one of their own." Well, that doesn't have double meanings at all.

"I'm sure they do." Will you hand me over to them to save your own skin? Don't you hate them?

"Personally, I applaud you for sticking it to the pompous bastards. I liked it, really I did. You stirred up the nest right and proper with so much delicious chaos. Same with your stunt here. Beautifully executed. Absolutely fabulous. Almost couldn't have done better myself." My focus zeroes in onto his right hand, the one not holding onto Law. "But you really are too much trouble to keep around, you know? It's nothing personal."

A ray of light, a brief sheen and my arm shoots out to grab hold of a string before it can connect to Sarquiss' head.

"It's just business, then?" I ask, though this is essentially just a formality. I wasn't going to win, but gods I was going to make him work for it.

"Exactly, Bellamy-kun." Doflamingo's grin widens until it's splitting his face in half. "Consider this your notice of termination."

Sarquiss swings a fist at me.

Author's note:

Dundundunnnn.
And with that little cliffhanger I leave you guys for the week. I'm cruel I know.

The Great Escape is going to take a while (orderly retreats take a awhile) but we're officially at the climax of Bellamy's arc.
How'd you like Izou?

P.S. Comments and discussion make me happy.