The wind howled, and the thunder roared.

King narrowed his eyes, swiveling his Pteranodon head from left to right, looking for his master. Below him, the forests of Kuri were carpet of lush green; though the sight did nothing for his mood.

He sighed. For many days now, he, Queen, and the Flying Six - aside from a still-unconscious Spytand Malice - had searched through the provinces of Wano; hunting for Yamato and Deku. For days the reports had come in, and they all said the same thing.

They had looked everywhere. The villages, the towns, the ports, the Flower Capital. All searched from top to bottom, all torn apart, thoroughly looted and trashed. There could not have been a square inch of Wano that escaped their notice.

And still…nothing.

King could not help but feel frustrated. But his anger was as nothing compared to that of his lord and master. Kaido was not going to be happy. The black, thunder-wracked skies were warning enough of that.

But King wasn't deterred. He could take anything his Emperor could dish out.

He flew over the edge of the forest. Below him lay the Paradise Farms, and then Bakura Town beyond it. No doubt Who's Who was using it as a base for his expedition into the rainforests. A rumble of thunder drew his eye; over to a black patch of sky not too far away.

'There he is.'

He pressed on, speeding up as he turned off his flames, the wind whistling in his ears.

Then he flapped his wings to slow down, as he saw what he had been looking for.

Kaido, in his Dragon form, was lying down by a river. The water was a pure bright blue, just like Kaido's scales. An unpolluted river, one of few left in Wano; and one quick glance along its course told King why. For the river flowed into Paradise Farms; the breadbasket of the Kurozumi regime, and the Beast Pirates.

The dragon's maw was in the stream, sucking up the pure water like a pump. King was still struggling to believe it. Before Yamato's disappearance, the only rivers Kaido drank were rivers of sake.

As he flew down, one yellow eye fixed on him for just a moment.

"Kaido," he greeted his Emperor as he landed, shifting back to his human form. The dragon reared back its head, gulping down the water.

"What?" he asked, in a voice devoid of humor, or patience, or mercy.

"I have the daily reports, and an inquiry to relay along to you."

The dragon breathed through his nose, and King could hear the rumble in this throat.

"Speak then." Kaido smacked his jaws, then dipped them back into the river. King wondered if he was trying to suppress his craving for alcohol by drinking so much water.

"The Six continue their hunt. They have searched through every village and the Capital, and have combed the provinces. So far, still no sign."

"Keep searching" Kaido growled, glaring back at him. "My wayward child and that thief are still in Wano. Escaping over the falls is impossible and I will not stop until Yamato is dragged back before me and I rip that rat apart with my own, bare hands."

King sighed. He had known his master would say that. But he could not keep silent.

"Jack has left Ringo to go to Mogura Port, and has inspected it twice. It's on constant surveillance. There was no sign of them approaching, and no ships left after the Fire Festival started. We have also pulled men from the Spires below Wano to aid in the search on the mainland. As per your orders."

"Hmmph. What of Malice? Has he awakened yet?"

"No Kaido, he remains in a coma. If we rush the healing process, the doctors say he could expire." Kaido scoffed, and his claws dug into the earth in frustration. The skies overhead rumbled, sensing his mood.

"If he dies, I will tear open the gates of Hell itself to drag him back." Kaido uttered. "He better live until I speak to him."

King took a deep breath.

"Kaido, he was the first one to notice something amiss," he said. "And no ordinary warrior could have beaten him so badly."

"Did he tell anyone else about Deku?" Kaido asked, eyes focused on the stream

"Only me, to my knowledge. If Malice told anyone else, only he knows."

Kaido scoffed, and swallowed his water.

"I will continue my search then."

King remained silent.

"Will you not take a rest? Perhaps I can bring you some sake as well? You haven't had any in a while."

Kaido rounded on him, fangs bared; his Haki flaring like a bomb blast.

"I will rest when I feel like it," he growled. King gulped, as he saw his reflection in his master's yellow eyes. "And I will not drink another drop of sake until I have ripped Deku into pieces. His life, is mine to end."

He seethed through his teeth, flames licking his fangs.

"It was my drunkenness that caused all of this." Kaido turned away, glaring at the water. "I didn't pay attention to him enough, that damned rat didn't bother escaping even in the presence of my Haki. And in doing so, I allowed him to not only escape and make me look like a fool, but he dared to take my foolish child with him. He will pay, dearly."

King remained silent as the dragon faced away from him. To not wish to flee before Kaido's Haki…

A determined and brave thief this Deku, but foolish all the same.

"Continue the search. Check in on the Six and make sure they continue to do their jobs. Incidentally, how is Page One?"

"Alive. He's with Ulti in Hakumai right now."

"Good, it would be a waste for him to die." Kaido uttered, showing the faint hint of concern for his subordinate. "Though he spoke out of turn, he is still young and will learn from this experience."

King perked up slightly, thankful that Kaido's rage had abated, if only for the moment. He might just be able to distract him onto other, more pressing matters.

"And what of any incoming SMILE shipments?"

"Process them as usual, but wait for distribution to the Waiters. Right now, our efforts are on this manhunt and we need every able body we can spare. They cannot hide, forever."

King eyed the river. Previously, it was usually teeming with fish, fish he had developed a taste for. But there was no sign of them; no doubt because of Kaido.

"I will carry that to the Headliners in Onigashima. Good hunting, Kaido."

"Hmmph."

Kaido rose to his full height, his flame clouds carrying him into heavens. The skies lit up with thunder, the wind shaking the trees, as his miles-long body coiled and followed after him.

King transformed, and took off the other way.

(X)

"This seems redundant." Page One muttered,

He stalked ahead of the column, as it snaked its way through the Hakumai foothills. He was healthy enough to walk, but his body was still covered in bandages. He glanced back at his men, as they trudged along the dirt round.

They were tired, he could tell. For hours they had marched through Hakumai's foothills, forests, and wastes, searching every town or village they came upon; without food or rest. And every time they faltered, or he thought about calling a halt, Kaido would fly overhead; and their exhaustion would disappear. They had slept only a few hours each night, waking before the sun rose, as if by conditioned reflex.

All for fear of Kaido. All lest he catch them sleeping a moment too long.

Page One glowered, and pushed his mask aside to sip the nutrient drink the medics had given him. It tasted like Ulti's cooking, though with any luck it would heal him rather than poison him.

He sighed. He didn't get this at all. Was this the same Kaido who had taken him and Ulti in? Who had forgiven Ulti's endless rudeness? Who had been impressed with the way they, a couple of cabin rats, had stolen those Ancient Zoan fruits?

One question. One little question, and his reward was a world of pain. That, and a week in the chamber of horrors that was Onigashima's infirmary; before he'd recovered enough to leave and meet up with his sister.

He shook his head. It was his own fault, he knew. He hadn't read the room. He should have known not to speak out of turn when Kaido was in that mood. Hell, even Black Maria had been scared!

"Hey, Pay-Pay."

Page One turned, seeing his sister walking along. "How you feeling?"

Page One's eyes bulged, as he saw that thing she was carrying. That friggin' doll, that bore a slight resemblance to her - hopefully former - crush. The mere sight of it made him want to run and hide. What was she thinking, carrying that thing around? With Kaido up in the air?

"Fine, I told you this an hour ago." Page One murmured. "And I'm telling you again, you should toss that before Kaido sees it."

"Well, you can always ride on my back! You are my baby brother!" Ulti replied cheerfully. Page One felt his stomach churn with disgust.

"I don't need to be babied, okay!?" he hissed, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking away. "Come on, we're almost at the next town and…"

He stopped, looking around. "Have we been this way?"

"No, the last town we have on the list is…" Ulti looked at her map. "Ebisu Town…"

"Fine, let's go. Least you thought to bring a map this time."

"And when we get back to the Flower Capital, I'll give Dekyuun to a dollmaker to make him nice!"

Page One paused, and turned to face her.

"And if Kaido catches you with it?"

"He won't."

"Why?"

"Because you're my little brother!" Ulti leapt on him and glomped him, so hard that his bones creaked. "And you have to look out for your big sister, riiiiiight!?" She nuzzled her nose against him.

"Gagagagaga leggo!" Page One spluttered.

"But Paaay-Paaaay I just wanna show my wuuuuuuuuv!" she cooed. "You can be huggy-practice till we find Dekyuuuuuun!"

"OH HELL NO!" Page One shrieked, struggling to get free. He did not want to imagine the things his sister planned to do with that kid; let alone have them tested on him.

"It's just huggsie Pay-Pay!" Ulti dropped him. "Besides, I'm gonna ask Lord Kaido to spare his life!"

"You what!?" exclaimed Page One, lying sprawled on the ground where she had dropped him.

"He'll be an asset!" insisted Ulti. "Think about it! He got the drop on Kaido, and he stomped that meanie Malice into the ground! Think what he can do for us?"

"But Kaido wants to kill him!" He yelled, arms wide.

"Oh, he'll be fine once he's ground Dekyuun's bones to powder a couple of times," Ulti went on confidently. "And if he rips Dekyuun's arms and legs off, I'll get Queen to make him some new ones!"

Page One glanced at the Waiters nearby; all of whom were making a great show of not looking. He was fairly confident they would repeat none of this; lest they get turned to ash by an angry dragon.

"Sis, you're thinking pragmatically for once, and I'm very happy about that. But please, consider who you're talking about here."

His head flared with pain, and he shook it. Trust Ulti to give him a headache on top of everything else.

"Screw this, come on, Ebisu Town is right ahead! We gotta search!" He began to transform.

"But Pay Pay come on! You could be brothers in law! And when you get back and need to be fed dinner, I can do the same to a poor vulnerable Dekyuun!" She rubbed her cheek against the doll. "Haaa, even if his arms and legs are gone… his beautiful face and his strong form… empowered by Queen's cybernetics…"

"That's assuming Queen will do it," grumbled Page One. His sister's fixation on her supposed boyfriend getting mutilated was getting more and more worrying. He almost pitied Deku.

"Oh he will." Ulti's loving voice was gone. "I'll beat the shit out of him to do it." Her eyes curved, and her face twisted in a wide, manic smile.

"You think you can fight Queen?" Page One asked flatly. The obese All-Star was a clown, but he was Kaido's left hand for a reason.

"Yep! I know you have my back Pay-pay!" Ulti grinned. "And we'll get Malice to help us! He's been wanting to kill Queen since he got here! He maybe a Marine, but the enemy of my enemy right?"

The purple-haired dinosaur groaned, as he arched his head into the sky. Fighting an All-Star at this point was a fool's errand; even if he and Ulti could somehow persuade Malice to help them. It would probably just piss Kaido off anyway.

But…damn it all…she was his sister. Even if she drove him up every wall in Onigashima and treated him like a baby. He couldn't let her fight Queen alone.

"Come on, we need to work!" he growled, striding ahead; his footfalls making the ground rumble. He reached the crest of the hill, and there was the town.

"Men! Search the houses!" he roared, getting into character. Yeah that's right. He was Page One! With a bounty of 210 Million Berries and an Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit! These monkeys ain't got shit on him!

Deciding to let off some steam, he called upon his Devil fruit and felt his body grow, shifting into his massive Hybrid form. For a few seconds he stood there, relishing the power, then slammed his tail into the nearest house; shattering it into kindling.

"Alright you vermin! Open up!" he bellowed. He saw hungry-looking faces peering out of windows, wary eyes turning to terror. His pirates flooded past him into the town, breaking down doors and forcing their way in. Screams and cries for mercy rang out.

"Dekyuun My Dekyuun~" sang Ulti as she leant against his leg, and Page One rolled his eyes. "My pwetty cutie Dekyuun~"

'She's gonna be the death of me. Assuming Kaido doesn't kill her first,' Page One thought. He lashed out with his tail again, tearing the roof off a nearby house. He looked down, spotting a man with scruffy blue hair clutching a young toddler with pink hair, eyes wide with fear.

"Mush ya damn bums! All of you!" he barked, baring his fangs as they fled the hut. They were thin and pale, their clothes ragged and dirty, but Page one didn't care. He had a job to do, and a plea to make to Kaido as well.

For a chance to bash Deku himself. For causing all this mess. And maybe if he did, Kaido wouldn't murder Ulti for her obssession.

"Dekyuun My Dekyuun~"sang Ulti, giggling and twirling around. "My pwetty cutie Dekyuun~. I will save yu from~the ugly dummy Yamadon~"

She sighed, and her eyes opened, now silted orange; scales forming on her arms and head as anger sizzled inside her.

"I can't wait to fucking beat Yamato's ass like a drum. I'll kill her!"

"You and me both," Page One muttered. He knew Kaido wouldn't allow it… but beating her down hard? Within an inch of her life maybe?

Yeah, he was fighting for the front of the line for that. He would fight an All-Star for that right.

One thing he knew for sure, Deku was a dead man the second he was spotted and Yamato…was gonna wish she was dead.

(X)

Big scary trees all around.

Tama walked on through the forest, eyes alert. Around her the trees seemed to morph; as if they were alive, but in all the wrong ways.

She waited for the dragon to appear, but he didn't. There was a blazing white image ahead of her, a silhouette.

"H-Hello?" she asked, but the white silhouette turned and Tama regretted opening her mouth.

Shrouded in white, standing upon a road made of bones. A glowing shape, human but huge, somehow feminine; with glowing red eyes, and horns sprouting from her crown.

She stepped forward. Tama stepped back, then froze as she heard a hissing noise behind her. She turned, and gasped as she saw a serpent, with many heads, enshrouded in green tinged darkness, its mouths open, fangs bared.

She screamed, running away into the woods, running as fast as her legs could carry her. There was a cave up ahead. They wouldn't get her in there! She ran and ran, trying to reach the entrance before those monsters could catch her!

Then the cave changed, shifting into a dragon's open maw, fangs wide and sharp. It glowed red, the hair getting hotter, and hotter.

She screamed.

-x-

Tama snapped awake, heartbeat ringing in her ears.

A dream. Another dream.

She sat up, shaking her head, trying to feel normal again. The dreams had been getting worse ever since he had appeared, and tormented the land with storms. Life had just about gotten back to normal since then, but the skies were still dark.

And the dreams wouldn't stop. No matter what she did, they wouldn't stop.

Tama sighed, and looked around for Mr Tengu. She couldn't see him, but she could hear him pottering around in the garden outside; like he always did. There was something comforting about that.

She got up, rolled up her thin, ragged futon, and headed for the door.

"How's the garden Mr. Tengu?" she asked, groggily. as she stepped out of the stone shrine that had become their home. Down below, she could see Mr Tenguyama at work, inspecting the new patches of land he had dug up. The red mask turned to face her as she descended the steps.

"It's fine Tama. I just wish we could have some sunlight."

Tama looked up at the sky. The clouds were still there, still roiling and crackling, blocking out the sun that Mr Tengu's plants needed.

All because of the dragon.

"The seeds are taking root… mmmm, but we could use more water," Mr. Tengu said, stroking his chin. "Would you bring me some from the stream, Tama? I'll get some firewood so we can boil it into something drinkable."

"Of course," Tama agreed, perking up. She found the pail in its usual place, and headed off towards the river.

"I'll be back!" she called out, as she reached the dirt path. She headed down the slope, following the markings Mr Tengu had left on the trees; markings only the two of them knew about. The trees loomed all around her, but they weren't scary like this, in the daylight.

Then she paused, as she saw something draped across a branch. It was a serpent, a green one, lounging on the branch, flicking its tongue, and staring at her through yellow eyes.

The air getting hotter and hotter. The slitted yellow eye, staring at her…

Tama screamed, threw the pail at the snake, and took to her heels; tearing away through the forest.

It was always like this! Always bad dreams, never good ones! She hardly dreamed of her parents any more! She couldn't even remember what they looked like! All she dreamed about now was him!

And them.

The demon in white.

"Yamato…"

The thieving serpent.

"Deku…!"

She staggered to a halt, breathing hard, tears stinging her eyes.

"I hate youuuu!" she shrieked, all her misery and grief erupting from her lungs, stamping her foot in helpless rage.

And then the ground gave way below her. She cried out as she staggered down the hill, struggling to stay on her feet. Then her legs gave way, and she tumbled down the hell, yelping as she rolled and bounced.

She landed, and lay still, her face in the dirt. She could hear voices, but she didn't care. She was too miserable, too ashamed to care.

Why… why did it have to be this way? Why couldn't someone make that mean dragon go away? Make Yamato and Deku pay for whatever they did?

Why can't someone… help her!?

Her stomach growled, and she curled up into a ball, hoping, wishing for the earth to just eat her alive. Maybe that would stop the nightmares.

But…that would mean leaving Mr Tengu all alone. How was he going to manage without her?

And she had thrown his pail away!

"Hey there."

Tama leapt to her feet, heart pounding, head snapping around, looking for whatever had spoken.

Then she saw him. It was a young man; quite tall, with freckled cheeks and black hair, wearing shorts and an orange hat. He was kneeling down beside her, smiling.

"You took a pretty bad fall there. You okay?"

There was a knife on his belt, and a strange tattoo on his arm. And behind him, a little way away, was a ship. There were people getting off it, and there was a village.

Where on earth was she? How far down the hill had she fallen?

Then she realized.

"Ami…gasa?" she murmured. Yes, that was it. Amigasa, the village where she had lived with her parents. Before they disappeared, and a bunch of mean adults came in and took over. Mr Tengu went there sometimes, but she never did.

She was afraid too.

"Your name is the same as the village?" the man asked, titling his head. The girl blinked, and shook her head.

"N-No, my… my name is Tama," she murmured. His eyes weren't like the dragon's; more like Mr Tengu's.

"Well Tama, you had a bad fall there. Why don't we let our doctor check you out? Oh, and maybe something to eat too. I'm hearing a hungry stomach there."

He grinned, as Tama's stomach growled on cue as he offered his hand.

"The name's Portgas D. Ace. Nice to meetcha!"

Oh boy its happening. Ace in Wano, with no Yamato and Kaido's in town.

What's gonna happen~~~~~

Anyways, big thanks to Juubi-K , IKnowNothing and WildJoker000 for their help on this. But yeah, we are out of the Doyle Arc, and in an Arc I will name... after the next chapter or two... Spoiler reasons.

Hope you all enjoy, I'll see you all next time :)