Welcome to another chapter of Coby's Choice! I'm not really sure if I really liked the way this chapter turned out, but this is where the narration went. Thank you for putting up with my delays. This goes to you all: Andrew Bohl, Animephilosopher1, Ankhseram123, anony, Ant Franklin, Cam Bliss, Claude Walker, Cordell Sanders, Cory Johnston, Darko129, David, David Bowling, David Reynolds, Emi Stafford, Eugene Malone Jr., EvilJelly, Fenrir ragnarok, Garvin Lee Nelson-Mathlin, GODA98, Immagenius, Inucbus, JEP1010, Jkat, John Mekjian, Jonathan Moh, Joseph Baty, Joseph Cheung, Joseph Morrison, Joseph Vargas, Joshua Groves, Karen Carrillo, Kcx1, kevin Calderon, Korakas, Lamont Hale, MAEGHT Maxime, Marielle Orff, Matt Walther, Matthew Burley, McBanjo, Mcgin28, Michael Enqvist, Milagros Peres Davila, Milla, Neridian, Quinton Huffstetler, Rafael Cardenas, ReactedLyric, Richard Barkley, Riley Bolerjack, Ryuu, Sasha, Siddiq Morris, TheWolfThatExist, Thomas Sanders, Tom Peissig, and ViewtifulSoul!

[Warning, the back half of this chapter gets dark.]

Chapter 65:

Unplanned Assault

"Attention, Dressrosa," he said, letting the echo of his voice fade. "Attention, Dressrosa. This is your king with a message for 'Straw Hat' Monkey D. Luffy and his band of miscreants. Listen up, wretch. You may have taken first blood in this ill-advised war you want to start, but I'll play along with your game. Here's the deal. I caught your wife with the group you sent into my castle. If you want her back, you better bring the best damn show of your life. I await your answer, Straw Hat. Don't disappoint."

Luffy's Haki flooded the stadium in moments, knocking a majority of the spectators unconscious. The announcer staggered, his assistants passing out from the pressure instantly. Below, both Shiryu and Custard each fell to a knee (which may have sounded romantic if they were not also bent at the waist trying to get their diaphragms to work under pressure). Luckily, especially for those with heart or blood pressure problems, Sabo had the wherewithal to grab Luffy by the mouth and chest and drag him away from the window before they could be seen.

"Sabo, let me go!" Luffy hissed through his brother's fingers, the blond's Haki-coated hands keeping a firm grip on his younger brother. "I have to go! I have to save her! I have to save them!"

"You'll just get yourself killed charging into an obvious trap without a plan," the older brother admonished, both self-adopted siblings ignoring the naming of the Colosseum's newest big names. At this point, they had bigger concerns than who was fighting for the Flame-Flame Fruit. "Doflamingo knows they're worth more alive than dead. He won't kill them."

"I don't care," Luffy growled. "There are things worse than death!"

"And you can't save them from that if you're dead!"

Luffy's struggles slowed, but his fists kept balling and releasing in an agonizing cycle. Sabo let him go slowly, ready at a moment's notice to grab him again if he tried to bolt. He took hold of Luffy's face, dragging him around to stare into his younger brother's eyes, even if Luffy wouldn't stop glancing out the window in the direction of the palace.

"Luffy, listen to me. You can't charge in without a plan. Doflamingo's expecting you."

"That why I should charge in," Luffy argued. "Mingo might think I'd charge in, but he might think one of my crew would stop to make me think. But I do the best when I don't think. When I don't know what I'm going to do, then Mingo can't know either."

"…I hate that that makes some sense," Sabo grumbled. His mind flashed back to the nights when the only reason he and his brothers ate anything was because Luffy's stomach prompted him to charge into the forest without a plan and he and Ace were forced to follow to keep him from dying. "Still, Lucy is expected to show up for the next round. There's no way you can charge off to fight Doflamingo and be back in time for that, much less be in fighting shape."

"Then you can do it." Luffy was already taking his helmet, cape, and beard off. "Gin and Amy are in the tournament. I know that with you three, we'll get our brother's power back. Maybe Old Mustache Guy's, too. With you here, Sabo, I don't have to worry about that."

"Heh," the blond chuckled, accepting the disguise. "You always know what to say, Luffy. Always have."

"Nah. Nami and Coby and Merry are the ones with the big voca-whatsit, though Merry got it from the others."

"Whatever you say, little brother," Sabo grinned, donning the cape. He'd barely secured the outfit when—

"Hey, get out of there!" the announcer yelled through the microphone. "Apologies, folks! It appears we have some unwelcome guests in the arena… including the Heir of Chaos‽"

Even Merry was left dizzy by Luffy's sudden, short blast of Conqueror's, Ace having to lean against her chest to avoid falling over. Spectators throughout the stands —human and toy alike— had slumped over in the sweet release of unconsciousness. Another portion who had managed to withstand the force of exerted Will had given into their flight instincts and were clawing and trampling each other in their attempts to be the first out the door. The Klabautermann and her charge, however, stayed in their seats still trying to get their bearings again.

"Mo—‽" Ace gasped, Merry cutting him off by slapping a hand over his mouth in much the same way Sabo was doing to the boy's father. There were a number a people in the crowd who had been largely unaffected by the captain's outburst and neither she nor Ace needed any attention when the presence of their crew had just been made known to the entire island.

"Shh," the Klabautermann insisted. "Quiet."

"Daddy's really mad about Mommy," Ace muttered as lowly as he could, his little fists balling Merry's shirt. "I've never ever forever felt him that mad."

"You weren't alive the last time that happened," Merry replied. "And he wasn't that strong, either."

"Th-Th-There is n-no need to p-panic," the announcer stuttered. "S-S-S-Straw H-Hat may be h-here, b-but I am sure our king h-has everything under c-c-control! U-U-Until we're t-told otherwise, th-the tournament will go on!"

"Well," the young woman in the red cloak by Merry and Ace commented, her breath easing. "You've got to hand it to the man. He's dedicated to the show."

"Like anyone will be paying any real attention," her companion said with a roll of her eyes. The announcer pulled up a list, the man having to squint and, ultimately, lay it on the railing before him on account of his shaking hand.

"Th-Th-This next match h-has a few fighter of n-note!" he cried, trying to get his wits about him once more as a distinctly-smaller number of Colosseum staff moved to clear the arena below. Custard moved to get close the Shiryu, the man seeming annoyed but not willing to deny her given the rumors of Big Mom's children. He refused to become just another man stabbed to death in Dressrosa by a spurned woman, no matter said woman was not a native. "W-W-We have the first grandson o-of Don Chinjao, th-the 13th heir to the leadership of th-the Happo Navy: Sai!"

Sai almost looked monkey-ish with his wild, brown hair going down in sideburns, his square jaw, and his darker skin. He was shirtless save a white frill collar with a green cape and his lower body was covered in horizontally-striped yellow-and-green baggy pants with a red sash around his waist. He carried a bladed polearm held vertically behind his shoulder.

"The other warrior of note is another member of the Crescent Blade Pirates!" the announcer continued, clearly getting his confidence back with the hesitant cheering of the crowd. "It's the 'Crimson Spartan' Nikos!"

Nikos was a woman, blood-red hair spilling from beneath a helmet that obscured her face with three pieces of vertical metal. Her armor was bronze with red accents all emphasized by a crimson half-cape over her left shoulder. Said arm carried a round shield bearing the jolly roger of the Crimson Blades —a skull with rubies in the eye holes and a scythe behind— and the other carried a wicked-looking spear.

"Wooooo!" Roseanne cheered into the muted roar of the crowd. "Go Nikos! Kick their asses!"

As other fighters took the floor, it was clear that only half the expected participants had been able to make their appearance, less than 50 taking their spots. The announcer waited, expecting others to show, only for a panting man to appear behind him, whispering something.

"I-It seems we have another big name in this match!" the man called, his voice echoing through the stadium. "A formerly-hidden contestant, she has chosen to reveal herself off the bat after the end of the last block! Another of Blackbeard's Titanic Captains, it's 'Crescent Moon Hunter' Catarina Devon!"

Catarina was a very tall woman with pale skin and a long, pointed nose. Her black hair was done in a pair of pigtails, the woman replacing an opaque wedding veil with a pink bicorn hat. She was dressed a maroon coat with trailing coattails over a white dress shirt and pink corset. A golden ascot hung over her considerable bust and a necklace of blue gemstones hung around her neck. Finally, a cutlass hung on her right hip.

"Are the contestants ready? Begin!"

Merry glanced around them at the suddenly-half-empty Colosseum. Perhaps, if there weren't so many people and the workers were unconscious or occupied, she could take the chance to circumvent the need the win the tournament altogether. The Wood Fairy stood, pulling Ace to her chest.

"Merry?" he questioned. "Where are we going?"

"That's a pretty good question," another voice commented. Merry turned toward the speaker, 'Ruby of the Sea' Roseanne standing from her chair. Her grey eyes narrowed as she turned, showing the black-and-red battle dress hidden under her open cloak. "I do hope you don't have any plans to interfere with King Doflamingo's tournament."

"King Doflamingo?" Merry echoed, sizing up the shorter woman, even if they were about the same height. "I thought you were a pirate captain in your own right."

"In these waters, you either align yourself with a big name or die in refusal," the woman shrugged. "Did you think every man under the Warlord here wears those goda-awful parachute pants? As if."

"Well, this has been fun," Merry commented, taking a step back. "We really need to be going, though. It's almost naptime."

"Oh?" Roseanne's companion questioned. "But the matches aren't even half finished."

The red-cloaked subservient pirate captain pointed one of her palms backward, a blue rapier forming from her skin. The white-haired woman grabbed it before jumping into their air with incredible speed, Moonwalking up and over Merry and Ace before landing on the other side. Roseanne smirked, a red, crystalline scythe as tall as she was also forming from her hand. She stabbed it into the seat below, barely missing the head of an unconscious bear toy.

"That was cool!" Ace gasped, either ignorant of the danger or confident Merry could handle it. "Do you have awesome Fruit powers?"

"I do," Roseanne confirmed. "The Crystal-Crystal Paramecia. I can produce any crystalline gem from my body in any shape I choose. Pays the bills easy."

"When you aren't oversaturating the market and crashing an island's economy," the rapier-wielding woman said.

"That only happened three times, Yuki!"

"Sure, Roseanne. Whatever you say."

"We really need leave," Merry implored. They didn't have time for —or any advantage to leverage in— a battle here. "If you'd let us pass—"

"Oh, not a chance," the now-named Yuki interrupted from between Merry and the traditional exit. "That boy in your arms is the 'Heir of Chaos' Monkey D. Ace. Turning him over to King Doflamingo will be our ticket to the upper echelons of his trusted few as opposed to just another nameless, subjugated crew."

Merry's eyes hardened. The hand holding Ace tightened, her other moving to one of the corundum hammers hidden under the hem of her large t-shirt. "I've been trying to be nice, so I suggest you let us pass posthaste. You don't want to see what I might do otherwise."

"How scary," Roseanne mocked. "You know, only two of your new bounty posters actually say 'only alive' and unless you're the boy or 'Black Leg' Sanji, we don't need to hold back. Too bad for the boy, they don't say 'no trauma.'"

Roseanne and Yuki lunged, Merry using Moonwalk to launch upward over the point where sapphire rapier met ruby scythe. Ace clung to the Klabautermann for dear life as she pulled one of her hammers free with her remaining hand, tilting them downward. Another kick from Moonwalk sent them down, her hammer ready to end the fight. Yuki pulled back with speed comparable to Shave while Roseanne spun, interposing her scythe to catch the metal weapon.

Hammer met crystal in a ringing shriek, the weapon-shaped ruby cracking from the point of impact. Roseanne swung, shoving Merry away even as her powers fixed the break in her scythe. Merry flipped, her hammer already moving to block the rapier coming for her not-so-vital vitals.

"You two are really starting to get on my nerves," Merry growled.

"Pretty soon, the only thing your nerves will feel are chains, assuming you survive the day," Yuki replied. Her rapier blurred, Merry doing her best to block or redirect every thrust. There were simply too many, however, the first cutting a shallow line on her side opening Merry's guard for others that punched into her thigh and shoulder.

"Ruby Rush!" The blurry form of a spinning Roseanne appeared, Merry just barely blocking the scythe that tried to take her head off. The momentum sent her flying backward, the Klabautermann angling herself so she landed on her feet, said landing cracking the arena tile below. Nikos and a sword-wielding man in a low hood staggered back from the Wood Fairy landing between them, her wounds already healing.

"Hey, get out of there!" the announcer yelled as the competitors sized up this unexpected newcomer. "Apologies, folks! It appears we have some unwelcome guests in the arena…" The announcer sucked in a breath. "Including the Heir of Chaos‽"

"Damn, he's got good eyesight," Merry muttered. Twin crashes reached her ears, the white-haired fairy looking up to see Roseanne and Yuki had landed beside their crewmate in the arena.

"As of this moment, we are having a rule change!" the announcer added, a stone falling in Merry's gut. "The competitor, in the arena or out, who captures the Heir of Chaos and brings him to officials for transport to our king will automatically win one of the Devil Fruits!"

"Does… Does he have the authority to do that?" the hooded man questioned. He coughed and shook his head, pointing his sword at Merry and Ace. "Regardless, rules regulate reaction! Ponder not, pirates, for your poor protests produce naught! Surrender or shoulder a senseless struggle that shall stop with setbacks you shan't salvage! For I, Sot G, shall seize success from your sorrow! This is your final warning!"

"Well, I guess this is one way to win," Sai commented, readying his polearm.

"The child is mine," Catarina Devon vowed, her sword ready to eviscerate anyone who came close. "Killing him will show that upstart Cat Burglar who's got real beauty!"

"Screw Alliteration Boy, Monkey Man, and the ugly hag over there," Roseanne ordered on the other side, ignoring Catarina's insulted hiss as she stabbed her scythe into the arena and aimed a ruby-capped finger gun at the horned fairy. "Hand over the boy to us."

"Like hell!" Merry shot back, leveling her hammer at each fighter individually. "Anyone who touches Ace loses the fingers one-by-one before the whole hand! And that's if I get to you before Captain Luffy!"

"Oh, scary," Catarina Devon grinned, her fingers twiddling on the grip of her sword. "We're already risking our lives for those Fruits, so do you really think a single girl standing in our way bothers us? And Straw Hat should be more worried about what Doflamingo will do you his hag of a wife."

A flash of seafoam green in the corner of their visions was all the warning any of those in the arena had before a streak of said color blitzed downward, snatching Ace out of Merry's hold.

"Wha—! Hey!"

"Hehe!" Monet giggled, her talons securely around Ace's arms as she rose upward on the wind. She looked down even as she flapped her wings to gain more height in a bid to outpace those in the arena who could mimic flight. "We didn't get to meet back on Punk Hazard. I'm Monet. Giolla's been complaining about not having a baby to spoil now that Dellinger's grown up, so I suspect we're going to be good—"

Monet cut herself off with a squawk as Ace's teeth chomped down on her left ankle. Her Logia powers activated without a thought, the entire ankle and taloned bird foot turning to snow to avoid damage. Ace twisted, biting down on the other side to similar effect. Now footless for the time being, Monet could only watch in dumbstruck surprise as gravity took hold, Ace starting his freefall from a deadly height with a self-satisfied smirk.

"You taste like cold chicken, Bird Lady!"

"Little brat," Monet hissed, her skin paling. "When I sink my teeth in you—"

"Guuum-Guuuuuum…!" Luffy all but materialized out of thin air, his arm already extended behind him and his skin a glistening pink. Monet, a fighter of necessity rather than any form of powerhouse, could do nothing but watch as the pirate captain's arm sparked, fire impossibly licking along his steaming, Armament-covered skin. "Black Hawk!"

Monet tried to dodge, her head, wings, hips, and legs turning to snow as the attack neared. Unfortunately for her, the combination of fire and Armament caused her torso to remain solid. She took the attack full force, her skin both bubbling and burning as Luffy's rubbery fist drove her body into —and through— the stands. Her shrill scream of pain echoed on the wind without a mouth to come from. Luffy glared in the general direction of her Spirit.

"And to think, I offered you a place on my crew," he spat. Below, Merry jumped with Moonwalk, catching Ace before any harm could come to him. The Straw Hat trio landed to a silent stadium, every awake eye unblinking and every breath held.

"Captain."

"Merry."

"Daddy!"

"Ace." Luffy smiled slightly, ruffling his son's hair before turning back to the Klabautermann. "I trust I can leave him in your care with the bird lady down?"

"About half the crew is approaching the Colosseum. We'll be fine, Captain. Go save Mrs. Nami and the others."

Luffy nodded before he vanished with another Shave. Merry turned, grinning at the gaping combatants. She raised her hammer and threw aside her hat, the disguise unnecessary now that their presence on the island had been exposed.

"Now then, any of you want to try your luck against the first confirmed Klabautermann to ever sail the seas?"

"Maybe the first," Nikos said, "but not the strongest."

"It's six-on-one, girl," Catarina agreed. "Give up."

"Actually, it's six-on-two," a man in a tan cloak said, stepping beside Merry with his saber drawn. He threw his cloak and fedora away with a flourish, revealing a youthful, handsome face framed in brown hair and a green outfit covered in ruffles. "The New Whitebeard Pirates are allied with the Straw Hats, after all."

"What's this‽" the announcer gasped. "How many fake names do we have on the list‽ That's 'Swift Saber' Haruta of the New Whitebeard 12th Division! But the list calls him… Harry? Who the hell accepted these names‽"

"Wonderful to meet you, Ghost Ship," the New Whitebeard pirate greeted with a backward glance. "I do wish it was under better circumstances, though. Namur had a lot to say about you all. I'm eager to see how much you live up to the hype."

"Well, I hope we meet your expectations," Merry grinned. "Although, I would rather escape to the hallways if you can make that happen. Ace and I are too exposed here."

"Allow me to escort you." Haruta swung his sword, a flying slash crossing the divide toward Catarina and the assorted gladiators near her. Her own sword came up, cutting the slash in half, but the two halves maintained their integrity to cut down most of the fodder on that side.

"Mini Cannonball Barrage!" Merry yelled, tiny versions of cannonballs launching from within her pockets like buckshot at the Crescent Blades and the gladiators facing her, much to similar effect.

"You shall fail to flee under my faithful focus and Float-Float powers!" 'Sot G' declared. He raised his hands, a number of swords around the arena rising at his command to point at Merry and Haruta. He angled his sword, all those around mirroring it. "Behold, my Swords Dance! Surrender now! This is your final warning!"

Before the man could really do anything, Sai landed beside him, bashing his exposed side with the butt of his polearm. 'Sot G' fell to his knees with a wheeze.

"You all are against Doflamingo," Sai said. "With the Straw Hats and the New Whitebeards, I think I'm willing to bet against the house, even if Gramps can't stand the Monkey family. I'll let you run free and cause chaos."

"Thanks, Monkey Man!" Merry called.

With new allies and their opponents distracted, Merry kicked upward, jumping through the window Luffy had come from.

"Hi, new Lucy!" the Klabautermann laughed as she and Ace began their dangerous game, running by a surprised Sabo. "Bye, new Lucy! Talk to you later!"

'Now then,' Merry thought to herself. 'If I were an annoying Colosseum announcer, where would I put the prize Devil Fruits for safe keeping?'

[Warning, this scene has graphic violence and torture.]

Coby came to slowly, his vision naught but the blurry colors he'd learned to associate with the loss of his powers. He tried to move his numb arms, the rattling of chains above him giving him an idea of the current situation.

"Seastone," he slurred. "Shit. Godadammit."

"You said it," Grace agreed, her chains rattling to his left. "We really need to stop getting into these situations."

"You have no idea," the Zoan replied. He'd been in more Sea Prism Stone chains during their crew's time apart than one lifetime needed and then twice more since their reunion.

"Ah, I see the last one is finally awake," a slimy voice grinned. Coby's eyes turned to a large splotch of white and pink topped with yellow. The blob's Spirit was the same foul, soul-crushing, mind-shattering presence Coby had first felt in his Observation. Luckily, having felt it once, the roset knew what to expect on a spiritual level if not a physical one. He paused before directing his gaze toward Grace again, refusing to show fear.

"So, on a scale from 'Crocodile' to 'overblown inbred bubble bastard with a magma bitch pet', how screwed are we right now?"

"Somewhere around 'the Warlord king of a nation has us in the dungeons and is not happy with us.'"

"Fufufu," Doflamingo chuckled, his mirth building into a full laugh. "Fuuahahahaha! You other Straw Hats are just as delightful as your captain! Law, I love these new toys you've brought me!"

"Screw off, you overgrown bird!" Law replied from somewhere to Coby's right, his own chains rattling as he struggled to break free from the power-nullifying metal.

"Now now. Is that any way to talk to your former captain?"

"That's some information we would have liked to have beforehand!" Nami called from Grace's other side. Oh, good. They were all still together. "Got anything else to share, Law?"

Law was distinctly quiet, something that caused the mad king to laugh again.

"Keeping silent, eh? I'm sure Rosinante would be so proud."

"Don't say his name!" Law growled, his struggles redoubling. "He was ten times the man you could ever hope to be!"

"And now he's dead, so I'd say I'm the winner. Ahahaha!" The only undercurrent to the blond's laughter was Law's incoherent growling. "Ah, but playtime has started. Before, I would have been perfectly content to just kill you and be done with it, Law, but you just had to go and kill Gladius. That's an act I can't just let slide, so you're going to help me try some new attacks."

"Like I would ever help you."

"Oh, did I say 'help'?" Doflamingo questioned. "Apologies. Old Habits. What I meant to say was 'test'. String Guillotine."

Law screamed, Coby flinching at the sound as Nami and Grace gasped. With his poor eyesight, Coby couldn't tell what was happening.

"Hmm," Doflamingo hummed. "No, no, no. That won't do at all. Far too clean. Why, that foot could almost pass for a pegleg. Let's try this. String Guillotine."

Law screamed again, this time with a nasty squelching noise. Nami wretched off to the left.

"That's a little better," Doflamingo nodded. At least, Coby assumed he nodded considering he couldn't see the man clearly. "More bleeding and more damage overall. Certainly more pain. I'm not use to leaving my strings so frayed anymore. Ah, that takes me back."

"You're sick," Grace hissed.

"Sick?" the mad king echoed. "Well, maybe. Sanity, however, is boring. All the world's a stage, so doesn't everything exist for our entertainment?"

"Of course not," Coby answered. "who do you think you are, a Celestial Dragon?"

"Why, yes. I am a Celestial Dragon, Tri-Horn. I thought you would recognize the Donquixote name since I hear you met my foolish cousin."

"What are you…?" Coby trailed off, a memory from his time in Sabaody rising to the surface. "You… You're related to Mjosgard?"

"Coby?" Grace questioned. "What are you talking about?"

Coby had to take a moment, his mind trying to comprehend, to fathom, that the only human-like Celestial Dragon was apparently related to the Warlord standing before them.

"Back… Back on Sabaody," Coby began, "there was this Celestial Dragon that would come around every so often. He was… He was surprisingly good. He'd treat people with respect and would go into auction houses to buy all the slaves just to let them go. He even saved me once. His name is Donquixote Mjosgard."

"Yes, my father's cousin," Doflamingo hissed. "How much he's changed since my father caused my family's fall with his idiotic plan. Why, that first report from Disco mentioning him buying all those slaves just to free them nearly had me in stitches. Perhaps sympathy for the common folk runs in the Donquixote blood considering how close I've gotten to my crew. Which is why I can't just let you die, Law."

"Yeah, 'sympathy' isn't the word I'd use," Law ground out. The blob that was Doflaningo stalked forward, stomping on Law's now-bloody leg. The Supernova clenched his teeth, not wanting to give Doflamingo more satisfaction.

"No, I suppose you wouldn't. After all," —His voice dropped to a snarl— "I have no sympathy for traitors."

Law growled, refusing to give the man any more than that. In response, Coby saw a blob of what he guessed was string take on the black sheen of Armament Haki before falling like a cleaver. Law gave in and screamed.

"I wonder," the king mused. "Can you still put yourself back together after I used my Haki? And if I do this?"

There was another squelching sound, but this one with the distinct crunch of broken bone. Coby was almost glad he couldn't see clearly.

"Oh Goda," Nami wretched. "H-His leg! Stop it!"

"Stop?" Doflamingo echoed. "I'm just playing by the same Peacemain rules you all do, right? He attacked me and mine first."

"What's the deal with the toys?" Coby demanded, hoping he could redirect the man's attention. Maybe, if Doflamingo was busy with his questions, Nami, Grace, and Law could find a way out. "I have strong Observation. I know they aren't just machines designed to act like people and entertain the masses."

"Perceptive, aren't you? Bold, too. Even that Marine Admiral didn't have the guts to question it."

"A Marine Admiral‽" Grace gasped.

"Oh dear, you didn't know?" Coby could hear the way Doflamingo relished mocking them. "Yes, the Marines are here with an Admiral at their head. Apparently, they think a threat is approaching one of their valued Warlords and they don't want the fallout if this threat actually managed to win." He laughed.

"But the toys," Coby redirected. "What are they? You must know, right?"

"Ah, but of course I know. One of my crew, Sugar; she's Monet's sister. I hear you all are acquainted with her. Well, Sugar has the powers of the Hobby-Hobby Fruit, and her hobby when she got it was toys. Now, a single touch is all she needs to turn any creature into a toy. Even better, everyone —us included— forgets they ever existed so no one will ever miss them. It's so much fun to watch a person only to take away someone they care about and see how they change. Quite… informative."

"That's sick!"

"That's entertainment! Hahaha! Ah, but I hear you've performed some without me in the audience. And after I left your captain such a generous tip from the last show."

The blob that was Doflamingo lashed forward, the chains holding Coby's hands above his head falling. He slumped forward, still weak from the Sea Prism Stone, and was unable to fight back as the king dragged him forward.

"Coby/Tri-Horn-ya!" Grace, Nami, and Law called as the Warlord's large foot stomped down on the Zoan's hands.

"What do you want from me?" the roset grunted. He felt a string carve the back of his shirt in half, the fabric falling to either side. Coby shivered as his scars, his shame, was exposed to the air.

"I remember seeing that happen," Doflamingo grinned, almost wistful. "Akainu had just killed Fire Fist and turned toward the unresponsive Straw Hat. I thought I was about to see the murder that would finally spark a Revolutionary attack on the highest marines. It would have been so entertaining! All that chaos! All that death! Perhaps the killings of some Celestial Dragons, too! But no, you charged in and pushed him out of the way and they had to carry you out. I just had to mark Straw Hat myself so he'd return to me. I couldn't let a showstopper like that forget me, after all."

Tears prickled Coby's eyes as every word of the Warlord reminded him of that day, each syllable like a nail in his brain. He remembered far too much, Doflamingo's narration digging up what he'd buried. The burn, the wingtips carved on his shoulders, what little remained of his Straw Hat tattoo, they were nothing but reminders of his weakness.

And now, literally under the shoe of the Warlord King of Dressrosa, he was still weak.

"Coby!" Grace yelled, weakly struggling against her own chains. "Let him go! Coby!"

"Oh, adorable," Doflamingo chuckled before his voice dropped again. "Adorable and disgusting. Straw Hat will die today. So will Law. And the rest of your crew that survive will be handed over to the Marines, but I might just keep the two of you just to watch both of you break. That might entertain me for… maybe a week."

"You're a monster," Nami whispered.

"In case you haven't noticed, this is an ocean, a world, of monsters. It is the destiny of the weak to be trampled by the strong. It is the destiny of the powerful to abuse those without power of their own. In this grueling world, you are given only two options: accept your lot or fight, struggle, and kill your way to the top so that no one can ever trample on you again. And when monsters face each other, one becomes the loser." He moved. A showman like Doflamingo, Coby pictured him spreading his arms to his literally-captive audience. "This status quo is sickening, isn't it? We're born into it and can do nothing but follow its rules! Don't you want to change it? Don't you want to burn it all down? Don't you want to set the world on fire and watch those in power burn in their ivory mansions?"

"Maybe we will," Coby hissed. Based on the way Doflamingo's foot moved, the roset suspected he'd turned to look down on the swordsman underneath him. The Zoan glared up as best he could. "We'll start with Dressrosa. Captain Luffy will beat you. You'll be just one more steppingstone on his path to the throne."

Again, Doflamingo chuckled, his mirth growing more and more until he was hunched over with laughter.

"Too bad, you all won't survive to see it." Doflamingo stepped back before Coby felt a dozen pinpricks across his back and arms. Like a marionet on its strings, he was pulled to his feet, unable to fight back. Against his will, he turned toward the other captives and stepped forward. "And best of all, I don't have to get my own hands dirty."

Something squished under Coby's foot, but he kept walking toward the white-topped blob that was Law. Unable to control himself, Coby raised his hands and brought them down at an angle, smashing into the side of Law's face with his Sea Prism Stone manacles. Law coughed, but Coby could not stop under the Warlord's power. Again and again, left to right and back to left, his bindings crushed the Supernova's face. Blood, slick and warm, smeared over the Zoan's fingers.

"I'm sorry," Coby begged. "I'm sorry, Law! I'm so sorry!"

"We'll come back to him later," Doflamingo decided, finally allowing the roset to stop after the splotch that was Law's face was nothing but black and blue from the bruising. "I need Straw Hat's wife in mostly-good condition, so I guess we'll get started on the redhead now."

"No!" Coby protested, but his body would not listen to him. He stepped away from Law —stomping on what he realized was a bloody stump where his right knee used to be— and approached the colorful blur that was Grace. Tears flowed over his cheeks, his muscles straining against the Warlord's control to no avail. "Stop it! Stop it now!"

"But the fun's only just beginning!" Doflamingo grinned.

Grace gasped as the first strike struck her cheek, whipping her head to the right. Coby redoubled his struggles and, when he raised his hands for the next blow, he froze.

"I will not be controlled," he hissed, more to himself than anyone else. A black miasma formed around him as he closed his eyes and focused the way Rayleigh had always tried to teach him. "Not again. Never again. I will not be controlled. I will not be controlled! I WILL NOT BE CONTROLLED!"

"Well now," Doflamingo smiled as a couple of his strings broke, weak as they were. "You might last more than a week after all."

"—aaaaaaaaaa—"

"What's that?" Nami asked. Coby's eyes widened.

"—aaaaaAAAAAAAAA—"

"That's—" Coby gasped.

"OUT OF MY WAY!"

"Lu—?" Grace muttered.

"JET STAMP!"

The wall exploded, a steaming Luffy driving his foot into Doflamingo's side. The Warlord king hacked as his torso distended inward around the rubber-man's leg. It took another moment before physics caught up with the momentum, blasting the blond into and through the wall on the far side of the dungeon where rubble fell inward with the integrity of the room compromised on account of its newest hole.

"Luffy!" his crewmates called as their captain skidded to a stop.

"S-Straw Hat-ya," Law coughed.

"Sorry it took so long," he said. Almost immediately, there was a click as Nami's restraints opened, the thieving navigator having needed the barest moment away from their captor's watchful eye to free herself. She threw herself at her husband, wrapping him in a hug. "Are you hurt?" he asked.

"We'll heal," Nami said.

"Good. Get out of here and get Traffy help. I'll keep Mingo busy." He popped his knuckles as the rubble in the other room shifted. Nami moved to Coby first, something jiggling in the keyhole of his manacles before the opened. Instantly, he activated his powers, shifting his eyes back to their altered form so he could see again.

Other than the bruise on her neck where Lao G had knocked her unconscious, Nami didn't look too bad. Grace sported a new black eye from the wicked bruise on her left cheekbone, but any other injury she had was hidden. Dishearteningly, she spat out a wad of blood where the hit had cut open the inside of her mouth.

Coby turned as Nami went to free Grace to see Law, almost throwing up at the sight. His face was bruised nearly to the point of unrecognizability, one eye swollen shut and the other only barely open. Blood from his bleeding nose and lips had run down his front, staining his white shirt. Worst of all, his right leg was severed just above the knee, the separation jagged and still leaking into the pool of crimson on the dirty floor. His knee and lower leg sat several inches away, crushed beyond recoverability, while his foot was in two pieces further away.

Coby moved as soon as he got his bearings, grabbing the remains of his shirt to form a tourniquet for Law's wounded leg.

"Do we run or do we look for our weapons?" Grace asked as her manacles unlocked, the younger woman rubbing her bruised wrists as Nami went to Law. Finished with the makeshift bandage, Coby moved to the man's side, dragging one of the pirate captain's arms over his shoulder as soon as Nami unlocked his own shackles.

"We need to run for now," Coby suggested as a crash from Luffy and Doflamingo's fight echoed from the other room. "We can figure out something later but I think it's best we don't stick around. Law needs help."

"That's what we'll do," Nami agreed. She cupped her hands around her mouth. "Luffy! Run away when you get a chance! We'll come back with everyone together later!"

Luffy made no indication that he heard her, so the pirates just had to hope he did. Nami took Law's other side as Grace lead the group out of the hole Luffy's entrance had made, the chemist being the only one with access to her normal means of attacking. The unconscious bodies of Lao G, Buffalo, and Baby 5 laid on the grass where Luffy had left them.

"I'm really starting to hate this place," Coby grumbled as the group limped out of the Dressrosian dungeons. "This can't get—"

"Buuhihihi," a familiar, disgusting voice chuckled, Trebol lowering himself from a floor above on a strand of goo. "Sorry, Doffy! Looks like I get to have a shot at the prisoners myself."

"Me and my big fucking mouth… Dammit."

End of Chapter 65

Wow! I wasn't expecting that to get so dark, but no one is safe against a monster like Doflamingo! And all hell breaks loose at the Colosseum! Tell me what you think!

Read and Review!

-SwordOfTheGods