LW: We're getting closer to the big events, just a little further. Also it seems Rebecca's fight is the longest round so far because of how often it gets interupted by other plots XD
Rubber King and Mirror Master - New World Chaos : Shifting Strings in the Wings
Dressrosa - ?
"ARE YOU INSANE?!" Isuka screams, flipping out as Ace had unfortunately expected her to "You're asking me to give up everything and go along with your dumbass harem protagonist fantasy?"
"That is more a description of my little brothers than myself" Ace chuckles, then sighs deeply "But no. I'm making the same offer I did 2 years ago, with the added information so you don't go into this blind. My marriages are arranged and there is no way out, and while I'm sure I can learn to live with Smoothie and Yamato is probably my best friend who isn't also a member of my crew, you're the one I'd choose if given total freedom" he confesses, knowing now is the time for honesty and a little Luffy-esque bluntness.
"Life isn't that simple, you know how these kinds of relationships turn out" Isuka argues, though it was clear her anger had waned.
"Very much so, Pops was in one and it got Kaos' mom killed because of it" Ace agrees, with a melancholic air "I'm not asking for you to marry me under the guise of a marine and a pirate, I'm offering you a place on my crew, where you can continue to do good for the world without the World Government breathing down your neck. There are a lot of bad pirates out there, and just as many corrupt marines and government agents, so let's kick their asses together!" He declares enthusiastically.
Isuka breathed heavily through her nose before slamming her haki-coated boot into his shin, causing the logia to yelp and hop around in pain "I understand what you're saying, but I can't just jump into this" she responds with a slight grimace.
"I didn't expect you to, you're too smart for that, and you're nowhere near as impulsive as Anchor" Ace agrees "I'm here for a day, maybe 2, if you can't decide before then, I won't make a fuss or bother you again" he says surprisingly calmly "Now, there's something seriously wrong with this place, so I gotta run before my luck kicks in and I get caught up in it, or worse, my brothers do!" he gives a pained smile before running off.
"I'm in love with an idiot" the redhead mutters, her cheeks very slightly pink as she allows the admittance to see the light of day.
Colosseum
"Hey, I know you, you're that guy that everyone hated… until they remembered Rebecca exists" Laki chirps, though it turns into a scowl as she finishes her statement.
"Yeah that sounds about right. Anyway, Mr. Zoro and Ms Vivi sent me to find you, and maybe Miss Saria if I happened to cross paths with her, but mostly you" Bartolomeo explains as quickly as he could.
"Ok, where are they?" Laki asks curiously.
"There's right outside, follow me please," the barrier man says as he runs off, the rubber gal hot on his heels, the 2 only getting lost twice, and one of them was actually useful.
"I know the way out's here somewhere, oh Miss Sa…. Mr Kaos, what are you doing out in the open?" Bartolomeo shrieks, Laki crashing into the back of him when he freezes up.
"Huh, I was right, you were too pissed off to maintain your other self, bet she's pissed off you took the helm Shishishi" Laki giggles, then tenses as Kaos clenches his fist.
And one of the heckler heads exploded like a watermelon.
"So, how many is that?" she asks, waiting for her brother to turn his head, the rings fading from his nearly entirely purple eyes.
"5, 3 of which were toys. But apparently the message isn't sinking in. I don't care how much of a piece of shit Rikky was, you don't take it out on an innocent child" he hisses, turning his gaze to Bartolomeo "Barty, I have a question. How many of us were in Block B?"
The barrier man blinks, running his hand through his mohawk "It was a pretty poor showing, honestly, only about 60, maybe 70 at most" he answers with a tongue click.
"Yeah, that was my thought too… except there were meant to be 138, according to the records and sign-in sheet upstairs." Kaos scowls, pinching the bridge of his nose as a headache forms.
"Wait, that's almost half the fighters missing! What the Hell happened?" Laki and Bartolomeo shout, and Kaos sighs
"I don't know, but something is fucked in this city, and my brain just can't make things fit. So why are you guys running around like headless chickens?"
"I was supposed to bring Luffy to Mr. Zoro and Ms Vivi…. Probably you as well" Bartlomeo answers.
"Might as well, this fight is pissing me off too much to be healthy" the elder Straw Hat nods, shifting back into Saria before following the 2 idiots.
Block D
"The battle for the 4th spot rages on, it's still all to play for folks!" the announcer bellows energetically, hyping up the crowd as he goes "Rebecca continues to show skills unexpected of her build and age, and I'm having to dig deep to not support her, this kid could have gone places if her grandfather hadn't been such a diabolical piece of shit"
Rebellion Headquarters
"So that's my dark secret, I'm Rebecca's father" Kyros finally reveals "And thanks to this curse, she doesn't even remember me, and I can only do so much in this toy body. That's not when this country's problems started; that was when a woman named Monet came to the palace"
"Ah crap, not her again" Ussop whines, all the Straw Hats remembering the harpy woman from Punk Hazard
"You've met this woman?"
"Yesterday actually, she worked for Doflamingo, seemed to be Caesar's unofficial handler best I could see" Valentina muses.
"That tracks with what I already knew. Dressrosa has been severely changed in only a decade" Kyros continues, beginning his story "In 800 years of the Riku Dynasty, not once was Dresrossa embroiled in War"
"That is quite impressive, I don't think any other nation could say the same or even come close to those numbers" Robin gasps in amazement, Kyros standing taller as National Pride flares inside him.
"Indeed, it was almost a miracle. While we were poor in material wealth, we were happy, we helped each other whenever we could, and so we were rich in heart. Or we were until HE arrived"
And so the true tale of the tragedy began, of how Doflamingo arrived in the dead of night one day, threatened King Riku with carnage and bloodshed to blackmail him into buying his own kingdom back from the Warlord of 10 BILLION beris. The deal required him to bleed the citizens of what little they had, and hide the reason for his unprecedented demands, but he did so to spare his people the bloodshed the alternative would lead, he even did something no one would expect of a King, got on his knees and begged his people for the money. And somehow, they were doing it, 10 billion beri in 1 night might be achievable, but it was all for naught. Doflamingo was able to take control of the King, as well as many of his soldiers, and puppeted them around slaughtering the citizens left and right all across the island. All so he could show up and 'save' them from the Wicked Tyrant, ingratiating them and allowing him to steal back the throne.
"Something wrong kiddo?" Franky asks, seeing the range of emotions flittering across Artemis' face before settling on a frown.
"Whatever Doflamingo did it was Devil Fruit bullshit related. Nobody can use Dominari at such range that he was never seen taking control of the soldiers." the artist explains.
"Dominay what?" Ussop asks in confusion.
"A curse I learned in my training, allowing the user to control people, the weak of body or mind are the easiest. Dominari" she answers before casting, taking control of a handful of Tontatta, having them march over to, then walk around Artemis in a circle, occasionally jabbing at her feet or knees, all the while she was moving her hands like a puppeteer pulling the strings.
"I don't know if what you say is true or not, but that ability of yours is scarily similar to the one Doflamingo used that night, they were all puppets on his strings, helpless dolls forced to kill and destroy even as their vision swam with tears" Kyros states with an audible scowl "And while he caused havoc throughout the island his crew ransacked the palace, in preparation for Doflamingo to claim it as his own. After 800 years of peace, the County fell in just 1 night, into the vile hands of Doflamingo, and this island and it's people have never been the same since"
"We, unfortunately, fell for the ruse as well, thinking Riku had gone mad and betrayed the country, we reached out to the new king and ended up in our current circumstances. I'm so ashamed for ever trusting that grinning bastard" Gancho admits sadly. Those who had been to Green Bit understood completely, as despite their history, the Tontatta were almost painfully naive and easily duped, maybe even BECAUSE their last bad experience was almost 1000 years ago they've lost their distrust of humans.
"It's tragic that the kind king of this nation died a hated monster" Kaya whimpers, slipping into Ussop's embrace.
"Actually, King Riku is still alive" Kyros reveals to the shock of the pirates "Princess Viola had an ability that was most intriguing to Doflamingo, so a bargain was struck, she worked for him, and he spared her father's life"
"And he actually kept his word?" Alvida asks skeptically.
"As far as we know, yes. Especially given he'd want to drag him through the mud again if he could, so he wouldn't just quietly kill him off but make a big spectacle of it, much like he already does with Rebecca" the toy answers as best he can, bitterness clinging to his voice "Princess Viola is now known as Violet, an officer of the Donquiote Family. And King Riku is out there somewhere, maybe even still in this kingdom, but if so I can only imagine the anguish he must carry, seeing what Doflamingo has done to his kingdom, his legacy, and his Granddaughter. I don't even want to think about how Viola or the soldiers who were compelled that day handle things, after this decade of decay"
"So they survived? Why?" Ussop asks, as that really doesn't sound like Doflamingo.
"While some were killed in the chaos, many surrendered, and a good number of them were spared for Doflamingo's sick amusement as they now guard the palace like they did before, as the tyrant claimed they were simply 'following orders' and he could 'make use of such loyalty'. But even with those numbers, it doesn't add up to a Kingdom's full army" there was a frown in Kyros' tone.
"What do you mean, the soldiers who attacked are either dead or essentially enslaved, what more could there be?" Franky wonders aloud.
"It's rather worrying, but I appear to be missing memories, everyone is" Kyros explains.
"Meaning the soldiers that should be filling those gaps in your brain… were also turned into toys, removing them from the country's collective memory" Artemis guesses/summarises.
"Indeed. Whenever someone is turned into a toy, they're removed from the minds of those who knew them as a human, though we still retain our memories… or at least most of them. As you said, we are also affected by the memory wipe when it relates to toys we knew as humans" The soldier nods and elaborates, "Even with minds muddled, I know they all harbor a spark of hatred for Doflamingo and his men, it just needs to be given a target. Doflamingo attempted to bury the will of the people, but in doing so he just pushed it into the darkness to fester into a burning hate. They are our true army, the countless masses, the forgotten and the lost"
"YEAH! I see now. These little guys may not have the firepower to take on a Warlord and his lackeys, but if we also manage to convince the other toys to back us up, we'll have an army the likes of which we've never seen" Franky cheers
Have you rusted your brain, we're not here to take down a Warlord, we're here to blow up the factory and get the HELL out of dodge, that's our only objective here, not start a Revolution! Somebody back me up here, Robin?" Ussop hissed angrily before turning to the supposed voice of reason on the crew (After Vivi)
"I will feed you your own entrails Doflamingo" Robin snarls, an aura of malice flowing off her like a river.
"I'm not actually sure why I thought she'd actually agree to a retreat," the sniper sighs heavily, getting a sympathetic nod from his girlfriend.
"I'm ready to kick ass! So what do we do first?" Alvida asks, almost giddy in anticipation, her hammer held in a death grip.
Back in the Colosseum
"Are we nearly there yet?" Laki whines.
"Just a minute, Mr. Zoro was insistent I get you to them right away" Bartolomeo assures her before stopping at one of the windows. "There they are!" he cheers, Laki pausing and grins.
"Zoro, Vivi, Kinemon! What are you guys doing here?" she asks with a smirk, while Saria just waves.
"Looking for you mostly," Vivi admits.
"Hey, I got a bone to pick with you two. There's a tournament on and you didn't even tell me, I want to fight some people!" Zoro shouts.
"Would you have agreed to the sex change to hide your identity?" Saria asked, genuinely curious.
"I… don't know…Yes," the swordsman admits, stroking his chin.
Meanwhile, as the 5 had their chat, their complete lack of subtlety ensured a marine noticed them, running across town to Vice Admiral Bastille to report their whereabouts.
"Interesting, so that means the winners of Block's B and C were Straw Hat pirates. Explains how they won" the large man muses.
"Um Sir, why aren't we going in to capture them, sorry?" a marine asks.
"It's quite simple, the Colosseum is currently filled with a whole host of Pirates, Bounty Hunters and various low lives from the length and breath of the New World, if we go in their for Straw Hat, sure we might capture him and Mirror Demon, but it will be loud and messy, and alert the others. Better to monitor the situation and snatch them all up when they eventually come out those gates"
"Perfect plan sir. Now we have Don Chinjao… wait, I know I wrote these names down, but I don't recognize them. Sai, Boo, Avdula, who are these people?"
'Oh, that's not good, seems someone's been playing with Memories, ' Cipher thinks as he watches from the rooftops. 'Poor Chinjao, losing both Grandsons, and he doesn't even know it'
The Bridge
"Room"
Law flickers across the battlefield, substituting between various pieces of wreckage as Doflamingo's strings tear through the iron bridge like rice paper.
"Why are you running away? I thought you wanted to kill me." Dolfamingo taunts as he flies above the carnage using his cloud strings, gaining on Law, just as the now former Warlord intended.
Ducking under another swing of razor-sharp strings, Law puts his plan into action "Room. Tact" he cries, Doflamingo managing to cleave through the pillar Law had shot at him…. Or at least the first one, the rest of the pillars not so much as they all slammed into the shade wearing sociopath. Disorientating him for a moment before they too were shredded, the debris giving Law something to aim for to get close.
His sword was blocked by the strings and Dolfamingo managed to avoid his "Scalpel" attack, kicking the younger man back down onto the bridge with relative ease. Even being the target of a Shambles substitution wasn't enough for the String man to drop his guard, once more blocking Law's sword swing.
"That Opi Opi no mi is pretty useful for now at least, but it's clear using it takes a lot out of you. Your scuffle with Me and Fujitora, whatever you did with Caesar, and now this fight on the bridge, the tank is starting to get a little empty, ain't it?" Doflamingo asks in his usual condescending tone, before unleashing 'Bullet String', striking Law as easily as it takes to point a finger gun at him. As the man drops to the floor Doflamingo begins his casual stroll toward yet another murder…
Pura pura pura. Pura pura pura. Pura pura pura.
"One minute I need to take this" Doflamingo hums as he reaches into his coat and removes the Den Den Mushi, firing 2 Bullet String into Law's legs when he tries to stand and charge him "Yes?"
"Sorry young Master, but it appears Violet betrayed us. It also means we couldn't use her powers to determine what the Straw Hats are up to apologize"
"That is unfortunate, and most likely means Black Leg isn't dead either, no sense in doing the job and THEN stabbing us in the back after all" Doflamingo muses aloud "Ok here's the plan, send Lao G and and the others to guard the entrance to the Factory right now!"
"But Master, we've already announced they're going to be fighting in the Finals, the crowd's gonna be pissed" Diamante frets.
"It's all going to be fine, Diamante. They have you; you'll be more than capable of handling the finalists yourself," Doflamingo assures him.
"Stop, you make it sound like I'm some kind of tactical genius"
"That's exactly what I'm saying, we're counting on you"
"OK, I'M A GENIUS! I won't let you down Boss" Ca-Lick
"You're just toying with me, aren't you?" Law groans, still laying on the ground.
"In a manner of speaking, yes, but don't be too surprised; you're just a distraction after all. You said it yourself, your life has little meaning in this fight so long as the Straw Hats destroy my factory, Kaido will take me out as soon as I no longer have SMILEs to sell to him. That is how this scenario goes in your head" Doflamingo teases out as he slowly approaches the downed Law "But you used up your power too quickly, and hardly bought your friends any time at all, such poor time management Law, I thought I taught you better" he scolds mockingly "The Straw Hats aren't doing much better all things considered, which makes me wonder a few things. You've said a few times that you're just using them, that they're pawns in your game, but your whole plan would fall apart if you didn't have the utmost faith in those greenhorns. So why, why bet the odds and your life on Straw Hat?"
Law gives a bloody smirk "Because I know, the D brings a storm, and the prelude to a New Dawn"
Outside the Colosseum
"Am I using this device correctly?" Kinemon asks as he watches the snail in his hand purr.
"It's a Den Den Mushi, they're not that complicated to use" Saria deadpans.
"Sir Sanji told me to call once we found you, so that's what I'm attempting to do" the Samurai explains.
"Maybe I should have done it" Vivi mutters, now a little worried for the little snail.
Pura Pura Pura Ca-Lick
"This is the Sunny. There's some legally blind freak messing with our ship so make it quick" the cook states once the connection is established.
"That sounds bad, are you sure you can handle it over there?" Vivi asks in concern.
"Should be, Shirahoshi's Trident seems to be eating the cloud things the bitch is throwing at us, and Nami has an idea, but its viability is… iffy. You found the other snail Robin?"
"Right here, establishing the connection. Now"
Pura Pura Pura Ca-Lick
"Hey guys, Robin says you have some kind of incident over on the Sunny, do you have time to call us like this?" Franky's voice could be heard from the snail.
"It's fine, it's just one old hag with a messed up Devil Fruit. Also, Law dropped Caesar on our laps, so that's one more problem to deal with, I guess"
"You do make it sound a lot more complicated than it probably is Sanji" Brook argues.
"This is Kinemon, I am here with Sir Zoro, Ms Vivi, and the now Miss Luffy and Kaos, in front of the Colosseum."
"Wait what now?" Brook, Momo, and Chopper scream, having been out of the loop since Giola arrived, while Sanji just nods, having had 1st hand experience of the power in question
"Hormone fruit, it can do a lot of weird junk, like make me a woman for an afternoon" Laki giggles.
"Great. And as for you guys Franky?" Sanji asks, trying to keep things on track.
"We got ourselves some help, from the 'King Riku Army' sworn enemies of Doflamingo" Franky relays with a grin
"An Army?" Sanji parrots, Vivi also looking curiously at the snail, while Zoro sighs
"Of little people, they called Tontacos or something" Franky shrugs
"Tontattas. They're very small, but their strength is nothing to joke about. Their naivety… that is almost sad how gullible they are" Valentina admits with a groan, and they suspect a hard pinch of the bridge of her nose.
"Pops, I want to kill a LOT of people, is that bad? They keep telling Rebecca to die and that she should have never been born or been drowned as a child" Artemis pipes in, her voice entirely void of emotion.
"Your Dad's already started a purge, so he'll probably tell you it's fine" Laki shrugs.
"Lack of morals aside, you remember that Toy soldier we met outside the Colosseum earlier? Well, it turns out he's the commander of this army" Franky interrupts "And the thing is, this army fully intends to try to take down Doflamingo, Today even!"
Laki's eyes widened "Shit, I heard about him, we need to figure out how to stop him. Tell the army to wait, the bigger pieces are falling into place!" she orders, remembering what Rebecca told her about the soldier.
"Not a chance, they think it's a sign from God or some shit and they're too pumped to back down now. Besides, I don't think I want to follow Traffy's plan any further" Franky admits, shocking most of them.
"It's the Doflamngo part, isn't it? You want us to blow the Factory AND kick his ass to the moon, right?" Saria asks with a bloodthirsty grin.
"Got it in one sister. Law's plan says we destroy the factory and leave, but seeing these people, the things he's done and continues to do, we can't do that. I refuse. Please give us this, Captain. I want to fight, I want to help this country and these people be free!"
"We're not heroes, but we've made a name for ourselves punching dickheads in the face. Ok, we take out the factory, then we handle Flamingo," Laki agrees.
"Just like that, the plan gets thrown out the window. Just like you said back on the ship. Franky, let me borrow the snail, I think we might have a little more backup than we think" Victor grins as an idea forms in his head.
KABOOM!
"God damn it, we only just got here, the Straw Hats can't be wrecking the place already" Lucina scowls as an explosion rocks the island.
SHING!
SHING!
SHING!
"Doflamingo!" Saria cackles as razor-sharp strings cleave through buildings like a hot knife through butter "Oh, now things are getting intense"
SLAM!
"That's bad, what just hit us?" Laki shouts as the impact causes a dust cloud, the marines drawn to the commotion, especially as it clears to reveal Doflamingo and Law, the latter bloodied and panting on the ground "Traffy, what the Hell, why are you fighting Mingo?"
Click. Bang!
"Damn brat" Doflamingo scowls as he shoots Law in the chest, finally pissed off enough to do more than just use his strings to toy with the former Warlord, instead pulling out an actual gun from his coat. "You just had to push your luck"
Click. Bang!
Click. Bang!
"TRAFFY!"
TBC
LW: Well shit, there goes Law's part of the plan, and the plan in general thanks to Franky's bleeding heart. Though we all knew Luffy was going to ditch the plan eventually and punch Doffy in the face, so it's not that much earlier than expected.