Happy Halloween! Only a couple more chapter wrap up the Punk Hazard Arc's loose ends before we move along into Dressrosa, and it's crazy already. Thank you all for sticking by and supporting me: Andrew Bohl, Animephilosopher1, Ankhseram123, Ant Franklin, Badmr7, Cam Bliss, Christopher Mitchell, Clark Kent, Claude Walker, Cordell Sanders, Cory Johnston, Darko129, David, David Bowling, David Reynolds, Emi Stafford, Eric Bandel, Eugene Malone Jr., EvilJelly, Fenrir ragnarok, FlakeTrain, Garvin Lee Nelson-Mathlin, GLADIUS315, GODA98, Illiasse Naji, Immagenius, Inucbus, Jacob McCarthy, JEP1010, Jkat, John Mekjian, Jonathan Moh, Joseph Baty, Joseph Cheung, Joseph Morrison, Joseph Vargas, Joshua Groves, Kcx1, Kevin Calderon, Korakas, Kyo Anamoto, Lamont Hale, MAEGHT Maxime, Marielle Orff, Matt Walther, Matthew Burley, McBanjo, Mcgin28, Milagros Peres Davila, Milla, Neridian, Rafael Cardenas, ReactedLyric, Richard Barkley, Riley Bolerjack, Ryuu, Sasha, TheWolfThatExist, Thomas Sanders, Tom Peissig, and ViewtifulSoul!
Chapter 54:
Counterattack
"Hello curves, I have missed you!" Grace cheered, hugging herself now that she was back in her own body. Billy, beside her, was quacking up a storm as he ruffled his feathers and sparked electricity. Zoro, for his part, didn't look to have an opinion about being back in his own body except to yank Wado Ichimonji from Billy's beak and wipe any residue it might have had from the handle before sheathing it, muttering something about uncontrollable duck tongues and further cleaning.
"What seems to be the situation?" Law questioned, replacing his blade after his quick —but very much appreciated— application of his Devil Fruit. "I trust there has been some change on that front since I was separated from the Cat Burglar and her guards?"
"Yeah, something like that," Tashigi replied, her distain clear to hear. "Your boss has apparently released a chemical that can turn people into stone."
"Actually, only a stone-like state that's probably reversable if countered within one or two hours," Grace supplied.
"He's not my boss," Law rejected. "I only approached him to start my quest to ruin Doflamingo's enterprise."
"Either way, that gas shouldn't be a problem anymore," Coby commented, easily wrapping his arms around Grace from behind now that she was no longer trapped in the body of his teacher. She leaned into him, Robin giving the pair a knowing side-eye. "With Grace's chem powers now accessible, Caesar won't know what hit him."
"Wah wah!" Billy agreed. "Wa-wah wah wah."
"No explosions," Grace commented, guessing what it was the duck demanded. She seemed to guess correctly since the Gigafowl relaxed at her response. "Still, Caesar released a lot of that gas. According to the others, he'd used his power to absorb the gas into himself first and it made him huge despite being condensed together. I don't know if I have the ability to control that much chemical at once."
"Then don't," Zoro shrugged, the group turning to him. "Just keep it away from us and peel away at it little by little. Leave the clown to us."
"Amazing, Zoro," Robin blinked. "You actually vocalized a clever strategy. Are you feeling well?"
"I'm not stupid, woman!"
"She's got a point," Gin commented. "Most o' your plans're hack an' slash until th' other guy stops movin'."
"I'm not a moron, you glorified battery!"
Grace giggled as Gin balked. "I mean," the chemist began, "you do use blunt weapons, Gin. With your powers, you're a battery that commits assault and battery."
"Bite me, all o' ya!" the monk growled as the others snickered at his expense.
"Hey, guys?" Coby questioned. "Is Caesar Clown related to Buggy? Do we have to worry about pissing off another Warlord?"
"Buggy?" Zoro laughed. "A Warlord? Come on, Shrimp. There's no way that's true."
"Buggy the Clown was made one of the Six Warlords several months after the Great Summit War," Tashigi commented. "That said, there have been no reports whatsoever of him and Caesar Clown being related. 'The Clown' is just a moniker for him, not a family name as it is for Caesar."
"Ah, good," Coby relaxed. "I'd rather not have Buggy coming after us again, even if I'm sure we could handle him."
"Again?" Grace asked, turning her head to look at the Zoan. "I though he fought with Luffy to free you during the war."
"I mean, we were th' reason he was in jail t' begin with," Gin offered. "Smoker made th' arrest, but it's 'cause Buggy an' his crew attacked us in Loguetown that he got caught."
"And he only came after us there because we kicked him out of a small town in the East blue," Coby added. "That was where Captain Luffy, Zoro-sensei, and I first met Nami, actually. She'd stolen a map from the clown and Luffy literally fell from the sky to save her." He smirked. "Only because he tried to eat a giant bird, though."
"Oh yeah, now I remember that," Zoro nodded. "I'd forgotten why we ran into those weaklings."
"Well, idling in this hallway will not behoove us any longer," Robin interjected. "Shall we reconvene with our allies forthwith? I'm certain Chopper has satisfied the children's craving by now."
"And, uh," Tashigi muttered. "Exactly what was the plan there?"
Grace and Billy glanced at each other, a motion that did not assuage any of the marine's sudden worries.
"Tashigi," Grace said. "I don't think you want to know."
"That just makes me more worried. What did your doctor do?"
"Well…" Grace fiddled with her fingers, sinking deeper into Coby's embrace as if to use him as a shield. Considering how much force he could take, she probably was. Her answer was muffled by the roset's arms.
"Excuse me?" the marine demanded.
"We, uh, tried everything we had access to before," the chemist whispered. "When none of that worked, we kind of had to default to, uh, you know, giving them what they wanted?"
"What they…" Tashigi trailed off, the gears of her mind translating the redhead's vague answer. "You mean you gave them more of the drug they're addicted to‽" she demanded, drawing Shigure.
Coby responded in kind, pulling Emono from its sheath and aiming the sword at the woman before she could attack. Robin and Gin, said pirates on either side of the marine, also readied themselves for battle.
"I did say we tried everything else we could," Grace defended. "Giving them a little NHC10 is nothing but an emergency stopgap to calm them until we've dealt with Caesar Clown, okay?"
"Why would that even be an option?"
"Better the devil you know," Grace reasoned. "We decided there was very little risk to giving them a little more. Certainly less risk than letting them run wild so they could hurt themselves or run into some monster."
"I hate the fact that makes sense," Tashigi muttered. She backed away slowly, angrily replacing her sword. "Fine, but we're getting those kids proper help as soon as we get off this damn island."
"You shan't hear any argument from us," Robin told her. "Speaking of the children, shall we return to the group and inform them of our successful mission?"
"This…" Caesar muttered to himself, a frown on his face as he watched the bubbles that disturbed the surface of the lake. "This was not part of the plan."
The mad former MADS scientist turned his attention to the shore, the effects of his chemical weapon clear to see. Statues littered the purple-tinted snow, tied-up satyrs locked in time with grotesque expressions of fear as well as the two giant, fallen forms of Scotch and Rocks by the door, all now a uniform grey coated in a thin layer of mauve snow. He didn't care about the losses —rather, their solidification was proof his science was sound— but they were useless for his plans to escape the island.
"Now, what to do?" the man asked himself. Currently, he had no way off this accursed island.
And really, he hadn't considered how a shift in density would affect the buoyancy of a ship, especially not one mostly constructed of metal and coated in a thin film of Sea Prism Stone. Unfortunately, his deadly gas was more effective than he thought it would be, the petrification of the wood of G-5's battleship causing the ship's center of gravity to localize and shift downward. As a result, the battleship sunk to the point where water managed to reach through prior damage, flooding the vessel's lower decks. This, in turn, only caused the ship to sink more, eventually reaching the point where the lake's buoyancy could not support the ship and it descended into a watery grave.
Nor had he considered the speculation on the Straw Hats having created another Klabautermann. Naturally-artificial beings were not his scientific purview —that would have been Vegapunk or Judge's domain, though it seemed everything was Vegapunk's domain, the big-headed know-it-all. Either the pirates' ship had already sunk or somehow managed to sail away on its own. Considering the lack of petrified pirates, it either took some of them with it when it fled or they were all inside.
Be that is it may, Caesar wasn't sure what to do now. He could simply wait here, maybe take a nap and muse on what he shall do later, but there were only so many viable plans one could formulate without an idea of where one will end up. In addition, without a ship to carry him, the scientist was stranded, metaphorically in the same boat as the pirates and marines.
"Ah, that is what I shall do," Caesar nodded. "I'll go see if those fools have already fallen prey to my Shinokuni. If they have not, I shall help the process along, maybe force any survivors to carry me off the island. And if they have, the lab will be mine to make a few calls and craft a vessel of my own. I'm sure making one cannot be that difficult. Shiiilolololo!"
His plan decided, the Gas-Gas Logia user floated through the remaining haze of his chemical weapon, his yellow eyes set on the broken door into his lab.
"Now then, which way have they gone?"
Though personally against the technically-illegal methods the pirates used, Smoker couldn't refute the results. After the limited doses of NHC10 the Monster Doctor administered to the children, they had instantly calmed down, allowing the pirates and marines to free them from the vegetation Long-Nose had used to ensure they didn't run off while subjected to their cravings. Now they were occupied with various hand-based games such as pattycake and rock-paper-scissors. Those that didn't want to play such games had split into other affinity groups, a musical sing-along led by the Soul King and the Ghost Ship or a carpentry 101 class by the Cyborg, Spring Wind, and the Ghost Ship, the Klabautermann jumping between the two activities whenever she felt like it. Others were eagerly listening to the Cat Burglar as she recounted stories of the Straw Hats' adventures throughout the years, her and Straw Hat's child at the forefront of that crowd with the egg tucked in his lap.
Honestly, it was almost sad the pirates were better entertainers of children than his marines were. Almost, since Smoker didn't particularly care to gain such a reputation for something he didn't like to do anyway. The pirates could deal with every skinned knee, boo-boo, and hurt feeling until Tashigi and the group she'd accompanied returned so he didn't have to. He, too, was listening to the stories with one ear, fishing for any information he could later use.
"—in the New World~! In the New World~!"
"—and that's why the keel is the most important part of any ship."
"—and ZAP!" The woman clapped, the children (and marines) in the crowd jumping. "Next thing we knew, we were waking up in the forest with the others looking over us. We were on an altar as a sacrifice! That was our first look at the man who called himself God Eneru, but we certainly weren't down yet, even if it was getting dark. So, we did the only thing we could in such a situation: we lit a bonfire and partied with the Sky Wolves to lift our spirits!"
Smoker felt one eyebrow raise, the Commodore glancing at the blond smoking beside him. Sanji noticed the glace, turning slightly to more clearly see the marine.
"Am I to believe, then, that the stories the Marines brushed off as lies are true?" Smoker asked him.
"Depends," the chef replied. "What stories are you talking about?"
"According to the jailors of Impel Down, Tri-Horn reported you all obtained the Rumble-Rumble Fruit by killing 'God'?"
"That's what he called himself," Sanji nodded, breathing out a puff of smoke. "It's just a title for the Skypeans. They call the new ruler —who was also the old ruler that Eneru toppled— God now. Don't remember the old guy's name, though."
"…Huh."
"The old guy's name is Ganfall," Usopp commented, the sniper keeping an eye on Merry as she jumped into Brook's next song. "And Wiper and the other Shadians became his top lieutenants from what Gin told me. And Conis and Laki run a café together now. Said the food's pretty good."
"I'll have to visit at some point," Sanji muttered, a perverted grin coming to his face. "If I asked, do you think Conis-chwan and Laki-swan would serve me in maid outfits?"
"…No."
"What if I offered to teach them new recipes?"
"Still no, but I'm sure Conis wouldn't mind seeing us again."
"Wait," the cook blinked. "How the Hell did Gin get to see them?"
"Oh, that's right, you were bleeding out through your nose when we had that talk," Usopp remembered. "That was actually the same time Luffy learned he was a dad. Anyway, Gin spent the last two years on a Sky Island called Berka, the place where Eneru actually came from. I guess he stopped by Skypea on the way out. Or maybe it was a weekend trip. I don't know."
"You pirates get stranger every minute," Smoker grumbled. "At least some of you try to be helpful."
He cast his eyes to the side of the room where Chopper was deep in discussion with Momonosuke and Kin'emon, telling the newest Zoan what he could expect from his powers. Their talk seemed to include a lot of trial-and-error as the dragon-human tried to figure out what powers dragons apparently had. So far they had not managed to unlock the boy's hybrid form, nor had he managed to fly nor breathe fire, but the last few attempts had resulted in the pink dragon coughing up smoke.
Smoker frowned. At almost the same time, Usopp began to fidget.
"I have a bad feeling," the marine commented, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the room.
BANG!
No sooner had the Commodore spoken than something slammed into the other side of the wall. The echoing impact brought all motion to a stop, every set of eyes (and one set of eyeholes) turned to the new dent in what had previously been a door before Sanji had melted the edges.
"So, uhh…" Chopper began. "That's not Gin and the others, is it?"
BANG! Another dent.
"Everyone, get back!" Nami ordered, those closest to the impact site scrambling away.
BANG! Another dent, this one cracking the formerly-melted metal. Purple gas leaked into the room, moving slowly as it began to spread like water. More hits ripped the crack wider, the pale, smiling face of the lab's owner appearing within.
"Hello, pirates~!" he grinned, his body twisting into gas before reforming inside the room. Caesar spread his arms as if in greeting, the Shinokuni gas building around him. The children screamed, trying their best to hide behind the adults around them.
"Caesar Clown," Smoker growled. "To what do we own the displeasure?"
"Displeasure?" the scientist asked. "Commodore, I am hurt to think you think so little of me."
"It's 'cause you're a meanie and a bad man!" Ace yelled, pointing a finger at the gas-man from behind one of his mother's legs. Luffy clenched his fists, Armament Haki covering his hands and crawling up his arms.
"I'll have you know I have an ultimatum for you pirates and marines," Caesar frowned. His powers were holding back the deadly gas from reaching the pirates, but the amount of it in the room continued to rise. A single gesture from the man could flood the room before any of the combined forces would be able to react, much less save the others. "You see, both ships you arrived on seem to be missing. I watched the Marine battleship sink with my own eyes, which means you all are stuck here with me. Either, you can agree to work for me, build me a ship, and take me off the island to somewhere else where I can start my research again, or I can petrify the lot of you here and now and leave on my own. I'll give you a few minutes to think on it."
"We don't need to think about it!" Luffy snarled, the weight of the air around them seeming to increase. "Nami told me how you had one of your scientists kidnap Ace, and no one gets away with that seeing as the last guy who tried is dead. Gas or no gas, Logia or not, I'm gonna kick your ass."
"Oh, so scary," Caesar mocked. He reached forward, spinning his hand in a circle. Luffy's eyes widened as the air around his head thinned. His hands went to his throat.
"Daddy?" the toddler gasped.
"W-What?" Luffy coughed.
"You might be one of these powerful pirates, Straw Hat, but you're still just a creature that needs to breathe like the rest of them," Caesar sneered. "Without air, you'll asphyxiate and die like the rest of those who ever thought to stand up to me."
"Gaoh!" Bucktoof yelled, charging forward. Caesar staggered at the beast's sudden appearance, the creature showing a heretofore unseen speed, jaws primed to bite.
"Bucktoof!" Ace yelled. "Wait!"
The creature's teeth ripped through Caesar's arm, the limb dispersing into gasses of unknown composition. Caesar scowled, turning on the creature as it, too, turned to him. In doing so, Caesar lost his focus on the Supernova in their midst.
"Moronic creature," the man hissed. "Die like the rest of Velo's abominations."
The Shinokuni rolled forward, enveloping the only one of Velo's creations that seemed to have been affable. Bucktoof yipped in fear as he was surrounded.
"Bucktoof! No!" Nami grabbed Ace by the waist, refusing to let the boy charge in despite his struggles. "Bucktoof, come back!"
The purple gas cleared, the hybrid now only a statue. Ace wailed.
"What horrible magic is this‽" Kin'emon gasped.
"Shiiilololololo!" Caesar laughed. "See what happens when you think you can defy me! I am the great doctor Caesar Clown! I am the man who—"
Luffy's fist socked him in the jaw, throwing Caesar backward into his gas. The mental command holding the Shinokuni in place failed at the strike, a wave of it advancing toward the pirates. Smoker threw forward a wave of his smoke, but the two states of matter did nothing to each other, the gas passing through the smoke without resistance.
"Not the best timing, Luffy!" Nami yelled, backing up with the rest of the group while still holding a thrashing Ace. "What now?"
"Three…" he muttered. "Two… One…"
"Reused Reaction!" Grace fell from above them, the art thief rolling away her momentum as she threw her hands forward. "Crystaline Cage!"
A pulse seemed to go through the airborne weapon, the whole cloud freezing in place. From the point closest to the pirate, the gas started to condense in on itself, forming a lattice of purple crystals as solid as ice until the entirety was nothing more than a crisscrossing, translucent web.
"Who are you?" Caesar demanded, waving his hand. Nothing happened. His eyes narrowed, the man trying again to no avail. "What? My Shinokuni! What have you done‽"
"I changed its state," Grace panted, the rest of the Zoro Rescue group —along with Zoro and Law— joined the others rallying behind her. She offered a shaky smirk, trying to hide how much energy it took to convert the gas into its new form. It was a simple application of her Fruit, something she did regularly to form her argon weapons, but she'd never done it on such a level with such a heavy chemical compound. "You're a gas Logia, Caesar. It's powerful, but gas is the only thing you can control. If your chemicals turn solid, there's nothing you can do."
"You—!" Caesar's teeth ground, his hands moving as if he wanted to strangle her at a distance. A ball of gas formed in his hands, evil-looking crimson swirling in on itself as it built. "Just who do you think you are to stand in my way? Some two-bit pirate scientist with a sad little Paramecia thinks she can stand up to one of the greatest scientific minds to ever live? You think your powers stand up to those of a fundamental fact of nature? I'll have your breath in every literal, figurative, and metaphorical sense of the word, girl!"
Grace stood slowly, maintaining eye contact with the older man. Her lack of response grated on the man's nerves, Caesar throwing the orb of aerosol poison at her. Grace caught it, maintaining the chemicals in their contained form just beyond her fingertips. Slowly, she forced the compounds within to break, using the energy to bond what remained with the hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen in the air, the red poison turning a translucent blue before she allowed it to fall apart into harmless whisps.
"So cool," several of the kids whispered.
By Goda, she'd missed her powers.
"Caesar, there are a few variables you seem to have forgotten to factor into this equation of yours," she said. "Lightbulbs only work so long as there is a void inside the glass. As soon as any air sneaks its way in, the fuse burns and the bulb stops working, shattering in the worst cases."
"That's rudimentary," the gas-man hissed. "What are you trying to imply?"
"You are the fuse, your lab is the bulb, and we are the air," Grace grinned. "And me? I am the reaction. My Fruit might be a Paramecia, but I wield the power of the Chem-Chem Devil Fruit, and now that I have my body and powers back after Law's little stunt, your operation's about to burn out."
Caesar's eyes widened as he comprehended her words. A Devil Fruit that allowed the user to control all base chemicals? Few powers could be such a counter to his own, but this would be one of —if not the— most formidable. The odds of such a Devil Fruit existing was more than just likely with their innumerable variations, but the odds of that same Fruit finding its way here, now, in the procession of one of those standing against him? Improbable bordering on impossible. Only something along the lines of fate, destiny, or divine intervention could align for such chances, all of which simply did not exist! If this pirate had even an ounce of chemistry knowledge —something he was slowly coming to realize was a higher and higher possibility, much to the inverse of what should have been the chances— then a non-combatant like him would be out of his league, in the crosshairs of his perfect predator.
He needed to get away. Now.
"Luffy?" the young woman who had quickly become Caesar's worst nightmare questioned. "He's all yours."
"With pleasure," the pirate captain growled, cracking his knuckles as he slowly approached. "You've got some shit to answer for, Caesar."
The man in question pressed himself against the cracked wall, his escape having been plugged with crystal when the perfect counter of his powers neutralized his Shinokuni. The scratched at the wall, searching for any airflow he could possibly use to get out.
"Gum-Gum Black Hawk!"
Luffy's Haki-coated fist slammed into Caesar's cheek, driving his body —despite his Logia constitution— against the wall. The force was powerful enough to crack the areas that were not as sound, primarily what had been melted before. More of the Shinokuni leaked in from the hallway beyond, Caesar grabbing the chance he'd been giving with both hands. He dispersed into his gas form, slipping away in his attempt to run.
"Crap," Luffy muttered. "I didn't think I punched him that hard."
"I can handle the gas," Grace promised, already preventing the Shinokuni from reaching her fellow humans. "That said, I'll need to go with the group after him if we want a chance to catch up. He's not going to want to leave his only defense now that he knows we have a counter."
"There's no point in us who don't know Armament going along," Nami decided. "We can't stay here, though."
"This Shinokuni is a heavy gas," the chemist told them. "It doesn't rise easily, so you all should be safe if you go up. Who's going with me and Luffy?"
"Tashigi and I will go," Smoker said. "Caesar must answer for his crimes and we have the tools to detain him."
"Gin and I specialize in Armament," Amy offered. "Besides, I can't let my little sister run off into petrifying gas without keeping an eye on you. It's my sisterly duty."
"I'll go, too," Law announced. "I know this place well enough that I've got an idea where he's running to."
"Zoro, Sanji, stay with the others," Luffy ordered. "We can handle Caesar with this many people." He left unspoken what would happen if Zoro took a wrong turn on the way like he was plenty likely to do. "Everyone else, let's go."
"But Bucktoof!" Ace cried. They didn't have time to address the boy's concerns for the petrified hybrid, however.
Taking hold of the gas with her powers, Grace condensed it and pressed it against the wall, the force slowly tearing what had been the door out of the wall, opening a hole. She then crystalized what she could, leaving the rest to form something of a bubble around the group to protect them from the rest of the gas. Under Law's direction, the group took off down the hall.
Very rarely did Caesar Clown allow his baser instincts to take over. For a long while, ever since his official induction into MADS, he'd considered himself well above such human things. After receiving his Gas-Gas Fruit, human needs like food, water, and breath had become optional. He'd also long ago renounced any interest in others, socially or romantically. In short, humanity and their wants were below him. All that mattered was the drive for knowledge and the need to be recognized by a number of individuals he could count on one hand.
And then she appeared, likely the only person in the world that could counter his abilities so completely and sick the dogs of war on him. Only someone with her powers could remind the horned scientist of his own mortality in such a sudden way, toppling his plans like a house of cards in the wind.
Thankfully, Caesar was not a man to put all his eggs in a single basket. He still had one failsafe, one built for such a time as this. A device that would wipe out all non-Logia life on the island. Surely that would render him safe from the pirate woman whose presence spat in the face of all logical chance.
He just needed to get to the basement.
"So Traffy," Luffy began, the Warlord of their group viscerally flinching at the nickname the other Supernova had given him. Smoker, in contract, felt a mixture of empathy and schadenfreude at the knowledge that his own horrible nickname from the rubber pirate was not something unique to him. "Where's he going?"
"He's going for the basement," Law answered, directing Grace to take a left turn ahead. "I stumbled upon his machine down there while looking for evidence of his relationship with Doflamingo, hoping to find something for blackmail. I was really hoping I'd never need to use the knowledge, though."
"What machine?" Smoker demanded. "What does it do?"
"It's a bomb, far as I could tell," Law said. "Based on its side, it would destroy half the island and everyone on it. Caesar must think he'd be able to survive such an explosion or he wouldn't leave it there, but there's no chance I, the Straw Hats, or your marines would live through such a detonation."
"He's thinkin' he can survive 'cause he's a Logia," Gin deduced as the group ran past the petrified forms of a pair of human-sized monkeys hugging each other in fear. "Iffin he can turn into any gas, he'll activate a countdown or somethin' an' turn himself into a gas that's not affected by heat an' ride out th' blast."
"Then the odds are that you and I could also survive, Electric Demon," Smoker commented.
"It's possible," Law agreed. "I'd rather not test it, though."
"A bomb with that sort of power must be pretty big," Amy said. "Where is this basement? I can make us a shortcut there."
"We'll be over it in the next few minutes," Law told her. "That being said, the flooring between the ground floor and the basement is thicker than you think."
"Don't you worry about that," the blonde promised. "Don't doubt the destruction we Straw Hats can bring to bear when the time calls for it."
"I would expect nothing less from you pirates," Tashigi grumbled.
"D'you have a problem with us?" Gin demanded. "Iffin so—"
"Any grudge you want to settle can wait until we have disarmed Caesar's trump card," Smoker grunted. "This coming attack is a much higher priority."
"Hate to agree with the marine but he's right," Grace commented. "Keep going forward?"
"Yes," Law nodded. "Another 100 feet before we should be in range."
The group picked up their pace, covering the remaining distance in silence before coming to a stop at an intersection. Grace pushed the Shinokuni to the edges, walling off the hallways with more crystal.
"Alright, Weightless Woman," Law said. "You mentioned a plan?"
"Something like that," Amy nodded. "Gin, you ready to show off that Armament?"
"Ready when you are."
The pirates and marines backed away, leaving the pair in the center. Amy set her umbrella aside and crossed her wrists before her. With barely a thought, she hopped upward, reducing her mass until she held the same density as the air, the woman balancing herself upside down on the ceiling. Underneath the blonde, Gin pulled his tonfa from his sleeves and closed his eyes, his electric wings flaring out behind him. The two focused, their Armament Haki forming on their hands and growing up their arms. Gin's crawled over his tonfa, black lightning forming as the weapons began to spin while Amy's spiraled up her arms, covering the burn scars therapon.
"Weighted Thunder," the pair intoned, Amy kicking off the now-cracked ceiling. The air in their little bubble rapidly thinned as her mass increased. "Black Lightning Nail!"
Gin's tonfa slammed into Amy's feet as her Haki-coated fists drilled into the floor, the man driving her deeper. The building rumbled as the Kilo-woman drilled her way through concrete and bedrock below with nothing but her mass and momentum.
And then air moved, flowing into the room from the floor as she broke into the basement, the rush soon followed by the sound of a crash.
"Amy?" Gin called down the hole. "You ok?"
"…yeah."
"Path created," Gin gestured, replacing his tonfa in his sleeves as his wings disappeared in a crack of thunder and a whiff of ozone. He picked up her umbrella and dropped it down the new opening.
"I'm first!" Luffy called, diving into the hole. Smoker sighed, dispersing himself into smoke and flowing down after the excitable pirate. One by one, the other pirates and marine followed until the hallway intersection was empty, Grace going last after ensuring no Shinokuni gas would follow them.
The basement below was cavernous, most of it natural with stalactites and stalagmites removed only in the places where they would have gotten in the way. The room itself was empty save for a massive machine. It was ring-shaped in design, a control panel of some sort standing out. It certainly seemed impressive, but the only important part was the big red button.
"Oh, button!" Luffy grinned.
"Don, no," Gin hissed, grabbing his captain by the wrist.
"This is Caesar's contingency?" Tashigi questioned, studying the machine. "How does it work?"
"It's not your traditional explosive," Grace commented, studying the machine. "Whatever this is, it's not chemical in basis."
"Then what powers it?" Gin blinked.
"I haven't a clue," Law replied, reaching forward as a Room spread from his palm. Smoker and Tashigi drew their weapons, ready to assume the man had turned on them, but Law simply appeared over the device and swung his sword, the weapon cutting a small section out of the back of the machine, revealing that the center of the ring was hollow. He returned to his original position, the Room fading away. "I'm a doctor, not a scientist, but that should be enough to render this thing inert. Now we just need to corner Caesar."
"He's coming this way," Luffy informed them.
"What will happen if he tries to use that thing now?" Amy asked.
"Probably nothing," the Warlord answered. "Why?"
"Everyone, hide! Don't give the gas ass a way out!" She shot upward, hiding in the hole they'd used to enter and using her umbrella to block what little light came through it. The rest of the pirates and marines hid among the stalagmites, waiting.
Within moments, Caesar's gas form moved through one of the vents, the amorphous man moving at the speed of a run despite his current lack of legs. He materialized before the machine, his fingers already pushing buttons as the terminal booted up.
"Freeze," Smoker ordered, the tip of his jutte pressing into the scientist's back, its Sea Prism Stone eliminating access to his powers. Caesar flinched, his hands rising slowly. "Caesar Clown, you are under arrest for crimes against humanity. Turn around slowly."
Caesar growled, his teeth grinding as he did, his yellow eyes glaring at the pirates that appeared to cut off his escape, each with Haki coating their hands or weapons. Tashigi pulled a pair of Sea Stone handcuffs from her pocket and approached.
"You think you've trapped me?" Caesar asked. "Have fun in Hell!"
His hand swung down, pressing the big red button. Grace, Tashigi, Gin, and Amy flinched as the machine rumbled only for the backside of the device to explode, scattering debris on the other side and knocking stalactites loose but proving to be no more dangerous than that. Caesar choked on his words.
"Caesar Clown, you can submit yourself to arrest the easy way or we can beat you and arrest you the hard way."
Glaring and scowling, the man reached his arms forward, allowing Tashigi to cuff him.
Luffy cracked his knuckles again. "Are we done here?"
"Yes, Captain," Grace said. "I think we're done here."
"Oh." Luffy pouted. "I wanted to punch him again."
"I think we've got a different question now," Gin commented. "Mainly, how th' hell do we get out of here?"
End of Chapter 54
Next chapter is the last one for the Punk Hazard Arc! I don't know about you all, but I'm ready to move on.
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-SwordOfTheGods