LW: Caesar is finally unleashing his monsters, let's see what happens

Rubber King and Mirror Master - New World Chaos: Caesar's final gambit, Land of the Dead.

Ruined Lab

"Fuck, so much pain! Thank Goda Sanji's body is more durable than mine is, I don't think I could have survived that" Nami groans as she pulls herself from the snow, banged up and bruised but still alive and overall good.

"Thatsssssssssssss ENOUGH!" the energy pulse not only shook the room but displaced the snow about 5m in every direction around Artemis, the artists rolling over to reveal a confused and conscious Medusa, then with jerky movements and a lot of twitching, stood up, though the way she was swaying, made Nami very concerned about the girl's overall wellbeing. Not helped was how her neck twisted fast enough she could have snapped it, when Ussop came to and pulled himself from the snow.

"Ok, everyone alright? Because we need a new plan if the bastard can do…. Well this" the sniper groans,

"Sister" Medusa coos, reminding the older Straw Hats that one part of their mission had been accidentally completed.

"You are Mistress' nestmate" shivers ran down the adult's spines as Artemis' voice sounded off like it was echoing and multilayered "We will keep you safe"

"What, are you?" Ussop asks, proud of himself for not stuttering as he questions the artist, who was rocking unsteadily on her long legs.

"We, are keeping Mistress upright and moving, while her mind and body recover properly, as is our duty as her familiar" Artemis hisses.

"Is that a witch thing, or a Kuja thing?" Nami asks, a little creeped out, but also curious.

"Unsure, we know 2 of Mistress' parents have familiars, as does Miss Shaula, but most Kuja don't bond as deeply as we do, so it's most likely a mix of both" Artemis admits, one shoulder rising in a shrug.

"Lets, table that conversation for a later date, shall we" Nami hums, already feeling a headache forming, as well as trying to not look into tricolored, slightly blurry-looking eyes.

"Indeed. Mistress is fine, and would probably prefer to guard her nestmate herself than leave it in our tails" they muses, before sliding into a sitting position with Medusa on their lap.

Main Lab

"Do you want milk with your Coffee?" Monet asks as she pours some out for the 2 of them.

"No, the cream is fine" Vergo, responds with a half smile "You do know you don't need to serve me like this, I'm more than capable of caring for myself" he assures her, then gets his spoon stuck to his cheek, missing the 'No, you can't' expression she was giving him "So tell me, why has Caesar taken so long?"

Before she could answer, the door behind him opens, and the man of the hour wafts into the room. "Your timing couldn't be better Sir" Monet grins widely

"Shurorororo. Hello Vergo, sorry for the delay"

"No trouble, I've been snacking on your coffee and cookies in the meantime, it's honestly been a nice break for me" Vergo admits with a relaxed shrug, then frowns "Hm, did I eat all the cookies? How long was I sitting here waiting?"

"There were no cookies Vergo, only coffee" Monet corrects him.

"Oh right, guess I zoned out or something. How long until this experiment begins, soon I hope" Vergo asks.

"Very soon. Monet, the video please" Caesar requests, the harpy nods and flies off "Also, you really should do something about your men, maybe keep them on a tighter leash. Honestly, I broke into a cold sweat when I realized Smoker had actually managed to set foot on the island. If it wasn't for Law something might have actually happened"

"Well, he's like a wild dog, there's no leash tight enough" Vergo responds casually, seemingly forgetting the person they were talking about was just behind him in the cage with the pirates.

"I see, but Sea Stone would probably do the job on a logia such as him" Caesar suggests, before floating over to the cage to address the prisoners "Oh Law, you look fetching in chains, so grim Shurorororo!"

"Can I claim sexual harassment before my death? First the bird and now you, is it the hat? Is that why everyone's hitting on me?" Law asks, having reached the point of 'fuck it' already, mostly due to Straw Hat bullshit.

"What? I'm not hitting on you, you idiot, I'm mocking you for getting captured so easily you humorless numpty!" Caesar cries.

"Sounded like flirting to me" Valentina nods sagely.

"He does have my heart, though he gave it to Vergo without a fight" Law agrees, Monet not even trying to hide her hooting laughter from the other side of the room.

"That was to stop you betraying me, and look how that turned out! I should just be glad you didn't crush Monet's heart on the way out, especially given she was critical to my discovery of your treachery, not that it matters at this point, you're captured and soon to die, I win, like I always do. Shurorororo!" Caesar cackles.

"That one's on me, not being as weary around your assistant as I should have, my fault for not thinking someone as smart as her, would work with a dumbass like you" Law nods with a half smile, pissing off Caesar enough he snatched the heart from Vergo and starts squeezing it like a stress ball, sending the Warlord squirming and spasming on the floor of the cell in absolute agony.

'Fuck, and Law probably gave my heart to Caesar too' Smoker grimaces as she watches Law's pain morbidly "Undone by your own bullshit powers huh, that is record-setting levels of stupidity there Trafalgar"

Before Caesar can continue to torment the pirates and marines with his prescience, Monet returns to tell him the video feed is up and running.

"It seems it's time for the main event after all, dim the lights!" Caesar orders as the Visual Den Den Mushi activates, projecting onto the screen Monet pulled down moments ago.

"Um…. that's a giant piece of candy like even I couldn't be able to eat it big" Shirahoshi notes, curious, but mostly confused.

"If it's anything like what he's been feeding the kids, it's nothing but bad news" Vivi growls, as Monet passes the microphone to Caesar.

"Greetings unlawful brokers, thanks for tuning in, the show is about to begin. A hoard of fragmented Smilies are currently on route from the Burning Lands, and will soon converge here at the central point of the Ice Lands. Upon that happy reunion, they will all merge into one, returning to their original form, a Singular Smile, huge and deadly. Then our experiment can truly begin. You see, my Smilie, he's the living incarnation of the highly toxic H2S gas, just condensed by my Gas Gas fruit into it's slimy, gelatinous form, in fact I've already used Smilie for his intended purpose once before, 4 years ago when I killed this island.

"Those things outside, are some kind of, gas monster?" Smoker asks, confused and concerned, especially given her men were still out there.

"...there was one problem with my last test though" Caesar continues "Even though they were saturated in the poison, my weakened subjects were still able to evacuate, a true disappointment" the gasman sighs, begrudgingly admitting his poison gas didn't do it's main job, as the subjects lived "Now this time, I've developed a helpful remedy to this oversight, a bit of a boost. A special treat to enhance Smilie's toxicity, and even add an extra effect to his poison cloud, transforming him into the perfect weapon of Mass Destruction! You're all about to witness the birth of a new weapon, one I call: Shinokuni"

Meanwhile - the Central Area of the Frozen Zone

"We can't outrun this thing, it never stops and never tires" Zoro scowls as the Smilies continue to chase them, consuming/absorbing each other as they go.

"And I think that was the last one, it's back in one piece again, just great" Sanji grimaces as Smilie roars behind them.

"This is a strange beast the likes of which I've never seen, perhaps would you care to enlighten me as to what we're fighting?" Kinemon asks.

"We don't know, that thing is even less natural than the centaur people, all we know is it's a slimeball filled with poison gas…. And it's fucking pissed off!" Alvida answers grimly.

"Um, guys? Is that what I think it is, or am I hallucinating from fatigue?" Brook asks as they come across Caesar's 'surprise'.

"Nope, that's a giant piece of candy alright" Zoro nods.

"Great…. Now I'm hungry again" Alvida grimaces.

"More of those weirdos in hazma…. And now they're stripping. I didn't need to see that" Sanji deadpans, followed by an extremely loud facepalm.

Ka-Click!

"Hey, who's that guy?" Brook asks, as the Visual Den Den Mushi began to project Caesar's image into the air.

"Probably the asshole in charge of this place" Zoro guesses.

"He's the one who has Momonosuke!" Kinemon declares

"My Sweet Smilie! How I have longed for this day. After all these years!" Caesar hams for the camera, but it does seem to work in getting the Slime's attention "That's right, oh Smilie, you remember me! It's so good to see you again, and to make it up to you for our time apart, I prepared a special treat for you…Not yet Smilie, hold on!" Caesar orders in a mild panic, stopping the smile from divebombing the Candy "You must be patient for a moment Shurororo, there you go, good boy, obey me. Remember that I am your Master… Wait, just a little longer I promise. You and I have so much catching up to do first, there was that one time, remember? It was 4 years ago…. AHH!" Caesar screams as the slime ignores him and gulps down the Poison Candy.

"Well, I guess the experiment is happening right this second!" Monet chirps, giggling at Caesar's continued incompetence.

There was an ominous stillness in the air, as Smilie twitched and despite having no solid form almost seemed to gag on the candy, as well as it's 'eyes' flashing like headlamps erratically. All the while, the viewers sat in anticipation, awaiting the next step in the presentation.

"Ok, it ate the Candy, now what?" Luffy asks.

"Now, everything dies" Law states bluntly

"He ate it, Swallowed it whole. Now there's no stopping him, the ultimate weapon is primed and ready to be unveiled. Shurorororo!" Caesar cackled, acting like that was the plan all along "Good boy Smilie, you're making Daddy very proud. No be reborn!" he cackled as the slime's toxic form ate through the outer shell of the 'candy' and begins to disperse it's payload within the creature's amorphous body.

"So, what kind of ugly beastie is gonna be reborn from it?" Franky asks while Caesar, Monet, and Vergo are focused on the screen.

"Shinokuni, the most powerful weapon in existence" Robin pales, shivering heavily.

"That is one big ass frog" Luffy mutters, staring at the squirming, jiggling Smilie.

"It's in pain, I, I didn't think that was possible" Vivi notes with a frown, watching as Smilie writhed and melted, it's groans easily able to be interpreted as pain, sorrow, and anguish.

"I can't watch!" Shirahoshi whimpers, as she wriggles her way over to Robin, hiding her face in the older woman's shoulder/neck.

The moment of Smilie's 'death' was very easy to tell, as the lights vanished from his 'face' and the sludge lost what little rigidity and form it had, as well as the slime itself going from a deep pink, to a dark purple, before the condensed toxic gas, became that once again, slowly billowing out of the sludge, and beginning to envelop all around it.

At the site of Smilie's Rebirth

"That can't be good" Zoro grimaces as they watch the beast darken and fall apart, releasing a purple smog as each dollop hits the icy ground.

"No time to think about it, keep running that stuff may have just become even more dangerous!" Sanji cries, being the first to continue running with the others hot on her heels. A decision that proves to be the right one, as some of the satyrs are caught in the Shinokuni smog and turn to stone, though they more accurately look like the aftermath of a volcanic eruption.

The lab

"Oh shit" Kaya hisses seeing the aftermath of the Gas weapon, "I think I know that stuff"

"What?" Chopper squeaks, before being swiftly gagged.

"I ran into something while I was with the Revolutionaries that did something similar to human flesh, it was also a smog/gas, but it was grey not purple, which shows it's only part of the toxin" Kaya explains "it also means, they COULD be a simple cure, though the other components are the issue with that" she sighs.

"That's just one more problem for us to deal with, for now, we'll focus on saving the kids, and freeing the others" the reindeer reminds her.

"Shurororororo! I did it, I created an inescapable Death!" Caesar boasts as he watches his expendable lackeys be enveloped and petrified by the Shinokuni gas cloud "My previous gas worked wonders, but there was a problem, they were still ambulatory, they could seek medical aid and be healed. I should have immobilized them from the start!"

"Or, just make a stronger, fast-acting toxin, there are literal snails who kill faster than the previous formula" Monet mutters, but was ignored, unable to be heard over the sound of Casear patting himself on the back at his genius.

Destroyed Lab

"He's alive… I think" Ussop frowns, as he searchs the wreckage, finding Brownbeard, breathing slowly, but not much else "Crap this could be bad"

"He doesn't look good, not that you'd expect him to given the point-blank explosion Casear hit him with" Nami nods, deeply concerned.

"But he helped us, so we still need to try and help him. We need to get these pipes off him… this is going to suck" Ussop groans after attempting to hype up the trio, Medusa staring blankly up at him from Artemis' arms "Not you" he adds, getting a giggle from the toddler.

"These things aren't budging!" Nami groans as she pushes and heaves, even with Sanji's body she can't get these things off Brownbeard.

"We can't just give up, he's counting on us" Artemis pants.

"She's right, we need to do something to help him, especially after what he's done to help us" Ussop agrees as he heaves.

While they didn't manage to free him, they did manage to rouse Brownbeard back into consciousness "You're, helping me?" he asks grogilly.

"Of course we are, you saved our lives and tried to save those kids from your former Boss" ussop answers with a pained smile "Hang in there Browbeard, you can't die on us out here!"

"You're right, Long Nose" Brownbeard nods, before in a burst of energy, he shoves the pipes off his body "I'M NOT DYING YET!" he bellows, the 3 Straw Hats scrambling for cover before things settle down "That bastard Caesar, he's gonna pay" he declares, his breathes heavy, but his eyes blazed with rage and determination "I'm going to make him hurt, and save my crew from his sick games!"

"In that case, can we bum a ride, Mr. Alligator Man?" Artemis asks, to the surprise of Nami "We're all heading for the Lab, right?" she adds for confirmation.

"That's where my crew are, working for the sick fuck, so yes" Brownbeard nods.

"Great, then let's all go there and beat him black and blue" Artemis suggests.

"Hey guys…. What do you think that smoke is?" Nami asks, pointing behind them, to the rising purple smoke/smog cresting over the mountainside.

"No idea, but there's a LOT of it" Ussop frets.

"You kids have ever seen purple smoke before, looks like poison gas to me?" Brownbeard asks, as well as speculates.

"POISON GAS!" Nami and Ussop scream.

"So, anyone got any ideas, because unless that stuff's flammable…. I got nothing" Artemis admits.

"Pirates, get on my back" Brownbeard orders "If any of us are going to escape that cloud it'll be me, and you're all small enough the extra weight is basically negligible so I won't be slowed down by my passengers. Let's go, before the death cloud reaches us!"

Nearer the cloud

"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

"Ah crap it's about to catch up on us!" Sanji hisses, the smog nipping at her heels

"If any of us fall behind you'll be left behind, if you slow down it'll catch you" Zoro warns as the 5 of them speed up as best they can.

"We can't outrun this thing forever!" Brook screams.

"We have to try, it's either run or die!" Alvida shouts back, as everyone pushes their bodies to their top speed.

"Hey, what's that, some kind of animal?" Brook asks as something green appears from the snow.

"It's, a dragon, but a lot smaller than the last one I saw on this island" Zoro notes, then something clicks "If we catch the damn thing we could fly away, over the smog, we'd be safe, at least for a while" he suggests.

"Good enough for me, get back here you scaly green bastard, my legs are gonna give out if I run any further!" Sanji cries as she zeros in on the dragon.

Caesar's Lab

"That was Alvida and the others!" Luffy gasps "They're out there in the smoke"

"What kind of dumbass of a run is that, are they trying to tire themselves out?" Franky critiques.

"Hey look, the Samurai is whole once more, probably for the best as having to carry him around would have slowed them down immensely" Robin notes with a hint of amusement, Shirahoshi peeking over her boobs to peer at the screen.

"Oh yeah, that's nice I guess… wait a minute that's not important right now!" Luffy yells "Run faster, the smoke will petrify and kill you!" he shouts, before his whole body droops, leaning against Vivi who was equally tired.

"I take it those are friends of yours Straw Hat?" Caesar asks/taunts "Shurororo, well that certainly explains why they're so difficult to kill, the Yeti Cool Bros, Smilie, and now even the Shinokuni, and yet they still live to be a thorn in my side. But they can't run forever, soon they'll tire, the gas will overtake them and the perfect poison, Shurororo, 'll consume them. Soon nothing will exist outside these walls, nothing living at least. Oh and by the way… that includes you too" Caesar grins as he pulls a lever, then with a whir of machinery the cage the Straw Hats, Smoker, Tashigi, and Law were in shudders and creaks, before moving backwards, now dangling outside the Lab.

"And now I offer you up to the world, as proof of the true destructive power of the ShinoKuni gas! Shurorororo!" Caesar cackles as the wall closes up again.

Konoha

"That's… fuck it the clown dies!" Orochimaru hisses, temper flaring as he recognises the Straw Hats, as well as see's Valentina locked in with the rest of them.

"Sit down" the zoan turns, slitted amber meeting ringed purple "This is live yes?"

"Of courssssse it is"

"And you want to kill this Clown because he killed your sister?" Nagato asks, turning to watch the screen curiously.

"He's about to, given the lethality of this new poison he created" Orochimaru agrees.

"But he hasn't yet" the Akatsuki leader argues "Valentina is still alive, she can still fight, and even if you wanted to rescue her, you would not make it to the island in time, only arrive in time to avenge her" he states logically "Hold your fire, for now. The girl may just surprise you. Plus, if the 4th and your legacy can't defeat this blowhard of a scientist, then I question your and his competency as both teachers, and shinobi" he adds with a half smile, Orochimaru growling until Melascula grabs his hand, squeezing it between hers, at which point he sighs deeply and sits down.

"His death is garunteed, you've only granted him a stay of execution"

"Maybe I have, or maybe our little Mugi-Kage can kill him for you" the Rinnegan weilder chuckles, now actually interested in the Gasman's showboating presentation.

Outside

As the crane comes to a stop, now dangled out in the open, over the remaining G5, tension begins to rise…. For some people.

"You know, they sure built that lab like a fortress" Franky notes.

"Indeed, perfect for moving heavy machinery" Robin nods with a smile.

"How the Hell are you so calm? We're all about to die here!" Tashigi screams.

"So, anyone got a plan?" Luffy asks.

"It's already in the works" Valentina grins widely "Question, does anyone remember what Moriah did to piss me off at Thriller Bark?"

"Nope" Luffy admits with a shrug.

"You got pissed when he called his shadow technique a Kage Bushin, right?" Franky asks.

"Correct, because that's OUR thing. Using our shadow to create an autonomous duplicate… which I sent after Kaos when he decided to bail on us" Valentina reveals, shocking everyone in the cage.

"Wait a minute, how do you not die in the sunlight then, like the people Moriah stole the shadows from?" Robin asks in concern and curiosity.

"Oh the technique doesn't use ALL of the shadows, just like 95% or something, enough remains with me that I don't burn up, even if it looks like where I stand is high noon" the ninja explains.

"So we have Val and Kaos on the inside… what else?" Luffy hums.

"We get ourselves out of here, which if anyone can burn things would make this go a lot faster" Law states.

"Franky can burn stuff, Vic and Val too, and he shoots lasers" Luffy responds with a grin.

"And best of all, it ain't a Devil Fruit, so these chains mean shit!" the Cyborg laughs, then pauses "Well, not the laser, the way I'm tied means I can't use the radical beam"

"Same with most of my techniques, I think Caesar remembers Orochimaru, because the chains keep my hands locked together at the wrist" Val sighs "Meaning I can't use any of my hand seals"

"That's fine we don't need them right now, nor do we need the chains cut just yet. Can you set fire to that ship over there Franky?" Law requests.

"The one on the left?" Franky asks, peering over his shoulder.

"That's the one"

"On it Cap" Franky nods, before bouncing to his feet, Victor and Val shuffling out of his way, and clearing a path.

"Franky- Fireball!" he cries, spitting a basketball-sized projectile that hits the battleship and ignites it in a massive inferno.

"So, besides heating the cage up, what was the point of that?" Smoker asks, Tashigi's Yuki blood already starting to be negatively affected by the fire.

"To obscure Caesar's view of our actions, so he doesn't know we escaped until it's too late to do anything to stop us" Law answers, before revealing he'd picked the lock on his chains while nobody was looking "We have about a minute or so before he realizes something is up and moves to investigate, so we make the most of this loss of surveillance.

"Wait a minute, I thought you had Devil fruit powers, shouldn't Sea Stone chains hurt you or something?" Shirahoshi asks in confusion.

"No, mine were normal chains, probably the same as yours and Franky's given it would be a waste to use Seastone on a non-Devil fruit user" Law admits "Nothing my powers can't handle that's for sure. Room" he says, swapping the chains for his sword "I've been here for months and planned to betray Caesar eventually, so ever since I learned about the chains, I've been swapping them out with regular ones that wouldn't negate my powers" he explains, freeing each Straw Hat with a single swing of Kikoku.

"Freedom!" Luffy cheers, bouncing to his feet while Vivi, Victor, and Valentina more slowly stand.

"You're still in a cage, moron" Law groans, but it was clear the rubber boy didn't care "Oh, and one more thing, we have some other guests in here. Chained up and at my mercy," he says with a smirk.

"If you're going to kill us, just get it over with" Smoker sneers.

"Nah, he'll set you free" Luffy argues, just before Law actually does, or at least he grants them the mercy of swapping them back to their original bodies, which is the 1st step to freedom.

"I'm back…. Smoker, please tell me you kept my bra" Tashigi sighs, still chained but her ice core was stabilizing and her mood was brightening.

"Left, back pocket, but because I couldn't breathe with it on doesn't mean I'm going to force you to go without" the Vice Admiral replies "Now, we just need to get free of these chains, and then deal with our current situation"

"You wanna punch spoon guy don't cha Smokie?" Luffy grins

"You have no idea" Smoker growls "I'm even willing, to consider working with pirates to do so"

"Again" Tashigi reminds him "We've done this before, with the Straw Hats specifically"

"Shiki" Smoker and Luffy say together.

"Exactly" Tashigi nods.

"I don't trust Law…. but I'm willing to go along with whatever plan you have cooking, because I'm fairly sure Straw Hat, or at least his crew, can handle you if you try anything funny" Smoker admits, sighing enough that he should be billowing like a seastrain.

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Law mutters irritably, but as expected he frees the 2 marines, even turning away while Tashgi redresses herself.

"I can't see anything" Luffy whines, drawing attention to himself as he often does, right before tearing open the fencing that made up most of the wall of the cage, with casual levels of strength "Neat, no more waiting, it's time to kick ass!" he says, before diving back onto the battlefield.

"Wait, stop that. Damn idiot doesn't even know the plan" Law curses.

"Eh, Luffy not knowing the plan, means he's less likely to fuck it up" Victor admits.

"Basically. Luffy is more goal than plan-oriented. He has a target, and an objective, he just doesn't care about how exactly he goes about it" Robin summarises with a giggle.

"As long as somewhere in the plan him getting to beat someone up is involved, he's probably all for it" Vivi agrees "Otherwise, Luffy will do whatever he feels like, the moment you look away from him"

"Like with Panz?" Shirahoshi asks.

"Like with Panz and Lily, exactly" Val nods "Nami said he gets on the boat, and looks away, Boom! He's in the sub because there was fighting involved"

"How does this crew function? How are you all still alive?" Law asks, confused and annoyed by his fellow captain's antics already.

"Eh, you get used to it, especially if you've spent any amount of time around his Grandfather" Smoker of all people answer him "While I doubt he'd appreciate the comparison, Straw Hat acts just like Garp, if the latter was a pirate"

"That seems so much weirder, given Marines shouldn't just randomly do whatever they want" Vivi hums.

"Hey Traffy, you need me for anything, cause I'd much rather go check on the Sunny, preferably before something blows up, or the animals decide to explore this frozen wasteland"

"Carue will keep them in line" Vivi argues.

"Do what you want" Law mutters, fists clenched in anger.

"Neat. Bu Bye!" Franky shouts, leaping from the cage then jet-boosting away with a Coup De Boo.

BWAAAAA! BWAAAAA! BWAAAAAAAA!

"An alarm!" Tashigi gasps "Please tell me Luffy didn't get spotted already?"

"No" Law responds, eyes wide in shock "That's the Blast doors, they're opening"

Elsewhere

"RUN AWAY!"

"Despite our increase in speed, the poison continues to creep closer and encroach upon us" Kinemon shouts.

"And it seems the dragon is much more adept at running than we are, as it's not getting any closer" Brook panics.

"I….I don't think I can do this" Sanji pants "Nami's body isn't built for this kind of endurance running. She's a majestic cheetah built for short sprints, not some kind of wolf who can run for days"

"Wha Wha, give a man some jugs and suddenly he can't run" Alvida scoffs "Then why am I outpacing you?"

"It's because I'm not just a girl, I'm Nami. I could run just as fast and kick as hard when I was female as when I was male, it's not the gender it's that I'm literally in a body not built for this shit, like the Ballerina with the clone fruit not being able to use his strongest attacks in any form but his own. You'd probably be in the same boat if you got body swapped with Ussop"

"Coming from the same moron who by his own admission spent two years running in Hell. Was that all hot air?! I'm hearing excuses, not solutions Sparkle Swirl! . Anyone got any suggestions?" Zoro asks with a frustrated grunt.

"I don't know, my body is starting to ache and my chest is burning" Sanji pants, a stray thought flits through his mind as he looks down at the navigator's expanding bust. Could he do it? They were right there, literally attached to him….. But could he live with himself, could he look Nami in the eye knowing he touched her like that?

No, he couldn't violate his 1st love like that, even if it was to save his life/her body. Instead something a little more, abstract came to mind. Feeling around with his haki for Nami's lighting core, her gave THAT a squeeze, channeling the energy into her legs, and hoping that it would do as intended, rather than cause her legs to spasm of lock up.

"Lightning Step- Shunpo" Sanji cries, her eyes blazing an electric blue, with a similar energy sparking and flowing across her thighs and down her legs, before shooting forward and basically tackling the Dragon "I caught it!" she cheers.

"Why didn't you do that sooner, dumbass?!" Zoro angrilly shouts.

"I came up with it a minute ago" Sanji admits with a nervous chuckle.

Not that far away

"Seems getting to higher ground bought us a little time, but that stuff is still closing in on us" Artemis grimaces, holding Medusa tight to her chest.

"It's also the weirdest smoke I've ever seen, I'm just looking at it gives me the hebejebe's" Ussop shivers.

"Just a little further Brownie, I know you're injured, so thank you for helping us like this," Nami says comfortingly, laying her hand on the alligator man's back.

"I already said, you guys are nothing compared to me weight-wise, besides, I gotta get back and rescue my men either way, might as well bring you guys along with me, more people willing to slap Caesar senseless" Brownbeard argues as he marches on.

"And those kids, hopefully, we can find them before they eat the candy" Ussop adds fearfully.

"Hey look!" Nami shouts, pointing to the land just below them "Seems we're not the only ones outrunning the gas" she says, pointing to a small shape just in front of the oncoming smog.

"Is that, a dragon? If so it's a lot smaller than the one from the Fire Zone" Ussop notes, then squints to try see more… oh dear "The others are clinging to the dragon! They're not going to last much longer"

"Shit. Brownie, any chance…" Nami asks, pointing downward.

"I can't stop, they'll need to jump on along the way, but I believe I could do it" Brownbeard nods, then leaps, not a second too soon as Brook loses the battle with the Dragon's tail, flying through the air, until Ussop managed to grab his arm.

"Hey, it's Nami, Ussop, and Artemis!" Sanji grins.

"What are you doing here, didn't you see the toxic smog?" Zoro asks.

"I have so many questions, but hop on the Aligator Man before you fall off the dragon, if we don't make it to the lab we're cooked" Nami orders, the now foursome swing or leap over to Brownbeard in short order, then accidentally discover the man's Turbo Mode, when the dragon tried to take a bite out of his tail, sending him shooting forward in pain and panic, outrunning the smoke rather easily now.

Outside the Lab

"The door, but why would Caesar open it after everything else he's been doing?" Smoker asks, eyebrows knitting as he scowls in suspicion.

"He didn't, we did" Valentina grins "My clone just popped, her and Kaos found the door controls, and decided to let the marines in, I say we join them, before that smoke cloud gets any closer, don't yah think?" she asks with a low chuckle at their surprised faces.

Law recovers first "She's right, we need to get in there as quickly as possible, even your firend isn't going to keep that door open forever, he'll need to close it up again before the Shinokuni gets here, or they might as well as left us out here to die. One Moment please. Room" he commands, teleporting the group out of the cage and down to where the G5 marines were all flooding the base.

"We're inside, you can close the door!" Tashigi calls up, then jumps as the researcher tosses the dead saytrs off the platform the door's controls were located upon.

"Just another minute, we still have a few guests to arrive" Kaos responds, eyes closed but facing the opening.

"Now, let's find my heart, and capture that bastard of a clown" Law grunts.

"I'm working with pirates, again. This is never mentioned on the report, understand men!"

"No problem Smokie!"

"Our lips are sealed!"

"The Straw Hats are kind of cool, for pirates!"

"I like that one already" Victor chuckles, then everyone turns when they hear a rumbling from outside….. It was Brownbeard and the others.

"HOLD THE DOOR! PLEASE I BEG YOU!" the giant pirate begs and cries as he rushes for the doorway, similar declarations coming from the straw hats on his back.

"Ah, that's who you meant. Good call" Robin nods in approval, Vivi and Shirahoshi smiling as they agree.

"We made it!" Nami and Ussop cheer, then all sigh in relief as the door closes a moment after Brownbeard clears the entrance.

"Mom, look what I found!" Artemis grins, holding Medusa like she was a certain young cub from a prideful valley, her wing antenna fluttering as she giggles.

"MEDUSA!" Robin cries, then pauses "What did he do to you?"

"Whelp, Caesar's Dead" Luffy deadpans "But that's not important right now. Everyone's back together, let's go kick some ass!" he cries, getting cheers from most of the crew, and even some of the marines.

TBC

LW: Straw Hats reunited, now to wreck some shit!