Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Arden’s a simple man, finding pleasure in journeying through fantastical stories. One of them's the popular series: One Piece. He was hooked into it from the very first episode. Not many of his friends could commit to the number of episodes it has, but Arden found ways to combat that issue. Overall, he always had fun whenever he sat down to binge-watch a few arcs. Dub and sub. Now if only he had discovered it sooner. For such a popular series, it’s a wonder that he’s only really sat down and started to watch it a few months ago.

The lingering memory of him sitting in front of his desk, re-watching the Punk Hazard arc was still around his head as he began to gasp for air. 

Seawater flooded his lungs almost instantly like a balloon being pumped by a helium machine nonstop.

He was drowning.

He was fucking drowning.

Can't... Breathe...!

He started to flail around his arms rapidly in a desperate attempt to get back to the surface.

Yep, he was in the ocean, all right: that much he concluded.

The saltwater began to sting his eyes when he saw a figure with what seemed like a redshirt float down near him.

Was someone else drowning?

He blinked a few times to try to get the stinging sensation away from his eyes, now a black figure in front of him. The stranger in black had the person Arden saw earlier in tow.

“Who…?” The brunette tried to say, but only bubbles came out. The last of his breath was taken away as his eyes rolled back.

***

Arden coughed violently, water coming out of his mouth. God, everything hurts. His eyes were still burning, his lungs felt violated, and his body was overall exhausted.

“Ah, he woke up!” a high-pitched voice cheerfully exclaimed. “How are you feeling?”

“I…” rubbing his eyes, he blinked them several times to try to clear his vision. In front of him were several blurry figures. 

Where am I?

“I think I’m okay.” he managed, coughs breaking up his sentence. Turning his attention to the one who spoke to him, he was about to say his thanks when his brown eyes widened at the sight, his vision finally clearing up.

The creature before him was small in size, wore a large blue hat, had antlers, a blue nose, and innocent wide eyes. 

Adorable. Too adorable.

Wait...

“Are you sure? You might still be in shock,” it said, pressing a hoof to the latter’s forehead.

In response, Arden could only scream, crawling back as fast as he could to keep a distance away from it. “Who are you?!”

“The same could be said to you,” a deeper voice spoke, making Arden turn his attention to it. The voice belonged to a blonde-haired man who sported a goatee, one of his eyes covered by his bangs, the one eye visible home to an eyebrow that curled at one end.

He lit up a cigarette casually, putting it in his mouth before giving the bewildered man a slight look. “Not every day you see someone drowning in the middle of the ocean. In the New World no less.”

“It is indeed strange. Had it not been for us, he could have died by drowning. Or torn from limb to limb by sea kings,” a raven-haired woman thought out loud near the blonde, her voice mature and soothing to hear.

“Could you not be morbid for one day, Robin?” cried a long-nosed man.

“Um…” Arden started shakily, not sure what to make of the scene before him. He didn’t know why, but his mind was drawn to a blank, the next words he spoke rolling out unconsciously. “Am I on the Sunny?”

“Right you are, brother,” a tall man chimed in, seemingly just arriving at the situation. “You’re riding on the most super ship in the world right now.”

Now, this was where the once wide-eyed man had his jaw hung down, his eyes almost bulging out. The man that spoke seemed to be a cyborg of things, the only clothing he wore being a loud Hawaiian shirt and a pair of speedos. Arden felt his cheeks starting to flush. “Th-this has to be a joke!” he yelled, not believing what was happening.

“Franky, I think you’re freaking the guy out,” the long-nosed fellow said.

“Huh? Me?” Franky responded with a blink, genuinely confused before looking back at the stranger.

“No!” Arden almost immediately objected. “You all are. This can’t be real. I must be dreaming.”

“Hey, I think the guy’s lost his mind,” a green-haired man noted, his arms crossed in front of his chest. He was some distance away, seemingly just haven woken up.

Still muttering to himself, the brunette was scrambled in thoughts. None of this made sense. The characters right before him matched perfectly to the ones that belonged to a series he loves.

But that can’t be real.

They’re fictional after all! Maybe they’re cosplayers? But if that was the case, why did they act so much like them? It seemed too natural to be an act. And that also didn’t help explain to the small creature that was the first to speak to hi--

“Oooohh, he finally woke up!” a cheery voice exploded from far away. Arms extended from one direction, grabbing for holding near Arden before a figure shot forward. Heels halting its speed, it revealed to be a young man who smiled brightly, standing tall as if nothing out of place happened.

A second passed before the other breathed out in astonishment, “Luffy?”

“Yep, that’s me," said the man gave an infectious grin, large eyes radiating with pure determination. "And I’m going to be king of the pirates!”

“You really don’t need to say that every single time,” hissed the long nose. “And you seem awfully lively for someone that drowned moments ago.”

“Huh? But it’s true that I’m going to be king of the pirates.”

“Usopp,” was the next word that came out of Arden’s mouth, earning a ‘huh?’ from said person.

“Seems like he knows who we are,” the blonde said, breathing out a cloud of smoke.

“Sanji. Robin. Franky. Zoro. Brook. Nami. And... Chopper,” names kept coming out as his eyes bounced to each person-- some as they showed up in his line of vision for the first time, his astonishment never dying down.

“Wow, now that’s surprising. He even knows your name, Curly Brows,” the green-haired man said in a serious tone.

“Hah?! Who are you talking to, Marimo?!”

The antlered creature walked up to Arden, worry etched on his face. “Everyone, quiet down. I don’t think he’s perfectly well yet.”

“He looks healthy to me,” The Captain said, leaning in and eyeing him curiously.

Arden breathed out thanks as the creature put a hoof on his forehead once again. “And sorry.” Before the other could respond, he blacked out once more.

***

The next time he came to consciousness was on a bed. Groggily blinking, Arden’s eyes traveled around to assess where he was exactly. It seemed familiar alright. Turning his head to the side, he saw the small reindeer on a chair, occupied with something. Not wanting to disturb his work, the man tried to get up slowly, avoiding making any noise. However, he failed at it as the doctor turned around with a hum, a shining expression on his face as he saw Arden being awake.

He hopped off the chair, making his way towards him. “Don’t overexert yourself. You blacked out for the second time.”

“Thank you…” Arden trailed off as the doctor began to check up on him with his stethoscope. “... Chopper. You’re really Chopper, right?”

“Hm? Yes, I am. How do you know me?” adorable eyes looked up.

Deciding that he was too tired to act surprised about his situation anymore to the point that he might pass out a third time, he began to organize his thoughts.

Okay, let’s say everything that’s happening right now is real. I was drowning, got rescued. Am on the Thousand Sunny. One in front of me is Chopper. The Straw Hats are real.

He let that last sentence repeat in his head several times as if to properly cement it in his head.

Did I get isekai-d somehow?!?!

“How’s your head feeling?” Chopper’s voice broke his start of a panic.

“Mmm… throbbing a little bit but I think for the most part I’m okay… I think I need water,” Arden responded honestly, the kindness of the other influencing him.

“I’ll go get a glass for you then.” Hopping off, he began his way to the door.

The patient smiled. “You’re an amazing doctor, Tony Tony Chopper.”

The reindeer halted in his place, confusing Arden. Suddenly, a blush crept up to his face, his arms wiggling about with his body. “Oh, what? You’re just flattering me. It’s not going to work, you bastard. Hahaha.”

Arden blinked. Wow, he really does do that.

Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door of the sickbay. “Chopper, lunch is ready.”

“Okay, Sanji!” Chopper said in response, going back to his desk to quickly put away his things. “Are you hungry? I can bring some food in for you.”

“No, it’s fine. I can get food for myself,” he shook his head. Chopper really is too kind. Getting out of the bed slowly, he found his clothes to be somewhat oddly… foreign to him.

Realizing his confusion, Chopper cleared it up. “Your clothes were wet and I didn’t want you to catch a cold so I asked one of them to lend some clothes to you.”

Saying thanks, Arden was grateful that out of all the pirates he encountered the Straw Hats were the ones who found him. Although no matter how grateful he was, it didn’t shake off the fact that the clothes he wore were a size or two too large for him. From the attire, he concluded that it must have belonged to Sanji’s.

“Oh and also,” Chopper started, walking over to get a backpack that was safely tucked away near the desk. “Your backpack. Don’t worry, we didn’t look inside.”

Saying thanks once again, Arden once again found himself confused. He’s never seen this backpack before. But it had to be his if it was found with him, right? He was drowning in the middle of the ocean of course. The probability of a random backpack on him in that kind of situation is… minuscule to say the least.

“You said something about ‘isekai-d’. What is that?”

The brunette found himself pale at that question. Did he really say that out loud????

“It means... “ he picked his words carefully. If not, he’d probably be labeled as crazy and none of his future words would be taken seriously. “I got unknowingly put in an out-of-the-world situation.”

***

Lunch was both lively and awkward-- something Arden didn’t know was possible. The liveliness was due to Luffy mostly, happily eating away at his meal, one large bite at a time. The awkwardness was with the rest of the crew aside from Chopper.

They were wary of him.

Not that that was unusual. It was to be expected. Arden wasn’t one to hate silences, but this one was almost suffocating because of the position he was in. If he stayed quiet, it wouldn’t help his case at all.

“Thank you for the clothes and food, Sanji… sir,” he added at the end as a formality, awkward with the sentences he produced.

“Who are you and why are you on our ship?” was his response back.

“Don’t mind him. He’s only this hostile because he mistook you for a girl at first,” Usopp snickered as he gulped down a bite.

“Shut up!” The blonde started, frustration was visible on his face. “I probably would have thought you were dead if I didn’t think you were a woman.”

The tone of that sentence left Arden astonished, but he couldn’t help but to think the blonde only said that out of embarrassment. “Oh… well, lucky me then, huh. Maybe next time I drown I’ll wear a pink frilly dress.”

“What’s done is done,” he said, flitting his lighter on to get another cigarette going. “Glad you’re alive at the very least.”

“How did you drown in the first place? There were no rafts or boats around from what we could see,” Robin was next to ask questions.

The young man sighed and said with full honesty, “I don’t know. The last thing I could remember was that I was in my room watching TV--" he broke off, realizing that TVs don't exist here. "I mean watching over some birds outside the window while drawing. Then before I knew it I had saltwater flood into my lungs and my eyes sting like lemon juice was being poured on them.”

A laugh came from the captain as he continued to eat away. “You’re funny.”

“Says the one who fell into the ocean, knowing full well he’ll drown,” Usopp commented.

“I thought I saw a weird fish in the ocean.” His eyes locked onto Arden’s, his tone seemingly disappointed. “Guess I was wrong.”

“Luffy may be an idiot, but he usually doesn’t do something that’ll cause him to fall overboard,” Nami noted. “It’s strange.”

“Hmmm...” Luffy scratched his head slightly, confused with his actions as well.

Smiling nervously, Arden’s brown eyes moved off of Luffy who continued to stare at him while eating to the other crewmates. It was really weird to see everyone in such a realistic way since, well, normally he sees them in an anime style.

Needless to say, they were all more or less very attractive in their own way. Nami and Robin were drop-dead gorgeous; Sanji and Zoro were textbook handsome; Luffy was handsome in a more boyish way; Usopp, despite his long nose had a homely feel; Chopper was utterly adorable; Brook, even though a skeleton, had a gentlemanly aura, his afro beautiful; and Franky. Well, let’s just say Arden had to look away quickly before being caught with his slightly pink cheeks.

Franky was his favourite character in the show, having been the only one he’s actively collected merch of with the little money he had. Not to mention how scarce merch for the cyborg was. The blue-haired man’s personality was absolutely attractive to Arden: from his confidence of who he is as a being to the sensitive and sensible side of him. All of it. So to have the real thing be only meters away blew this fanboy (and simp alike) away.

“Oh, my name’s Arden,” he suddenly said, having remembered he never answered Sanji’s question. He decided to leave out the part where he's from another universe. “I’m an artist.”

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Chapter Text

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“Artist…?” Luffy said curiously. “What kinda things do you draw?”

“Anything, really.”

He gasped. “Robots? Meat? Robots with meat?!” His eyes sparkled more and more every single time he asked a question.

Arden couldn’t help but to laugh. “Yes, I can do that. But I mostly draw things I find beautiful.”

“Oh, so women. You have some fine tastes,” Sanji mused. “If that’s the case, do you draw them… nude?”

“And in… panties?” Brook added.

The next second, the both of them were on the floor, two large lumps forming on their heads. The culprit was Nami once again with a rather scary look on. “Knock it off!”

Tentatively nodding, he didn’t know if he should answer it properly or not. “I have. Both nude and in panties. Also with men as well… and robots.”

“So you’re a pervert too, huh,” Franky asked.

“No... not really. All artists draw them at least once in a lifetime for practice. It’s important for us to grow in skill,” Arden answered meekly, cheeks slightly pink once again before eating the food in front of him.

“That’s interesting. I don’t think I’ve met a real artist before,” Robin smiled warmly at him.

Happy to receive a compliment from THE Nico Robin, he couldn’t help but to smile back. “I can draw you some time if you want.”

“Oh, then can you draw me as well?” Nami poked her head into the conversation, a smile present as well.

“Yes, of course!” he exclaimed, excited to be talking about a subject he’s most familiar with. Yet the aura near him was filled with rage.

“You’re not going to try to draw them nude, are you?!” Sanji yelled.

“Huh? N-no, that’s not what I--” Arden waved his hands in front of him in defense.

“I can see right through your artist facade, you pervert.”

Brook added, “And here I thought you were a decent man--”

Again, the two were on the ground, now with two lumps on their heads.

“I SAID, ‘KNOCK IT OFF’,” Nami yelled once again, seething.

“That still doesn’t help explain how you were in the middle of the ocean drowning. No islands are near either,” Zoro examined him.

He nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that’s what I wanna know as well.”

“For all we know you could be an assassin.”

Arden froze at that. Although he said that, Zoro still maintained a casual demeanor as if sensing the other wasn’t a threat. “We do have a 400 million beri bounty on our captain. Not to mention our bounties as well. You were able to name all of us no problem.”

“I promise you all that I’m not an enemy. If anything I do makes you question that, I’ll offer my head as compensation.” The brunette said that resolutely, in the most confident voice he’s used since he’s been on the ship. He wholeheartedly wanted to express that he was not only not a threat to them and on their side, but that he greatly respected them as well.

Silence filled the room to the point that Arden looked at them for some kind of response. That’s when a loud laugh came from Luffy once again. “Oh yeah, you’re funny alright.”

“No need to be so serious. Zoro’s always like that,” Usopp tried to reassure. “I bet he was hoping you were one so he could fight.”

“It’s okay. Perfectly understandable even,” Arden nodded. “I do seem suspicious no matter how you wrap your head around it. Wish I knew how I wound up there…” Before he could get lost in his thoughts once again, he looked at Nami as he knew she was the navigator. “You guys can drop me off at the next town. I’ll try to find my way home from there.”

“Are you sure about that, Arden?” Chopper asked from beside him.

“Yes. I wouldn’t want to bother you guys on your great journey. I’d only be a burden.”

“Do you even know where you are?” Sanji asked.

He opened his mouth to answer but his eyebrows knitted instead. “I… don’t know.”

“If it helps, our last stop was Fishman Island,” the reindeer said, trying to offer anything that could be useful.

The fork Arden was holding clattered onto the table at that. “What…?”

From what he knows after Fishman Island was Punk Hazard. Then after that… Oh god, he was going to be staying with the Straw Hats longer than he initially thought. The horror on his face was evident.

Sanji was the first one to break the silence. “What’s wrong? That an issue?”

“It would have been a lot safer if I wasn’t in the New World is all,” was all he managed out, his mouth drying.

“It’s okay. You can stay on our ship until you get to somewhere safe, “ Luffy said, chewing on a piece of meat.

“We’re not a charity service,” Nami said offhandedly.

Luffy whined. “Eh, why not? Ardy’s an interesting guy. And I wanna see that robo meat drawing. Ardy, when can you show me it?” his eyes went to him again, expectedly.

“He still needs time to recover,” Chopper answered before Arden could get a word in. “I don’t think he’s used to being at sea and he’s probably experiencing some form of amnesia.”

“Booooooooooo.” Luffy pouted but continued to eat anyway, mind wandering off. Cute, Arden thought, looking at the captain’s expression.

But now that it was mentioned, they were in their post-timeskip designs. Them being in the New World should have been obvious but it went over Arden’s head instead. What with him still being quite dazed that he’s been somehow isekai-d to a series he loves that is. For all he knows, this really could be a dream, but if it really was that was all the more reason for him to live this to the fullest.

***

Later that night, Arden walked into the library, finding Nami in front of the drafting table. He had made himself more comfortable after getting a small tour of the place by Chopper. At first, it was Franky but after Chopper panicked overseeing his red face thinking it was a fever, he took over instead. Not wanting to seem suspicious, Arden had played along to the doctor’s advice and lied down a little before his tour continued.

“Miss Nami,” he called out at the doorway.

“Hm? Oh, Arden. Why so distant? Come in,” The ginger smiled. “What do you need?” She was undoubtedly kind to him. Probably because of his previous offer to draw her. He made sure not to get on her bad side no matter what. He walked closer to her but stayed some distance away from her workspace, afraid to ruin her work somehow.

“I was hoping you could lend me some paper and pencils. I’d like to document what’s happening.” Okay, the last line was a lie, but he couldn’t possibly tell her the truth of what he intended to do.

“Oh yea, no worries. Here you go,” she handed them off to you happily. Receiving them graciously, he noted her gaze on him.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. You just seem… so normal.”

A laugh came out of him. “Thanks, I guess?” He probably seemed normal because of how boring he was compared to the rest of the crew. How could he ever be seen as main character worthy-- no, One Piece character worthy when he’s only lived such a boring and mundane life?

“No, honestly! All the men on board are weird. I wouldn’t have been surprised if you really were a perverted artist.”

Arden sat down on the couch to be more on Nami’s eye level. “They all seem like fun guys, though.”

“True. There’s really not a dull moment with them,” she smiled, eyes staring off into the distance as if remembering all the moments which illustrated it. Arden could already think of several at the top of his head. “By the way, where are you from? I’m from a small town named Cocoyashi Village. East Blue.”

“Ah…” his eyes went down to the floor, unsure of how to answer it. “I don’t know.”

Nami blinked. “I’m sorry. You probably can’t remember because of amnesia.”

“It’s fine.” Arden looked at her with a smile for a few seconds before it faded away slowly. A question had always bounced around in his head for a while and now was a perfect time to ask. Who would give a better answer than the one this question directs to? “Are you okay with it?”

“Hm?”

“I mean,” he started, crossing his legs criss-cross to get more comfortable. “With Sanji and Brook. They seem to always make inappropriate comments towards women.”

Nami looked at him in astonishment. “Interesting. No one’s ever asked me that before.”

Arden started to panic, thinking he said something wrong. “If it’s too personal you don’t have to answer it.”

The girl only shook her head, grinning. “Nah, I’m pleasantly surprised. Hm, those two… If they ever go too far I do try to knock some sense into them.” She cracked her knuckles, her expression turning deadly. “But even that doesn’t really work does it? I should be used to it by now but I guess I still get kind of uncomfortable about it sometimes.”

It was exactly how Arden thought it was. No way in hell would anyone be comfortable to be repeatedly harassed. Even if it was for comedy’s sake in an anime.

“You’re easy to talk to, you know,” Nami hummed. “Like I’ve known you for a while now.”

You haven’t known me long, but I sure as hell know basically everything about you. And everyone on this crew, Arden thought but only gave a smile to her. “I’ll take that compliment.” He then got up from his seat, patting his oversized clothes clean before carrying the writing utensils in his arms. “I’ll leave you to your work then, Miss Navigator.”

Nami watched Arden walk out of the library. When the door closed behind him, she placed her chin on her hand in thought, elbow rested on the back of her chair. “What an interesting man.”

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The Aquarium bar was empty which was the perfect place for him to work in. Getting seated, he placed all the supplies in front of him, heaving a breath before writing down his thoughts. He started to write down everything that happens past Fishman Island in chronological order in as great detail as he could. Who knows. Maybe as time goes on he’ll forget everything he knows about what happens in the show. That could be devastating.

Yet even if he knew everything, what would he do with that information? That made him pause his hand. He can’t just mess up the storyline. Everything that happens happens for a reason, and it’s usually for the development of a character. What if he messes with the story and it becomes an entirely different plot with an entirely different ending? That horrified this fanboy.

It’d be best if he just sat at the sidelines and did nothing. Like he didn’t exist at all. Which means he had to get off the ship and be away from the crew as soon as possible. But from what he knows so far with the plot, there isn’t anywhere safe. Dressrosa is definitely not somewhere he wants to be left alone in after all.

“It’s for my sake,” he finally said out loud, continuing his writing. If he knows what happens he’ll know what not to interfere with and how to stay as low as possible until a chance pops up for him to take. Yes, that’s his plan. Nothing could go wrong with it. Right?

After an hour or so passed by, Arden took a rest to stretch out his wrist. His eyes then landed on the backpack that was supposedly his. Curious as to what could be inside of it, he began to rummage around it.

Well, the first thing that caught his eye was the large fruit. Brown eyes widened at the sight of it. “No fucking way…” Clearing the table to make room, he placed the backpack there, pulling the object out of the bag carefully. Yep. it was exactly what he thought it was. “A devil fruit?!” He almost immediately slapped his mouth shut with his own two hands. Sure that no one else heard him, he turned his attention back to the mysterious fruit that lay in front of him.

“I guess this could be useful…” being an artist from a first-world country back in his world, he wasn’t the fittest. Not to mention his little to no combat skills. A devil fruit could prove to be a lifeline. However, he couldn’t bring himself to eat it. What if he gained those powers and that was what bound him to this universe for life?! What if he went back home and still retained the powers? Not to mention that devil fruit powers are often not as useful because of the threats of the New World.

Mind swirling with thoughts he decided to move on and check what else was in the bag. A smartphone. HIS smartphone. In a universe where smartphones shouldn’t exist. “Okay, now THIS is weird,” he muttered. The devil fruit? A surprise, but at least it abided by the rules of this universe. A smartphone on the other hand?? Not so much. He double-checked and was able to log in and everything. It didn’t sustain any water damage at all thanks to the protection it was covered in. “But what’s the use? I can’t charge it anywhere.” Yep. A smartphone but no charger. Great.

“If this is an isekai survival kit it really stinks,” he sighed, confirming that those two items were the only ones inside.

Putting the two items away, he decided it would be best to keep it on his person at all times in case a situation calls for him to use either item (even though the phone seemed utterly useless). That and the fact that both items would astonish anyone in this world who lay their eyes on it… he had to be careful.

“Be smart. Lay low. Be a side character. No. An extra,” Arden concluded, looking down at the pieces of paper filled with words now before putting them away in the bag as well.

He’ll have to make a copy of them sometime in case something were to occur.

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Chapter Text

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It was storming. Hard. Everything was going according to what Arden had remembered. It seemed the crew’s encounter with the Giant girl, Lily, who possessed devil fruit powers occurred right before they rescued him. Shame, honestly. He wanted to taste volcano cooking for the first time, as well as see a giant. But if we’re going there, it’s really a missed opportunity that he couldn’t visit Fishman Island to see the mermaids. Every time he thought about it, he pouted. There were so many questions he wanted to be answered. Like how did mermaids maintain their beautiful hair underwater?

A thunderbolt hit rather close to them, earning a scream from him. Storms at sea were scary as hell. His whole world rocked, and honestly, he was beginning to feel seasick because of it. Almost everyone aside from Luffy was ecstatic about the position they were in, and if it weren’t for the fact that Arden was clinging onto the shrouds (the net-looking parts connected to the masts) right near Zoro, he would have chuckled. Nope, instead, he was screaming, the rain whipping onto his face somewhat stinging, causing him to close them in both fear and safety.

“What’s that?” he heard Zoro say rather calmly.

“What?! That’s impossible!” Nami yelled.

“A red sea?!” Robin remarked.

Nononono, they were already there?! Forcing his eyes open, he could see the flames of the island greeting them menacingly and he began to cry internally. As if on cue, a volcano erupted.

“Let’s go to that island!” Luffy exclaimed excitedly, pointing his finger towards it.

“What?!” Everyone yelled. Arden instead only nodded in defeat, knowing full well they were going whether he or the rest of the crew liked it or not. The ship then landed hard onto the ocean once again, having ridden a large wave before into the air, the impact almost causing him to fall. Luckily Zoro caught him by the arm just in time.

“Wait a minute, Luffy!” Nami yelled, looking at her log pose next.

The captain scrambled down from where he was like a little child, fists in the air. “Let’s go to that island!”

“I said, ‘Wait’!”

Luffy rebutted quickly. “Why?! There’s a volcano. It looks like fun! Who could resist?”

If it were up to Arden, he would have already set sail for the island. Lord, did he have a soft spot for every one of them, and to hear them speak for himself in real life only amplified those feelings. However, Nami was not so easily persuaded.

“Listen to me, Luffy! None of the three needles’ pointing at the island! It’s too peculiar even in the strange New World!”

Yet no matter how strong her argument was, the volcano that erupted again shattered it as Luffy ran to look. “It’s erupting again! It’s right there! Who cares about the needles?! Let’s just go there!”

Arden started to come down from where he was, the palm of his hands hurting from gripping the ropes so tightly. All the while the two Straw Hats continued to argue.

“No way! We can’t get any closer! Because the sea is on fire!”

Luffy only gave a ‘shishishishi’.

“I don’t understand you!”

Sanji then presented a huge shellfish looking-thing out into the open.

Usopp looked at it. “Hey, that’s the Giant Shellfish Panz Fry gave us.”

The cook spoke. “I thought we could cook this in the sea of fire.”

“How is that even possible!” Arden finally said something, an incredulous look on him. “It’s too dangerous!”

“Sanji! Now isn’t the time for that!” Chopper yelled. Right, of course the crew would react like that, but it was still unbelievable to hear in person.

“That’s the thing you’re worried about?!”

As flames started to lick around the ship, Usopp and Robin began to express their concern only for it to be shot down by Franky. “No! The Sunny is super not gonna let us down!” Hearing that calmed Arden down even though he knew they weren’t in immediate danger just yet.

“That’s not the point!” Nami said. “There’s something wrong with this sea! Look at those fish bones, bones, bones!”

“Huh did you just call me?” Arden cracked a half-smile at Brook’s joke. The same opportunist as always for a bone joke. Nami only sighed.

“BOOHAHAHAHA!” A cry exploded from inside the kitchen.

“Wh-what’s that?!”

Brown eyes widened, his smile having quickly faded as he whispered to himself, “The Den Den Mushi.” The weight of what was happening settled in him. The Punk Hazard arc was really happening.

The cries continued to fill the ship, almost everyone running towards it. Arden stared at the Den Den Mushi, observing its movements. Interesting. This was his first time seeing one in action.

“Hey, what’s this? The Den Den Mushi is crying!” Luffy frowned after running in. “Hey, what’s wrong?! You have a stomachache?”

“Idiot! That’s an emergency signal,” Sanji said. “Somebody’s calling for help.”

“If I pick it up, can we hear them?”

Robin raised a hand, now standing beside Arden. “Wait, Luffy! More than 50 percent of emergency signals are fake! It could be a Navy trap - one they use often. If the line is tapped, they’ll find out where we are.”

“No, I’m pretty sure this one’s real,” The brunette shook his head with his arms crossed, leaning against the counter casually.

“That’s our Robin!” Usopp said as if choosing to ignore his words. “Hey, Luffy, you have to be careful…”

“Clank.”

Too late. Arden could only smile slightly as the next words flew out of Luffy’s mouth. “Hello? My name is Monkey D. Luffy! I’m gonna become the King of the Pirates!”

Usopp hit him across the head, eyes bulging in anger. “You picked up too fast and said too much!”

The cries continued, breaking their little gag. “Help me!”

“What happened?” Luffy replied.

“It’s cold… Is this the Boss?!”

“No, I’m not the boss. Is it cold there?”

“My colleagues are getting cut one after another! The samurai’s gonna kill us!”

The mention of ‘samurai’ got Zoro’s attention. “Samurai?”

“Hey, you, what’s your name?!” Luffy yelled, understanding the situation better now. “Where are you?!”

The voice continued to cry. “Somebody help me! I’m on… Punk Hazard!"

“Huh?” everyone went, confused with the name as they’ve never heard of it.

Arden grimly looked down at the wooden floorboards. Not wanting to hear what comes next, he slowly cupped both of his ears to muffle the sound.

A blood-curdling yell came through from the other side, the line cut off right after, earning yells from Usopp and Chopper. “He got killed!”

“Th-That was…” Brook started.

Knowing that he wasn’t going to get anything else from whoever was on the line, Luffy closed the Den Den Mushi, placing a hand to his chin. “Hm… I smell trouble…”

“He got killed - of course there's trouble! Somebody just cut him!” Usopp yelled with Chopper to back him up. “The New World is scary!”

“Maybe he was acting and it’s a trap,” Robin added.

“How level-headed!” Brook came in with a guitar, strumming and singing. “Come on, Robin!

“No, I don’t think that’s it,” Arden shook his head, his hands now back to his sides. “It sounded too real.”

“Speaking of samurai, Brook…” Zoro spoke.

“Yes, what you think is right. That’s the name of the swordsmen from the Wano Kingdom.”

As Brook continued with his explanation of the Wano Kingdom, Arden’s mind could only wander off, moments of what’s to come flashing about. He was thinking of the best course of action to take to not mess with the storyline as much as possible. It’ll be fine, it’s not as if I can do anything with how weak I am, he thought. No doubt, the thought that this universe abided by the same storyline he knew could have been entirely different, but as things are continuing to pan out exactly how they should be, Arden felt more and more pressured to do absolutely nothing.

“But he said Punk Hazard, not the Wano Kingdom,” Franky tried to piece together the information presented. “Did he mean the island of fire right there?”

Smart as always, Arden couldn’t help but swoon quietly, the gang’s attention now back towards the strange piece of land.

“If he was using a Den Den Mushi, that’s about how far the signal can reach,” Robin deduced.

Luffy pumped a fist into the air. “All right! Let’s go help that guy!”

“No!” Nami screamed, Usopp, Chopper, and Brook joining in.

“Luffy, think again!"

"I think it’s too late for that!”

“Samurai are scary!”

“I’m scared too!”

Luffy only laughed out loud excitedly before turning brightly to their guest. “What do you think about it, Ardy?”

“Hm…” Arden thought, staring at the high, bright flames dancing furiously. “I’ve never seen something like this before. I’d love to draw it.” The artist in him came out despite his best efforts, slight sparkles appearing in his cocoa coloured eyes.

“Not you too, Arden,” Nami said with tears running down her eyes in horror.

***

“So who’s going to the island?” Sanji spoke, bringing slight order to the disaster that was about to brew. “Since there’s uncertainty, we shouldn’t all go.”

“Franky, I need the Mini-Merry!” Luffy requested.

“Okay!” A big red thumbs up was in the air.

“Wait! Are you gonna go by yourself?” Nami said.

“Do you have a problem with that?”

“Big problem. You should at least have three other people go with you,” Arden prompted.

Nami said in agreement, “If we let you go by yourself, you’ll disappear without us!”

“Huh?” Luffy whined.

“Okay, he needs some company but not the random belly-warmer guy,” the cook said matter-of-factly.

“What do you mean by that?!” yelled Zoro, getting in his face. “I’ll cut you, ero-cook!” As the two created sparks of anger between each other, the rest of the crew continued with the discussion.

“Company?” Franky said. “I’ll go with him!”

Arden started to panic at that. “Wait, no, you can’t!”

“Hm, why’s that?”

He was at a loss of words for that. Arden wasn’t sure of all the specific dialogues in the story and was nervous with every piece of a sentence that didn’t seem to adhere to what should go on. Knowing exactly what should pan out was really both a blessing and a curse. It made him almost TOO wary of anything that seemed off to him.

“Yeah, sounds like fun,” Robin chimed in.

“Hey, maybe we’ll pass on this one. Is it okay?” Usopp started in a nervous smile, him with Brook and Chopper seemingly scared straight.

Arden knitted his brows and Nami caught on. “Don’t worry, you probably don’t have to go.”

“Oh... Miss Nami, I have an idea, actually…” As he spoke of the plan, Nami sighed.

“Guess we have no choice, huh?”

Arden then presented out eight strips of paper loosely gripped in his hand in front of the crew. “We’ll draw straws! Then it’ll be fair and square.”

“What a pain! I’ll go even if I lose,” Zoro said.

“But you’ll still do it, right?” Arden asked, wiggling the strips around as if trying to taunt him.

“Zoro! If I’m picked, go instead of me!” begged a teary Chopper.

“Ah, wait a minute!” Usopp observed. “There’s only eight here.”

Arden nodded. “Yeah, one for each of you. Luffy’s going for sure, so there’s no need for nine. What’s the problem?”

“What about you?!”

“Eh?” the young man responded with a head tilt. “You expect a defenseless patient suffering from amnesia to trek to a dangerous unknown land? Not to mention a non-pirate at that.” He then made a face that resembled disgust. “How cruel.”

“Ack! That’s not what I meant. Grr…” the long-nosed man then started to rub his hands together as the others had already chosen their strip. “They say ‘Good Luck lies in odd numbers’! I’ll stake all my life on this one!”

Arden gulped as Usopp went to grab the strip. Lord did he pray that the people who are supposed to go end up going. As he yanked it into the air, a large grin appeared on Arden’s face, the other’s visage being in a horrifying mess.

Usopp’s going.

Holding up a blank strip, Sanji said, “All right, his companions are…”

“Us!” Zoro said with a smile.

“Can’t wait,” Robin smiled as well, both with a marked strip.

Arden breathed a huge sigh of relief. Thank goodness him being the one to present the strips didn’t change anything to the story. Not to mention the group who goes with Luffy had to endure some obstacles he rather not go through personally. He wasn’t sure if he didn’t bring it up if Nami would have done it instead, but it worked out in the end. Which was fine for him.

“Can’t take it,” Usopp cried, his head hung down. The red marked strip was presented out as if his body was in shock at what was happening; the strip was visible to everyone else.

“You won? How lucky!” Sanji jested.

“I LOST! Please trade with meeeeeee!” Usopp pleaded.

“You’ll be fine, Usopp. Have fun!” Arden chirped, patting his back in a gun-ho way.

“Easy for you to say. You get to stay on the ship!”

He only shrugged in response, trying to hide his smile.

***

Hearing Sanji passing off the lunches to the people heading off to Punk Hazard, Arden stayed near the railing of the Sunny, staring at the blazing fire. Caesar Clown… thinking about him made the man ball his fists up in rage. Back in his world, he found him to be a great villain-- even finding him aesthetically pleasing to look at times. But now in real life, he couldn’t help but only feel distaste. The things he does on this island… are inhumane. Something Arden could never tolerate. If he had the power, he’d try to punch him in the face himself, but knew that job wasn’t for him to do.

His eyes wandered off to Luffy who had a content look on with being presented with food.

“Milky Road!” Nami yelled, creating the path of clouds for them to take, Franky and Luffy star-struck.

As the captain and navigator conversed about her new ability, Arden said, “Luffy, tell me how the meat tastes.”

“Hm? I can tell you right now!” Luffy started, holding up the lunchbox.

Arden shook his head, eyes glancing towards the island. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”

***

“Let’s go, recon team! Here we go, Mini-Merry!” Luffy yelled, mouth already stuffed with food.

“Good luck, guys!”

“You guys are so lucky!”

“I’m sure we’ll have a chance to go later.”

“Yohohoho, take care!”

“Usopp, you can do it!”

He threw out a last attempt to plead, “TRADE WITH MEEEE!”

“This Giant Shellfish is yummy!”

“Are you eating your lunch already?!”

Watching the Mini-Merry disappear from his line of sight, Arden found it hard to engage in the lighthearted conversation the remaining crewmates were having. The heat was getting to him as he wasn’t used to warm climates, but he knew this was better than the bitter cold they were going to have to encounter soon. He was glad his clothing was so large, making it easier for his body to breathe. Wiping his hair out of his face, he somehow wished he had gotten a haircut before getting isekai-d. It wasn’t particularly long, but it was enough to cover the entire nape of his neck.

“They’ll be fine,” a sweating Chopper tried to reassure him as chants about desserts went on. “Our Captain is strong.”

“They’re not the ones I’m worried about,” Arden murmured only loud enough for the doctor to hear, still staring at the flames.

.

Chapter Text

.

Chopper was absolutely dying, the ice-cream cone he had in hand (… hoof?) started to melt despite it being freshly scooped out. Everyone was feeling the heat, and it was confirmed as they all said, “It’s so hot…”

“I know!” Brook said. “We just need to change our point of view! What do you think? If this was a sauna, it would feel nice, right?”

“At least with saunas we could control the temperature,” Arden replied, pulling his button-up shirt away and to him in a repeating manner to fan some air in.

Franky gulped down a large mouthful of cola. “Cola is super-spouting out of my entire body!”

Oh was he glad that it was blistering, his red face right then camouflaging well with the current situation. He wasn’t one to think of such impure thoughts but he couldn’t help but think if it’d really taste like cola if he licked Franky’s sweat off of--

“No!” he screamed in horror, slapping his face to be sandwiched between his two hands to snap him out of it. Get a hold of yourself! You can't think about this-- He's a real person with actual feelings!

“Arden, is the heat getting to you that badly?” Nami spoke, sipping at her drink whilst fanning herself.

Yeah, that had to be it. It was because of the blasted heat. Up 'till now he had done a pretty good job of acting non-creepy in any way, but it was undoubtedly hard since he's such a huge fan. Though it did get easier as time went on: it became more and more clear that they were human beings and not just drawings on a page.

“It’d be real convenient right now if it snowed,” he muttered, slightly wishing the enemy would make their move soon. Didn’t necessarily matter where he went, the go-to route was for him to play along with the events as if he were deaf to what’s to come.

“How ironic to say that,” Nami said, holding her binoculars up. “The island’s sky is split into two sections, just as I thought. It’s so weird… a burning hot sky and an arctic one.”

“I’m honestly wishing we were on the arctic one right now,” Arden panted out, strands of hair sticking to his face.

“I hope Luffy and the others haven’t melted.” Chopper licked his ice cream.

Suddenly, Nami started stumbling around.

“Nami!” Arden exclaimed, trying to help her maintain her balance. Was the sleeping gas already spreading?! He looked around, the others starting to waver as well. He couldn’t find anything in the air but cupped his nose anyhow with a hand.

His backpack! Reaching over to grab his backpack from the ground, he situated it on himself to make sure it was on his person before he could pass out. Nami’s full weight was on him now, being fully asleep along with Brook and Franky. Placing her on the ground gently, he and Chopper shared a worried look together.

“Y-You guys-- h-huh? Me too?” Chopper trailed off.

Trying to say his name, but at the same time trying to keep his oxygen in, Arden rushed to Chopper’s side, softening his fall. Brown eyes glared at where the henchmen should appear, the sleeping gas now perfectly visible. It was a disgusting shade of green. Perfectly befitting for gas like this. Almost a full minute passed but no one appeared. Starting to lose his breath, he yelled desperately, “Show yourself!”

Taking a large breath as he needed oxygen in his lungs, seconds went by but he was still fully awake.

“Huh, this one’s strange,” he heard a voice say.

“Master’s gas should be highly effective.”

Feeling helpless as he had no weapon at all on him, he resorted to calling for someone who was much more capable instead. “SANJI! INTRUDERS!!” As the last word flew out of his mouth, the gas was finally starting to take effect.

Sanji opened the kitchen door, holding a tray with desserts, confused with what’s going on. “You called--?”

“Run..” Arden tried to warn the cook, having made his way near the kitchen. Hand wrapped weakly around the blonde’s ankles, he fought to get words out. “Ene… mies…” He finally blacked out.

***

Arden was the first person to awake, sitting cross-legged as he waited for the other to wake up. Strange…, he thought, figuring out in his head why he reacted differently to the gas. He assumed Chopper was the last to be affected because he was a reindeer but what about himself?

“Maybe it has to do with the fact I don’t belong…” he thought out loud. That’s when he remembered about the blood type systems. It’s entirely different from the one he knows.

Wait… who knows if his blood type exists in this world anyway?! Maybe it’d be categorized under a different name. He could only hope that was the case and not the other. Anyhow, he should try not to bleed out… Wait, no, why was he thinking about possibly dying already?!

Double-checking his backpack was still there and that the contents were still inside, he felt a small sense of relief.

He then saw the reindeer stir around. “Ar.. den?”

“Chopper.” The young man went to his side. “How are you feeling?”

“Where are we?!”

Arden shook his head, pretending not to know. “All I know is that it’s not good.”

“Damn,” Sanji groaned, the second to wake. “Stuck in who knows where. Great.” Wasting no time, he started to find a way out. Between his attempts, Nami had woken up, her knees to her chest.

“Sanji, what are you messing around with?” Franky said, being the last one to come to.

“Oh, you’re up.”

“Can’t you see?” Nami said in a defeated tone. One which was unusual to hear from her.

“Oh no, Franky!” Tears streamed down Chopper’s face as he panicked. “We’re locked up!”

As if only then realizing where they were, Franky exclaimed, “Hey, what’s this place?! Where are we?! I was eating a Giant Shellfish dessert on the deck and… I can’t remember anything after that!”

“We were attacked,” explained Arden. “They used sleeping gas to take us out. I doubt they’re here for your bounties with how careful they were of us. They deliberately want us alive for whatever reason.”

“And you even tried to warn me,” Sanji said. “I’m sorry. I should have noticed it sooner.”

“No, there wasn’t much we could do. The gas was strong…” Arden tried to reason, not wanting him to take the blame.

“What should we do?” Franky asked, observing the large vault-like room.

“Are they gonna sell us?! Are they abducting humans?!” Chopper teared up.

“But if they took all of us on the ship, where’s Brook?”

Nami spoke once again. “I don’t know. There’s only five of us here.”

This sent Chopper off into another set of worries. “If they’re abducting humans, they wouldn't need a skeleton.”

Arden gazed around, having not done anything up until this point as he didn’t want to set off anything weird to change the story’s events. But now was probably a good time… and he wanted to lighten up the mood. He didn't like seeing the Straw Hats sad. It pained him.

“Hey, there’s something over there,” Arden said, nodding towards a direction that broke off the banter between the Straw Hats of who was a human and not. Getting up from where he was, he walked over to a weird scene: what seemed to be several different parts of a human face scattered around. It had freaked him out when he first saw it, but kept it to himself, knowing full well the scattered parts weren’t a threat. They were going to be an ally. Picking up the part with the mouth, he raised it above his head like it was a trophy. “I found something good.”

The crew gawked at what he was holding. “What is that?!”

“Wow, that is super creepy,” Franky said, almost surprised that Arden would dare to touch it.

“Do you guys like hanjimono?” the mouth spoke. “It means--”

“Puzzle, right?” Arden broke it off. “Don’t worry, we have experts here. Four of them, actually.”

“It talked!” Chopper ran up to observe it, Arden placing the mouth down so the reindeer could assess the parts better. He then looked up at the boy as if for an answer. “What is it?”

“It’s a puzzle,” Arden only casually responded with a grin.

“Don’t call me an ‘it’!” the mouth stated.

Chopper screamed after seeing it talk so close to him that he ran back to hide behind Franky.

“It’s…”

“What? A bug?”

“A new kind of Den Den Mushi?”

“There are eight of them! I hadn’t noticed!”

“I’m not a bug!”

Arden hummed, having sat down again, he counted the parts. Yep, exactly eight if including the mouth. Moving all the parts to be in front of him, he looked as if he was a dealer of a casino. “Pretty sure these make up a face.”

“Yes… these are all parts of my face,” it answered. “You guys don’t seem like bad people. Could I ask you to put them back together?”

“Oh yeah, this is a mouth,” Franky noted, stepping up to the plate to try it out. “And this is an eye. Like this?”

As the Straw Hats pondered on and took turns to try to piece the parts of the face together, Arden couldn’t help but howl out in laughter. It was funny on the screen but it was utterly hilarious to witness in real life.

“It’s done! Looks like a human face now!” Franky stated, the others marveling at the results like it’s a masterpiece.

“... I think there is something wrong with the chin and the top part but that’s okay.”

Wiping away slight tears, Arden peered over to see what it looked like exactly and shared a glance with the head. His cheeks puffed out at the sight, body trembling as if trying to hold something back.

“What is it?” the head asked.

“Pff… pfft... BWAHAHAHAHA!” He exploded in laughter once again, rolling around on the floor, clutching his stomach. His legs kicked up in the air as he tried to gasp for air.

“You’ve only been laughing this whole time,” Sanji said. “What’s wrong with it?”

“Hah? Why wouldn’t I be? I thought piecing them together would be rather straightforward, but…” before he could receive any possible glares, he turned the head to face him. “Here, you just need an artist’s touch.” Switching the top and chin together, he gave a bright smile as he held it up for them to see, his sides still hurting from laughing so much. “There you go! Good as new.”

“Oooohhh!” The four of them exclaimed.

“As expected from an artist,” Chopper said excitedly.

“Ah, yes, this feels right,” the head said. “Thank you!”

“The pleasure’s mine, sir.”

A pause before the crewmates yelled in unison in shock. “A severed-head just talked!”

“You just noticed?!” the head yelled back.

Chopper hopped off Franky’s shoulder and held out a cross and such (from lord knows where), shouting in a demanding yet scared tone, “How can you live like that?! Are you possessed?!”

“I don’t know. I didn’t wish to become like this. That bastard… he used some kind of weird magic!” The head started to explain. “I thought I was dead when he cut me up but I ended up like this. To be kept alive after being sliced apart is… a dishonour to a warrior!”

That must mean he’s here too.

Arden picked up the head and started to spin it around his hand like a basketball. “Don’t be so serious, sir. Should be glad you’re alive.” He was feeding off of the high he felt from the comedy he witnessed.

“You don’t understand!” yelled the head. “And stop that!” Arden laughed but complied with his wish. Settling him down once again, his attention was brought to the ‘bastard’ he talked about. That unknown person was someone who also held a soft spot in his heart, and honestly, he felt excited to meet him in person.

“You were cut down by an enemy,” Sanji said, trying to make sense of what the head said.

“And you’re still alive, even as just a head?” Chopper finished the sentence for him. “How?! I don’t get it!”

Nami placed a hand to her hip. “He’s like Buggy! How strange.”

The head shut its eyes closed, eyebrows furrowing in deep regret. “I wish I could slice open my belly and let my body decay, but there are things I must do, even if my greatest failure must be known!”

“Hey, hey, hey…” Arden started, tossing the head up again, breaking up the tension that was in the air. “What’d I say about being too serious? Ease up a lil’. It’ll be okay.”

“By the way, you…” Nami said in between the shouts of the head wanting to be left alone. “Do you know where we are?”

“‘You’?! How dare a female address me, a warrior, in such an informal manner?! Women shall walk three steps behind men and address them with a modest grace!”

Arden felt Nami’s piercing glare and lifted the head up to let her do as she pleased. Yanking the head up by its skin, Nami swore at it. “What was that, you bastard? You’ve got some nerve, for a severed head! You’re talking to the ones who put your head back together!”

“C-Cease this violence!” the head complained, the skin stretched to its max.

“You’re still talking?!” she angrily said, smooshing the face around with both her hands in a harsh way.

“Cease this, woman!”

Nami did exactly as he told her to and let him fall to the ground. The head spun around, facing Arden to not look at her. “What kind of country do women like this come from?”

“You asked for it,” Arden sighed, shrugging. This wasn’t his place to say his thoughts out loud and so he kept them in his mind.

“So rude and self-centered…” It continued. “However… you must be deeply grieved to have been robbed down to your underwear. I offer my sympathy.”

Nami sighed. “I haven’t been stripped!”

“What?!”

“This is just fashion!”

“How lewd! That is nothing but a breast band, is it not?! Be more like this lady right here and dress more appropriately!"

Silence filled the air.

"Who are you talking about? Nami's the only girl here," Chopper asked.

The head looked at the reindeer for a few solid seconds before looking at Arden with horrified eyes. "You mean this is a man?!?!"

At that point, Arden decided to tune out, not liking how the head was being so outright pervy. “Clothing isn’t inherently lewd… idiot,” he only gave a murmur that possibly no one else heard. His mind wandered far enough that the next time he paid attention to the conversation, the head was gone from the spot it originally was. Looking around, Arden saw it stuck in the wall, caused by a raging Sanji. Must have made a comment about Nami. 

“Incidentally, who are you people? I heard you were dragged here from your trip,” The head asked, still stuck. Arden got up as Sanji answered him. “We’re pirates.”

“Pirates?! You people are pirates?!”

“They are,” the brunette said, making it clear he was not close to them. A good extra knows how to keep a distance away from the main characters! “I’m just a random artist.”

“That explains your savagery!” The tone in his voice was completely different now. It took on one of complete anger. “I loathe pirates. They make me vomit!” This left the Straw Hats speechless as it continued. “I thought that perhaps it was fate that brought us to this island of ice at the same time and that maybe we could escape together. But regrettably, since you are pirates…”

“Hey, wait a second. What do you mean ‘Island of ice’?” Franky asked suddenly. “This is a burning island, isn’t it?”

The lot continued to converse, finally deducing the fact that the island is split between a climate of two extremes in temperature. Sanji and Nami studied the door, thinking of a way out. The large metal door was indeed dented thanks to Sanji's attempts but it still stood strong.

“Chopper,” Arden started, trying to contain his inner excitement from showing. “We should take a few steps back.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Out of my way!” Franky shouted. “I’ve got a full tank of cola!”

.

Chapter Text

.

The two that were in front of the door started to panic as the ‘Franky Radical Beam’ was powering up. The door was blasted right off with just one hit.

“Waaaaahhh!” exclaimed Chopper, stars in his eyes.

“The coolest!” Arden added, stars twinkling in his as well as he began to jump up and down, his stomach fluttering by the display of power.

“I guess that weird body isn’t just for show,” Sanji said.

“Of course not!” Arden huffed proudly, nostrils flaring. “Never underestimate the Straw Hat Pirates’ shipwright!”

“I wanna shoot beams too!” Chopper ran up to him.

“Franky! Franky! Franky!” the brunette chanted with Chopper joining in, jumping with each step as they made their way out of the vault room.

“Though not all of his robot parts are so useful,” Nami shrugged.

“Miss Nami!” Arden said in disbelief. “That’s not true at all-- Ah, wait. Where’s Sanji?”

The four of them walked back into the room where the blonde was still in.

“Am I right, samurai of the Wano Kingdom?!”

“Eh?! He’s a samurai?!” Chopper said, astonished with the new fact.

Sanji, held onto the head’s hair, explaining, “This topknot is a hairstyle unique to the Wano Kingdom.”

“Does that mean that the murderous samurai they mentioned on the Den Den Mushi was him?! Scary!”

“I heard a blast from over there!” A far away voice shouted along with several footsteps that seemed to be rushing towards them.

“They’ve already noticed us?” Franky said.

“Sanji, hurry!” Nami said, “They’re coming for us!”

The man glared back at the head, holding it so he could meet him in the eye. “We came here after receiving an emergency signal from someone you attacked, samurai.”

“Sanji, let’s go. Just leave the scary samurai here!” Chopper rushed.

“I would never bring dishonour upon myself by committing murder!” The samurai stared at the cook with fierce eyes. “I came to this island to rescue my son! I will kill all who get in my way!”

“There they are!” The voices were getting closer now.

“Fire! Don’t let them get away!”

“I think we have to ruuuuunnn!” Arden yelled as the men in yellow hazmats showed up. As if on cue they began to shoot with their weapons. The man had never been shot at by a gun before ever in his life, and he could only think of one thing about it right now: This is fucking terrifying!

Nami, Sanji, and Chopper ran with him. Hearing Franky taking on the enemies by himself, his heart was tugged at the strings. If not for the situation, he’d probably be paralyzed in a swooning state.

“Who are they?!” Sanji yelled.

“You brought him with you?!” Chopper yelled in response, looking at the samurai’s head who was oddly quiet. “He’s dangerous!”

“You can blame me if anything happens.”

“I’m really not used to running for my life,” Arden heaved, already feeling tired out.

“There’s a door!”

“The Biscuits room!” he read, knowing what lies ahead.

Opening the door revealed a rather colourful room. Children were everywhere and some… were much larger than the others. This left the six of the escapees stopping in their tracks.

“Who are you?” A giant black haired child said, a scared expression on her face. Mocha!

“Whaaaat?” Chopper said.

“Gigantic… children.”

“Wow, they are huge,” gasped Arden, taking in the scene. Guess he did get his wish to see a giant. How did he forget? As he was still trying to catch his breath, he leaned against the brightly coloured walls for support.

“Ch-children?” the samurai squirmed around.

“What’s going on here?” Nami asked in full shock.

“It’s full of kids,” Franky said as the kids started to gather in a group amongst themselves, backing away from the strangers. “What is this place?”

“Not what it seems, that’s for sure,” Arden seethed out after evening his breaths, hand in a fist as the gigantic children before them marked off the cruel experiments that partook on this island.

As the group walked deeper into the room, the children kept staring at them.

“Who are these kids?” Sanji asked, dumbfounded.

“Perhaps this is some sort of nursery?” Nami offered, looking around at the props and various toys which laid around the floor.

Franky looked up at the giant children. “They’re absolutely huge. Are they giants? Did we drop anchor at an island of giants?”

“But there are some smaller kids too…”

“Then, maybe this facility doesn’t discriminate between races?” Sanji said.

“I don’t see any adults, though.”

Arden looked at each of the children’s faces, all having the same frightened expression. “I wish it was that simple.”

Sanji looked at him. “Do you know--”

“Hey, who are you?” one of the Giant children asked.

“I don’t know them…” said another. “Ah, could you be the frozen people? You made it out?”

“Frozen?”

“What’s she talking about?”

“This island is getting more and more mysterious,” Franky concluded, grabbing the attention of the children onto him.

“That’s… you’re a robot!” Almost all the boys shouted in glee, glimmering in their eyes.

“W-what?!” Nami exclaimed.

“It’s a robot!”

“So cool!”

“I love robots!”

“They’re the best!”

The ginger looked around as the children walked past the group straight towards where Franky was. “What do you mean, best? Ah, Sanji?” The cook was knocked down from the rampaging children.

“They’re kids, Miss Nami,” Arden smiled, a boyish look on himself as well. “Of course they’ll find robots amazing!”

“Arden…” Nami looked, observing his face. She was undoubtedly finding new sides to him today. She walked off to ask one of the girls instead but was cut off as they all focused their attention on Chopper, thinking he was a stuffed toy.

“Help me!” the reindeer yelled as he was now in the hands of one of the giants.

Even Sanji was getting attention. Well, more like he was being made fun of for his eyebrows, which he very much did not enjoy yet somehow still tolerated.

“Look at these little bundles of joy,” Arden laughed, Nami coming up beside him. The girl sighed, looking around the room once more. “We’re the only ones focused right now. We need to find out more about these frozen people. Arden, what do you think they mean by that?” She waited for an answer and when none came she looked over to where the man should have been but was left empty. “Arden?!”

“Wooaaaaahhhh!” The brunette was now among the crowd of children gawking at Franky’s display of different hairstyles.

“Hands come out!” Franky showed the tiny yellow hand popping out of his usual large red ones.

“Woah!”

“I can even… pick my nose!”

“That’s gross, but woaaaahhhh!!” Arden squealed like the fanboy he was, his eyes never shining brighter until that very moment, screaming with the rest of the children in awe.

They all then went into Franky’s signature move together. “SUPER!”

Having the time of his life, Arden forgot about the severity of the circumstance they were in order to hype up his favourite character in the series. His cheeks were flushed pink as he let his inner feelings come out with the innocent excitement the rest of the children exuded out.

However, that didn’t last very long as a familiar voice broke through. “I say, all of you!” All activities stopped, revealing it to be the Samurai who was the one yelling. “Do you know of a boy named Momonosuke?! He is a young man, he is!”

Realizing a detached head was yelling at them in such a frightening tone, the children began to run away, screaming in fear.

“Hey, you guys!” Sanji called out. “Can you tell us--”

“WAIT!” The Samurai yelled.

“Shut up, idiot! We can’t ask them anything!”

“You’re just scaring them whenever you speak!” Nami scolded as well.

“Too late…” Arden sighed in disappointment. He had hoped that such a happy moment would have lasted a lifetime. That’s when the footsteps from the direction they came from became audible.

“Here they come!” Franky said, scooping up Chopper up to his shoulder once again. “Anyway, let’s just get to the far side of the room!”

“What kind of facility is this?” Sanji tried to ask the children again as the escapees began to run again.

“I seek a child named Momonosuke!” The Samurai shouted seemingly at the top of his lungs (even though he had none as of this moment). This only caused the children to run away from them in fear even more. 

This earned him a hard sounding slap from Nami. “Stop talking!”

“A woman raised her hand against me! This is a shame for a warrior, it is! I want to slice open my belly!”

“Go ahead!” Arden found both himself and Nami yelling at him. It was irritating to hear such words since the society he grew up in condemned thoughts like these.

“You’re getting on my nerves, you chauvinist pig!” Nami continued to scream terrifyingly.

“But wait!” Arden suddenly remembered. “The children!”

“What about the children?!” Sanji said. “It’s not like they’ll give us any answers like this.”

“No, it’s not that. We have to bring them with us!”

“Hah?! Are you hearing yourself?!”

“I didn’t know you’re okay with kidnapping children,” Chopper said in disbelief from atop Franky.

“I’m not!” he yelled. “That’s precisely why we have to take them with us. I’d explain more if my lungs weren’t so weak!” It ended in a fit of coughs. Lord, he really was not used to this.

Sanji only looked at him. “You’re not making any sense!”

The blonde giant kid, Sind, ran up besides Franky. “Hey, mister Robot. You aren’t from this island, are you?”

“Of course not. But, boy… I am a cybor--”

“Do you have a ship?”

“Of course we do! Our Sunny is the world’s--”

“Save us!”

Everyone looked at him at that point.

“What does he mean?” Nami asked.

“Please, save us!”

“What do you mean, save you?” Sanji asked.

“This isn’t a nursery?!” Chopper shouted.

“Lady. Please, save us!” the black haired Giant girl pleaded to Nami which made her stop in her tracks. The kids started to surround her, begging her to save them.

“Nami, don’t stop!” Sanji yelled, sensing her stopping. “Nami, hurry!”

“Grrr…” Arden scrunched up his face in frustration. He can’t be the one to call the shots, but hearing the kids pleading was getting to him. As Nami continued to run once again, the kids started to exclaim that they weren’t sick anymore.

“Sick? What kind of disease?” Chopper said.

Not hearing footsteps from behind them anymore, Arden looked back to see that the children stopped running. No. Continue chasing us. Please! Don’t let us get away! Please, kids!!

As seconds passed and his desperation for the kids to chase after them was beginning to grow more and more, Arden came to a screeching halt just in time as the Giant girl with the black hair, Mocha, said, “I want to go home!”

“We’re taking them with us!!!” He yelled out as loud as he could right after, loud breaths escaping out of him as he caught the attention of the Straw Hats. This didn't make sense. Why were they still running away? No doubt the children of Punk Hazard played a huge part in this arc in terms of the plot of the arc.

“Hey, Arden, you can’t stop!” Nami said, although her pace had slowed down.

“I don’t care!” he placed a hand to the left side of his chest where his heart was, bunching up the fabric. “We need to save them!!” 

“We should take them with us!” Chopper then said, agreeing with him at that moment.

“Idiot! We don’t even know where to go ourselves!” Franky argued. “What good would come from bringing all those kids along?! But what… is this sadness?!”

“What are we going to do about Arden?!” Nami yelled.

“Leave him! We can’t risk our lives for this!” Sanji replied in a frustrated tone as if he didn’t like how things were panning out.

“They’re not stupid!” Arden continued to yell as they ran further away, not moving from his spot, heaving for breaths. “They know!”

“Mister…” the raven-haired kid looked down at the man.

“Please,” he collapsed onto the floor on his knees, feeling helpless as the figures of the Straw Hats became increasingly small. “Please, save them.” Floods of images of what the kids went through flashed through his head, making the expression on his face turning all the more desperate. How weak he was that he had to be on his knees. Yet he didn’t possess enough strength to save them on his own. 

Unless…

His hands started to reach back for his backpack when Mocha yelled. “I know! Even if I haven’t been outside of this building… This island is empty, isn’t it?! There’s no town here and no people! That’s why nobody’s come to help us! I wanna see my mommy and daddy! Please, SAVE US!!”

Arden gazed up with wide eyes, the large droplets of her tears landing near where he was. Mocha… he clenched his teeth. “It’ll be okay!” he yelled, holding back his tears to not worry them. “I’ll get you out!”

“Really…?” Mocha sobbed.

“YES! Even if I have to do it alone!” he stated in a strong voice full of emotion, his hand already touching the fruit which sat inside his bag. Though he was only a measly extra, he could not sit idly by and let children continue to suffer. Not when he knows of everything that goes on in this facility! 

This was what a life line was for, right?! It’s for dire situations such as this!

Then a life line I will use!!

.

Chapter Text

.

“Hurry up, Nami!”

The next words that rang through the room left Arden to turn back, seeing Nami looking straight at him after her eyes were on the kids. “Let’s help these children!”

“Miss Nami…” he said in barely a whisper, a tear falling down his cheek, the girl walking towards him.

“What are you saying, Nami?!” Sanji said, the rest now stopped as well. “There’s no reason to do that! They even said they were sick! This might be a hospital! We only just met them, and we don’t know what’s going on here! It’s not like we’re a charity that rescues children!”

She stopped in front of Arden, staring him in his eyes as if searching for answers. He only returned it with a determined expression, hoping that the Nami he knows from the show he loves is the same girl as the one in front of him right now.

“You don’t think I know that?” she finally answered, eyes glued onto the brunette before closing them briefly. The next time she opened them revealed brown eyes lit with the same determination Arden possessed. “But when children are crying for me to save them…” she turned around to face her crewmates. “How can I turn my back on them?!”

“Miss Nami!” Arden exclaimed in joy, the tears he was holding back flowing freely down his face.

“Quickly, they’re getting away!” one of the henchmen yelled, running up to them from the other side of the room, guns at the ready. 

“Those kids are in the way!”

“Who cares?! Kill the children too!”

“But Master will…”

“It’s still better than letting them get away!”

This caused panic to ensue to all the children and they began to run away in chaos. Nami was already one step ahead and started to rush towards where the henchmen were to try to stop them. Arden was slower to react, not used to such a high paced situation just yet but followed Nami in suit with her actions.

Protect the children at all costs!

What seemed to be them being a step or two too late was debunked the moment Sanji appeared and kicked the man that was about to fire his gun with his 'Diablo Jambo: Collier Strike'. Chopper joined the fight in his Kung-Fu Point stance and Franky followed with a 'Strong Right'.

“T-they’re…” one of the enemy’s men said. “Not running away anymore!”

Sanji gave a smug smile. “When Nami-Swan is kind--only ever to children -- she is truly wonderful! I’m falling for her all over again! Chopper. You go on ahead with Nami and Arden.”

“Sure, leave it to me!”

“Hey, kids! Follow the beautiful lady, the crying man, and the Kung Fu raccoon dog! I’ll hold back the pursuers! But don’t get the wrong idea! I’m only responding to the longing in Nami’s heart to save you. If anything, I hate you for stealing Nami’s affection!”

“How cruel. Even to children,” Arden laughed weakly.

“Swirly bro, thanks!” a kid exclaimed.

“Shut it, you damn brat! Get lost!”

“Come on, let’s go!” Chopper yelled.

Nami took a glance at Arden before waving a hand to the children. “Follow us!”

“Right!”

As they began to run out of the Biscuit room, Arden wiped the last of his tears away. “Thank you, Miss Nami. For helping the kids.”

She looked at him for a few seconds before her eyes went back to the front. “I didn’t only do it for them.”

“Huh?” This confused him. Did the show ever imply there to be another reason for her decision?

“I wasn’t going to let you die on my watch,” she said, turning to look at him with a rather cheeky grin. “You still haven’t drawn me yet like you promised.”

“... Right. In no way was I ever gonna get the easy way out, huh?” Arden laughed. 

***

With Chopper in his Kung Fu Point, even running with a horde of children was looking to be a rather easy task.

“Hey, you said you weren’t sick anymore earlier, didn’t you?” Chopper asked one of the kids.

“Uh huh.”

“What kind of sickness did you have? None of you look sick to me.”

“I don’t know. But they told us that we were sick and we’d get better in a year.”

“Get better in a year?”

“Uh huh. And people who were asked to treat me by my dad and mom took me to this place.”

“That means your parents sent you to this place?” Nami asked.

“Wouldn’t that be great, if it was that simple, huh?” Arden interjected, looking up at the Giant kid who was answering the questions.

“Those people told me that out of the blue in front of my house and took me here. They said they didn’t want my dad and mom to get infected. So I couldn't even say goodbye.”

“That’s what happened to you all?” Nami directed this question to the entire group of children to which they all replied with a ‘yes’ of some sort.

“Some strangers took them here without letting them see their parents? That could only mean…” Chopper said. Arden looked at him. Did he already figure it out? Isn’t it too early for that?! “... you’re really very sick!”

Nami almost immediately smacked him in the face. “What are you, stupid?!”

The artist only shook his head in slight disbelief. “It doesn’t matter what the reason is. The important thing is that you’re going to see your mothers and fathers again!”

Chopper looked back at the children. “Are you all alright? If you can’t run, I’ll carry you on my back.” At that, almost all the kids took the opportunity and toppled the reindeer down to the floor in a giggling mess.

“Thank god. I needed a breather,” heaved Arden, a hand on the wall as his legs had started to burn.

“They all look fine,” Nami smiled a little.

“Yes, we are! The Master has been treating us.”

“Master?”

“Uh-huh, the Master.”

Arden’s eyes fell to the floor, hand clenched into a fist once again.

“But it’s been more than a year now, right? Chopper, you should examine them when you can.”

“Yeah, got it,” muffled the doctor who was still under the weight of the kids.

When they arrived at the front of the large door, Arden couldn’t help but to let out an ‘ah’. Yeah, he’s okay with letting Nami and Chopper take care of this scene. He was not ready to die yet. Especially not because of fright.

***

As Chopper and Nami went to the other side of the large door-- it opened after Chopper kicked it down, the kids were frozen in place, Arden volunteering to stay with them as the two checked it out. It didn’t take long for him to see the faint figures of the large Giants that were encased in ice all around. They made the walls, floor and even ceiling. A blood curdling scream came out of the two Straw Hats. Ah, guess they saw them. They started to run off to the other side as quickly as possible and the kids followed suit.

“No, Sis, wait! Don’t leave us!”

Making sure none of the kids were left behind, Arden made the smart choice to focus on one of the Giant kids’ backs to block out any other unnecessary images to pop up in his line of vision. It was times like these where he didn’t mind knowing the future.

“Let’s go!” he shouted with a smile.

After that nightmarish room was just a bunch of stairs they had to descend. But that didn’t stop the kids and even the two Straw Hats from shouting in fear.

“So scary! Those frozen people!”

“I’ve had it with this place!” Chopper yelled.

“It’s not so bad!” Arden jokingly said, giving a laugh.

“But look! There’s a door!” Nami pointed. “We can get out!”

“Wait?!” Arden realized. “OUTSIDE OUTSIDE?!”

“Yeah!”

But would that mean they were going to… “Chopper, wai--!”

“WATAAAAA!” the reindeer cried, kicking open the door to reveal the bright outdoors. “Made it out!”

“Outside!” Nami said, relishing in the fact that they were scot free but then the cold hit her. “So cold!”

The children cheered from behind them. “We made it!”

“I got out of the building! I can go home!”

“I can see my dad and mom again!”

“It’s cold!”

“Excuse me, kids!” Arden squeezed past the excited children, making his way up front. He was there. He was close: the Shichibukai!

But then a familiar voice shouted, gaining his attention immediately, “Get out of my way kids!” The boys looked back and they cheered. “Hey, hey, hey, hey, Franky~! Hey, hey, hey, hey, Tank~! Clear the way, clear the way, Super the way~! I’ll run over you if you stand in my way~! But I avoid running over flowers~! I’m kind of sweet-- Franky Tank!”

“Franky Tank!!!” Arden yelled, a smile plastered on his face as he saw the man with two kids on his lap, behind him a rather embarrassed pair of grown men being Sanji and the severed head.

“Alright everybody, here we go!”

“Yeah!” Arden and the kids yelled together.

“One. Two. Three! Super!”

Posing, the brunette laughed with joy, Chopper and Sanji (surprisingly) having joined the fray.

“Miss Nami, look!” Arden grabbed the woman’s arm and shook it with pure happiness. “Franky Tank!”

“Nami-Swaaaan! I’m glad that you’re okay!” Sanji entered the scene, his coat off to present it to the girl who was hugging Chopper for warmth. Immediately noticing Arden’s hands on her, it changed to a shout.

“What are you doing laying your filthy hands on her?!”

“Huh?!” Arden shouted back, snapping out of his Franky Tank trance then noticing that he was indeed holding Nami’s arm. “Sorry!” he quickly let go.

Sanji kept glaring at him with blazing eyes that made the other move slightly away from the girl for his own safety. The cook then turned back to Nami in the same love-struck way to give her his jacket.

Not listening to what he had to say to her, Arden looked up at the sky, the snow falling gently down. It reminded him of his hometown during winter.

“Ah! You look familiar!” Nami said as she put on Sanji’s jacket. Arden looked back at Nami and saw that she was looking past him. Following her gaze, he turned his head and was met with a figure who wore a long black coat that stood silently beside him. Eyes going up, his mouth opened wide, having completely forgotten about him because of the Franky Tank. When he saw the iconic white hat with black spots on it, he couldn’t help but to let out: “Ah, shit.”

“Yeah, he was there at Sabaody!” Chopper pointed out.

“Are you the one who locked up these children?!” Nami interrogated. “You brute! You can’t take them back!”

“Wait, wait, Miss Nami,” Arden started, trying to calm her down. “I’m sure it’s not like that.”

“Arden, how could you even say that! Do you know who he is?!”

“Of course I do! He’s--”

“Oh, you!” Sanji shouted, looking at the crowd in front of them. “I was wondering who this villainous guy was! Smoker! And you, cutie! This is not good! The Navy’s here!”

Arden glanced at said people--the navy division, G-5-- the ‘cutie’ Sanji had referred to being Tashigi, but quickly put his attention back to the person beside him who had nothing but a scowl on.

“We can’t escape from here!” Sanji instructed the children. “Let’s look for another exit! Get inside!”

Screaming, the kids followed as they were told.

“Hurry up, kids! Go to the back! There should be a back door!”

“Come on, Arden!” Chopper urged him, causing him to finally move from his place and run with the others. However, he stopped and turned back to view what was happening at the front entrance.

“No, wait!” he heard Smoker yell to his men. Observing closely, he then noticed a slight blue film engulfing the area: even the inside of the building being affected. Hearing explosions and rumbling, Arden walked closer to the scene, almost dying in curiosity. He just had to see the person’s abilities with his own eyes. Still far enough where he wouldn’t be in immediate danger, he hid himself behind the large doors, peeking only one side of his face exposed to the outside light in order to view what was going on.

It can't hurt to see the abilities be showcased, right?

“The Samurai was with them,” the person with the white hat said, causing Arden to hide. “I can’t let the Straw Hats escape, either. Room!” Again, he was able to faintly detect a blue film surrounding him. Peeking out once again, he saw the other man raise his hands up. “Shambles.”

Ah, wait! This move! Arden whipped his head to where the Straw Hats’ group was visible.

“Law… you. What is your goal?” Smoker said. “Give us back our ship.”

“Sure.”

“Seriously?!” G-5 yelled.

“Although, I can’t let you have it the way it is.”

Hearing a sharp ‘shing’ sound, a sound of something large ripping apart came afterwards. Having a hard time seeing what’s going on, Arden dared to scooch closer to the scene. What happened next was a sight to behold. It astonished him, even. It was nothing like he’s ever seen. Carnage was being lifted in the air-- toyed with.

“Pull back, Vice Admiral! His power is just too damn creepy! We can’t fight this guy!”

“Creepy?” Arden chuckled quietly to himself. “More like amazing.”

“I can’t allow a single one of you to escape,” Law said, using his powers to stack large objects atop one another.

“He attached it to the bedrock of the island?!”

“He reshaped the ship into some weird object!”

“Dammit! Without the ship, we can’t get back to the base!”

Arden hummed, looking at the tall object through a rather critical eye. Could have maybe done a little more to it… Seems a bit unbalanced, but that’s what makes it interesting.

Seeing something appear behind Law, he gained easy access to see what it was: a pile of Den Den Mushis.

“I can’t let you report anything you’ve seen on this island. Not to the Government or HQ!”

“Do you think we’re just going to let you act like the pirate you’ve always been?!” Smoker got ready to fight.

Arden stayed quietly observing during the whole duration of the fight, even when he witnessed Law cutting the men and Tashigi in half. Seeing how he was able to avoid being hit by bullets that were shooting at him, Arden sighed internally, knowing well none of the men were harmed in even an attack like that-- where he switched the bullets’ position with the snowflakes’ near the men.

That’s just how Trafalgar Law did things.

And that was exactly what made him so terrifying of an opponent.

And that was also what made him fascinating to Arden.

.

Chapter Text

.

The crashes were loud and flashy as objects kept flying about, causing G-5 to fall back, leaving only the Shichibukai and Vice Admiral fighting against each other alone. It was a heated battle and the snow that was now falling down harshly made it harder to see anything. But he was sure that Smoker fell to the ground. Seeing Law make his way back to the building, Arden started to back up and turned around to catch up with the group. Only…

“They’re gone!” he exclaimed. Was he that engrossed in the fight that the group was long gone by now?! “I can probably find my way around…” he murmured and started to move before hearing a certain captain’s voice.

“Oooiiiiii!”

Turning back towards the front entrance, he walked closer to the outside world, seeing the familiar straw hat and figure alike. A sense of relief washed over him. And here I thought I was going to be left alone. Stepping out of the building slowly, he knew that Luffy’s group wasn’t going to go inside. Might as well meet them here. Looking at the two captains conversing, it seemed that Luffy was doing most of the talking. Law on the other hand was looking off to the side… towards Arden’s direction.

He froze, not sure if the other was really looking at him or not. As if not wanting to know if it was really a gaze on him of all things, Arden waved his hand. “Luffy! Hey!”

“Ohh! Ardy! Wait, aren’t you supposed to be on the Sunny?”

Running up to the charismatic young man, he only gave a smile back. “Ah, long story.” He swore he felt a pair of eyes on him. Daring to look, as the others were occupied with Smoker’s presence, brown eyes met a pair of golden ones. Yep, Law was definitely looking at him.

Did he notice me eavesdropping on the fight?

Feeling rather awkward, Arden turned his attention to the other Straw Hats. “Zoro! Usopp! Robin! Brook!” and ran towards them as an excuse to get away from such a suffocating stare. “Oh, hey Brownbread.”

“You know who I am?” the former Captain said in surprise, a slight blush appearing.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?” he grinned as he heard ‘Shambles’ being said out loud.

“What did he just do?” Zoro asked, having witnessed the scene that occurred behind him.

“Luffy, let’s get out of here!” Usopp called. “It’s too dangerous!”

“Where are the others?” Robin asked Arden as the five of them rode behind Brownbeard’s alligator back.

“Safe,” he answered. “I just got a bit sidetracked… Luckily, you guys came at the right time.”

“Come on, let’s get away from the Navy,” Usopp said to Luffy who caught up to them, everyone helping him get on.

“I wonder if Smokey and his clan will be okay. Did they lose to Torao?” Luffy said.

“They’ll be fine. They’re tough as nails,” Arden said before looking at the thing that was attached to the other’s back. “Nice new pair of legs.”

“Thanks! Isn’t it neat?”

“Hella!”

“You aren’t even going to question it?!” Usopp yelled.

Simply shaking his head, he gave an interesting answer. “I think I know that pair of legs and its owner.”

The others were confused, looking at him hoping he’d go more in depth with his answer.

“Ah, I’m cold.”

“Now you feel cold?!” Usopp exclaimed.

“I had adrenaline to keep me warm,” Arden smiled sheepishly, rubbing his own arms for warmth. Everyone else other than him were in warm clothing. Staring at Usopp, he then hugged him, startling him. “Mmm… no.” Letting go right after, he scanned the other four. Setting his eyes on Zoro, he lunged for him, giving him a tight squeeze around the waist with his arms.

“Hey! What are you doing?!” Zoro yelled, arms up in the air as he didn’t know what to do.

“I’m cold!”

“But why me?!”

“You’re the one with the most meat,” he replied simply, irking the green haired man who tried to pry him off. Usually he wouldn’t do this, but damn was he cold as hell! He was not going to die of hyperthermia like this. His body did seem a lot more delicate than people in this world.

“Oh, I’m hurt, Arden,” Brook said. “Oh wait, I guess that makes sense since I’m only bones, yohohoho!”

That was when a thought occurred to him and he loosened his grip around Zoro’s torso, leaning back. “Ah, I’m sorry. You’re probably not used to being hugged. It’s been a long time since you’ve had one, right?” He said that with genuinity, but Usopp only snickered and Robin laughed lightly.

Zoro blinked in surprise at Arden, almost wanting to scowl but then looked away, brows slightly furrowed. “Whatever, do what you want.”

This surprised him. “Really?” The swordsman gave only a sidesway glance back at him, and Arden took that as a yes. “Thank you!”

***

“Ah, I see them!” Usopp said, looking at what seemed to be a group off at the far distance.

Luffy started to shout for them, waving his hand. “There you are! Guys!”

Arden perked up at that, joining Usopp, Luffy, and Brook at greeting the group. “Heeeyy!!!” He waved both his arms around. “Heeeyyy!!” The group he was separated with now all had coats and warm clothing on.

“Are you all okay?” Brook asked with a laugh when they got close enough.

The figure that looked to be Sanji was jumping around in excitement from looking at them. “Luffy and the others! Zoro! Usopp! Robin! Brook! Arden!” As he said the names, he started to dance and wiggle around. “I’m glad you’re here!”

“Why is that jackass cook jumping around?” Zoro said. “He went nuts from the cold?”

“Oh, They look like Giant children to me,” Usopp observed, surprised at the sight.

“Chopper! It’s good to see you too!!” Arden yelled back, continuing to wave his arms in glee.

“Huh?” Luffy suddenly yelled. “Hey, What are you doing?! Don’t do it, Franky!”

***

“We’re here! This is good,” Usopp sighed as they all began to settle in at their new encampment. Brownbeard was properly chained up to prevent him from escaping and reporting to his boss.

“This building has a similar style as the other one,” ‘Chopper’ said.

“But it’s crumbling. It looks like there was a huge explosion or something,” Robin added.

“It’s fine as long as it’ll shelter us from the blizzard. Now, where should we begin?”

Off to the side was where ‘Sanji’, ‘Franky’, and Arden was, looking at ‘Nami’ who was passed out in front of them. Zoro and Usopp were looking at the scene only a little bit further away as if accessing what was going on.

“I hurt my own delicate body!” ‘Franky’ cried.

“Wow, that is one large lump,” Arden observed, squatting beside the unconscious girl. It was basically a second head protruding out at the top of the original one!

“I’ll treat it right away!” ‘Sanji’ said.

“Tell me if I can help in any way,” Arden offered.

‘Sanji’ didn’t hesitate, starting to remove the girl’s clothes. However, ‘Franky’ intercepted, “Hey, Sanji! What are you doing to my body?!”

”But I’m Chopper,” he replied with an innocent look.

***

“Are you okay, Nami-Sanji?” ‘Sanji’ said, noticing that ‘Nami’ was stirring awake.

The girl got up, still looking drowsy. “It was weird. I had a dream of crossing a river. There was a river running through giant boobs…”

“It’s not the time for that!” ‘Sanji’ yelled at her irritatingly.

‘Franky’ seemed tempted to hit her across the head again which Arden tried to stop. “You’ll deform your own skull if you hit the body like that again!” The cyborg looked at him, the anger replaced with slight sorrow. Walking off to the side, the brunette could only sigh, feeling sorry for him.

“Alright, so who’s who exactly?” The captain of the Straw Hats said. The crew started to gather around for what seemed to be a meeting, Arden joining.

“I’m Franky!” ‘Chopper’ said. “Don’t come to me when you get wounded.”

“I’m Chopper,” ‘Sanji’ went next, holding up Chopper’s bag which was full of medical supplies. “I’ll treat your wounds.”

The cyborg then pointed to himself. “I’m Nami. I will never shoot the laser beam!” She probably said that after being persisted by the children earlier.

“Ah, bummer,” Arden slightly pouted, having been hopeful that she could do it for him to see for fun.

“And this is our…” ‘Nami’ spoke, removing the cigarette that was in her mouth, given to her by the real Nami. “Nami!” She then opened the jacket she wore to present her breasts.

“Yeah, there you are!” Usopp and Brook cheered.

“Was I always that indecent?!” Nami yelled.

“Nami! You can’t! Your usual punches can kill someone now that you’re in Franky’s body!” Arden exclaimed, holding her back from punching the daylights out of the fake Nami.

“I won’t do it again!” ‘Nami’ yelled in fear, seeing the large gloved fist looming in the air. “Don’t hurt Nami anymore!”

“Don’t, Nami!” Chopper joined in a panic. “Nami’s gonna die!”

“If you touch my body, I’ll make you pay 200,000 berries,” she then resorted to writing down what she was saying, the anger still visible on her cyborg face. “Peeping will be 100,000.”

“That’s so cruel!”

“What you were doing was crueler,” Arden said, his turn to have a rather scary look on as he looked down on fake Nami. Even though he was physically weak, his expressions were strong as always. It seemed to be a weapon in itself, honestly.

“Ah, hey!” He then turned his attention to the Samurai head who was now attached on his own legs. It still looked weird without a torso, but it had to do. “Poof me up some clothes, too. I’m freezing. Gonna lose a finger or two at this rate.”

The samurai eyed him. “How do you know of my powers?”

“Heard it from Chopper,” Arden lied, pulling his lips upwards. “You’ll do it, right?”

***

“Okay, let’s start from the beginning,” Usopp said, a diagram he created with the help of Arden being held up by plants he summoned. “He is the samurai from the Wano kingdom. The signal we received was..”

Arden let them converse, fully knowing all the information needed to know. He was off to the side, a bit further away than everyone else. He didn’t quite notice it before, but his fingers had lost feeling quite a while ago. Thankfully he was regaining feel in them. Pulling out the sheets of paper of the events to come (from what he could remember), he gave a hum. What’s the best course of action to take right now? Which group should I go with when they split up again?

Although he tried to give it some thought, his heart had already decided which route(s) to take.

“Ohhhh!” he heard a collective cheer from the group. “Master!!! He’s such a great guy!”

“That’s right. He’s a wonderful person,” Brownbeard said. Arden finally joined back the group, though his expression was unreadable as he stood next to Usopp.

“Master is super!” Franky said.

“The unending compassion!” Chopper continued.

“He’s the hope for all mankind!” Brook finished.

“Ain’t that a load of crap…” Arden coldly said.

Usopp took notice of that then turned to the three. “You still don’t even know what kind of guy he is. Hey, are you listen--”

“We!”

“Love!”

“Master!” and it ended off with Franky unwillingly transforming into Guard Point, now being toyed with by the children and Luffy.

“What do you mean? The samurai left?!” Sanji yelled.

“Yes,” Brook replied.

Arden passed by the two who were conversing and made his way to Chopper. “Hey, Chopper.”

“What’s wrong?”

“...” he fell silent, looking at the doctor as if not sure if he should or should not say it. He was risking the chance for the story to change! “How hard do you think it would be to stop being addicted to a drug?”

“Huh? Why are you asking that?” Chopper said, unsure of where that came from.

“Ah… no, it’s nothing,” he shook his head, afraid that he really might be tampering with something.

***

“So what should we do about your bodies?” Usopp asked Nami and Franky as Chopper was researching the disease from a sweat sample he acquired from one of the children. Sanji had gone off with Brook and Zoro to find the samurai.

“The most important thing to do now is get our bodies back. I don’t want to be this pervert for another millisecond!”

“Hey, hey, are you trying to kill me with praise?” Franky said with a smug look and tone.

“Please don’t make that face with Chopper’s body. Ever,” Robin said seriously.

“It’s kinda cute,” Arden commented, resisting the urge to pick up the small body and hugging it.

"How is that ever cute?" Usopp asked incredulously.

“The real problem is these damn kids,” Franky continued, contorting the reindeer’s face in ways Arden’s never seen before. “They’re a reeaaal pain in the ass.”

“Franky, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t speak with that face. Ever.”

“Huh, wish I had a camera right now.”

Suddenly, one of the giant kids, Sind, started screaming, falling to the floor.

“Are you okay?” Luffy said, running over.

“What happened?!” Franky followed.

“It hurts…” he managed out.

“Chopper, he said he’s hurt,” Luffy said. “Cure him.”

“Mocha!” Nami exclaimed. Said Giant girl fell to the floor as well, clutching her head. One by one it seemed the Giant kids were going through some kind of pain. “What’s wrong with all of you?!”

“Doran too?”

“All the big kids are collapsing!” Franky said in disbelief.

“What happened?” Luffy asked.

Nami turned her attention to Chopper who was holding a test tube in one hand, walking over to them. “Chopper, what is it? Are the kids really sick?”

“No,” he replied. “Sind, is there anything you want right now? What do you usually do at times like this?”

The boy, though in pain, tried to answer, the other kids pitching in to help answer for him. “Yes… we eat candy and you… get this happy feeling. It makes me feel better.”

With gritted teeth, Chopper turned to try to interrogate Brownbeard, hoping to find answers to his questions though he was met with nothing as the former captain was clueless as to what was going on. Soon after, even the normal sized kids started falling.

“Chopper, what did you find?!” Nami said.

“NHC-10,” he replied. “That’s what I found in the kids’ bodies. It’s only a faint trace but it’s… a narcotic!” This shocked everyone but Arden. “Throughout the world, only a few scientists in select countries are allowed to have it. I know about it because Doctorine used it. There are some legitimate uses for the drug, but only in the smallest amounts. It’s extremely addictive if you take too much.”

At this point, all the children were yelling and crying out in pain, shouting for candy over and over again.

“The children have been taking the drug every day for a long time now. They’ve been chronically addicted to it! Their bodies crave the next dose in order to stop the pain. Why?! Why do they have this in their system?!” the test tube he held broke in half. “It’s so they can’t run away from the lab, isn’t it?!”

Luffy was worried as well, even offering to get candy for them only for Chopper to reject that idea, explaining about it further.

“We need to restrain them since we don’t have any kind of sedative!” Arden finally said, not wanting them to go on a rampage. “Withdrawal is a pain in the ass, and they’ll be acting purely on the desire of wanting candy and nothing else!” clenching his jaw, he remembered seeing something that resembled chains somewhere close by. He ran to look for them as the others were becoming more and more aware of the situation.

“Didn’t you?!” Sind yelled in a crazily manner. “Didn’t you say that you’d bring me some!” going on a full rampage, snow flew everywhere as he smashed Luffy to a wall with great force, screaming.

Soon enough, all the Giant kids were going crazy, one almost perfectly landing a blow to Arden who had just spotted chains in his line of vision. Tumbling onto the floor, he coughed before yelling, “Usopp! Do something!!”

“Usopp don’t hurt them!” Nami yelled as Usopp shouted for people to move out of the way.

“Idiot, I know that! Sure-kill Knockout star!”

“… so fucking heavy!” Arden swore, struggling to move them far. Silence filled the air, the kids having passed out from the sleeping gas Usopp shot. Dragging them into the open, the conversation between the crew as they agreed on going back to the laboratory came to a close. “I found these!”

.

Chapter Text

.

“So, who’s going to where?” Franky asked. “The four of us have to get together and meet Trafalgar or we won’t get our bodies back.”

“But it’s fine the way it is,” Luffy said, not giving a real care.

“This is definitely not fine!” Nami yelled. “Take it seriously!”

Through a rather unanimous agreement, everyone except for Nami and Chopper were going to try to find the laboratory. “Are you sure you’re going to go?” Nami said to Arden after almost crushing Usopp’s hands with her newfound strength when she tried to wish him luck.

“I’m sure I can be useful somehow,” Arden smiled, his choice to follow the group going being deliberate for a specific reason.

“I hope this Master guy will just come clean about those children,” Chopper said, looking at the sleeping children who were now chained up to prevent them from getting out of control once again.

“If he doesn’t I’ll make him!” Franky said. “I’ll shove my finger into his nose and make his back teeth rattle!”

“Franky, please don’t talk!” Robin demanded with Arden only laughing. The dynamic between the two of them was something he always loved. One would even say he was a Frobin shipper back in his own world. Although it seemed weird to do that now that they were real people in front of him-- but he still couldn’t deny he loved the chemistry presented. Maybe they are together.

“All right. Let’s go!” Luffy said and off they went.

***

“What are they?” In front of them was a large footprint. Enormous even.

“They're footprints, aren’t they?” Usopp said. “Is it an animal? If it’s a human, he must be a giant.”

“Have you guys ever heard of the movie ‘Abominable’?” Arden asked, looking at the path the footprints made.

“ ‘Movie’?” Franky asked, confused.

“Ah… I meant a play,” he sweatdropped, trying to correct his mistake. “It’s about the Abominable Snowman. Also referred to as a Yeti.”

They then heard some loud noises taking place, making them all turn around. “Are those bomb blasts?”

“That’s from the direction we came from,” Robin said.

“Does it have something to do with these footprints?” Franky asked, looking down at them once again.

“I sense something,” Luffy said with knitted brows. “Two beast-looking creatures.”

“Is it really the Abominable Snowman?” Usopp cried.

“Let’s go back! Nami and the others are in danger!” Luffy took the lead.

“Y-yeah!”

It wasn’t necessarily a far run before the encampment was in their sights again, seeing two intruders lingering around it.

“Huh? They’re pretty big.”

“Are they Giants?”

“No, they’re slightly different.”

“Yetis!” Arden answered their question.

“You guys, you didn’t harm my friends, did you?!” Luffy yelled, getting into the fight immediately, but was blasted away by a large gunshot. The Yetis, though large, quickly vanished.

***

“Nami’s been kidnapped?” Usopp exclaimed.

“It’s my fault. They were huge, but I didn’t notice them until they were right in front of us,” Chopper said, deep regret in tone.

“First it's centaurs, now it’s beastmen?! This island’s crawling with weirdos.”

“Maybe they came to test our weaknesses,” Robin said.

“So, they didn’t come to rescue Brown-gator?” Luffy asked, confused.

“Their true objective seemed to be the children, and our lives! But it sounded like the Master hired them to silence Brownbeard first. Even though they’re supposed to be friends! Even though Brownbeard admired him so much!” Chopper said. “Luffy, the Master is a twisted individual! I would never let the children go back to such a cruel person! I’m also worried about Nami-Franky, who got kidnapped. Who knows what they could be doing to her?!”

The captain nodded. “Yeah, we’re definitely getting her back. Okay, I’ll leave the kids to you!”

As he started to make his way to the exit in a run, Franky said, “Hold it, Luffy. It was my body they took.” As he requested for rumble balls, Chopper was reluctant to do so at first. It was after some coercing, that he agreed to give him one, warning him of its side effects, but Franky straight up took it right away.

“Vvvvvvvvvuper!” he yelled, fully transforming into beast form.

“Too soon!”

“Let’s go, Franky!” Luffy called, but soon after began to start to dodge attacks that the large being was dishing out towards him.

“He clearly can’t control it,” Arden said worriedly.

“It’s no use. I knew he was going to go berserk!” Chopper exclaimed.

“I’m going after them!” he then said resolutely, starting to follow them as they were already some ways away.

“Huh?! It’s way too dangerous!” Usopp shouted for him.

“Someone has to look after Franky-- I-I mean Chopper’s body when the three minutes is up!” Arden shouted back before focusing all his attention on chasing after the pair.

***

Arriving at the point where the flat terrain stopped, Arden halted before he could fall down like the other two did. “Franky! Luffy!” He yelled down, going onto his knees to peer down the snowy cavern. It was one long fall.

“Arden?!” He heard a voice call for him and looked to see Nami-Franky hanging down from a contraption. “Why are you here?”

He gasped. “Franky’s worried for me…?” a blush started to appear on his face but it disappeared when reality hit. “Ah, Nami?!?! Hold on!!” Luckily, Luffy and the real Franky had a flashy enough entrance that it distracted the yeti beast twins from Arden. Scanning the area, he began to slowly make his way down, careful of his steps.

The fight was messy, but it wasn’t when Luffy threw a punch at Franky that ended with the beast crashing down did Arden break his stealth. “HEY! Don’t hit Franky-- I mean Chopper-- Franky-Chopper!” At that moment, he lost his footing and stumbled down the remaining distance to the ground, the snow softening his fall.

“Dammit! Sorry, Franky-Chopper,” Luffy said, looking at the yeti that took Nami away. “Ardy, take care of him for now. I’ll have Chopper look at his injuries later! Stop right there!!!” and off he ran.

Arden slightly teared up, cradling the small unconscious individual in his arms. “Oh, Franky.. I mean Chopper. Franky-Chopper. GAH,” he exclaimed in frustration with himself. He knew the other was going to be okay but still, he couldn’t help but to be worried. He looked at where Luffy and the others went to and couldn’t help but to give a sigh. The land looked too treacherous for him to go through. Not to mention, he had Franky-Chopper to look after.

“Damn. I really wanted to see the alliance be formed in person, too.”

***

Arden stayed with the unconscious body, having made his way back up to the top with some great effort.

“Ardy! Heeyyy!”

He waved back to Luffy with a relieved smile, noticing the hulking figure of Nami-Franky behind him. “Ah, Miss Nami. Guess those yetis are defeated then. We should head back, I’m worried for Franky--” his eyes flitted around. “... Chopper. Chopper’s body.”

However, Nami didn’t look quite as content. In fact, she looked kind of terrified. “What’s wrong, Miss Nami-- AH!” he jumped back, finally noticing the tall figure that stood a little bit behind the two Straw Hats. Wait, why am I surprised? Of course he’d be walking back to the encampment with Nami and Luffy!

He gave a small wave to the Shichibukai. “Hi.”

***

“WHAT?!” cries came out. “We’re gonna form an alliance with the Heart Pirates?!”

“You only went to get Nami back,” Usopp said, grabbing Luffy by the collar in disbelief. “So how did you come back with such an eccentric idea?!”

“Listen…” but he was broken off as the sniper started to shake him back and forth.

“If we ally ourselves with this creep who gives me the chills, I won’t be able to sleep in peace at night!”

“See, Luffy?” Nami said. “Everybody’s against it. Let’s not do it. It’s too risky. We wanna travel at our own pace.”

Placing Franky-Chopper on the floor, Arden wiped any snow that was on his face. Worry etched on his face as the Straw Hats continued on. A tattooed hand then came out and grabbed the body by the scruff of its neck. “Hey!” the brunette started, holding onto the blue-nosed reindeer in retaliation, ready to glare up at whoever dared to touch it. Yet it disappeared when he saw who it was.

The two of them locked eyes for no less than two seconds, and Arden eventually let go. Law then straightforwardly went towards Chopper. “Hey, treat this raccoon.”

“Forget about some raccoon right now!” Chopper shouted, having been trying to convince his captain to not do anything rash. “Huh? What?! It’s me!”

“Z-zuber…”

“What happened?! My body!” Chopper cried, immediately trying to patch up his own body.

“Franky, hold on! I mean, Chopper’s body!” Arden joined with tears.

“Luffy,” Robin said. “I’m going to go along with your decision, but alliances between pirates are often marked by betrayal. Maybe it’s dangerous for you since you’re so trusting.”

The captain turned to look at Law. “Huh? Are you gonna betray me?”

“No.”

Luffy beamed back with his signature smile, hands on hips like it was decided.

“Hey, have at least a little doubt!” Usopp yelled.

Arden raised his hand up high. “I’m all in with this alliance as well!”

“You’re not even part of our crew!”

“Anyhow, a pirate alliance sounds fun, doesn’t it?” Luffy said. “I think Torao is a good man but… even if he isn’t, don’t worry! Because I have you guys who spent the last two years training!” He then ended it off with a laugh. This made the Straw Hats yell in disbelief but quickly became embarrassed.

Law was deadpanned at their shenanigans. Arden came to his side and nudged him lightly on the arm with an elbow. “I think you should switch them back, mister.” Golden eyes lowered to look down at the shorter one, as if wanting to say something but activated ‘Room’ instead. Although the body switching was fun and all, unlike watching the show, in real life everyone still retained the body’s original voice and it really did confuse even Arden from time to time.

“Shambles.”

“Thanks for saving Luffy during Marineford,” Arden said with a small smile as the others cheered about being in their own bodies (with the exception of Nami who was now stuck in Sanji’s body). “I don’t think you realize just how much of an impact it made.”

The Shichibukai only gave a gaze in response. “How does that affect you? You’re not a Straw Hat.”

The smile Arden had on grew bigger, meeting him in the eyes. “I’d be dead if Luffy wasn’t still alive.” Finding Law’s face to be unreadable, he looked back to the front. “Well, in any case, good luck with Luffy. You’ll need it.” Arden only kept smiling, somewhat still feeling that all of this was too surreal to be true. He really was talking to Trafalgar Law. In person. Side by side.

“It can’t be helped,” Usopp said to Nami. “Chopper and Franky could go back to themselves because their bodies were here but since Sanji went out looking for the samurai in Nami’s body, you have no choice but to take Sanji’s body.

“Can’t you do something about it?!” Nami asked Law, who only walked away.

“I can’t do anything without your body.”

Leaving Nami in despair once more, Law focused his attention on the sleeping children. “These are the children?”

“Yes,” Luffy answered. “I wanna help them.”

“They’re such a pain- just forget about them. I heard they’re drugged.”

“We know!” Chopper yelled from on the floor. “Because I tested them! I just wanna take them home but it’ll take a while for them to recover, and most importantly, they’re so big.”

“Boy, I can’t believe somebody’s doing such a horrendous experiment,” Usopp said with crossed arms.

“Turning people into giants is a project that’s been underway for hundreds of years by the World Government,” Law explained.

Robin spoke up. “The Government? For what purpose?”

“Military might, probably. If they can produce an infinite amount of giant soldiers, they’d be invincible. Caesar wants to achieve the goal first and outsmart the Government and Vegapunk, but I don’t think it’s that easy. Do you really wanna help them? You don’t even know who they are.”

“But does that justify leaving helpless children to continue suffering?” Arden said almost off-handedly. He sat cross-legged, chin in hand, sighing. “A fate they can’t control. As people who wield the power to be able to do just that, you still would want to turn a blind eye to it?” Glancing over, he noticed that everyone was staring at him and quickly waved his hands to dismiss everything he said. “Sorry, I might have said too much. It’s not my place to. I’m probably just speaking as someone who has no idea how the real world works or… something like that...”

“The kids knew something was wrong with this place even though the Master tricked them to come,” Nami said, seemingly in support. “Until I know that they are safe, I won’t leave this island!”

“Are you willing to stay here alone?” Law asked only for Luffy to shut that idea down.

“I’m not gonna leave my friend behind. If that’s what Nami and Chopper want, I want it too. And Sanji wants to stick the samurai’s body together.” he pointed a finger at the other captain. “You gotta help us if you wanna team up with us!”

Law seemed appalled at the idea of that, Usopp responding with a sigh, “I thought so. You have no idea. You think an alliance is… a cooperative relationship just for some common goal, don’t you?”

“Of course, I do.”

“Listen,” Usopp started. “Luffy’s idea of an alliance is a little different from yours.”

“It’s like being friends, isn’t it?” The culprit spoke rather freely.

“If you’re thinking of taking control, it won’t be that easy, either.”

“That’s what they say,” Luffy said, starting to pick his nose with a pinky.

“Once he feels sure about something, he won’t back down. It’s a pain in the ass! His selfishness is as formidable as the Yonkō.”

“That must be hard,” he then flicked his fingers.

“But what your friends want has nothing to do with us at all…” Law argued but was cut off by an angry Chopper.

“Hey! Don’t throw your booger at me, you idiot!”

“Eheeeheehee.”

“I can’t move right now!”

“Sorry, sorry, hehe!”

Arden wiped the booger off for Chopper, glad he was wearing gloves. “Damn, his boogers are large.”

“It’s really gross,” the reindeer cried after thanking him.

“Okay, I understand. There isn’t much time,” Law spoke, back turned against them after showing another appalled expression. “You guys have to take care of the Samurai. I’ll look into the drug that the kids were taking. Who’s your ship’s doctor? He’s gotta come with me and help me research it behind Caesar’s back.”

Luffy, Usopp, and Arden all shared a slight scheming look together.

.

Chapter Text

.

“Okay, this is good,” Usopp said, tying the final knot in place.

“I’m sorry but I can’t walk right now, so thanks!” Chopper said seriously only to have Law bear an expression of utter dismay. He looked somewhat traumatized. The reindeer was now situated on top of Law’s hat which he wore. It was quite a concept.

Everyone burst out laughing at the scene.

“D-don’t drop him, Torao!” Luffy said.

“Sorry! I shouldn’t laugh! But..” Nami tried her best to hold back her laughs.

“Ahaha! Super cute!”

“Have it seared in my mind already. Can’t wait to draw it!”

“Draw me one too!”

“Good luck, Chopper,” Usopp said, seemingly the only one of the bunch not finding it comical.

Everyone expected them to go off on their mission, but Law only stayed still for a couple more seconds before taking Chopper off his head. Re-tying it so the tiny doctor would hang from Kikoku, his sword.

“... Are you mad?” Chopper asked as the man quietly did the task.

Getting up, he turned to the others. “As you can tell from the assassins earlier, Caesar-ya wants to get rid of you guys and White Chase-ya’s G-5 and take back those children. Until he gets what he wants, he won’t stop attacking. He’s a former Government scientist who became a criminal four years ago.

If the fact somebody is here on this restricted island leaks out, he’ll lose this perfect hiding place. That’s why he’ll try to kill you all at any cost. A 300 million berry bounty. A Logia-type Gas-Gas Fruit eater who owns weapons of mass destruction. That’s who Caesar Clown is.”

“300 million?”

“Those of you who can’t use Haki, stay away from him. He’s not just a scientist.”

“Those who can use Haki among us are me and Zoro and Sanji,” Luffy said. “And you.”

“That should be enough. I’m gonna go back to the lab now.”

“So what we’re gonna do is kidnap the Master, right?”

“Yes, that’s it.”

“But why should we kidnap him?” Franky asked.

“Maybe money? I thought the Master guy was their boss,” Robin said.

“Who else can pay us a ransom?” Usopp added in.

“We're not gonna do it for money. Just to raise havoc,” Law replied.

“Havoc?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“There’s no point in telling you what lies ahead before we even kidnap him successfully. Focus on capturing Caesar Clown for now. It’s not gonna be easy. I’ll tell you all the details of my plan after that.

However, when we capture him successfully, things will start moving whether you like it or not. There’ll be no turning back. This is the last chance for you to reconsider,” he directed the last sentence to Luffy.

“That’s okay. We’re with you.”

“Then, I’ll go along with what you guys want to do. You need to convince the rest of your crew.”

The captain nodded. “Yeah, I got it.”

Leaving, Arden stared at the two doctors’ silhouettes, his eyes then landing on Luffy. Nails dug into his skin as he thought of what was to come. Especially with Law of all people. It was a bad idea to go forth with whatever he had in mind at that moment, but it didn’t take much to convince himself before he ran after them just as they had exited the encampment.

“Wait!”

“Arden…?” Chopper said, looking at him from where he hung.

“Mister, I need to tell you.”

Hearing that it was directed to him, Law turned around, Chopper swinging around behind out of view as he did so. “What is it?”

He opened his mouth, but second thoughts overflowed into him, making him close his jaw instead. Looking off to the side, he had another slight internal conflict with himself. If he didn’t say it now, Law was most likely just going to walk off. It was now or never. Mustering up as much courage as possible, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “... Caesar doesn’t have your heart.”

Gold eyes widened slightly before going quiet for a second, observing the latter who still had his eyes shut. “... Then who has it?”

Brown eyes opening in surprise that Law would take it that easily, he gulped before walking closer to him. Not wanting Chopper to hear this piece of information, Arden placed a hand on Law’s shoulder gently, tiptoeing to get to the right height before whispering in his ear with two clear words.

Pulling back, he looked to see Law’s expression only to find that he was unreadable once again. Unlike the other times, it looked like it was full of multiple emotions. “I see,” was his only reply.

“Be careful…” Arden muttered as he stepped further back, running to return back into the encampment before questions could be asked.

Maybe what he did was rash, but it was fine, he thought. In fact, he had thought about doing this ever since day one after laying down the events to come. He only had to not interfere with things that could affect the crew directly. So helping out someone who’s not part of the Straw Hats should be fine, right?! And it wasn’t like he told the answer to be able to achieve the task any easier. This should be fine.

“Alright, then we gotta hurry up and kidnap the Master!” Luffy stated when Arden entered back.

“That’s right. It’ll be hard to coordinate if we wait around,” Franky agreed.

“We won’t be late. I got a good idea.”

“What is it?” Robin asked.

“A greeeaat idea,” Luffy smiled.

“Whatever you plan to do, I’m going as well,” Arden then said, gripping the strap of his backpack.

“Hm?” The captain looked at him. “I didn’t intend for you to come though.”

“I’m going.”

“Wait, think about it,” Usopp warned. “It’s a plan Luffy made up. It can’t be safe in the slightest!”

“So?” Arden said, determined. “I can be useful.”

“You can’t even fight, Arden,” Nami said in a non-offensive way.

“I’m going. I’m also not a pirate nor a part of your crew so I don’t have to listen to any of you.”

“Hmmm… alright then!” Luffy said.

“Thank you.”

“Luffy, you can’t be serious about this. Ar--”

“Ardy’s right. He’s not a part of our crew, so why should we tell him what to do?” was the captain’s only reply, earning an inner sigh from Arden. He wasn’t necessarily determined to go because he wanted to fight or anything as he knew what Luffy’s plan was. He just knew his physical prowess wasn’t enough to handle what the group who stayed behind had to endure. At least in a battlefield, he could rely on his brains a bit more.

***

“Cien Fleur: Wing!” Robin yelled with Arden holding onto her as they flew to safety as Luffy and Franky went crash landing through a destroyed ship’s body.

“Thank you, Miss Robin,” he said as they touched the ground

Franky laughed as both he and the captain recovered. “Now that was a pretty good shortcut.”

Robin chuckled slightly in a pleased tone in agreement.

“Alright, Master, get out here!” Luffy shouted, arms in the air. “I’m gonna kick your ass and kidnap you!”

“Luffy, that was supposed to be a surprise,” Robin said lightly.

“It’s the Straw Hat Pirates!”

Arden gulped, only just realizing how many men they were facing off. From memory, there were not that many Navy soldiers and henchmen of Caesar’s. It was at this point that he felt slight regret in joining. Maybe it would have been better to stay put after all.

“Where are you, Master?! Come on out!!!” Luffy laughed loudly.

“That bastard! Did he just say he’ll kick our Master’s ass and kidnap him?!”

“Screw it! Take the Straw Hats down!”

The first wave of Caesar’s men went on the offense but was easily taken out by Franky’s Strong Right, earning a silent cheer from Arden.

“Catch the Straw Hats!”

“Cien Fleur!” Robin summoned multiple hands to get a hold of the men’s neck. “Clutch!” They fell one by one. Unconscious or dead? Arden didn’t know. Although there were many enemies, none were able to get close enough to them to do much of anything thanks to both Robin and Franky. In fact, Luffy was relaxed, scouring for someone.

“We made it here but where’s the Master?”

“I don’t think he’s out here.”

“Then where is he?”

“Probably in the lab,” Franky said.

“Okay, that big door must be the entrance.”

“Let’s go,” Robin said, lowering her arms from being crossed.

“Not so fast!” Arden warned the three, ‘Smoker’ rushing to slice Luffy. Thankfully, he was quick enough to dodge.

“Straw Hat Luffy!”

“Oh, Smokey!”

The battle between them didn’t take long to finish as ‘Smoker’ was on the ground in seconds. Luffy was confused with what’s going on, not sure why the Vice Admiral would be so weak compared to his usual self.

“Watch out!” Arden yelled as ‘Tashigi’ entered the ring, sporting a very different look to how she normally dresses. “That’s the real Smoker!”

“What do you mean?” Luffy asked as he got hit by the sea prism-tipped weapon Smoker usually uses which was now in the hands of Tashigi.

“Luffy, I think Torao did that to them as well,” Robin said, earning a nod from Arden.

“What? Ah, the ‘shuffle’ thing. I see.” He then burst out laughing at the situation which was soon cut off by Smoker-Tashigi’s charge.

“I got this one!” someone yelled from behind Arden.

“Eh? What?!” Arden reacted a second too late, turning to see the attacker. Dropping down to the floor in surprise, the swordsman sliced the air that Arden was at just a moment ago. Removing his backpack, Arden yelled, swinging it full force at the person, stealing the sword which the enemy dropped. “Ah, wait?! Did I crush it?!” He referred to the fruit which was in his bag but didn’t have time to react as he was met face to face with another opponent.

“Radical beam!” he heard Franky shout, an explosion occurring. “Luffy, Robin, Arden, I broke the door! Charge!”

“Hooowoaah, you did it already?” Luffy said.

However, this made Arden knit his brows. This didn’t seem right. They were supposed to meet Caesar outside. Not inside the building. Then again, although he knew what was going to happen, it wasn’t like he could remember all the specific details. His brain could only remember so much, after all!

A loud explosion then sounded, catching everyone’s attention. “Oh my god…” Arden said, looking at the ship that was there just a few seconds ago, now up in flames, bits of it flying in the air. Not to mention, purple blobs were coming out of the sky, Arden occasionally having to move around to dodge it. “He’s here!” As if on cue, the unique laugh ran through the snowy field.

“SHIRORORORORORORO! Good boy! I’m sorry that I locked you up for three years!” a purple coloured figure revealed itself, what seemed to be a robe floating around him. It was made out of gas.

“Master!”

“Why are you here?! It’s dangerous out here!”

“I knew it. So you’re Caesar Clown?!” Smoker said.

“You’re the Master?!” Luffy yelled.

The Master continued laughing. “Yes, indeed! Everyone from the Straw Hat Pirates and the Navy G-5! Behold the greatest scientist in the world!” a beat. “Master Caesar Clown!”

“Tsk. How lame trying to put in a pause for dramatic effect,” Arden spat, pure disgust on his face at his presence.

“Shirorororo, Just wait a few moments. Since he’s weak to water, he’s flinging pieces of himself over little by little… in order to cross the lake! From the Burning Lands to the Ice Lands! When all of his pieces reach this side, you will all experience it! The chemical weapon explosion that happened four years ago on Punk Hazard! A world of death which no one can survive! And you will learn just how powerful my weapon is, that it can destroy an island! It’s me- Master Caesar Clown!”

“Oh, get off your fucking high horse, you dipshit waste of a living being!” Arden finally yelled, interrupting Caesar’s laughing, the feelings he’s been holding back since they first saw Punk Hazard coming out all at once. Not to mention his self-introduction was a lot lamer in real life than it was on the screen.

Anger was visible in his face as he held the stolen sword up in the air towards him like an elderly. “Get down here so I can stick this sword up your ass five times over!!”

That grabbed the scientist’s attention, glaring over at him. But before he could do anything, rubber arms stretched and grabbed Caesar’s waist, Luffy catapulting to get a proper grip on him. “I got you!”

“What?!” he screeched, surprised with the haki Luffy was using.

“S-Straw Hat’s got the Master!”

“Nice going, Luffy!” Franky said.

“That was an interesting distraction,” Robin commented towards Arden who turned to her with a sheepish reaction. Why did he get so worked up on a villain he couldn’t protect? He was the one that needed to get off his high horse if anything.

“So that’s Haki, huh,” Franky removed his sunglasses. “Luffy’s hella strong. He’s holding onto a Logia user.”

“We’ve gotta save the Master!” the henchmen yelled, preparing their far ranged weapons but Robin and Franky took care of them easily. As Arden heard the two converse about the ability of Haki, his full focus was Luffy and Caesar.

“Luffy! Hold your breath! This guy is…” Franky tried to warn him of the poison gas.

“You fool! There can be no escape!” Caesar cockily said. “Once the Gas Robe wraps itself around you, it will never let go! How long can you hold your breath? Just inhale it already and die!”

“Luffy!” Robin shouted.

“Dammit!”

“He’s fine!” Arden tried to calm them down as Luffy breathed in all the gas before releasing it through his ears, ready and raring to fight once again, now in his second gear, kicking the Master down to the ground hard.

Robin and Franky cheered in their own ways, but Arden only continued to yell. “Careful! He can--” too late, Caesar already used his Gastenet move on him. As Luffy was hit by it, the horned enemy summoned the mysterious blobs to cover him.

The Explosion was large, almost knocking Arden off of his own feet. Though such a devastating move it would be for any ordinary person, this was Luffy after all and he got back up just fine. Seems he was able to dodge away just in time.

He knew Luffy was safe. He knew it! But that still didn’t stop him from god damn worrying!

Capturing Caesar in his Haki hands who seemed to be unconscious after taking another hit from him, Luffy called back to the three of them. “Robin, Franky, Ardy! You got anything to contain him? He’s a Logia-user, so tying him up won’t work.”

“Hmm…” the cyborg started to look around. “Is there a barrel or something around here?”

“It’s too early to celebrate,” seethed out a still worried Arden, but he knew he couldn’t relay anymore information at this point in time or it’ll mess with the storyline. As everyone became confused at the awkward movements Luffy was doing, the artist could only clench his mouth shut to stop himself from saying anything.

Caesar stood up, proud, and Robin and Franky immediately went after him. “No--!” he started but stopped himself with a frustrated snarl. Though they tried their best, both of them succumbed and passed out. Almost easily, he took out all three Straw Hats along with Tashigi and Smoker.

“Shirorororo,” A voice came from behind him, and he turned back to see the towering figure that was Caesar Clown. “You’re the one who looked down on me, aren’t you?”

Immediately taking several steps back, Arden tried his best to keep his distance away from him. This intrigued the scientist. “Running away?”

Not giving an answer, he continued to walk back before going onto a full on sprint away from him. Yet that proved to fail as Caesar easily appeared to block his path, startling him enough that he fell to the ground. Trying to stay calm, he rummaged inside his backpack, desperately reaching for what was inside.

“Shirororororo... you’re holding your breath or else you’d be struggling for air right now,” the other noted, floating closer to him. “So you’ve figured it out-- My powers.”

Fumbling, he finally got the Devil Fruit out, but because of his nervousness and adrenaline running through him, it slipped through his fingers and rolled onto the floor.

“A Devil Fruit?”

Eyes widening, Arden lunged for it. The cat was out of the bag. No way was he going to allow Caesar get a hold of it even if he himself didn’t know what powers it held. One bite. One bite and swallow was all it takes!

Knowing he couldn't hold out any longer, he used the last of his strength and bit harshly into the fruit, forcing it down his throat. He wanted to gag at the horrible taste, but didn’t have the air for that. Instead, his face scrunched up in disgust.

His arm was yanked up by Caesar who had a bewildered look on, the fruit falling to the ground as it lost its powers. Arden tried to yell out an insult as he dangled in the air, but instead was struggling for oxygen instead. Through his fight for air, he glared at Caesar who only laughed after seeing him beginning to get suffocated, clearly enjoying the display of pain.

.

Chapter Text

. 

“Why are you here?!” Arden shouted in an aggravated tone once he saw Law was in the same cell as him and the others were.

“Same to you,” he said, giving a glance.

The shorter man leaned forward, chains clanking around with every movement as he was also restrained, having just woken up a few seconds earlier. Only he and Law were awake right at that moment. His eyes were wide in disbelief, the thoughts of Law not heeding his warning unnerving him. “I told you it for a reason! Was it not clear to you?! How--” Seeing someone from his peripheral getting up, he decided to shut his trap and leaned back against the bars, looking off in a direction with a frustrated expression.

It was good that the Surgeon of Death was here. It meant that nothing major had changed to the story, but because of that, Arden couldn’t help but to think of what Law had to endure before reaching the cell-- the thing he had wanted to prevent. He also felt conflicted with himself for thinking he should even try to change the storyline even if it didn’t affect the Straw Hats directly.

Yet unlike them, Law hadn’t yet reached a ‘happy ending’ to his character yet. Not at this point in time, anyway, and it pained Arden to know that. Maybe that was why he did something that was out of left field. Not that it mattered in the end.

The rest of them awoke soon after with Franky being the only remaining one still fast asleep on Robin’s lap. If it wasn’t for such a dangerous situation they were in, Arden would probably be raising large Frobin signs everywhere.

Having the usual light banter, Luffy brightened up the atmosphere almost immediately which Arden could only thank.

Hearing chains rattle from Tashigi-Smoker, Law said, “It’s no use. That's Kairoseki.”

“You’re awake, huh?” A female voice said, the person it belonged to walking into the lab; she was pretty and looked to be a hybrid of a human and a bird, long green hair ending at around her waist.

“What’s she?” Luffy asked.

Heavier footsteps then came into the room next. “You all look better than I thought.”

Arden’s eyes narrowed at the sight of the two, yet he stayed slinked back, not wanting to aggravate either of them despite his wants.

The Den Den Mushi suddenly rang, the green haired lady picking it up. “All the shutters are closed!”

“Okay,” she cooly replied, before hanging up. “Sounds like they’re moving ahead with preparations. Poor Navy soldiers.”

“What is Caesar up to?” Vergo asked, sitting comfortably on the couch. They were having tea.

“Well, I don’t know exactly but he woke his pet Smiley up so… I think he’s planning to do a big experiment. Looks like it’s going to be a very dangerous one. By the way… Vergo. Did you eat a hamburger this morning?”

“How did you know? It’s my favourite.”

“There is a piece of it still stuck beside your mouth.”

Noticing the large chunk of meat finally, he removed it like it was normal. “I would like to see the experiment before I go. Everyone outside will die?”

“Probably. But you will be safe here.”

Arden couldn’t take it anymore. Hearing this conversation was getting on his nerves, even though he knew these two were irredeemable as characters. Losing his cool, he yelled out words as if they would have a change of heart. “How can you casually talk about death like that?!”

“Who’s that? I’ve never seen him before,” Vergo said, turning his attention to the cell.

“Don’t know. He doesn’t have a bounty but he’s with the Straw Hats.”

“Hey, Vergo!” Smoker-Tashigi shouted. “They’re all Navy soldiers of the G-5 outside! Your subordinates! Are you gonna leave them to die?!”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“What did he just say?!” Tashigi yelled in disbelief.

“Anyway…” the large man got up, making his way to them. “I can’t believe there are such big names in one cell. I like the view.”

“This brings back memories,” Robin calmly said with a smile. “To see you two in the same cell.”

“Oh yeah. Smokey and I got caught by you and the others at Alabasta!” Luffy said with a laugh.

“Shut up, you fools!” Smoker yelled. “You people can never read the atmosphere!”

“Smoker, I don’t know what to do with this feeling right now!” Tashigi said from the floor, the Kairoseki having sapped her energy to prevent her from trying to get up.

“You were right and this is the worst-case scenario,” Smoker simply said. “So Caesar abducted those kids and… Vergo covered it up as accidents at sea. Of all others, the head of the base was a double agent. That’s characteristic of G-5 in a way but it’s a dishonour to the Navy!”

“How dare you!” Tashigi yelled at the traitor.

“What?” Luffy asked. “Is he a bad person?”

“It seems like it,” Robin said.

“No wonder you didn’t notice it,” Law said. “It’s not like Vergo was selling the Navy out. He was a pirate originally. Before he made his name, he joined the Navy by Joker’s order and spent fifteen years climbing up the ranks from the very bottom. There is no Navy soldier who is more reliable and convenient for Joker than him. Vergo had been working for Joker from the very start!”

“No way!” Tashigi said in disbelief.

“Joker is the name of an underworld broker if I’m correct. I feel so pathetic. I can’t believe I didn’t smell this rat so close to me!” Smoker admitted.

Vergo turned around so his back faced them. “Don’t be so negative. Why don’t you just praise the rat for eluding the eyes of the great ‘White Chase’. From the day that you transferred from the headquarters, I was on the highest alert. I’m so happy that now I can free myself from that stress. Anyway, you blabbed out too much, Law.” He raised a fist out. “Didn’t I punish you enough?”

“Leave him alone!” Arden yelled again, stumbling on his knees, forehead smashing against the cell bars with a clatter. Remembering exactly what the punishment was like, he couldn’t bear to even think of anyone enduring something like that again.

“But that’s okay,” Vergo continued, ignoring Arden like he was a fly, walking away to get a glass of drink. “You said that I’d be in trouble in case I ran into the G-5 soldiers but that’s not true. I’ve been taming them for a long time. I don’t think they would suspect me. Even if they find out about my background like this, I know what to do. You know what I mean, don’t you?” he turned back, expecting an answer as he drank the glass empty. “Vice Admiral Smoker, Captain Tashigi.” Finishing it, he then destroyed the glass by squeezing it using haki.

“You two will die here so you can keep your mouths shut forever. And I’ll let Caesar handle those soldiers outside. It’s inevitable. This is Joker’s territory,” he then began to walk back to the tied up group. “I can’t just let those who learn about his identity walk away. Don’t worry. I will process it like I always did.”

“Hey, Torao, who’s Joker?”

Law looked over before giving a sigh. “I was working for him, too, once.”

“Huh?”

“That’s why I knew Vergo. Joker is just his alias as an underground broker. His true identity? He’s a man you know very well.”

“What do you mean?” Robin asked.

Arden only stared at the floor with clenched teeth.

“One of the seven most notorious pirates. He is a member of the Seven Shichibukai authorized by the World Government. He is Don Quixote Doflamingo.”

“Doflamingo…” Luffy said as the tension in the air was tight after being revealed with such information about Joker. “Who is he, exactly?”

“Didn’t you see him at the Navy Headquarters?” Smoker asked.

“At the Navy Headquarters? Hm…” his face contorted as if he was in deep thought. “Oh yeah! That bird guy!”

“Better not take him lightly,” Law said.

Smoker agreed. “He’s right.”

“And they say that Doflamingo attacked Moria after the War of the Best!” Tashigi said.

“He attacked Moria?” Luffy asked, kind of surprised to know that as they were supposed to be on the same side.

Arden's eyes narrowed at the conversation pertaining that person. "Doflamingo is a monster through and through."

***

“When are you going to begin your experiment, Caesar?” Vergo asked when the scientist stepped foot into the room.

“Shortly…” he replied. “Monet, begin the transmission.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I really wish you would keep your subordinates under control, Vergo. I broke into a cold sweat when Smoker came here.”

“You’re right. He’s a wild dog that can’t be leashed.”

“But that’s all behind us now, isn’t it?” he floated over to the cell. “Serves you right, Law! Shirorororo. You were helpless against Vergo, weren’t you? The deal I had with you was useful. I’ve always believed that you can’t trust anyone. You reap what you sow, as they say. You must have figured it out by now that Vergo has your heart.”

As if on cue, Vergo walked up and displayed it to show before giving it a hard squeeze in one hand. Law immediately fell over and started screaming in pain.

“Hey!” Luffy said to the suffering man, unsure of what was going on.

“Stop that!” Arden cried. “He’s already chained up!”

That caught Caesar’s attention from going on his spiel. “Hmm? Did your powers already activate? What useless men, not even using the right chains on you, but I suppose even you haven’t realized it yet if all you’re doing is barking. Shirorororororo!”

“What the hell are you talking about?!”

“Hey, are you alright, Torao?” Luffy asked once Law’s screams died down.

“I’m disappointed, Law. I thought we’d have finally become very good friends. Thankfully, Monet here was able to spy on you guys and was able to find out exactly what your plan was.”

“Heh,” the captain smirked, though on the floor still recovering from the pain. “So you were saved by your exceptional secretary? I should’ve paid more attention to her. I let myself become sloppy because you’re such a blundering idiot.”

In anger, Caesar punched his heart, causing him to go into another flurry of pain.

“What your mouth, brat.”

Arden scrunched up his nose, lips pulled back, eyes blazing and widening in anger towards him.

“That’s amazing. You’re still alive even though that guy’s got your heart?” Luffy said, impressed.

“At the mercy of your own power, Law?” Smoker said. “I’d like to know what you did with my heart.”

“Shirororororo. Over here! Smo--”

Before he could even try to give the heart a try with a squeeze, Arden threw an insult out to distract him. “Hey! You Michael Jackson D-Grade purple wannabe! Kiss my ass!”

“Michael…” Robin said.

“Jackson?” Tashigi then finished.

“Who’s that?” Luffy asked.

“Master, we’re ready to start the broadcast,” Monet said before Caesar could react properly to what Arden had said.

“Oh, really?” Caesar said, before looking at Smoker still holding his heart. “Hmph. You escaped death for now.”

As the lights dimmed down, a projection screen came down, the bright video of what was going on outside clear for all to see. A huge candy laid in the middle of the blizzard. Caesar spoke into the mic for everyone that was watching in a proud way, describing what was to go on and what was going on as it happened.

“This is bad…” Arden said below his breath, eyes glued to the screen the moment Smiley ate the candy.

Luffy spoke. “Man, he ate that huge candy.”

But one thing was off. What did Caesar mean earlier when he said that his powers activated? Right… he ate the Devil Fruit! It seemed only Caesar saw him eating it, thus the men didn’t think much of it and used normal chains on him. No wonder he was so lively. But if that’s the case then shouldn’t he be able to break out using his powers? Struggling with them, it didn’t take him long to figure out that it wasn’t working. What the hell were his powers, anyway???

As everybody was concerned about what the mass destruction weapon would be evolved into...

“Man, that is one huge frog.”

“Looks more like a lizard to me,” Arden bitterly joked along.

It wasn’t long until four very familiar figures appeared on screen, seemingly to be running for their lives. This caused Luffy to say, “Oh, that’s Zoro and the others! They’re being chased by the smoke!”

“Dragon!” they could hear them yell from the video stream.

“What are they doing here?” Franky asked, having been awake for some time now. “I mean, why are they running like that?”

“Mister Samurai’s got his whole body back,” Robin said.

“Oh, yeah! He’s not gonna let me have those legs, then. Hey, Robin! That’s not important now!” He turned his attention towards the screen. “Hey, guys! That smoke is deadly! You have to run…” Luffy fell to the ground in exhaustion. “Dang… I can’t even raise my voice. Damn Kairoseki!”

“Are they your friends, ‘Straw Hat Luffy’?” Caesar appeared in front of the cell. “That’s just what I’d expect from your friends-- they’re tough. But soon they’re going to be running out of breath and poisoned by the gas. And eventually there’ll be only an uninhabitable-- Shinokuni!”

The shot changed to show men of both G-5 and his own henchmen be paralyzed till they looked like statues. It was a lot more horrifying seeing it in real life than when it was in an anime style, was what Arden concluded as he watched with wide eyes.

“No one outside of the laboratory will survive. Shirororororororoo. Neither will any of you!”

Suddenly, the cell they were in rumbled around as if something was moving.

“What’s happening?!” Luffy shouted.

“Ack!” Arden let out, dropping onto the back of the cage same with Luffy as it was rotating out into the blizzarding outside, wind blowing harshly past them when the door was fully opened from behind them.

“Now prove it to the world!” Caesar said happily. “Before this weapon of mass destruction-- Shinokuni. A pirate with a 400 million berry bounty, a Navy vice admiral, and even a Shichibukai… are totally helpless… against the tide of death! Shirorororororororo!”

“Suck my left nipple!!” Arden spat out once they were out of the building, hauled by a crane to be on display at the front entrance.

“Smo-yan!”

“Tashigi!”

The men below were all from G-5 apparently, and they started yelling for their higher-ups. Though it didn’t take them long for them to realize that they were held captive, their cheers now replaced with cries of despair.

“Damn! So we’re all gonna die!”

“Everybody!” Tashigi said.

“By the way…” Franky said calmly, despite the purple smoke rolling over, visible from the distance. “That laboratory is really well-built!”

“Yes, it is,” Robin agreed. “You can easily carry big equipment with this thing.”

“H-How can you two be so relaxed?!” Tashigi yelled.

Luffy hummed in thought. “Okay, what should we do?”

Arden looked over to Law who returned it for a split second before saying, “It was unexpected to see Vergo here but Mugiwara-ya… we can’t miss a beat here. The plan is still on. Don’t mess it up this time. Let’s fight back.”

Luffy gazed at him then broke into a large smile. “Okay!”

.

Chapter Text

.

“No use wasting time here,” Law said. “Let’s get it over with. Can anybody burn things here? If not, that’s fine as well.”

“Franky can!” Arden said with a grin and a sparkle. “He can breathe fire!”

“He can even shoot laser beams!” Luffy added. “Oh yeah, why don’t you burn this chain with the beam?”

“I need to use both hands to shoot the Radical Beam,” the cyborg answered. “The only thing I can shoot is…'' He lifted one side of his butt up, a fart sounding out. “... Coup de Boo from my ass! Ahahaha!”

Tashigi seemed appalled by both Franky farting and Arden who was laughing along with him.

“Whatever,” Law said, bringing the conversation back on topic. “Can you set fire to the Marine ship down there on the right?” His eyes went down to one half of the Marine Ship that he had split up earlier on in the day.

“Huh? That one?” Franky hopped onto his feet. “That’s as easy as pie, bro! You can count on me!”

“Miss Tashigi, get out of the way!” Arden warned her as Franky prepared his ‘Franky Fireball '.

“Huh-- Ah!” luckily, she dodged away in time. The fireball flung downwards in great speed, setting fire to the ship in mere seconds. Smoke immediately filled the air.

Coughing, everybody was starting to feel the smoke in their lungs.

“That was super-- cough cough-- cool!” Arden complimented despite hacking up a storm.

“Hey, Trafalgar! It’s getting too smoky here!”

“You’re the one who did it,” Law pointed out.

“You made me do it!”

Luffy laughed in between coughs. “What are you doing?”

“Well then…” The chains that were around Law fell apart, freeing himself. Everyone exclaimed out in shock. “Now that we’re not being picked up on Caesar’s Visual Den Den Mushi… and Video Den Den Mushi…”

“You’re unbelievable!” Luffy said, astonished. “How’d you free yourself from Kairoseki chains?”

“Well, mine was just an ordinary chain from the beginning.”

“What?”

“So I untied myself easily with my power. Room.” His sword suddenly appeared, dropping down onto his anticipating hand. “Do you know how many months I’ve been here? Just in case of an emergency, I put a number of regular chains everywhere in the laboratory so I could avoid Sea Prism Stone even if I got caught by accident.”

“Eh, but isn’t there still a chance you wouldn’t have gotten a regular chain then?” Arden asked, always finding it strange that that was never cleared up in the series properly. This earned a look that shot daggers from Law, which made him bring his shoulders up in a defensive way. “Or maybe not…”

Cutting the chains easily, everyone was now free except for Tashigi and Smoker.

“I’m free!” Luffy jumped up and down in celebration the moment the chains were off.

“Quit cheering, idiot.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m free!”

“Now…” Law turned his attention towards the Navy Captain and Vice Admiral, blade pointed at them. “You’ve learned a little too much. I have your destiny in my hands.”

“You know what you wanna do with it, don’t you?” Smoker said, expecting the worst.

Arden only scratched the back of his head. Man, does he have a scary look on when there’s no reason to. Is he doing it on purpose? Though, he had to admit, it was quite funny to watch. 

As Law switched the souls of the two back to their rightful places, Robin said to Arden, “By the way, Arden, have you always had them?”

“Huh? What do you mean?” he tilted his head, looking above his head to where her eyes were. “I don’t get it.”

“Oh, that’s right! You got bunny ears!” Luffy said, looking at the same spot as well.

“Bunny ears? I don’t-- AH!” Arden had felt around with his hands and sure enough, he felt a pair of ears. And they seemed to be able to feel the touch as well. “M-My ears!” his hands then rushed to where his ears normally should be but felt nothing but hair. “What’s going on?!” Pulling the long ears down to his eyes, he screamed again, finally getting a visual confirmation. “Were they always there?!”

“Hm… I think when I woke up in the cell was when I first saw them,” Franky thought.

If that was the case then… Was this his devil fruit power?! Growing a pair of fluffy ears?!

“I can’t see anything,” Luffy said, already over the initial surprise of Arden’s new ears. “What’s going on out there?” Pulling apart the thick wire of the cage like it was nothing, Luffy craned his body out. “Yeah, I finally got out!”

“What are you…” Law started, cut off by Luffy freefalling out.

“Yeehaw!”

“Hey, wait! How dare he do whatever he pleases!”

“Seems normal to me,” Arden shrugged, still somewhat pouting over his ears, tracking Luffy’s movements.

“It’s not like the cage is made of Kairoseki.” Franky added.

“Our captain does that sort of thing as soon as your back is turned,” Robin explained.

“That idiot!”

“Hey, Torao!” Luffy called from below, having landed safely. “How should I get in?!”

Arden whistled as he saw Law trying to hold back his anger, Franky not making it any better as he said, “Hey, bro, I’d rather take care of the Sunny.”

“Do as you like.”

“Alright then, see you later!”

“Oh,” Arden reached out a hand. “Wait, let me go with y--” too late. Franky already left the cage before Arden could finish his sentence and Coup De Boo out of sight, leaving the man in slight tears. His one-way ticket to safety was gone! He had a plan to avoid all sorts of trouble and for him to avoid doing anything reckless to distort the story and following Franky was part of it. But now it’s ruined!

***

“Damn it! G-5 soldiers are entering one after another!” The henchmen inside the building yelled, clamoring about to try to figure out what happened. 

“What’s going on?!”

“Hey, Look!”

“Th-that can’t be!”

“The G-5 Marine, Vice Admiral Smoker!”

“The Shichibukai, Trafalgar Law!”

“The pirate, Straw Hat Luffy!”

“You guys sure do know how to make an entrance,” Arden said quietly in a smile as the door of the front entrance opened.

“I thought they were being held captive by the Master!”

“Good, everyone’s inside,” Tashigi said in a relief.

“Now, what should I do with my heart?”

“Heeheeheehee. I’m getting excited!”

“Why am I doing this with you guys…”

As soon as everyone was inside, Law pushed the lever once more to close the door before the gas could reach them. Seeing this, Arden stared at the entrance. “Hey, G-5!” Catching the attention of the Navy soldiers, Arden leaned forward against the railing. “You better prepare to repair the door!”

“Who are you to order us around?!”

“The door’s already closing. Why would we need to repair it?!”

Suddenly, the door was sliced open just as it closed, a group bursting in.

“Whaaaattt?!” G-5 yelled. “They cut the shutter open!!!”

“Ah! It’s Zoro and the others!”

“What a bizarre entrance.”

“What’d I tell you guys! Repair it before the gas comes in!”

“We’re all back together!” Luffy yelled, full of energy. “Alright! Let’s go with full force!”

***

“Oh! It looks like things are getting started down there,” Luffy snickered, observing the scene.

Law was speaking to Smoker. “Got it? The two of you aren’t going to interfere with his crew or me.”

“I’m not a part of any crew,” Arden poked in with a half raised hand and a smile to match. “But I’d rather be left alone, too.”

He didn’t want to be mistaken as part of Luffy’s crew or as a pirate for that manner! He only wanted to lay low and continue to be a supporting side character until he could get home. The option to become an extra was long thrown out the window, so really, he was in a tight bind to stay in the position of where he was at the moment.

“... Fine,” Smoker agreed.

“Eh? Torao!” Nami-Sanji yelled as she held Sanji-Nami. “Hey, you! Now! Turn! Us! Back!”

Although exasperated, Law complied. He then stood at the edge of the tank Luffy and the group was on so he could be in full view of the ones on the lower floor. “I have something to say to everybody here!” Once he got everyone’s attention, he continued.

“Right now, the lab is completely engulfed in poison gas… but there is a single escape route to the sea that isn’t exposed to the outside air! This laboratory is made up of multiple towers. Right now we’re in Tower A. If we pass through the gate, we’ll be in the central Tower B. If you go through it, then you’ll end up in Tower R. Inside, there’s a gigantic door marked R-66. That’s the entrance to the passage that goes to the sea. I don’t have any desire to be a mass murderer but you only have two hours. If you linger in this lab any longer than that, I can’t guarantee that you’ll survive.”

“Hey, what do you mean by that?” shouts from the men down below echoed as Law turned around and walked away, signifying that he was done talking.

“Come on, now!”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!”

“You going to do something in the lab?” Luffy asked, eyes still on the people down below.

“If the situation requires it. I only do what’s necessary.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Arden had already left the group when Law began his speech to the men of G-5 before henchmen of Caesar’s could come pouring in. He hurried into the Central Tower, pulling out the map he had drawn beforehand. “In any case… What the hell are my powers? Is it the Bunny-Bunny Fruit?!"

Most people should know what their fruit was at least the moment they ingested it. Even then it doesn’t make sense. He should be a half rabbit and half human, not a human with rabbit ears! Was it because his body didn’t belong in this universe? How pathetic. He couldn’t even tap into the full potential of the fruit then. 

Suddenly, the alarms started to blare from behind him, and he knew that the gates were closing. Although he'd been running for some time, unlike before he felt a lot more… energized. Like his stamina had increased.

“What was that sound?” Arden stopped after hearing a loud rumble from back in Tower A. Was the gas already pouring in?! “Please be safe,” he said as it occurred where the Straw Hats were, continuing to run.

Making it into Unit D, he was pleasantly surprised. “Huh, that was quick. I thought it'd take--” his ears perked up and twitched. “Someone’s coming.” Rushing to find somewhere safe to be, he spotted a ladder that led to a walkway that circled around the area. Unit D was home to the SAD manufacturing process, the substance used to create artificial Zoan Devil Fruits. Just as he made it up to the scaffold, he heard someone enter in. Squinting his eyes, he sighed in relief.

“WAIT, don’t do it yet! I need to tell you something!”

Law, who was preparing to unsheathe Kikoku, looked up in shock to see him. “Why are you here?!”

“I couldn’t tell you because of the others being there and I left early since I can’t fight. I thought my best bet was to meet you here!”

Law looked at him with a mix of emotions, most of it being surprise. “How did you know about Vergo? When you warned me back there about him having my heart-- how did you know that?”

“Yes, it’s about him! You have to run, he’s--” Arden stopped, ears twitching once again. “Shit…”

A figure appeared behind Law. “I feel like my hand has been bitten by my own dog, Law. This is too much-- even for a mischievous child. You were too smart for your own good. People like you… tend to die young.”

Quietly moving around on the walkway, Arden scanned the area, trying to consider his next moves. Okay, it’s fine. So he failed in telling Law that he was about to fight against Vergo again, and he also failed at maintaining a neutral relationship with him since he seemed to be suspicious of him now-- great! Though, he should have seen it coming. He knew Law wasn’t so easily trusting as Luffy was, yet Arden still bit the bullet anyhow.

Even though he knew he shouldn’t interfere with anything, he couldn’t help it! He had to do something or else guilt would be eating away at him. If he could only just help someone-- anyone from enduring anything that can be avoided with his aid, then why shouldn’t he do it?! The Straw Hats, he had no choice but to keep silent but for someone like Law-- he can help, right? He wasn’t part of the main crew, after all!

The fight was commencing already, Vergo’s motions too quick for Arden to properly follow as Law was already coughing up blood. He was being thrown around like a rag doll, his grunts of pain amplified once he provoked Vergo enough that the larger man squeezed his heart. Arden scrambled to see what was going on as he continued climbing and jumping onto the various tanks and pipes. Law was already being knocked against the railing, hit in the face. His hat flew off.

“Law!”

That caught Vergo’s attention as he looked up to find the source of the voice. In that second, Law was able to set up an attack. “Counter-Shock!” electricity danced everywhere, an explosion knocking Vergo back to give himself space. Black smoke came out of Vergo’s body, and blood spewed out of his nose and mouth, yet he still remained standing.

“I’ve got a message from Joker. He said, ‘What a shame’.”

“I was pretty sure that I could take my heart back from Caesar. I should have listened to him after all-- I wasn’t expecting you to be here.” He then said with a smirk, “Vergo.”

“It’s Mister Vergo to you!” At that, Law was screaming in grueling pain once again, his heart being violently squeezed.

“LAW!” Arden screamed once again, not being able to take the pain that he was going through. Now standing above them from up high, viewing what was happening from a thick pipe.

Where is he?! He should have arrived by now. Law's really going to die at this rate!

His legs then suddenly moved on his own and he jumped off. “Let him go!”

Fueled by pure emotion, he didn’t even realize that he was possibly endangering his own body by jumping from such a height. However, he landed right in between the two easily, his eyes burning in fury. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t a fighter. What mattered was that he buys time! 

“You’re the noisy one,” Vergo said calmly, but the screams from Law had stopped as his heart was let to breathe once more. “I couldn’t sense you, but I guess that’s because your presence is so weak.”

“If you want to get to him, then you better prepare some lube,” Arden said. With as much fake confidence he could muster, his lips pulled up into a wavering smug smile. “Cuz I’m about to ram you hard.”

He knew it was coming, but shit did it hurt so goddamn much.

The moment he finished his sentence, he was flown into the air, a hit square in his lower abdomen. “GAH!” he let out when his body fell to the ground after hitting the railing. Struggling to get up already, Vergo didn’t let him rest for even a moment. But this time, Arden, gripped onto Vergo’s upper arm. The pain he felt was unbearable as he was hit in the same spot once again, but only dug his nails into the man’s skin.

“You’re persistent for a weakling. You don’t even have a bounty on your head-- what’s your goal?”

It was definitely getting hard to breathe as it became ragged, his mouth filled with the taste of blood. “To...” he tried to force out. “To protect him... Without him, everything will be over!” As a last ditch effort, he bit hard onto Vergo’s arm. This seemed to take him off guard as his arm wasn’t infused with Haki. None of the attacks used against him before now had Haki in them because of how weak he had concluded Arden to be.

Thrown to the other side of the platform all three of them were on, his back hit the railing once again. His vision becoming blurry, he shakily tried to lift a hand. He weakly gazed at Law who was about to activate ‘Room’ once again but he was stopped by another punch from Vergo.

“I’m not down yet!” Arden yelled with a crack in his voice, though he was clearly not going to be able to get up again. “I’m not down until I’m dead!” Vergo’s towering figure was in front of him now. Picked up by his long rabbit ears, Arden fought to stay conscious.

“Then I’ll grant your death wish.” Yet the pirate paused for a moment, his fist still raised up, preparing to deal the final blow. “I’m in the middle of something. Does it have to be now? Vice Admiral Smoker.”

“Finally…” Arden barely was able to say, the word slurred. Vergo looked at him emotionless as the other’s lips turned up into a half smile, blood coating it. “... Never intended to beat you myself.” Dropped onto the floor, Arden could only continue to smile as he breathed harshly, body paralyzed from pain.

He took a gamble with his own life, and it paid off in the end: that was what mattered.

All he could do now was watch the fight happen from the sidelines.

***

Asides from arriving late, everything else panned out exactly how it should have. Maybe he really didn’t have to do anything at all. Maybe Smoker didn’t arrive late.

“Do you remember what happened last time?” Joker spoke from the other line of the Den Den Mushi just as when it seemed the fight would turn on its tail. “How did it go? You pissed off Vergo and then what happened? It must’ve been traumatic. You probably can’t forget it.”

Arden breathed out from on the floor what seemed to be an insult towards him, despite Vergo showing his full potential with his whole body being covered in armament Haki.

“Even with your incomparable swordplay,” Joker continued. “His Haki will allow him to block your every attack. Both in terms of status and power, you’re no match for Vergo!”

Vergo lunged forward to Law without any hesitation, but like a flowing river, the captain of the Hearts Pirates easily cut him in half. In fact, the whole of Unit D was cut in half.

“It’s been two years since the War of the Best. Did anyone actually accomplish anything? All you did was stay calm. All Whitebeard did was end the era. The Navy Headquarters rounded up new forces. The big-timers didn’t take any action! It was like everybody was preparing for something. That war was only a beginning. You always told me that the new era of the daring ones is coming along with an unstoppable swell!”

Law broke into a smirk.

“I broke... that gear! Now, there’s no turning back!”

***

“Do we really need this?” Smoker asked.

“Yeah. This is the truck that they use to transport containers of SAD,” Law replied. "I’m gonna let everybody ride it.”

“Sorry, I can’t help…” Muttered Arden who sat at the front wagon that connected to the rope the doctor and Smoker were pulling down the path which merged D to R, the large container connected right behind it. He was holding onto the wagon’s handle, still breathing heavily.

“Stay quiet or you might black out,” the man bluntly said.

Is this how you treat someone that tried to save your life? Arden couldn't help but to think, yet knew Law was speaking the truth and only wanted to give advice. He had to save his energy until he could get properly treated. 

Silence filled the air before Law continued. “This building is going to collapse. We have to escape as soon as possible. Mugiwara-ya!”

“Luffy…?”

“Torao! Smokey! Ardy! I didn’t expect you to come from that way!” Luffy called back the moment they arrived at Unit R.

As G-5 was cheering for their Vice Admiral’s safe arrival, Arden could only close his eyes, the noise making his head throb.

“Mugiwara-ya! Where did Caesar go?!” Law demanded, after noticing the large doors that were broken through, walking over to him.

“Oh, I kicked his ass and he got blown away along with the door that way! I wonder how far he went.”

“Hey! You.. our plan was to kidnap him!”

“But I don’t even wanna catch that bastard anymore!”

“That was the plan if you like it or not. What are you gonna do if he runs away?!”

“Who cares about that jerk?!”

Law turned around to face away him, face in agitation. “You think you can just change a plan as you like. I shouldn’t have trusted you! Let’s get him!”

“What?!”

Arden laughed, still feeling pain in his abdomen. However, it seemed as if he was a lot better than before which didn’t make sense. It was as if his body was a lot more… durable than before. Was this because of the Devil Fruit? Or maybe his body was adjusting to this universe? He didn’t know.

That was when Luffy was able to get a better look at him. “Ardy, what happened?! You’re all bloody!”

He gave a weak smile as the other Straw Hats came clamouring around as well in worry. “I tripped.”

***

The children were being carefully guided onto the container, Arden situated to rest on one of the Giant children’s shoulders.

“The door’s starting to close! Who did that?!” A G-5 soldier yelled when an alarm started to blare out.

“You guys better get on,” Arden warned. “The gas is coming.”

“What…?” they soldier’s said, following the pointed finger that the man held out. “It’s the poisonous gas!! Hurry up! Get on now!” they started shoving one another.

“Hey, what’re you guys doing, Straw Hats?!” Law yelled. “Hurry up and get oon. If we let Caesar get away, our plan will be ruined!”

“What’re you talking about?! This is not ‘all of us’! Some of my crew aren’t here yet!”

“Mocha is not here either!” Sind said.

“Some of our soldiers aren’t here either!” Tashigi stated.

“Don’t worry, they’re rushing over here,” Arden said, staring at the closing door. “They’ll make it!”

Seconds tick by as the doors closed more and more, but the faith he had was unwavering. Suddenly:

“Luffy!!!” A voice called out from the other side.

“It’s them!” Luffy said.

The group finally came into view, the missing men carrying Mocha who seemed to be hooked to an IV with Chopper on top of her. Brook was running alongside them, holding what seemed to be a paralyzed victim.

“Mocha!”

“Thank goodness.”

“Hey!”

Arden smiled at their safe arrival.

“Interesting,” a voice spoke, catching his attention. Noticing Law’s gaze on him, the brunette quickly looked away with knitted brows. Damn, he was observing him again. How was he supposed to fix this mess now?! He really needed to stop acting with his emotions and actually go through with his own plans for once. Yet deep down, he knew it wasn’t going to stop.

The Straw Hats were cheering for the safe arrivals and were creating a light hearted atmosphere when it was cut short by Law. “We have no time! Hurry up!”

“Hurry up! Let’s get out of here, guys!” Luffy yelled.

“Yeah!!”

***

The ride to the outside was full of banter from all sides, but Arden didn’t pay much attention to any of them as he only kept his eyes forward. Chopper had patched him up quickly after seeing him in such a state. The pain he felt was far more bearable now at least. It still hurt like a motherfucker, but he wasn't incapacitated like before.

Finally, he could relax for a moment. He really wasn’t used to this much action. 

“Hey, there’s something on your back,” Usopp said.

Irked but not too annoyed, Arden hummed. “What do you mean?”

“It’s protruding out underneath your coat.”

“Can you check for me then?” he asked freely, honestly thinking it was some debris that was sticking to his clothes. He really was too tired. Feeling his shirt and coat being lifted from the back, it confused him but not enough to get a loud reaction.

“They’re wings!” he heard Usopp exclaim.

“Ah, wings, right,” the bunny-eared man nodded.

“Woah, you’re right!” Luffy joined. “You got wings and bunny ears! So cool!”

“Mmhm. Right. Got bunny ears and wings…” his responses were still half-assed. Suddenly he felt his vision get blocked. His coat and shirt was pulled all the way that it covered his head, making him lift his arms up.

“What are you doing?!”

“Look, Nami, wings!”

“When did he get wings…?”

“Huh, they’re tiny.”

“Can he even fly with them?”

“Hey-- what are you guys--?!” Arden blindly waved around, his back fully exposed.

“We have a pink talking eel and a bunny-bird human. Talk about weird,” Brook said, the pink talking eel he was referring to actually being the pink talking dragon. Still weird, but it was more accurate.

“Says the skeleton!” Usopp retorted.

“What’s so unusual?!” Arden yelled, eyes still covered. “It’s just bunny ears and wing-- ah…" a beat passed when it finally hit him. "WINGS?! Why the hell do I have wings?!”

“From what I understand, you ate a Devil Fruit, right?” Robin asked.

“Yes. I don’t know which one though…”

“Seems to be a Zoan type.”

“But what kind of animal has bunny ears and wings?” Usopp said.

“In any case, please put my shirt back down!”

“Devil Fruit powers, huh?” Sanji said. “Maybe that’s why you were in the middle of the ocean drowning.”

Arden shook his head when his vision came back, his hands back to his sides as he fixed his clothing. “No. I ate the Devil Fruit when we first encountered Caesar. I had it in my backpack although I don’t know how it was there in the first place.”

“How can you guys be so calm?!” one of the G-5 soldiers yelled. “The Gas is right behind us!”

“At least the building isn’t collap--” the ceiling then started crumbling, pieces of it falling down. Luffy had to keep breaking them in order for none of the passengers to be injured.

“You jinxed it!” cried Usopp.

“Okay, we can start panicking!” Arden said anxiously, the situation dawning on him.

***

“We’re almost there!” Luffy yelled, spotting the light at the end of the tunnel.

“Alright, we can make it…” Usopp said, holding onto his hat from the wind but let out a yelp after seeing what was ahead. “What?!”

“Look! The deadly gas is everywhere at the exit!” a man yelled.

“N-Nooooo!”

“The gas is coming from the front and back!” Zoro said, preparing to unsheathe a sword as if he could cut through gas for them to pass.

Sanji came to the front of the cart, looking as the purple gas started becoming visible, blocking the light that was coming through from the outside. “We have no choice but to go through that!”

“You got this, Miss Nami!” Arden said with full confidence, eyes glued to the front. The girl stood tall, having been dubbed the task to get rid of any incoming gas that was to come from the front as she was the only one able to produce wind.

“Sis, save us! Please!” the children begged with tears in their eyes. “Please!”

“Let’s go!”

Holding one part of her Clima Tact out in front of her, Nami began her move the moment they were close enough. “Sorcery Climate Baton! Gust Sword!” A tunnel of wind burst out of the end of it, blasting through the gas with ease.

“Let’s get out!” Luffy shouted.

“Keep the winds going, Nami!” Usopp encouraged. “The gas will be everywhere outside, too!”

The gas soon dispersed into nothing, and the cart began to be full of cheers.

“We made it ouuuut!!!”

The cart whizzed into the outside world, the cart coming to a screeching halt as no more tracks were there to support it. There was a pause as everyone was still recovering from the landing, a moment of disbelief that they were still alive before another wave of cheers came out.

“You’ve made it here finally! I was getting tired of waiting!” a large robot yelled from on top of a stray SAD tanker.

“It's General Franky!!!” Arden cried in what seemed to be tears of joy. “I can’t believe I’m alive to be able to witness it in action in real life!”

“Oh!” Luffy made out.

“It’s the General!” Usopp shouted.

The both of them including Chopper joined Arden at that moment in going crazy over the large metal figure.

“Suuuuper!” Franky yelled, going into his signature pose.

At that moment, almost everyone that had the slightest interest in robots and the likes started going crazy over it as well. Children and adults alike.

“It’s a robot!”

“The ultimate one!”

“Wow! Cool!”

“That’s what we boys love!”

“Yeah, isn’t it?!” Luffy said.

“I can die happy now!!” Arden continued to sob, covering his eyes with a hand in order to not blind himself with such awesomeness that was beaming. At the same time, the others stood with expressionless faces, watching and perhaps even judging them.

“Buffalo!” Law shouted, recognizing the two that were down below where Franky was. It seemed like they were having a confrontation before Arden’s group came into the fray. “Are you Baby 5?!”

“Law!” The girl that was dressed in a maid’s outfit said. “Are you really going to stand against Joker?!”

“You traitor!” The large man beside her, which resembled something like a helicopter, yelled. “Joker is still saving the ‘heart seat’ for you!”

“Who are they?” Luffy asked Law. “Are they your friends?”

“No,” he answered, saying the next words resolutely. “They’re my enemies!”

Seeing how many big shots they were up against, Buffalo and Baby 5 grabbed Caesar, who was still unconscious, off the ground and started to fly away swiftly. Buffalo acted as the aircraft as his hair and shoe laces both resembled and turned around like propellers.

“Ah, that’s the cue then,” Arden said with a hint of excitement. “Usopp!”

“Alright, I got it!” he replied with a large smile. “It’s a sniper’s work to take down a flying enemy!”

“Those bastards!” Law said, raising his hand up to activate ‘Room’ but was interrupted by a smiling Luffy.

“Whoa-whoa! Usopp said he can handle it.”

“Don’t underestimate our sniper,” Zoro added. “Even his nose is too long.”

“The last part isn’t necessary!” Usopp barked.

“It’s okay!” Arden said seriously to Zoro. “It probably helps him aim.” 

“Again! Not necessary!”

“No way!” Law interrupted the playful banter. “If we let them get away, our plan is--”

“You allied with us, didn’t you?” Nami said, walking to the front lines. “You saw what I did earlier. I need you to trust us a little bit.”

“Allied?” Zoro said, confused. “What are you talking about?”

“The Straw Hats and Hearts Pirates alliance,” Arden answered.

“I’ve been running around all this time so…” Nami then licked her lips. “I feel like attacking now! I’m not afraid of enemies who are far away and have no intention to fight!”

“On top of that, they’re wounded and turning their backs on us!” Usopp added.

Arden nodded, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Yep, of course they would only be this confident in a situation like this. It’s the easiest scenario to attack without getting any repercussions.

“Alright!” Zoro curtly said, almost agitated as the two usual cowards beamed with arrogance. “Let’s just do it!”

“Now I give you some water,” Usopp started, putting together his Black Kabuto. “Okay, let’s do it! Grow up! Chomping Grass on Black Kabuto! Now, eat up and get your fill!”

The chomping plant that grew from the weapon’s loading base began eating the rocks from below the cart hungrily, getting bigger and bigger with each bite. All the while, Nami began her part of the attack.

“Go! Weather Egg!” An egg-like object popped out high into the air of her Clima Tact as she swung it, making its way to the intended targets. “Okay, now hatch! Little Thunder!” The egg cracked in two, and a large thunder cloud covered a large mass of area in almost an instant.

“No, you can’t get away!” she commanded a thunderbolt towards them for it to be dodged. “The Science of weather! Thunder breed! Tempo!” This time, the thunderbolt circled around in the air as if it was a homing missile, soon hitting the three enemies.

Ready to finish the job, Usopp pulled back the fully loaded slingshot, taking aim. “Here's the final blow! Go, Chomping Grass! Special Attack-- Charging Shooting Star! Go!” Although Buffalo and Baby 5 were taken down, Caesar was lucky as he was made out of gas, the rocks that spewed out going through him.

However, Usopp only smirked. “You can’t run! The last ammo is… Kairoseki Handcuffs!” Caesar then yelled, starting to fall, a chain wrapped around him. “Alright, I caught him!” Posing heroically to claim victory, everyone started to roar out in cheers.

“That serves you right, Caesar!”

Usopp fixed the goggles that he wore on, still smirking. “You can count on me when an enemy turns his back--”

“We get it!” both Zoro and Arden said dryly, fed up with the act.

“All right, the initial phase is accomplished,” Law said, though his facial expression remained the same as usual.

“See?” Luffy smiled. “They’re strong, aren’t they? Heeheehee.”

.

Chapter Text

.

“Listen, you damn pirates!”

“The tanker is yours!”

“And this is the line between good and evil!”

“So don’t think of crossing it! Got that, Straw Hats?!”

Arden looked at the paint job that was on the ground which G-5 created, having just been patched up by Chopper. One side was marked with the Marine Logo, the other a Jolly Rancher, both divided from each other by a thick black line.

“Hey, Straw Hat! I told you not to cross that line! You’re not listening!”

“I don’t care!” Luffy responded. “You guys just made it up!” Arden, being able to hear quite well now due to his new ears, picked up on the whole conversation between Brownbeard and Luffy. Which consisted of Brownbeard saying his thanks to him and how happy he was when he punched Caesar's daylights out of him.

This earned a smile on Arden’s face. “Good. Exactly how it should go.”

Everyone went on to do their separate things for a little while before the feast began. Arden was on his way to lend Franky and the others help to repair the tanker, but was stopped by a familiar voice.

“YAAAAAHHHHHH!” Chopper ran across the tanker in a panic, stopping beside Arden to shout for his captain who was still down below. “Luffy! Y-you have to stop him!”

“What?”

Crying, Chopper tried to say the words in a blurb. “He’s a murderer!”

“Who’s a murderer?”

“It’s Law!”

“Torao?”

Clicking in his head, Arden made a sound of realization, a fist to his palm. “Ahhhhh. Chopper, no need to panic.”

“But he's cutting them up!”

He shook his hand, a smile on his face. “He’s curing them. Don’t you know what his powers do?” Looking at the still crying Chopper, he came to the conclusion that he didn’t and did the job of explaining it to him in a rather ecstatic matter.

“Momonosuke!” Kin’emon yelled the moment the outer exterior of the hard shell he was encased in broke. Luffy, Sanji, and Brook who were panicking at the supposedly dead body now were frightened that he was even alive. He was exposed to the gas after all! The pink dragon that was with them then turned into a boy, with crying eyes, yelling for his father. A touching reunion.

“Really…?” Chopper said once Arden was done talking. The man nodded but when he saw the other wasn’t entirely convinced, he gave a small sigh. “Ah… why don’t you see it for yourself? C’mon, let’s go.”

Once they got there, Law had already exited the room. In a rage, Chopper started to shout, “What did you do to the children?! If you hurt them in anyway, I--”

“Chopper, I’m telling you they’re fi--”

“That’s why I told you not to look inside,” Law said. “Those kids…” he stared at the reindeer dead in the eyes. “... I sliced them up.”

Screaming, Chopper ran inside the room in a full panic, not hearing the rest of Law’s spiel.

“It’s a drug. They still have to go through a long, painful treatment.”

“Chopper..." Arden said, shaking his head with an amused exhale through the nose. Law's sense of humour was definitely interesting-- especially when naïve people take the bait. 

“Usagi-ya.”

“Hah?”

“I need to talk to you.”

Arden looked at him, not knowing how to react. Shit, how am I supposed to get out of this one?  In between his thoughts, he could only say, “... Usagi?”

***

“You probably have a lot of questions,” Arden said once they found a room for some privacy from prying ears. “I’ll try to answer them the best I can.” His heart was pounding loud despite his outer appearance, mouth dry as his mind was still racing with thoughts.

“When you first told me about Vergo. How did you know?” Law went straight to the point, asking the same question he did back in the SAD room.

Giving a sigh through his nose, the brunette leaned back against the wall, arms crossed in front of his chest. “Would you believe me if I said I can tell the future?”

“Doubtful but that'd make the most sense. Even then, that only raises more questions.”

“Like?”

“If you can see into the future, we would have been able to avoid any obstacle in our way. But I think you’re trying to hide it.”

“Being able to see the future is both a blessing and a curse. Just because I can see the future and any casualties or obstacles that could maybe be prevented, doesn’t mean I should do it. Things happen for a reason, and to try to change fate is foolish.” The words he spoke rolled out confidently, but he honestly wouldn’t be able to recite what he said back if asked to.

Law only continued to observe him quietly. Not wanting to be read that easily, Arden closed his eyes before resuming. “Especially if the outcome is already fleshed out to be a desirable one. What if I tried to interfere, and the outcome changed? That’s all on me.” This time, he spoke the truth.

Well, he was obviously omitting the fact that the universe they’re in is actually a hit shounen series he’d watch regularly, but that’s unnecessary. Really. “In any case, the best case scenario is for me to sit back and pretend I don’t know anything.”

“Then why did you tell me?”

That shocked him enough that his eyes opened back up, gazing up at Law.

“Why did you tell me about Vergo? Not once but even twice: back in the SAD room.” He took two steps closer to Arden. “You even interfered with the fight, almost got killed, and continued to try to fight. Are you insane or suicidal? Unless… you have an ulterior motive.”

The shorter man tilted his head slightly, brows furrowed as he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “What?”

“It’s not odd for one of Joker’s men to be devoted enough in their mission to use whatever method they can to see through it. It’s not above them.”

“I did it to protect you!” Arden suddenly raised his voice. “Smoker arrived later than he should have-- Vergo was going to squash your heart!! You weren’t supposed to die then!”

“To ‘protect me’. You said that earlier as well. If you could tell the future, then why is it that what happened was different?”

“I… I see the future, but in a way where events go as if I never existed in the first place,” he managed out, looking off to the side. He knew he probably didn’t make sense, but it was the truth! How else was he supposed to answer it in a way the Shichibukai was going to accept it?! "Besides, I only recently found out I have this ability. I'm still trying to wrap my head around things."

“When you warned me of Vergo-- that he had my heart. Why did you warn me then? Did the outcome not come out as it was supposed to anyway?”

Shit, was he good at interrogating. Arden concluded that he did not like going against both incredibly intelligent and observant people. Because what he was going through now was similar to being shone with a limelight in a police interrogation room!

“It… was a spur of the moment thing,” he could only answer truthfully. “It was a selfish decision from me. Don’t read too much into it.”

“Then you acted in the moment twice?” He was referring to when they met in the SAD room where Arden tried to warn him again. The taller man took another step closer.

At this point, Arden’s figure felt much smaller in comparison despite their obvious height difference to begin with. “Because you’re… you’re…” he tried to choose his words carefully.

No way could he say that he did it because guilt was going to eat away at him for not doing anything, and that Law was probably the best candidate to relieve him of that feeling. No way could he say that he had a soft spot for Law because he’s an amazing character with probably the most tragic backstory in the show in his opinion! No way could he say that Law is merely a fictional character belonging to a fictional cartoon series!

“... important to me…?”

“ ‘Important’?” Finally, did Law show a different emotion. But it didn’t seem too positive as his eyes had narrowed.

“Y-yeah… Yeah!” Arden suddenly got an idea, surprising even himself but snapped out of it when the other’s gaze pierced through it. He stood up straight, taking a step away from the wall. “The reason why I warned you despite my rule of following the way of this world and the fate it bestows upon us. Why I did it not once, but twice, and even risked my life for you i-is because… Is because…”

Both of his fists were clenched tightly enough that the knuckles were turning white. As his cheeks became red, his wings started to flutter around unconsciously, bunny ears twitching about. Although covered up by his coat, it still visibly bulged out from underneath the thick clothing. He didn’t seem to notice it, however.

This is too embarrassing. There must be a better idea than this. C'mon, brain, think! Stop blanking out!!

On the flip side, Law took notice of it but didn’t say anything. His hand rose up slightly, as if he was going to summon ‘Room’, expecting to be attacked.

“B-because… because…” Arden kept stuttering, eyes tightly closed. “Because I like you…?”

Wow, good plan, Ardy-boy. How long did it take you to think up an ingenious idea such as this one, hm?

Breathing out a large sigh from bottling air in, silence soon filled the air. His face feeling flushed, he looked up tentatively to see what Law’s reaction would be after not getting anything verbally. The taller man was looking at him with widened eyes, lips parted. He was surprised. Shocked, even.

This was not what the doctor had expected.

“Um… um…” the brunette stumbled on his words, words spewing out on its own. “The moment I saw your wanted poster in the newspaper for the first time, was when I knew you were the one for me. I’ve never felt something like that before. Love at first sight! But I can understand it if you don’t return my feelings since you’re a pirate. Your love for adventure comes first, after all. So please excuse me for trying to act as if I was close to you. Oh, how unrequited love can do weird things to a person, ahahaha... ha...”

Another wave of silence fell between them.

“... I don’t understand,” Law finally said, face still remaining surprised.

“What’s not to understand?” Arden stuttered out, not wanting this plan to go awry. He really had nothing else at the moment. With a fully red visage, he walked closer to Law, a smile plastered on as he tried his best to pretend that he was, indeed, deeply in love. “You’re smart, strong, tall, mysterious, a pirate, a doctor, easy on the eyes--”

He stopped when Law suddenly turned around, back facing towards him now. “... That’s enough. This is ridiculous.”

A sense of dread crept up along his spine. No, this shitty plan really wasn’t working after all!

Of course it won't work-- who would fall for such an outlandish statement? 

“You… still don’t trust me after all? ...What do I have to do?” His question was genuine as he did not want to seem like someone that would betray him. He would never do that! Not to him or any of the Straw Hats; this included other characters in the show he took a liking to.

As if done with the conversation, Law started to make his way towards the door.

“Take my heart!” Arden blurted out, making Law stop in his tracks, turning to look back at him. There was desperation in his voice as he spoke. “I’ll give you my heart and let you keep it. Give it back to me when I’ve earned your trust. Will that work?”

***

After his heart was taken from him, Arden couldn’t feel a heartbeat going in his chest anymore. It was oddly a calming feeling. Eyeing his beating organ that was encased in a cube-like shape in his hand, he gave it to Law. “You better not drop it.”

Taking it, Law placed it in his coat pocket without a word. He was making his way to the door again, when he took a pause once more. “You’re an artist, right, Usagi-ya? Drawing is your profession?”

“Yeah, I am and it is. I usually draw-- wait, why ‘Usagi’?” Arden questioned. “Pretty sure rabbits don’t have wings.”

A piece of rolled up paper was then tossed in his direction which he caught, albeit clumsily. “My navigator made a map of Dressrosa and where we should go. It’s relatively easy to read but it’d be better if it was easier for others as well to avoid any confusion.”

Opening the map, Arden blinked at the childishly scribbled mess. It was rather hard to follow at first glance. “I can draw, yes. But I’m not an expert on maps. I think you should go to Miss Nami inst--”

“No. I want to reveal it when we get there.”

“Ah… right. Because I know what the plan is already.”

“Assuming you can tell the future.”

“I can,” Arden dryly responded, almost tired of Law not believing him. The captain was rather childish if the reason he didn’t want to go for help from an actual navigator was for something as ‘not wanting to reveal it too soon’. Well, I guess it makes sense. The Straw Hats are still an unpredictable bunch and my heart is in his possession. Who else to do the job than me?

“Alright, I’ll do it,” he agreed, folding the map back up. “You’ll need it by tomorrow morning, right? I’ll probably be able to get it done by then, Enoki.”

“...”

Seeing his eyebrows be furrowed slightly more than usual, Arden made a sound of realization. “Enoki-- it’s a type of mushroom. It’s tall and slim too. But with a large mushroom cap in comparison. Befitting, right? Or would you rather me call you Torao like everyone else?” he asked with a cheeky grin after getting a judging silence.

Then, his smile dropped for a mere second. “I have a feeling you’re gonna ask me something, so my answer is: I can’t tell you. It’ll ruin the surprise. It’s a good one too. Now, let’s go eat! Sanji's cooking is to die for.”

.

Chapter Text

.

“New Kama Kempo Technique! 99 Vital Recipes!” Sanji spoke while finishing up the dish using the large makeshift stove he built with Brook in order to be able to cook enough for everyone. Many were gathered around as the smell attracted them to it. “It’ll boost up your cold, weary body! Hormone soup with sea pork! Since you guys haven’t eaten for days, start with the soup and eat it slowly,” he first served Kin’emon and his son, Momonosuke.

Luffy looked on with jealousy. Momonosuke, was refusing it despite his ravaging stomach, but had a change of heart once his father started eating with graciousness-- something that the man has never admitted before. It was as if they had overcome a great barrier that had prevented them from indulging what they needed for the sake of pride.

The smell of the soup had the ability to amour even the most steadiest of hearts-- even the Marine soldiers forgot about the boundary they set up to divide ‘good’ and ‘evil’.

“Hey, Mugiwara-ya,” Law walked over to Luffy. “We have to leave in a hurry. We don’t have much time to eat here. Somebody’s coming for us.”

“Really?”

“Tell your crew.”

“Alright. Got it.” Luffy stood on top of a makeshift chair then shouted for attention. “Guys! Somebody’s coming after us. So… you gotta hurry! It’s a banquet!”

As everyone rallied at that announcement, Law could only looked on with a major look of bewilderment at his decision.

“Cheers!” Arden had already made himself comfortable with the Straw Hats again as they drank their first round of booze to start off the feast.

"You're done after one round?" Zoro snickered as he poured another round for himself. 

"Your definition of one round versus mine is very different," Arden argued back, cheeks already tinted red. He waved a hand at the mug he held. "Look at this! It's huge!"

"Nah, sounds like you're just weak."

"Oh, really?" Arden cocked up a brow as if to challenge that idea but then gave a shrug. "You're absolutely correct..." before the swordsman could give a victorious smirk, he then leaned forward, saying in a hushed tone, "If you count taking care of my own liver as weak."

Amused, Zoro returned the hushed voice with his own. "Good thing I have a strong liver then, huh?"

He gave an eyeroll of a response as the other looked on for the rebuttal. Luffy then came in-between them, both arms draped around the men's shoulders. He gave a wide charismatic grin, hand raising his drink, sloshing the contents of it around. "Let's party!!"

Arden returned the smile, ultimately giving in after seeing the captain beaming as bright as the sun. "Usopp, one more round for me as well!"

***

Everyone around was in a joyous mood, recovering from the suffering they had endured mere hours ago. In fact, it seemed as though none of them were in any danger at all. Like they hadn’t just been through life and death to get to where they are right now.

“Look closely!” Usopp said, pressing on Franky’s nose. “I, 2, 3!” After three seconds, his hairstyle suddenly changed, resembling that of the top half of a bear’s head. The robot enthusiasts were cheering loudly at that display, along with Arden as well. Nothing was holding him back from fanboying! As time went on, the children were getting bolder with the adults. Some even come to Arden and touch either his wings or ears.

His wings were now properly breathing after he switched the button-up shirt he wore to be front to back, the coat changing to one with slits for them to go through provided by Kin’emon.

“Woah, it’s a bunny bird!”

“So cute!”

“Big bro, where did you get them?”

“Mmmmm…” Arden thought about it for a moment, but then broke out into a large grin. “Through magic!”

***

When the banquet was over, it was decided that the Navy were going to take the tanker instead since Chopper and Nami wanted to see them off, and waiting for the Navy backup to arrive would be a pain for the pirates. Seeing them off, Arden was still holding a tiny snowman one of the kids had given him earlier.

“Hey hey, Straw Hats! If the Tanker is ours then...” A G-5 soldier yelled, holding up the large brush they had used earlier, he used it to create a new line, this is the line! Don’t think of crossing it! This is the line between good and evil!“

“Don’t step on it! Stay away!”

“Again?!” Luffy pouted with a meatdrum in his mouth. “You were enjoying the banquet a few minutes ago.”

“No, no! No, idiot! About that we really… thank you for the meal!” They all said the last part together.

“But you guys are pirates! A dishonour to the human race!”

When the horn blared, Sanji noted, “Guess they’re ready to set sail.”

“1, 2, 3!” A long flagged barrier was put up on said boundary line, preventing the kids from seeing the Straw Hats. The kids had started to complain, wanting to see their saviours, yet G-5 was unwavering in their stance that the Navy stood for justice and that pirates were the scum of the earth.

“The spiral eyebrowed bro!”

“The Navy’s in our way!”

“Move!”

A gunshot rang into the air. “If you wanna say goodbye to pirates, you’re a bad kid! If you say ‘thank you’ to them, we’ll drag you out of the tanker and leave you here!” This shut the kids up, even when in tears.

“Listen! Pirates are bad and the Navy is good!”

“Unforgivable! Pirates are Unforgivable! We don’t want pirates!”

Arden gave a long sigh, walking off to avoid a tearful scene as they continued their chants, knowing full well they’re only doing this to stop their own selves from liking pirates. “These guys are such idiots.” He had wanted to stay and say the final good-bye to the kids, but he knew this limelight should be given to the Straw Hats and them only.

***

“Whenever you’re ready, Luffy!” Franky shouted from the steering wheel.

“Ah, I’m pooped,” Arden huffed out as they set out to sea, laying on the ground in a starfish pose. He let his eyes close to get some quick shut eye as the others took a final look on Punk Hazard.

“Let’s set sail!”

To the side, he heard Law talking into a Den Den Mushi. “What a surprise. I didn’t expect the boss himself to show up.”

“Told you,” Arden hummed silently, before drifting back into his nap. “Good surprise, right?”

“J-Joker! Help me!” Caesar yelled, earning a shoe to be thrown at his head. He was chained up in Kairoseki handcuffs so he was rendered helpless.

“Someone’s trynna sleep here,” Arden hissed, his exhaustion catching up to him finally. Law had continued his conversation with Doflamingo, soon ending it with the deal that in exchange for Caesar Clown, the man would resign from being a Shichibukai. Arden couldn’t help it but to twitch at that mention as he knew the truth of what was to come. The thought flashed that he should tell Law about it, but shut it down as quick as it came. No, this time decisions were even more important. This upcoming arc marks a turning point.

There was also another factor to take into consideration:

He didn't know why but the moment he stepped off of Punk Hazard, he felt his memory of what should happen next get fuzzier. Like he just finished the tutorial of a video game and was now starting the real route.

***

“Ow, ow, ow… Easy!” Caesar yelled.

“Be quiet!” Chopper scolded, fixing the nose that Luffy broke. “To be honest, I wanna kick your ass!”

“Ouch!”

“But I’m a doctor, so I won’t!”

“Be careful-- Ouch!”

Arden pulled up a sly smirk at the sight, remembering how the scientist interrupted his nap. “Hey, Chopper, I’d like to give a helping hand too.”

“Really? That’d be great!”

Caesar took notice of the twisted expression that was evident on Arden’s face despite his sweet words, and started screaming. “No, no, no! If you let him do it, my nose will fall off! I’ll die!”

“Nami, where’s our next destination?” Luffy asked.

“Hmm… let’s see…”

“Our next destination is already set,” Law spoke, walking into the main area. “It’s Dressrosa.”

“Dressrosa?!” Luffy asked, not knowing what that is.

“Yes, there’s something we have to do there.”

“D-Dressrosa?!” Kin’emon exclaimed.

“What? Do you know the place?” Luffy asked.

“Th-that’s exactly where we… I mean, I want to go! You need to go there too?!”

“Uh huh. Probably.”

“You have no idea what’s going on, do you?” Law asked.

“Nope!” Luffy grinned.

“Well, actually, the first warning I gave was about Luffy,” Arden said with a laugh, seeing Law’s deadpan face, the others didn’t know what he meant by that save for the man in the large white hat. “By the way, the waves are getting louder--”

“The current is shifting?!” Nami said in disbelief, looking down at the ocean.

“Woah!” The boat started rocking violently against the tides although the weather was perfectly fine. “A slope?!”

“Yahoo!” Luffy excitedly said, sitting on top of Sunny’s head. “It’s fast! The ship’s going fast!”

“Look out for rock reefs!” Nami warned.

“What’s going on around here?!” Usopp said.

“It’s a sea slope,” Law answered. “It’s not uncommon.”

“It is uncommon!”

“We don’t have to go against the current. The needle in the middle on your Log Pose must be pointing toward Dressrosa, but don’t try to go straight. Take a detour.”

“Why?” Nami said after checking the Log Pose on her wrist.

“Because it’ll work out better for us.”

“He’s being such a know-it-all smart-ass,” Zoro commented which Arden snickered at.

“Come to think of it,” Robin said. “You were talking on the Den Den Mushi earlier. Who were you talking to?”

“That was Doflamingo.”

“Doflamingo?! The Shichibukai?!” Usopp screeched, crying. “I’ve heard he’s the most evil one!”

“The plan’s already in action.”

“What plan?” Zoro asked.

“Yeah, tell us about the plan!” Luffy said with excitement. “Get together, everybody!”

***

“We formed an alliance to kill one of the Yonkō?!”

“The Yonkō, huh?” Zoro smiled. “It’s great!”

“No, it’s not!” Usopp retorted.

“That’s a super big deal!”

“Wait, wait! Let’s calm down, everybody!” Usopp said, hands up in the air. “Luffy, tell them about the alliance.”

“Okay! We and Torao’s pirate group formed an alliance!” he patted the back of the other captain’s who looked as if he did not want to be there. “Let’s be nice to each other! Heeheeheehee!”

“Does anybody wanna oppose this?!” Usopp then raised his hand. “I do!” Chopper and Nami followed in suit.

“Does it make any difference?” Brook said, referring to the fact that the moment Luffy decides on something, it was what the crew had to agree with.

“Luffy’s mind is already set, isn’t it?” Sanji said, serving a cup of tea for Robin before approaching Law in a hushed manner. “But I have to warn you. There may be a slight difference between how you define ‘alliance’ and how Luffy defines it. Be careful.”

“Yeah, we went over that already,” Arden nonchalantly said, not knowing he had just eavesdropped because of his hearing.

“That’s why Luffy kept saying ‘kidnap’ which was so out of character for him.” He pointed at Caesar who was being checked up on by Chopper. “If he had just come to me with that strange sheep and asked me to cook it, I wouldn’t know what to do.”

“Shirororororo… you bastards. You’re not gonna get away with this. Extraordinarily big names will hunt you down! Idiots! Realize how stupid you are! Go to hell--!” he was interrupted by a kick to the face by Sanji.

“Hey, Sanji!” Chopper scolded. “I was in the middle of his treatment! … Wait until I finish it.”

“Really?!” Sanji asked incredulously.

“I asked you guys to kidnap Caesar at Punk Hazard,” Law began, beginning to reveal more of his plan. “Meanwhile, I destroyed the machine which was manufacturing a substance called SAD. The great pirates in the New World often have their own territory. They lead countless numbers of people and reign like a syndicate. It’s nothing like what you’ve seen before. One pirate group is never strong enough even to see their captain’s face. But since it’s an underground community, they have to do their businesses secretly to avoid the Navy. and Doflamingo is the most trusted and powerful man among them. His underground alias is Joker. And Joker’s most important business partner now is… one of the Yonkō - Kaido, the King of the Beasts. Our target.”

As he was saying it in a serious manner, the rest of the Straw Hats were casually going about their usual things. Brook and Zoro had fallen asleep whilst listening, Usopp was busy hammering at something he was making, Luffy sat beside Law (but, honestly, is he really listening?). The only ones intently listening to him seemed to be Kin’emon, Momonosuke, and Arden. The brunette wanted to make sure the information lined up with what he knew already. 

Wow, when he does talk, he goes into great detail. Some even being unnecessary.

Although, he couldn't help but to be amused by it. It was a quirk he found kind of endearing in an odd way.

“What?! K-Kaido?!” The samurai shook in his place while his son had turned back into a dragon with a poof.

“What’s the matter?” Zoro asked, awakened from his little nap.

“Never mind. Go on.” he turned to look where his son was but was dumbfounded when he found a dragon instead. It didn't take long for him to start freaking out. “Aaaahh! Why is there a dragon here?! Where did Momonosuke go?!”

“That’s him,” Luffy said.

“H-Haaahhh?! Th-this dragon is Momonosuke?”

The dragon nodded.

“What?! What happened to you?!”

“In order to take him down, we have to weaken his forces,” Law continued after that little scene. “Kaido is buying a large amount of fruit from Joker now. It’s a Zoan type, man-made Devil Fruit - SMILE.”

Arden couldn’t help but to shift his attention to the Straw Hat’s captain who was currently picking his nose, mind at who knows where. But definitely it was not listening to Law talking. The fact such polar opposites were sitting right next to each other, and displaying just how different they were entertained him.

“M-Man-made?!” Usopp yelled, accidentally hammering his finger from the news. “If such a thing exists, the number of Devil Fruit eaters will keep multiplying!”

“That’s right.”

“Don’t say it so casually!” Nami said, drinking tea with Robin sitting near her. Chopper was near as well, standing, shocked at what was being said.

“Since it’s man-made though, it seems like there are some risks involved. But, in fact, Kaido has more than five hundred Devil Fruit eaters in his pirate group.”

This caught Luffy’s attention as he made a sound of intrigue. Usopp immediately raised his hand. “Who doesn’t wanna do it?! I don’t!” Nami agreed strongly with another “I don’t!” followed by Chopper.

“Shut up,” Zoro said to the panicking Usopp, fed up with it.

“But Devil Fruit eaters won’t multiply anymore.” Law looked straight up front, which caused everyone to turn their heads to a now blushing and rather meek Caesar Clown.

“Really? Him?”

“Were you making a substance for the man-made Devil Fruit?” Chopper asked. “How cool! SAD!”

Brook added, “I can’t believe it.”

“Don’t praise him!” Usopp yelled as Caesar laughed in embarrassment.

“Is it that hard to make the SAD thing?” Luffy asked casually.

“He just put Vegapunk’s discovery of ‘Lineage factor’ into practice.”

The group that was previously gathered around Caesar quickly disappeared.

“So Vegapunk is the smart one.”

“He’s just a piece of shit.”

“Shut up, you bastards! Can you fools even make it?!” Caesar quickly screeched after them but was knocked out by another kick from Sanji.

“Joker is finished," Law continued on. "We’re gonna go onto the next move. There’s a factory manufacturing SMILEs somewhere on Dressrosa.”

“Huhh… we should just find it and destroy it?” Franky asked from afar.

Arden drew another Franky in his makeshift notebook, crying silently at how smart he was to have figured that out. Currently, the pages done in his sketchbook consisted of fifty percent different Franky's and fifty percent of other things. One that he liked that didn't include the cyborg was Luffy picking his nose. It was funny to him and caused him to chuckle whenever he was able to take glimpses at it. 

“That’s right. Then Kaido’s forces won’t strengthen. However, he’s a professional businessman. I’m sure he’ll retaliate.”

“Dressrosa, huh?” Luffy asked, running up to the father and son duo. “Is that where you wanna go, Kin?”

The samurai unsheathed his sword. “Indeed! They’re keeping one of my comrades prisoner. Huh? Oh, something is falling.” he looked up, seeing dark clouds filling the sky.

“What are these clouds?” Sanji asked.

“Looks like it’s going to start raining,” Robin inquired.

“It’s not rain, it’s hail.”

“This is…” Nami furrowed her brows, rushing to climb up the ship.

“Nami!”

“What’s wrong?” Luffy asked. “Is there something to those clouds?”

“We should prepare for something big!” Arden called out.

“Franky, prepare for the Coup de Burst!” Nami called from up high.

“Okay, I got it!”

“Somebody, take the helm!” Nami ordered.

“I’ll take it!”

“We gotta furl the sails!”

“I wonder what those clouds are.”

“Hard aport! Coup de Burst toward 9 o’clock!” Nami’s voice came from the speakers. “Head for an area with no clouds!”

Suddenly, everything went dark. Looking up, Arden whistled. “Damn, that is huge.” A hail as large as three palaces combined came into their view from high above. The next second, the ship was launched into the air, just as the gigantic hail hit the ocean. It wasn’t long before they escaped that area of poor weather.

“We got away!”

“That was close!”

“Thank you as always, Nami dear!”

“Are you guys trying to kill me?!” Caesar yelled.

“Oh, that was fun!” Luffy said. “Momo, did you like it? Don’t you think this ship is cool?!”

“I-it is cool!” Momonosuke said, turning back into a human.

“Haha!” Franky emerged from below the cola storage. “Nothing is impossible for the Thousand Sunny that I built! It’s Super, isn’t it?!”

“It is Super!” they both exclaimed, including Arden who did the pose with them.

“Momo, do you wanna look around the ship?” Nami offered. “I’ll give you a tour.”

“Really?! Alright, you may!”

“Let’s go!”

As the pair left for the tour, Arden hummed and sat on the seat Luffy was on previously, casually saying, “Enoki, you haven’t said anything. Was it not surprising?” he looked over only to see a still quiet Law. Leaning his head back onto the wooden structure, he wondered what Law was thinking. Probably hoping he would shut up and leave him alone. He could practically feel the two hundred walls Law had built around him to prevent anyone from trying to converse with him.

“Why don’t I give you a tour too? I’m not a Straw Hat but I’ve received one when I first arrived. So it’ll be… a tour-tour.” Still silent. He gave a sideways glance towards the other before tilting his head to the side. “... If you ever want one, just tell me. Don’t act like such a stranger with these guys. Think you’ll find yourself liking them a lot more than you think you will.”

“... Is this another one of your predictions?”

“Nah. It’s a fact,” Arden grinned. “Anyway, rest well.”

.

Chapter Text

.

“Enoki, did you finally come to me for a tour?” Arden said, not looking up from the desk as he heard the library door be opened and closed.

“How did you know it was me?”

He pointed to his ears which twitched at Law as if to greet him. “Your footsteps. The way you breathe. Kinda annoying at times. Ah.” Adren looked up, turning around to see him still near the door. “I don’t mean you. I meant my sensitive hearing. Wonder if I can control it.”

“... Are you still working on the map, Usagi-ya?”

“Hm? Ah, yeah.” He turned to continue working. “Sorry, the tour-tour will have to wait.”

“I didn’t come here for the tour. I came to check up on your progress.”

“Mm. See for yourself then. Busy right now.”

Law walked closer until he was at the table, peering down at the work. “... Did you draw a whole new map?”

“Yeah. The original one had some charm. Couldn’t bring myself to draw over it. Sorry it’s taken a while, I’ve been trying to research how to draw proper maps…” Various maps and books were scattered along the table haphazardly. Making maps was a lot more technical than what he was used to. For starters, he had to use a compass, a protractor, and a ruler-- definitely not something he uses when he normally draws. Back in his universe, his strengths lied in illustration with a major in animation.

A few seconds passed when the sound of ruffling around could be heard near where the couches were.

“You don’t have to stay. I’m almost fini--” he broke off in a small yawn. “--shed. You should rest up. You couldn’t have slept that well outside in that uncomfortable looking position. The Aquarium Bar is usually empty and quiet. If you want a bed, the Sick Bay has one you can use.”

“Is there a problem if I stay here?”

“Huh?” Arden looked up. “No, it’s just… wouldn’t you want to be alone?” Law had looked off to the side after meeting him in the eyes for a moment, still noiseless. Arden’s face slowly contorted to a frowning pout. “You have something you wanna say, right? Is it about Dressrosa?”

That caught his attention. “Yeah. You’re probably going to say no, but I’d rather this plan go as smoothly as possible.”

“Well, it won’t.”

“What?” They locked eyes for a second, causing Arden to scratch his head after seeing the fierce expression on his face.

“Why don’t you take my relaxed expression as a sign that it might be a good omen?”

“‘Might’? I need to know what precautions to take. I can’t afford for this plan to go wrong.” his eyes were blazing, as if he was thinking of something that angered him. “What part of it will go wrong? Does the plan go perfectly well? I've taken precautions to minimize any kind of surprises, but if I'm wrong in any way…"

“I… tsk.”Arden gave in with a tongue click, knowing all too well just how strong his sense of revenge was for him to lose his cool. It would be better if the events that occurred could be avoided in some parts. He was weighing the options as he looked at Law who was, for once since meeting him, showed more human emotions. Frustration was on his face along with a mix of worry: a combination which Arden didn’t mind looking at when on his face.

“Aaahh, if you look like that, I’m gonna want to tell you. Damn.” Law met him in the eyes, as if asking for an answer through furrowed brows, and it drove the artist mad as it was breaking down his barrier quickly. Curse his soft spot for these fictional (that aren’t fictional anymore) characters! “When we get there--” his voice suddenly got hitched the moment he tried to say something about the future.

“...?” The more he tried to speak about it, the more blank air came out. In fact, his throat had started to close up, causing him to touch his neck with his hands. He got up from his seat, stumbling around like a newborn fawn, trying his damndest to get anything out.

Nothing.

This never happened to him before.

Stars started to swim into his vision, his head feeling as light as a balloon. It was getting harder to breathe as well-- like a plug was placed in his esophagus to prevent any air from coming out of his lips. Falling to the floor on his knees from the strain his body was receiving, he stopped trying to say anything, ragged breaths finally made audible.

“Hey! Usagi-ya!” Law had gone over to his side, unsure of what was happening.

Grasping the other’s arm Arden looked up with tears in his eyes from what happened. “I can’t… I can’t say anything about what’s going to happen.” At the end of that sentence, he quickly got up, went over to the table and tried to write something on a piece of paper. His hand suddenly flew across the page, making a bold streak on it. Trying again, the same thing happened. Soon the page was filled only with a scribbled mess. “No… No!” In utter frustration, he rummaged inside his backpack only to find the papers he wrote from before that had all the events happening were gone.

HOW?! Did I lose them somehow?! Did someone steal them during the banquet? But who would steal scraps of paper…?

In utter shock and dismay, he sat back down in his chair, trying to think things through. A good solid few moments passed when he spoke in a small voice. “I’m sorry. I think what’s going to happen in Dressrosa is too important for me to say to anyone else… I’m sorry. I can’t even tell you if we’ll make it there safely or not even though the answer’s obvious.”

“... It’s fine,” he heard him reply, making him blink in pleasant surprise. “We’ll go forward with the plan as intended then. I’ll pretend I never knew you had this ability.”

Suddenly, thoughts of despair washed over him. He had noticed something strange was occurring but had thought nothing of it.

It started only a few hours ago: he had begun to feel rather foggy with memories of what happens in the future and that rather scared him because what he was sure of was that he felt an undying urge to protect Law. Maybe that was why he tried to brush it under the rug. “No, it’s not! Not to mention, details are getting fuzzier in my head after we left Punk Hazard. If this keeps up--!”

“There’s no denying that you were on the verge of passing out a few seconds ago. I doubt you’d be able to fake that. Especially so since I have your heart. Your involvement in all of this was a factor I hadn’t taken into consideration, but it’s fine. I’ll make do with it.”

Arden’s eyes widened, gaze going to where Law was standing, his heart fluttering just the slightest. Though his words seemed cold, he couldn’t help but to feel that he was trying to comfort him.

“... your wings are moving.”

“Heh..? Ah! They are-- why are they?!”

“They were moving in Punk Hazard as well.”

“Eh?!” Arden exclaimed. “When did that happen?!”

Law walked to the table, leaning down to be closer at his level. Seeing the expectant face of the brunette, a corner of his mouth went up before saying, “When you confessed to me.”

“What?! I never d--” He started to shout but stopped into a gasp of horror after remembering that he did confess! His face started to flush crazily once again from embarrassment once the realization hit. “And what’s with that smirk?!” he rubbed his own cheek with the back of his hand, turning away. “You only do that if you want to provoke…” he looked back at the captain who was already standing back up, looking at Arden with a rather easy smile.

“... someone.” his eyebrows furrowed. This wasn’t like how Law usually acts. Right…? “When I tell you to be more friendly, I mean towards the Straw Hats. Not me.”

“The Straw Hats and I are strictly tied together by an alliance. Nothing else beyond that.”

“So I’m free game…?!” he asked incredulously.

Law pulled away after a few seconds, seating himself on the couch once more. “You can tell the future, yet you can’t act upon it. Though there are exceptions, it seems. You also inherited a rather strange Devil Fruit; you really are an anomaly I don’t understand.”

The other only quietly continued working on the map, the noise of pencil flowing along paper filling the room. “... More than the Straw Hats?”

“Yes.”

“... I guess I’m not gonna have my heart back for a while, huh?”

“Yeah,” he bluntly answered. “And you should be more mindful of which fights you get into. Wasting your life needlessly like that is foolish.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“It’d be a waste for such a strange being to die so easily.”

Arden stared at him before breaking into a chuckle as the other said that sentence with a serious tone. He had thought Law would say something along the lines that his death would be a nuisance to his plans. He didn’t expect him to tell a joke-- if it really was one. He hoped it was. But then Arden remembered that he does have a sense of humour, even if it was a bit morbid.

He only seemed stoic when compared to the Straw Hats and their antics. The Straw Hats, after all, were really a weird and unpredictable group. As wild as a forest fire.

“If you’re being so honest, then I’ll do the same.” Getting up from his chair, he grabbed the finished map from on the table, rolling it up. Making his way to Law, he looked down at the seated man, extending his hand out for him to grab the map. “... I won’t.” A slight confident smile appeared on his face, mimicking the one he received earlier from the other man. “You’re strong but I have my strengths too. I might not be able to choose how I die, but I’m able to choose how I fight. As long as I’m able to achieve what I set out to do, I don’t mind dying. Aren’t you the same?”

And in the first place, I don’t belong here. It’s a good chance I might have died before arriving here so if this is a second chance in life, I don’t mind cutting it short.

Short yet with no regrets: that was how he wanted to live this life. Back in his own universe, he was the typical shy, introverted artist that was scared of the world. Never explored, hardly went outside, and very much never took daring chances.

Law’s face went into one of disbelief but it was different from the ones he directs towards the Straw Hats antics. It looked… softer-- purer. Arden mentally decided that he liked seeing that expression on him and wouldn’t mind seeing more of it in the future.

***

Somewhere along the night, Arden had figured out how to hold a pencil using one of his ears and he was practicing it by trying to draw something. He had told Law that he was finished and that he could leave the library but was unwilling to do so for some reason. Arden didn’t necessarily mind his company as the doctor wasn’t one to spy on what someone else was doing for no good reason. Stretching his ears around, brown eyes scanned around the library and soon landed on the other person who had been silent for some time now. His cap was laid low enough that his facial features couldn’t be seen.

Holding up the sketch he did, Arden gave a smile to himself. He had done fanart for the others before back in his universe, but never did any for Law. Since the man himself was right there and he wanted to test out his ears more, he took it upon himself to change that. “If only I could see your eyes, hm.”

Suddenly, the ship began to rock back and forth aggressively.

“What was that?!” Stumbling, he made his way towards the outer deck, Law closely behind him.

Wow, did he wake up quick! Don't tell me he knew I was drawing him. Oh no--

“What?! Who was that?!” Luffy shouted, him and the others from the boys’ cabin rushing out in a messy way.

“What happened?!” Law said.

Chopper and Usopp were hugging each other, yelling. They were wearing Samurai outfits for some odd reason. The night was dark yet everyone could see one thing properly, a mass of glowing green followed by a pair of red glowing dots for each one. One of them then punched Luffy straight in the face, catching everyone off guard.

“You bastard!”

More of those opponents came towards them, and soon they found themselves battling with unknown entities. Arden wasn’t much of a fighter, but because of his sensitive hearing, he was able to dodge most attacks despite the darkness, his agility helping as well in fact.

“Where did they come from?!” Zoro yelled through the clashing of his swords.

“There are about thirty of them! Watch out!” Sanji warned, using his observation haki.

“Thirty?! Really?! I can’t see- it’s too dark!” Brook said, dodging to the best of his ability.

“They seem really familiar!” Arden said, jumping up high after nearly getting attacked. However, his jump caught him off guard as he was about eye level of the main mast’s top high up in the air. Realizing he had no time to panic, he pushed it aside right then and used it to his advantage, targeting the glowing green targets as he came back down, injuring them with his landing. “Right at the tip of my tongue but I can’t figure it out!”

“They’re quite strong!” Kin’emon added, fighting as well with his blade.

“Who are they?!” Law added.

“What? What did you just say?” Chopper asked when one of the creatures made some noise.

“Hey, you guys! Keep it down!” Nami yelled, barging out of the girls’ room having just been woken up. However, that was cut short by a scream when more of those creatures popped up to the side.

Suddenly, a whistle rang into the air and the attackers went as fast as they came and the ship became quiet once again.

“W-what was that?” asked a still shocked Nami.

“Nice to meet you, ladies and gentlemen!” a foreign voice said, making everyone turn to it.

“Who are you?!” Luffy demanded.

“Hetotototototo… my name is Breed,” a man from up top their mast said, the clouds that was blocking the moon from shining disappearing. “I’m a Peto-Peto Fruit eater!”

At the mention of the Devil Fruit, Arden suddenly remembered, making him audibly gasp out loud. It slipped his mind since this was essentially a filler! Damn, these people never can catch a break, huh?

“Peto-Peto (Sticky)?” Zoro asked, confused.

“What’s that?! Are you some kind of slimy man?” Luffy asked.

“That’s not Doflamingo?” Usopp was still hugging Chopper.

“I guess not.”

“Dammit!” Law shouted as one of the creatures from before, a Lapin as it was clear to see now, was carrying Caesar on its shoulders.

“Caesar!”

“Shirorororo! Fools! You can’t keep me as a prisoner! Don’t underestimate Doflamingo!”

“So that guy’s working for Doflamingo, huh?” Sanji said.

“Wait!” Luffy started to run to them but was stopped by a seal-like creature who punched him to the ground at lightning speed.

“Luffy?!”

“Ow, ow, ow…”

“Your body is rubber, it can’t hurt!” Sanji said.

“It’s using haki!” Arden replied, turning to look at the seal with a rather pitying face as he knew its real identity. 

Luffy got up, blood running down his nose slightly. “You bastard!”

“Petototototo! I’ll take Caesar! Goodbye!”

“Dammit!” Law was about to use ‘Room’ but was interrupted when the ship rocked back and forth once again. “What now?!”

“Giant waves!”

“This turbulence--!” Arden cried, a hand to his mouth and another gripping the railing. The ship was bouncing from wave to wave-- one of which he hasn’t experienced before. He still wasn’t used to being out at sea for too long and he’d been trying to ignore the slight dizziness he’d been getting, but really, it seemed that that streak was gonna end right then and there.

“Is that a Rabbit Wave?!” Law said, as if he’s experienced this before.

“Dammit! The ship is bouncing up and down!” Franky said as he held onto the helm. “I can’t control it!”

“What’s that? Guys, look!” Nami pointed.

In front of them was a large looming structure that’s probably made up of a thousand Sunny’s in terms of size.

“What the hell is that?!”

“An enormous island?”

“A Jolly Roger?!”

“It’s a ship!” Arden continued to barely hold his dinner down.

“That guy was a pirate?!”

“Let’s chase him!” Law decided. We can’t let Caesar get away!”

“Luffy! Take the Shark Submerge!” Franky instructed. “It can only carry three people but it can travel underwater!”

“Okay!” Luffy already went and opened the hatch found on the deck.

“Luffy, I’ll come with you!” Chopper said, hopping onto his shoulder. “There’s something that concerns me.”

“Alright!”

“Hey, Luffy! What about us?!” Usopp said.

“Look after the Sunny!”

Deciding that that means he was in charge of the ship, Usopp made a prideful pose. “Gotcha! Don’t worry about the Sunny!”

“Nose-ya, stay alert!” Law warned, readying to jump down the hatch. “Doflamingo himself may come and attack! Be careful!”

“W-wait!” Arden yelled, making his way to the hole, calling out for the three. “Enoki! Do you have earplugs with you?!”

He made a face of confusion. “Why would I need them?”

Brown eyes widened at that answer. “Don’t leave just yet! I’m serious! Tell them not to leave yet!”

Stumbling up, his stomach continued doing jumping jacks and flips all around. Arden braved through it, going into the sick bay. From what he could remember, there were earplugs somewhere in that room. Grabbing them quickly, he went back to the deck and luckily, Law was still waiting for him. “Here! Take them!”

Passing off two pairs of them, Law still looked at them questionably.

“Trust me,” Arden said with a serious tone, putting them in his hand and closing it with his own two. “You’ll need them. Now go, hurry!” Giving a nod, Law soon disappeared to get into the sub.

“Did they leave already?!” Usopp asked, going to the railing side where the Shark Submerge was docked at.

“Are they gonna be okay?” Robin asked.

“What?”

“All three of them are Devil Fruit eaters so if the unexpected happens…”

“Huhhhh?!?! Are they really gonna be alright then?”

“I’m not feel--” Finally, Arden couldn’t hold it back anymore and rushed to the side of the ship, throwing up.

“Ah, why’d you come to this side?!”

***

The remaining crew on the Sunny was left to do nothing but wait idling away for their missing companions to return. Sitting out on the deck, Arden was mindlessly scribbling on a piece of paper, staring at the green grass he laid on with glassy eyes. It didn’t make sense to him: in the original series, Law had earplugs-- that was the whole reason the three of them were able to defeat Breed. If Arden hadn’t double checked out of being a pure worry-wart, then what would have happened?

“Earth to Arden!” a voice called out for him.

Blinking out of his trance, he looked up to find a smiling Nami. “Miss Nami.”

“You look like you’re going through a crisis,” she said, squatting down to get to his level. “They’ll be fine: They’re big boys, after all.”

“Thank you. I believe those three are okay, too. It’s probably because I haven’t gotten any sleep.”

“Really?” She widened her eyes. “That’s not good. Get some rest.”

“Not when everyone else is awake, waiting for them to come back.” He earned himself a light smack on the head with that.

The ginger crossed her arms in front of her chest, brows furrowed in disapproval with a sigh. “Dummy. You said it yourself: you’re not a part of this crew. It’s not your job to worry. Now rest up!”

Arden rubbed the spot where he was injured, nodding in compliance. “If you say it like that, then I have no choice; your slaps hurt, yunno.”

“Really? But I’m a delicate woman, you know?” she said in a playful manner.

“Mmhm,” Arden hummed, going along to entertain her. “The most delicate woman I’ve ever met, in fact. Like a Jasmine flower needing to be looked after with the utmost care."

"In any case, Arden," Usopp came over. "You really need to get your sea sickness in check."

"You think Chopper can help him with that?" Nami asked, getting up.

"I hope so..." the boy murmured, slinking back against the ship, another yawn escaping his lips. "Guess I'll sleep it off for now."

.

Chapter Text

.

The next time Arden woke up, the Sea Lapins had already pulled the Sunny to a place where all they had to do was go in a straight line to get to Dressrosa. Groggily, he waved a goodbye at all the once enslaved animals as they made their way back to becoming pirates of their own.

“See you!” Luffy waved. “Take care!”

“Don’t catch a cold!” Chopper added.

“See you again!”

Giving a big yawn, Arden began stretching his arms up in the air when he caught Law’s stare, causing him to pause. “What’s wrong?”

“... Thanks. The earplugs. They had a use after all,” was all he muttered as he looked away. However, with his sensitive hearing, Arden caught all of it as clear as day, earning a smile from him.

“The morning paper!” Brook said from behind them, holding said object in his hands..

***

Luffy unrolled the newspaper out onto the ground where everyone huddled around. Sanji began reading the main details out loud, “Don Quixote Doflamingo…”

“... withdraws from…” Chopper continued as everyone stared at a man’s face that was plastered on the page. “... The Shichibukai!”

“ “And abdicates the throne of Dressrosa”?! What the hell?!”

“ ‘Throne’ means he was a king?!” Brook said.

“A king?!” Luffy exclaimed. “Then it must be a bird’s kingdom!”

“When things go this well, it’s kind of scary,” Franky said, earning a nod from Arden.

“It’s almost too good to be true…” Arden murmured.

“It’s good,” Law said with a smirk visible. “He had no choice.”

“Hmm…” Luffy hummed. “By the way, why are our faces here as well?” Confused, everyone huddled closer to find that there was another photo. One comprised of the two captains.

“The Shichibukai - Trafalgar Law…”

“Forms an unusual alliance with the Straw Hats?”

“ ‘It is still unknown what the Government will do to Law.’ It says!”

“What the hell is that?”

“There’s something else!” Nami pointed out.

“ ‘Captain Kid, Scratchmen Apoo, Basil Hawkins. The Kid Pirates, the On Air Pirates, and the Hawkins Pirates have formed a pirate alliance as well. The Worst Generation seems to be up to something’,” Arden read for everyone to hear.

“I can’t believe other pirates were forming an alliance, too!”

“They formed an alliance too, huh?” Luffy said. “I wonder if they’re thinking the same thing as us.”

“Possibly,” Arden shrugged.

“Forget about them,” Law said, getting up from his spot. “We’re gonna go on with the plan. Focus on Doflamingo for now.” He walked over and grabbed Caesar’s head roughly, presenting him out. “Now you know how important yesterday’s negotiation was for him. All we did was kidnap Caesar. In contrast, seemingly overnight, he gave up his throne which he’s had for ten years and the carte blanche given to him as a privilege of being a Shichibukai. He did it just to get this guy back and that says a lot!”

Arden looked on with an unreadable expression as Law made a phone call to Doflamingo to commence on with the plan, his arms crossed in front of his chest. This was where things started to get rolling. He repeatedly went through the events that should go on in his head, though they were fuzzy. He knew for a fact that such an important arc and its main details would never leave his mind, but it seemed like a greater power had something else in mind.

“It’s me,” the line picked up. “I resigned from the Shichibukai.”

“He picked up!”

“Picked up!”

“Finally!”

“Doflamingo?!”

“Sssshhhh! Sshhhh!!” Usopp yelled in a whisper. “He’ll hear you!”

“Hello? I’m Monkey D. Luffy!” the Captain grabbed the receiver from Law’s hand. “I’m gonna become the King of the Pirates!” This earned a hard bonk from Usopp.

“I told you to shut up!”

“Hey, Mingo!” Luffy continued, Usopp trying his best to hold him back. “Are you stupid, old Caesar’s boss?! He gave Brownbeard and the children hell! We’ll give you back Caesar as we promised but if you do that again, I will beat the hell out of you!”

“Same to you,” Arden laughed menacingly in a low tone towards Caesar. “I’ll beat you up personally.”

“I’m really going to die!!” The scientist cried in fear.

“Straw Hat Luffy,” Doflamingo answered. “You went away for two years after your brother died. Where were you and what were you doing?”

“I shouldn’t tell anyone about it!”

“I wanted to see you.”

“What?”

“I have something that you want very badly now.”

“Something.. That I’ll want… very badly?” Everyone began to wonder what that meant as Luffy’s eyebrows twitched, a hungry look on his face. “H-Hey! How delicious is that meat you’re talking about?!”

Law pushed Luffy’s face to stop him from talking. “Mugiwara-ya! Don’t get drawn into his pace!”

“One chunk of meat! Two chunks of meat!”

“It’s too late. He’s got nothing but meat on his mind,” Arden shook his head, the dreaming look evident on the captain’s face.

“Luffy!” Usopp started to shake him by his shirt, trying to snap himself out of it. “Keep yourself together! This is a special attack called ‘His Pace’!”

“One hundred chunks of meat! Two hundred chunks of meat!”

“Stop! Don’t get drawn into it!”

“He’s got heart eyes!” Arden said with a wide mouth, wondering how that even works logistically.

“Joker!” Law got a hold of the receiver again. “Cut the crap! We’ll hand Caesar over to you as we promised.”

“Well, that’s for your own good,” Doflamingo said as Usopp tried to slap Luffy out of his daze. Literally. “If you try to run away with him, you know what will happen to you guys. Now, can I hear my precious business partner’s voice?”

Law pointed the receiver towards where Caesar was and he immediately took the chance, inching closer to it from where he sat. “Joker! I’m sorry! You resigned from the Shichibukai for me!” he tried to take the receiver, but Law retracted his hand before he could.

“Did you hear him?”

“Yeah, he sounded fine.”

“Eight hours from now. At the beach on the southeast side of Green Bit, the solitary island north of Dressrosa. We will leave Caesar there at three in the afternoon. Go ahead and pick him up, and this will be finished.”

“That’s too bad. I wish I could have a drink with you…”

“Just hang up!” Luffy interrupted, his cheeks swollen from all the slaps taken.

Clank.

“That was close,” Luffy sighed. “You almost got drawn into his pace.”

“Your eyes! Your eyes!” Usopp said.

“Holy smokes, they’re meat now!” Arden exclaimed with a dropped jaw.

“Hey, wait!” Sanji said. “We didn’t tell him how many men he can bring!”

“ ‘How many men’?” Chopper and Usopp repeated.

“That’s right. What’re we gonna do if he brings his entire crew?”

“You're right! NOOOO--!”

“No, it doesn’t matter,” Law replied. “The handover of Caesar is a part of our plan. It’s just to lure them.”

“You mean destroying a SMILE manufacturing factory while it’s unguarded is our main purpose?!” Usopp inquired.

“Yes. But we don’t know where it is.”

“You’re joking.”

“Don’t worry!” Franky said. “Factories are big. You can barely miss them. Once we get there, we’ll super find it! I’ll destroy it with my laser beam!”

“Oh, brother!” Usopp and Chopper joined Franky in doing his signature pose.

Arden’s lip twitched at being able to possibly witness him using his laser beam again, but was overshadowed with the feeling of what’s to come. So much so, that he didn’t go with the flow and joined in on them this time around. “That is to say, if it’s not well hidden. It could be right under our noses and we wouldn’t know.”

He and Law exchanged a glance that turned into a quick nonverbal conversation.

‘You know where it is, don’t you?’

‘I do, but I probably can’t guide you to it or tell you. Who knows? I might pass out if I try to.’

Law turned around, giving a silent exhale. “I have intelligence on everything but the factory.”

“No wonder,” Nami said. “It’s an important asset for them, isn’t it? Maybe there is a secret to it.”

“Law-dono!” Kin’emon approached him with his son. “Law-dono! You said you’re gonna go to Green Bit earlier!”

“Earlier!” His son joined.

“We’ll dock this ship at Dressrosa. Don’t worry.” This earned a sigh of relief from the two.

“Is that so? Thank you!”

“Torao, have you been to that island?” Luffy asked, arms behind his head in a casual manner. “Dressroba!”

“It’s ‘rosa’!” Law corrected in a frustrated tone. “I’ve never been there. It’s that bastard’s kingdom.”

Luffy gave a beaming smile. “Then, let’s figure everything out once we get there! Heehee, it’s gonna be an adventure! Can’t wait to go to Dressrosa! I wanna go to the Wano Kingdom soon, too!”

“Don’t be ridiculous! You can’t just show up without a plan--”

“Sanji, I’m hungry!” The boy ran up the stairs towards the kitchen. “What do we have for breakfast?”

“Sandwiches.”

“Yeah! I want a cotton-candy sandwich!” Chopper requested, everyone starting to go to the kitchen.

“I’ll just have a cup of tea.”

“I’m gonna have a cola!”

“Yohohohoho! A glass of milk for me!”

“I think the best breakfast in the world is Sanji’s sandwiches!” Nami said to Arden and Momonosuke before making her way to the kitchen as well.

“What is a sandwich?”

“Really?! I can’t wait to try it out,” Arden said, his stomach growling. “C’mon Enok-”

“I don’t like bread!” Law shouted, an expression of disbelief that he said that appeared straight afterwards.

“Ahahahaha!” Arden laughed out loud at the sight, patting Law on the back as if to tell him to go. “We’ll get you something else, how ‘bout that?”

“....” Law looked at him with his usual glare.

“With that expression, you’re either very picky or it comes from trauma,” Arden said with a small smile, the last bit almost catching Law off guard, making the other quickly add, “... Because bread is the best thing in the whole world! Who doesn’t like bread if not for those two reasons!” He then started to push the taller man behind his back up towards the stairs. “Now let’s go! I’m starving!”

***

“I can’t tell you why we were being chased,” Kin’emon said as everyone was happily munching on their breakfast. “But we set sail for the place called Zou originally.”

“Zou?” Law asked, chewing on his onigiri.

“Do you know it?”

“It’s another coincidence. After handing over Caesar and destroying the SMILE factory, I was gonna head for Zou.”

This shocked the samurai enough that he stood up from where he sat. “Really?!”

“Yeah, my crew’s already there.”

A burp came from Brook.

“How does that even work?” Arden asked with a face.

“I-If so, can we go along with you there?” Kin’emon asked.

“Yes, you can!” Luffy said with a mouthful, fist in the air. “Let’s go there and then the Wano Kingdom!”

“Hey!” Law said.

Kin’emon, wanting to desperately go, slammed his head on the table, bowing deeply with his son. “Thank you!”

“W-well…” the doctor was at a slight loss for words.

“Luffy-dono, thank you for everything!”

“Everything!” his son repeated, still in his dragon form.

“Heehee. Don’t mention it! Right, Torao?”

Law looked away with his chin resting on his hand, knowing he possibly had no other choice. Arden smiled at that.

Brook then farted. “Pardon me.”

“I seriously need to move away from you,” Arden muttered, scooching away from the skeleton a tad bit.

“Three samurais including me, and Momonosuke-- four of us headed for Zou but our ship wrecked, and two of us samurais and Momonosuke drifted into Dressrosa.”

“But we had been chased by Doflamingo and the others there,” Momonosuke continued. “And I ran into an unknown ship. There, I met the children who were looking to get treated. And unfortunately, the ship left the port before I knew it and headed for that island.”

“I was gonna go after the ship and my fellow samurai Kanjuro tried to cover me but got caught!” tears started to fall onto the table. “He let me sail out to the sea! I have to save him! I have to go back!”

Franky and Chopper appeared, both with tears and snot visible and pouring out as well. “What a man, Kanjuro!”

“Kanjuro!”

Arden said his name as well, but it had slight venom laced into it. “Kanjuro…”

“Alright! I’m gonna go save him with you!” Luffy declared with a large smile.

“Guys!” Law snapped, realizing that the Straw Hats were going off track again. “Don’t forget our purpose!”

“Kanjuroooo!!”

***

“He’s a quick one,” Arden noted when the moment they docked, Luffy jumped onto land.

“We made it! Dressrosa!”

“That’s our captain,” Robin said to Arden with a light laugh.

“I said you’re too loud, Luffy! We’re in their territory now!” Usopp scolded.

“Gahahahaha!”

“Geez…”

Franky was the second one to step on land. “Ow! This week, I’m… super! I’m gonna find the factory right away and ka-boom!”

“I said you guys are being too loud!”

Arden dropped down to the rocky floor, staring at the direction of where the main Kingdom of Dressrosa was with a grim expression. He didn’t feel like having fun or partying. Not when he knew of what was to come in pretty gritty details-- as gritty as his memory would allow it for the meantime. He still had to decide for himself how he was going to approach this, but after gazing over at Law he had already sealed which route he decided to take.

“We should just go to town, right?” Luffy asked.

“Yeah,” Law replied. “Listen, don’t let your guard down. If we fail to destroy the factory, it’ll mess up our whole plan.”

“Oh yeah! I just had a good idea! Momo!”

“... tch.”

As Luffy was up to his usual antics with trying to fly on Momo’s back, Arden caught up to Law, and spoke in a quiet volume once they were side by side. “You probably decided to have me stay on the ship, but let me come with you guys to deliver Caesar.”

“I never planned for that. It’ll be a better move if you stick with me,” he replied impassively, not even shedding a glance his way. “I’m the only one that knows your ability-- it might prove useful.”

Arden only gave a nod even though the other couldn’t see it. “Then I’ll rest easy for now.”

“I’m not gonna fly in the sky!” Momonosuke shouted.

“What? Are you afraid of heights?” Luffy asked with crossed arms, tilting his head to the side. He didn’t mean to make fun of him-- it was a genuine question, yet the child took it differently.

“You bastard!” The pink dragon lunged for the captain and began to chew on his rubbery head.

“Ouch!”

“Don’t disrespect me! We warriors don’t get scared of anything!”

“Ow, ow, ow, ow… You!” Luffy then punched him square in the face. “Stop it, you idiot!”

“He just really punched a child,” Arden pointed with a shaky finger after walking closer to the scene, face in mild disgust.

The two then began to go into a full on fight. “What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Ow, ow, ow!”

“You’re unforgivable!”

“What the hell are they doing?” Sanji asked.

Brook took a sip of his tea. “Luffy, he’s an eight-year old…”

“Cut the warrior crap! I’m gonna become the King of the Pirates someday! Idiot!”

“I’m gonna become the shogun of the Wano Kingdom someday! Fool!”

“What did you say?! You eel!”

“You’re so arrogant! You monkey!”

“Who did you call ‘monkey’?! You’re being rude to a monkey!”

“I think they’re around the same age mentally, though,” Arden noted.

The fight only stopped when Kin’emon shouted, “Enough, Momonosuke! He saved us!” When they finally broke apart from one another, the samurai continued. “I’m sorry, Luffy-dono. Please forgive him. Even though he’s a child, he’s a proud warrior of the Wano Kingdom. Having said that, I can’t believe you take an eight-year old so seriously!”

“I don’t like cowards! Idiot!” Luffy only pouted sorely before sticking out his tongue to taunt the child. As Momonosuke followed it back, his father scolded him once again.

“I said, ‘Enough’!”

“Dammit! O-Nami!” the kid dashed over to Nami in a flash, burying his head into her chest. As Nami was comforting him, Brook, Sanji, and Kin’emon were going on a rage at what they were seeing.

“You damn brat! Get off her!” they all simultaneously shouted.

At that point, Arden decided to tune out of what was happening and instead was staring at the big rock formations with wide observant eyes. Oh, did he just want to stay here for hours and paint them… If only he had any paints to begin with.

“What are you staring at?” Zoro asked him, following his gaze but found nothing that interested him.

“The rocks,” Arden smiled.

“Huh… okay, then.” Once again, he looked at said objects, but continued to draw a blank in confusion. They were just rocks after all. Overgrown ones, at that.

“All those bumps and crevices,” Arden turned to look at the swordsman, revealing stars in his eyes. “It’s absolutely beautiful. I could cry if I continued looking at them for more than a minute!”

Before Zoro could even try to answer, Law said something that caught everyone’s attention after giving a vivre card to Nami that directs it to Zou.

“But if anything happens to us, go straight there.”

“W-Wait a second!”

Law laid out the map that Arden drew onto the ground, everyone gathering around.

“What do you mean ‘Anything happens’? Nothing will happen, right?” Usopp asked worriedly.

“Who knows?”

“What’s that?” Luffy asked, looking at the map for the first time.

“This is a map I had Usagi-ya draw for me.”

“Wow, it’s so detailed!” Nami said, leaning down to look at it more closely.

This caused Arden to blush slightly-- it was a huge compliment to hear that from possibly the best Navigator in the New World. He was no expert on maps, but he tried his best to draw in buildings and main structures he could grasp from his memory. Though it was messy, the initial map he was given served as a good reference point as well. Upon a closer look, the original map was a lot more useful than first impressions would give.

“We’re here now, at the west coast of Dressrosa,” Law pointed at a spot on the paper before moving it upwards. “Doflamingo’s palace is at the center of Dressrosa. The SMILE manufacturing factory must be somewhere on the island. We don’t have much time. The Factory Destroying Team must move quickly. We, the Caesar Handover Team, will go across Dressrosa and cross the very long bridge to the north and get to Green Bit.”

“Why do we have to go across Dressrosa?” Usopp asked nervously. “We can just take the ship! All of us together!”’

“I heard it’s impossible to travel by water.”

“Oh, that sounds interesting,” Robin said.

“I hope wings and rabbit ears are normal there...” Arden worriedly added.

“P-Please get me there safely!” Caesar stuttered.

“Oh no, I have a Fear-of-Dressrosa-itis!” Usopp habitually said.

“I heard that’s a fatal disease,” Arden said in a serious tone.

“Right?! That means I shouldn’t go!”

“And you all, the Sunny’s Security Team,” Law said. “Should watch out for the enemy’s attack. Don’t let them take the ship!”

“What?!” Nami said. “What do you mean by that?!”

“Are they gonna attack us?!” Momonosuke asked.

“What?! I thought guarding the ship was the safest!” Brook exclaimed.

Chopper was the only one that seemed to get the memo. “Guys, we’re in the enemy’s stronghold. But we’re with Sanji so...” he turned to look for the cook but was met with air. “Huh?! Sanji’s not here!”

“I mean, Luffy and the others are gone too!” Usopp said.

“Tch. They’re the key to this plan! Where did they go?!”

“Town,” Arden replied. … Off to find girls, more like. Arden thought, referring to a certain blonde. Dude has a serious incurable illness.

“Hey! Who’s gonna protect us?!” Chopper was now the one panicking.

.

Chapter Text

.

Arden was staring nonstop at the moving toys, his eyes practically bulging through the sunglasses he wore. He wasn’t surprised but more so inspired. He couldn’t take a picture or whip out his sketchbook, so the next best thing was to sear it into his mind as vividly as possible.

The Caesar Handover Team were at a café located in the Northeast of town, where they were trying to gather more information. Caesar and Law had to put on fake moustaches on top of their disguises whereas Robin, Arden, and Usopp only really had to hide their eyes and wear a hat. The café was quaint and was also quite lively-- Arden slightly wished they were inside the restaurant instead since it looked so nice, but dining outside was a smarter choice. They weren't here on vacation, after all. 

“Green Bit?” A waiter said after being asked about it by them, delivering their drinks. “I don’t recommend you to go there. Are you people researchers or explorers?”

“Yeah, something like that,” Usopp answered.

“You better not go unless you have a purpose that’s worth risking your life.”

“That bridge looks very strong though…” Robin said, looking at the bridge they had to cross that was close to where they were. It was littered with warning signs and tapes at the entrance, the dirt and age of them evident to anyone. The bridge itself had some bends to its sidings yet still stood sturdy. Compared to the rest of the town it stood out like a sore thumb almost with its neglect in care.

“Yes, it’s made of iron. But, look at the entrance. Nobody’s crossing it nowadays as you see. A school of Fighting Fish inhabits the area around Green Bit. before they came, people used to come and go freely but that was two hundred years ago.”

“Shirororororo…. Mister, what’s a Fighting Fish?”

“It’s a savage fish with horns. If you approach them by a ship, they’ll capsize you. That’s why they reinforced the bridge with iron but it’s no use.”

“No use?! What do you mean?!” Usopp asked. “Can they even tear down an iron bridge?!”

“Well, I don’t know the current condition of the bridge. Only people who crossed it know but i don’t know anyone who came back.”

“What?!” Usopp shouted as the waiter left. He then leaned forward on the table and whispered urgently, “Hey, Torao! You have to change the handing-over spot now!”

Arden drank his ice cold coffee in peace as the whole conversation was taking place, wondering what the fish he knew on screen would look like in real life. Probably a lot scalier and grosser to look at. Imagining it gave him slight shivers.

“He’s right!” Caesar joined. “Think what it’s like to be handed over at such a place, fool!”

“You fool!”

“I’m not gonna change it,” Law replied, calmly taking a sip of his drink. “We’re already here. Stop making a fuss. More importantly, I’m worried about the situation of this country.” he stuck a thumb out to point at the obvious. “Their king quit all of a sudden. How come they’re so calm? We’re in unexpected circumstances already.”

“That’s what worries me!”

“Who knows?” Arden said, biting the inside of his mouth as he had tried to say something to help the situation but was stopped by some unknown force.

“What are you doing, Robin?” Usopp asked when Robin started to pull down her hat. As if she was trying to hide from someone.

“Shhh.”

Caesar’s reaction to the group passing by had him sticking out his tongue and eyes in fear. Arden quickly (and happily) stomped on his foot to stop him from making that expression. Which worked since he was now wincing in pain, glaring at the artist who only shot back with a wide and innocent smile.

“What’s going on?”

“CP-0,” Law answered.

“What?! ‘CP’?”

“The strongest intelligence organization in the world,” Robin explained. “Cipher Pol Aigis Zero!”

“D-Don’t tell me they’re related to CP9!”

“They’re more dangerous than that,” Arden said, putting his drink down for a first.

“They’re the greatest of all those organizations,” Robin said.

“CP9 was fairly strong!” Usopp exclaimed. “They’re more formidable?!”

“When they’re on the move, nothing good happens.”

“Indeed,” Law noted.

“They probably have something to do with the country acting so calm,” Arden inquired, picking his words carefully.

“But what would it be?!” Usopp asked.

“... Dunno.”

***

As they began to walk on the abandoned bridge, Arden looked up at the infrastructure of it, taking in how each beam supported the other.

“Wow…” Usopp observed. “It’s a very solid-looking bridge.”

“Shirorororo… We’ll be okay if that Flying Fish thing attacks us on this, won’t we?”

“... I hope so.”

Arden tried to give some information to the best of his abilities after attempting to say something for a few moments. “About the Fighting Fish: they’re huge. Like, extremely huge. They’re known for their savagery and could even compete with gladiators.”

“Arden, how do you know that?” Robin asked.

“I read it in an encyclopedia somewhere,” he quickly responded. “In any case, we have to be caref--” he stopped talking, his long ears twitching at the sound he heard.

“... it’s here,” Law said, also stopping as he had sensed it as well.

“Huh?!”

“What’s coming?” Robin asked.

Silence fell between them for a solid second before Usopp said, “Hey hey, don’t tell me you’re talking about…”

“From the right,” Arden said, glancing sideways in that direction.

“...?” The sound was finally audible to normal ears. “What’s that noise?!”

“Hey, look!” Caesar pointed.

“It… It’s here!!”

The fish had swam under the bridge and jumped up from their right in no time flat, revealing it’s form before diving back into the ocean on their left.

“It showed itself!!”

“I thought Fighting Fish were supposed to be fish,” Robin said.

“It is a fish,” Law said.

“You can’t call that a fish!” Usopp yelled. “It’s no different from a sea monster! It’s so big! Ah, it’s coming again!”

“There’s more than one!”

Several dorsal fins popped up into the surface.

“There are a bunch of them!”

“The guy said they reinforced the bridge with iron to protect it from them!”

“It-It’s going to be alright, isn’t it?”

“You’re missing the part where he said it’s useless,” Arden steadily said, taking a step back.

Before Usopp could reply, a Flying Fish rammed head first into the barrier, squashing the iron bars almost to the opposite side. The terrifyingly gigantic face full of scales bared it’s sharp teeth at them. Arden could practically smell the rancid scent of its opened wide mouth. It was nothing like he’s ever seen before-- it was just so… NASTY looking.

No doubt, he was close to pissing his pants.

“The bridge is a piece of crap!” Usopp cried in fear.

“Can we make it to Green Bit like this?!” Robin asked once the fish went back into the water with a large splash.

“We’re gonna be alright,” Law said, pointing a finger towards Usopp and Caesar. “They can take care of them.”

“You handle it, Shichibukai!” Usopp yelled.

“I can’t fight now.”

“Hah?”

“Here it comes!”

“Special Attack: Green S-” he was cut off by the shadows of two Fighting Fish looming on them. “YAAAAAHHH!”

“Another one from the opposite side!”

“They’re gonna crush us!”

“Mil Fleurs! Gigantesco Mano! Spank!” A large hand formed and slapped the fish right in the face, knocking it from it’s primary trajectory.

“Skull Bombgrass!” He shot it straight into the other one’s mouth and it bursted into an explosion of pink, causing it to faint and drop back into the ocean.

“You’re doing great!” Law complimented as they began to make a break for it.

“No, we’re not!” Usopp yelled. “Can’t you see how many there are?! It’s a school!”

“Wish I can get these useless wings to work!” Arden frustratingly said as he tried his best to make them feasible.

“Let’s just run! It’ll take forever to fight them all! Skull Bombgrass!”

“Nose-ya, uncuff Caesar! I want him to fight too!”

“What are you saying?! He’s gonna fly away then!”

“He wouldn’t dare make a move like that,” Law replied, holding up a cubed shape with something inside of it.

“Don’t tell me it’s…” Caesar started.

“Hahaha!” Arden laughed at the sight, causing his wings to flap a little.

“My heart!”

Once his cuffs were off, Caesar got straight to work, turning around on his heels and beginning his attack. “You won’t die a peaceful death… after pushing a great scientist like me! Gastille!” A large blue beam came from his mouth the moment he opened it wide enough and decimated a Fighting Fish that had leapt for them.

“Oh, that’s so powerful!” Usopp noted. “Only a criminal with a 300 million berry bounty could do that!”

“Gastille!”

“Run!” Law yelled.

“Like I said, why aren’t you fighting?!”

“Yeah, don’t just make me fight all of them!”

“It takes a lot of energy to use my ability,” Law answered. “And I have to be at my best because our enemy is Doflamingo!”

Is it because he thinks the tradeoff with Caesar is going to go successfully?! Arden thought, fists tightening up as he continued to run whilst urging his wings to work.

“Oh no!” Usopp said, all of them stopping once they reached an end to the bridge, the other half staring at them on the other side. “What should we do?! The bridge is collapsed! On top of that, I can’t see the other side clearly because of the fog!”

“Ah, I got them to work!” Arden cried, flapping and being in the air before dropping face flat onto the ground. “Nevermind.”

“A Fighting Fish is coming towards us!”

“Damn! I can’t let it destroy the bridge anymore!”

“Tch. Roo--”

Suddenly, spears shot into the fish that lunged straight for them, a large net entrapping it.

“It stopped,” Robin said, the creature dropping straight down to the water with a splash.

Everyone watched at the scene in shock, Arden still trying to make his wings work as what was happening didn’t intrigue him much.

“We caught it!” An unknown voice said from some distance ahead of them.

“Alright, let’s pull it in!”

“We had a decisive battle today!”

“Let’s eat Fighting Fish stew to boost up our energy!”

“Yeah!”

“.... Who’s voice is that?” Robin asked.

“Residents of the island?” Law tried to reason.

“I thought it was a deserted island,” Usopp said. “Hey! Who’s over there on the other side?! We want to cross the bridge!”

“Oh no! It’s a human!”

“Hurry up! Run!”

“Ah, great, you scared them away,” Arden shook his head, watching the fish be dragged out of view. The fog made it harder to track it.

“... What was that all about?”

“Anyway, let’s keep moving!” Law said.

“Guys! Enough already!” Caesar yelled after catching up with them.

“Caesar!”

“Huh?”

“Fly us to the island.”

“Hah?!”

***

“Law, you bastard! I’ll get even with you, I mean it!” Caesar yelled.

“Wow, what a view!” Usopp comfortably took in. “What a lovely view!”

“We should have flown like this from the beginning,” Robin said.

“Oh, you’re right!”

“Cut that crap! How much gas energy do you think you need to fly four people?!”

“Well, thanks for the lift!” Arden beamed, looking down at the Fighting Fish who circled around the bridge, confused at where their victims were. 

“Shut up! You have wings-- why aren’t you flying yourself?!”

“They don’t work. I don’t even know what my fruit is yet! Maybe you’ll get lucky and I can fly halfway through!”

“I can’t believe this is how I’m treated! I’m an important hostage for you!”

***

“The drag marks from the fish end there,” Law observed once they arrived at the end of the bridge: the deserted island.

“Nobody is here yet,” Robin said.

“What was that about?”

“Shipwrecks from Fighting Fish attacks are filling up the water around here.”

Usopp walked from behind them, scanning the area before something caught his eyes amidst the thick fog. “What’s that?!

“Huh, that’s one big mushroom,” Arden squinted his eyes, making one out as the thick fog began to clear up.

“W-what is this place?! A very wild forest?!”

“I’m assuming it’s Green Bit?” He then turned to look at the Shichibukai.

Law answered, “Yeah. It is.”

“Th-This is Green Bit?! What are those gigantic plants?!” Usopp yelled.

The sound of a lively forest rang in their ears, Arden looking on at the scene with utter fascination. It was a thick piece of land covered in a fresh green colour. It looked lively and well, the gigantic plants standing with great pride from where they were born. Oh, could he stare at this place for ages!

“Hey, Joker, it’s me! Pick me up!”

Law pointed the hilt of his sword towards Caesar to shut him up. “Don’t be in such a rush.” He then pointed it towards an open area near the shoreline. “That’s the beach on the southeast side of the island. We’ll leave you there at three in the afternoon. He’ll come soon.”

“Ah! Look at that on the other side of the island!” Usopp yelled. “Isn’t that a Navy ship?!” Indeed, the back half of a Navy ship stuck out from the forest like a sore thumb. “It got stuck on the island! It’s not just beached! How’s it possible?”

“What do you see?” Arden asked when he saw Robin looking through her binoculars at it.

“These cuts on the plants look fresh.”

“What?” Usopp said.

“I estimate that ship arrived recently. Its body isn’t as damaged as I thought.”

“Did they make it through the water filled with the Fighting Fish?!”

“It’s only a matter of time before the Navy soldiers get here.”

“What?!” Caesar screeched. “Do they know about the trade-off?! I didn’t know that!”

The long-nosed man knocked him to the ground. “You stupid scientist, you’re too loud! Shh! Shh!”

“Hey, I’m a wanted person! Since my boss- Joker resigned from the Shichibukai, there isn’t any law that protects me! If you leave me with the handcuffs on the island where the Navy soldiers are wandering, I’ll--”

“I said ‘shh! Be quiet!’”

“Wait a minute! Joker is just a pirate now, too! Either way, I'm doomed! This is hell!”

Usopp punched him in the sides. “Enough, you idiot! We’re all screwed if the Navy finds us!”

“Why is the Navy here?” Robin asked Law with a questioning eye, still not fully trusting him in the alliance. “You look like you’re hiding something.”

He calmly responded at the accusation. “It’s just a coincidence. How could I control the Navy?”

“I have a bad feeling about this…” Arden murmured, arms crossed in front of his chest as he stared into the forest as if searching for something-- no, someone.

“It’s not fair to hand me over here!” Caesar went up to Law. “Abort this mission!”

“The Navy is my enemy too, since I'm allied with the Straw Hats.”

“Don’t tell me you set me up!”

Law chose to ignore him and turned around to face the other three. “We still have fifteen minutes before they come. Everyone, cover me with sniping and surveillance. They may be hiding. Go check the forest. If you find something, let me know as soon as possible.”

“I understand,” Robin nodded.

Usopp wasn’t as excited. “Wait a minute! We didn’t expect the Navy to be here so--”

***

Arden had somehow convinced Usopp and Robin to separate from him. In fact, he had just climbed up one of the large overgrown plants and stayed seated there. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to survey the forest or anything of the sort. He only wanted to be prepared. Opening up his mouth, he tried to say something in regards to the future but was hitched once again at the throat.

“... how long is it going to take?” Keeping the words he wanted to say at the tip of his mouth at all times, he then continued to try to flap his wings, making progress little by little. “... this sucks ass.”

He plopped back down on his behind, giving an exasperated exhale. Off in the distance, he could see Caesar and Law walking towards the designated area. Could he even be of any help here? What was the reason he came here if he can’t even say anything useful nor even fight efficiently? “Hey, weird Devil Fruit, mind telling me your name?”

A few moments passed.

Nothing.

Tell me, you damn Fruit or I’m gonna… I don’t know what I’m going to do but it won’t be good!

Still nothing.

He sat there thinking, going through various scenarios as to how this could possibly work. Earlier he had tried to warn them of the Fighting Fish-- it worked but the outcome was the same. Did this mean that anything he did would work as long as it didn’t change the future? That’s absurd… it had to be. In any case, if he can’t change the future, maybe he can change how things play out. It should be fine…. Right? Or was he letting his own emotions drive his actions again? In any case, all the events he's been trying to change would directly affect the Straw Hats in some way, so maybe that played a part in it as well. 

It suddenly dawned on him.

Running to where the two were on the beach, Arden grabbed them both around the wrists, pulling them towards the forest.

“Usagi-ya! What are you doing?!” Law said, but didn’t seem to resist himself being dragged.

“Tell me, how many minutes do we have left?”

“... ten minutes.”

Good.

“I spotted a Navy Admiral here. He’s blind but I think he has a keen sense of hearing. Almost on par with mine,” he spoke as they soon entered into the thick greenery.

At that, Law had a dark expression, looking off to the side as if in thought. “... We still have to hand Caesar off at the appointed time. It’s part of our deal-- we can’t back out of it because of that.”

“Then in case of a worse case scenario we should make up a plan. A Navy Admiral being here at the same spot where you’re supposed to be exchanging an important deal with Doflamingo can’t be good-- Get down.” Yanking both of them down to the ground, Caesar started to complain.

“How dare you tr--”

“Shut up!” Arden hissed. “I can’t hear properly if you screech in my ear... those footsteps aren’t Robin’s or Usopp’s. Sounds like a few men.”

“The Navy?!”

A nod. “Probably. We should go in deeper--”

“No," Law interrupted. "If we go any further we won’t make it back in time.”

Arden looked at him with slight knitted brows, unsure of what to say. He should have seen this happening- this man was damn stubborn!

“Enoki, your--” His throat started to close up. Fuck. Fine. He leaned closer to the Shichibukai. “I got an emergency plan but Caesar can’t hear it.”

Giving a quick glower towards the scientist, it made him shrink back a little.

Once near Law’s ear, he began to whisper out what he had in mind. “Give me Caesar’s heart. If this goes wrong, they’ll be targeting you, not me. I’ll make my way back to safety and hunker down.”

Law gave a reply instantly, matching in volume as his voice lowered. “No need. It’s safe where it is right now.”

“You mean it’s where your heart is, right?” Arden side-eyed over to him briefly.

Silence.

“You have two on hand right now: mine and Caesar’s. I’ll take Caesar’s as my own and you keep mine safe. What if you get struck through there? If it was his he’d drop dead. And if I try to betray you, you still have my heart. Do you understand what I mean?”

“You’ll risk your life like that?”

“I’m able to risk anything to see this through. Besides, you want this to go as smoothly as possible, right?” Pulling away, they exchanged a look between each other before a heart was handed to him discreetly.

Slotting it in place, Caesar gawked at what was happening. “He had your heart too?!”

 Arden gave a shrug, buttoning back up his shirt. “What can I say? I’m a suspicious person."

Law then got up, looking towards the beach. “We should start heading back. There’s only five minutes left.”

“Wait!” Arden quickly said. “It should only take two minutes to get back to the beach-- stay here for now. The Navy soldiers are still near.”

***

“Ring, ring, ring… Ring, ring, ring…” Law’s snail rang in the air and at the same time, Arden’s throat felt less constricting. He can say it now!

Clank.

“Hey, Law!” Sanji’s voice came out after a gunshot was heard. “This is Sanji!”

“Black-Foot-ya, did you find the factory?” Law asked, starting to get up from where they were crouched down to make his way back to the beach with Caesar.

“That’s not important right now!”

“Kill them!” a distant voice from the other line shouted.

“This way!” Sanji yelled and more movement sounded out mixed with gunshots, groans and screams. “You assholes!”

“Black Foot!” A woman’s voice said.

“Do you know what you’re in for if you hit Miss Violet?!” The moment the noise died down, Sanji continued to speak to Law. “Listen carefully! You’ve got to get out of there!”

“What are you talking about?” Law stopped in his tracks. Arden had followed them closely, waiting for the chance his body could move the way he wanted it to. “I have to hand Caesar over soon!”

“Doflamingo didn’t resign from the Shichibukai! Even if you hand Caesar over to him, there’s no trade whatsoever!”

Now!

Grabbing Law’s hand that was holding onto Caesar’s chain, he started to lead them both deeper into the forest. “We have to run!”

Law’s eyes had widened in disbelief. “That doesn’t make sense. What do you mean?”

“It’s exactly what you heard!”

“We’ve been…” Sanji said. “Totally deceived!”

A gunshot sounded, but this time it was near where they were.

“Did you get that?! Leave the island now! Hurry up!”

“This idiot, it’s already too late.”

“I’m busy too. I’ll hang up now!”

Clank.

Arden yelled, still dragging two men who were in shock of the news. “CP0-- the group we saw earlier. They’re the ones that made the announcement to the people of Dressrosa. That’s why they’re so calm! They don’t have anything to worry about because their King never resigned as both their ruler and as a Shichibukai!”

“What should I do?!” Law said to himself.

Suddenly, Robin’s upper body sprouted from the ground they were about to run into.

"Woah!" Arden yelped, almost tripping over her.

“Wow! What the…” Caesar said as they stopped to look at it. “Nico Robin’s upper half came out of the grass!”

“Nico-ya!”

“This is just a clone,” she responded. “I was listening to the conversation. It was Sanji, wasn’t it?”

“Hey, where are your actual body and Nose-ya? If what Black-Foot-ya was talking about was true, the deal with Doflamingo is off.”

“The deal is off?!” Caesar yelled. “Then what’s gonna happen to my hand-over?!”

“It’s not gonna happen!”

“No!”

“Arden, you’re safe,” Robin said to him, earning a nod from him.

“Yeah, luckily.”

“Nico-ya. Summon Nose-ya! Let’s get off the island now!”

“The thing is, we’re underground Green Bit now!” Robin said.

“Underground?”

“We had some trouble… but both Usopp and I are safe. We can’t help you but if you’re gonna escape, go without us. We’ll go to the harbour where we agreed to meet up.

“Okay, I got--”

“--Trouble!” Arden said, grabbing the two from where they stood and running off to another direction once again.

“Good luck!” the woman called after them.

“Good luck to you guys, too!” Both Arden and Law said at the same time as Robin disappeared into a flurry of petals.

Going through the forest was more like going through a jungle. It was nothing like he had ever seen before. If it wasn't for the fact that they were running for their lives, he would have surely just laid down on the floor and took in the wonderous aesthetics nature had to offer him here. He probably would have wanted to see the Tontatta Tribe's home. Everything would have been surely tiny and adorable. Back in his universe, he loved mini things. Those videos where people would cook for their hamsters? Stinking adorable.

“Shit!" Arden swore, stopping when he heard another group approaching them from where they were trying to run off to for the third time, causing them to head back to the beach. “We’re surrounded!”

.

Chapter Text

.

“Th-The Navy!” Caesar shrieked after seeing the group emerge into their view. One large man led the group, a wooden stick to guide him as he walked. He had a rather homely vibe to him if not for the two large scars that ran down each eye. Matching it, he spoke with conviction.

“You are Mister Trafalgar Law, aren’t you?”

“You’re the new admiral,” Law spoke, trying to assess the situation. “Fuijitora, aren’t you?”

“Doflamingo’s arrived,” Arden observed, bringing their attention to the pink cladded man that arrived through the air, landing on the beach right behind them.

“Th-that’s…” a soldier stuttered.

Caesar broke into a large smile, full of smugness as he shouted the name, “Joker!”

The man in pink laughed out loud, his lips in a large grin. “Hey, Law! Well done! I didn’t expect to see a Navy admiral here! Since I’m no longer a Shichibukai, I’m scared as hell!”

Law spat out in anger at the casual demeanor he portrayed. “Liar!”

“Joker! Kick this guy’s ass already--” the scientist was pulled back by the scarf he wore by Law.

“I’m not gonna hand him over to you! You didn’t do anything that I asked you to! Doflamingo! This deal is off!”

“No! Wh-What’re you talking about, you fool?! We got this far--!” Arden kicked him in the sides to get him to shut up, giving Caesar a death glare as he kneeled over in pain.

A laugh only came from the blonde haired man. “Is that how you talk to your boss after ten years of silence? Leave him, Law. Caesar is one of my previous subordinates.”

“Jo… Joker!” Arden kicked him in the same spot again, not being able to stand the relief that was visible on Caesar’s face despite the dark sunglasses he wore. I don't condone bullying. Truly.

But Caesar deserves to be bullied.

“Hehehe, it’s you!” The blonde Shichibukai looked over to the Navy. “You’re Fujitora, appointed as a Navy admiral through the World Military Draft.”

“I hear a lot about you,” the man said, though his tone did not match the excitement the other had. “They say you’re a monster who has unquestionable power as well as Ryokugyu.”

“Oh, why thank you.”

“Don’t play dumb. I’m still new to the Navy so it’s hard for me to understand what you’re doing. I don’t have enough evidence yet but I have some information about you doing things that go against the rules of the Shichibukai. The man there was calling you ‘Joker’- is that your nickname?”

“Hehe, if you want to investigate me, you have to be really determined and collect enough evidence." He then cleverly turned the admiral's attention away from him. "Now, what’s the Navy’s decision about Law’s punishment?”

There was a pause in the air as everyone looked at the Navy admiral for his answer.

“Regarding the news about you and the wanted pirates, the Straw Hats, if you’re allying with them as they say in the news, you’re guilty! If they have become your subordinates, Mister Law, you’re… not guilty! Our mission depends on your response. We may have to arrest you and the Straw Hats.” His hands held the walking stick in front of him, revealing it to be a sword as a silver glint greeted them slightly when it was removed from its scabbard by a mere inch. Yet that one inch was enough for the Navy soldiers to tense up-- Fujitora was readying a move.

“H-Hey, what kind of a decision is that?!” Caesar shouted. “He can just get away by lying!”

“The Straw Hats are not working under me!” Law stated both loudly and resolutely. “We’re allies as you read in the paper.”

“Tsk,” Arden sounded out loud but a satisfied exhale came out afterwards, knowing full well why he said that. If this situation gets moved over to Dressrosa, the plan would crumble at the seams for sure! And no way in hell was he going to allow that to happen. 

“You’re such a clumsy man!” Doflamingo laughed, convinced that the younger man had made a mistake that would cost him his life. 

“Then, we have to strip you of your title,” Fujitora raised his weapon. “It’d be nice if the story ended there but…” he fully unsheathed it from its scabbard swinging it in the air, a large purple beam shooting up into the sky.

“He’s gonna bring down a meteor, Enoki!” Arden tried to warn him in a shout. The next second a large spherical object flew down towards them at lightning speed, it's body covered with the licks of flames.

“D-Don’t be ridiculous!” Caesar shrieked.

“No way!” Law yelled in disbelief.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Doflamingo said, staring up at the sky.

“Run! A meteorite is coming for us!” The Navy soldiers yelled, running for cover along with Caesar and Arden. Once the meteor hit, an intense wave of tension spread across the beachside. Trees howled at the intense wind, insects and humans alike being blown off their feet, the scorching heat raising the overall temperature of the area by various Celsius easily. 

“Ah!” Arden yelped as he tumbled through the ground, hurrying to grab a soldier by their legs as the baseball cap he wore flew off. His wings grew and flapped like crazy. Without him knowing it, they helped maintain him from flying away.

“What?! What happened at that moment?!” Caesar yelled once the smoke cleared out, revealing a huge crater from where they first stood. The only areas remaining untainted are the three spots where the Navy Admiral, Shichibukai, and ex-Shichibukai stood. Had none of the other men, including Arden, not run away in time, they would have been both roasted and crushed to death!

“Only those three spots that they’re standing have no damage!” A soldier shouted.

“Issho…”

“How did the Fleet Admiral train you?!” Doflamingo directed his anger towards the Navy soldiers. “You damn stray dog!”

Law seemed to have found the situation to be shocking as well. “It doesn’t matter if he can see or not.”

“Oh, thank you,” Fujitora said humbly. “I just wanted to test your skills.”

“Crazy way to test skills,” Arden said with wide eyes at the sight, heart still racing from what had occurred.

“Now, I’m going to arrest you,” the admiral continued like it was a normal Tuesday afternoon. “Is it okay Mister Law?”

“Don’t tell me you’re thinking you can get away from me,” Doflamingo smirked.

What do I do now? Arden thought before noticing that his feet were still off the ground. Great, now I can fly, he sarcastically said to himself, grimacing in disappointment. 

Fujitora made another move, bringing a second meteor down, Law swiftly taking care of it once again.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” the brunette yelled at a soldier in their face, shaking them by their collar. One meteor was enough for his lifetime. Now two??? “What is your Admiral doing?! Does he want us all to die?!”

The soldiers only looked on in silence, as if not knowing the answer to that question either.

“Only a Shichibukai could do that,” Fujitora said.

“Damn you, Fujitora,” Doflamingo said. “He’s mine to kill. Bullet String!”

After shooting a few, almost invisible shots to Law who got nicked in the face by one of them, he began to run deeper into the forest, the King of Dressrosa following close behind him.

The Shichibukai then had a mockingly playful tone on as he travelled through the air with ease. “You wanna play tag, Law?”

Fujitora started to walk where they had run off to, ordering his men to chase after them.

“Kch, Caesar, you’re coming with--!” Arden looked to where Caesar was but found nothing. Frustration boiled up in him. “Damn that purple bastard!”

What should I do now?!

***

“The Sunny. I should get to the Sunny!” Arden concluded before taking off in the sky, still a bit awkward with his newfound ability of flight. It would be too dangerous for him to stay in Green Bit any further. He’d only be dead weight. He had to take advantage of the fact that he wasn’t seen as a target by anyone. Since he didn't have a Den Den Mushi his only real choice was to fly back there.

Every so often, he would look back to see explosions be made, wondering if the surgeon was doing okay.

“Ack!” another fucking meteorite fell down, causing him to tumble onto the sandy beach by its knockback. Eating a mouthful of sand, he spat it out with rather unpleasant noises. “Shit, this blind dude is insane!”

Arriving at the bridge, Arden stopped to take a breather, trying his best to shut out the noise to prevent himself from panicking. In a split second, it felt as though a bucket-load of information was jammed into his head. His eyes widened, the increasing throbbing in his head making the world around him seem almost surreal. Grunts of pain came out as if the newfound knowledge was straining to handle. Calming himself down, he let the information process in his head to the best of his abilities.

“Ah. So that’s what I ate. Got it.”

With that, he jumped into the air, flying back towards the Thousand Sunny as fast as he could.

***

“Nami! Chopper! Brook! Momonosuke!” Arden called out when he saw that the ship was visible, the head of the Sunny greeting him with its bright eyes.

“Ah, it’s Arden!”

“Arden!”

He tried to land smoothly, but failed to do so as he wasn't yet used to it, causing him to yelp for everyone to back away. Bracing himself for a rough impact, he was surprisingly unharmed.

“Huh, I’m okay.”

In fact, it was rather comfortable.

Was the deck always this squishy?

Looking down, he saw that he was sitting on top of a loudly dressed older woman. She was the definition of top heavy as her legs seemed way too disproportionately small for her upper body. Her dyed hair was split in half-- one side orange, the other yellow. He looked at her unconscious face which donned triangular pink tinted sunglasses then at the other four. “... Who’s she?”

Chopper suddenly gave him a large hug, bawling. “It was terrible! We were turned into art!”

“Mind you, ugly art,” Nami pointed out, holding out some Kairoseki Handcuffs.

“I wonder if you would understand it. Because I sure do not,” Brook said.

Ah, it’s that lady with the Art-Art Fruit.

“What happened to Torao?” Chopper asked, pulling away. 

“That’s what I came to say. He’s in huge trouble. Doflamingo lied about resigning from his position and it turned out to be a trap! Enoki’s in a 2v1 against both Doflamingo and a Navy Admiral that can summon meteors from the sky!”

“Whaaaat?!” All of them shouted.

“M-Meteors?!”

Arden grimly nodded in response. “We have to get to Green Bit straight away!”

Nami gave a small nod. “Yeah, we received a call from him not that long ago. We’re on course for it. Now… Handcuff her, Brook.”

The skeleton immediately protested. “What?! Me?! I don’t wanna touch those. They drain my energy.”

“Stop complaining and just do it.”

“You’re the only one who hasn’t eaten a Devil Fruit here so why don’t you?”

As they continued arguing, Arden felt something shake from underneath him. Thrown off from where he was, the woman he was sitting on got up.

“Ow…”

“Aaahhh!” The other four screamed as though they saw a ghost rising from the dead.

The woman gave a nasty grin, hand on hips. “Oh boy, oh boy! Soul King! How dare you! I got fooled completely! I thought we were connected to each other because we’re both artists and I dropped my guard! You guys are such imprudent people! I’m gonna imprint my ultimate art on your mind and send you off to heaven!”

“What is she on about…?” Arden tilted his head off to the side when he collected himself from the floor.

“M-Miss Giolla… R-Relax…” Brook, the one who was getting blamed the most, tried to say.

The woman then extended both arms out to her side, abstract-like smoke coming out of it, enveloping the whole area.

“Oh, what now?!” Arden shouted in a whine, taking a step back.

“Heaven’s Door Art!”

“What the hell?!” Nami exclaimed once the ocean they were sailing in became a colourful abstract landscape.

“What happened?!”

A loud laugh echoed through the air, scaring the four to huddle together. “This is the pinnacle of artistry-- Heaven’s Door Art! Oh how beautiful this world’s art is. You guys should be happy! Because you can die seeing the most beautiful thing in the world! Ahahahaha!”

Arden only looked on at the large mass in front of them with a mildly disgusted face, his jaw dropped at the audacity of a sight he was witnessing. “What is that…?”

“It’s art, but you wouldn’t understand, would you?!”

“Actually, Arden here is an artist,” Brook said meekly, almost afraid to say it out loud.

“Wh-What do you think of it?” Chopper, who hid behind him, asked with tears in his eyes.

“Man…” Arden looked up, studying the weird colours and shapes of the enormous statue the woman turned into. He pondered it for merely a few seconds before saying with a definite voice, “... It’s really ugly.”

This earned a noise of shock from Giolla.

“The colours are tacky and the shapes really don’t make any sense," he continued, giving a disappointed exhale. Memories of the many critiques he's received by harsh professors flooded in his memory. Man, would they rip her to shreds if any of them were here right now. Relatively speaking, Arden was going rather easy on her. "I have no idea what she’s trying to achieve if not to induce nightmare fuel for my eyes.”

“A-Arden!”

“I can’t believe he just said that!”

“What?” Arden said, turning to look at them, confused. “It’s true! A toddler can create something better than this!”

“How dare you call yourself an artist! I’ll properly teach you the true meaning of art!”

“Ohhhhh, I pissed her off, didn’t I?” 

“Wh-What should we do?!” Brook screeched in fright.

“What can we do? All we can do is fight!” Nami said before summoning a Weather Egg, hatching it in front of the woman.

It would have been great.

Really, it would have.

If Giolla didn’t gobble it up like it was a well done steak, that is.

“Your technique is not very beautiful. For these kinds of things, I would do this…” smoke came out of her head after she finished chewing the thundercloud, and it soon turned into an eye blinding thunderbolt. “... and this!”

“Eh?!” Nami exclaimed at what she was witnessing.

“... and this, to accentuate its beauty!” She then launched it straight for them, Brook taking his turn to attack, nullifying the bolt from going any further.

“Miss, you can't even take a critique, can you?!” Arden taunted, flying into the air as Brook went into the offense. “To not embrace Nature’s natural beauty is absurd!”

Arms then came out, trying to catch both the skeleton and Arden. “This Heaven’s Door Art is imbued with my soul for pursuing ultimate beauty! The greatest beauty is the strongest! Ahahaha!”

“Well, they do say 'Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder'!” This caused more arms to drive towards him, but he was too agile for the large arms to catch him. Able to hear the wind pressure of where they were coming from helped a large deal.

“Brook! Arden!" Nami called out for them from inside the ship. "It’s ready! Get out of the way!”

“I got it!” Brook finally stopped stalling and cut all the arms off.

“Roger that!” Arden landed back onto the safety of the ship.

After giving the okay to Nami, she fired the fully loaded Gaon cannon. “Fire!”

Arden looked at the beam firing at its target, fixing his sunglasses so he wouldn’t be blinded by the intense light. He gave an impressed whistle as the Heaven’s Door Art was destroyed to bits, revealing the beautiful blue sky and ocean once again. "Finally. My eyes can breathe again."

“How dare you!” Giolla yelled, falling back down from where she was blasted off. “I’m not gonna let you get away with it!”

“Just how tough is she?!”

“She just won’t go away!”

“I’m gonna go all out now!" the older woman yelled from above. "You pissed me off!”

Arden flew up and met her eye to eye. Giving a smirk, he presented a little wave and a wink to the woman. “Let’s make your landing beautiful, shall we?” Twisting his whole entire body, he gave her a well-rounded rabbit kick back down onto the ship.

Even with the impact it seemed she was as sturdy as Kairoseki as she got back up almost straight away. “... I see, so it’s the bunny that wants to die first--!”

“Head blow!” Momonosuke yelled, smacking her straight in the head with a paddle, breaking it in the process.

“You… damn… brat...!”

“Momo, move aside!” Nami said before summoning lightning to strike the enemy.

“Wh-who did you call Ms. Mermaid…” she muttered before ultimately passing out, smoke coming out of her body as well as the faint smell of burnt flesh.

“You did it, Momonosuke!” Chopper cheered.

“Yes, I did!”

“Great job, kid!” Arden complimented, landing back onto the ship gracefully this time.

He gave a large proud grin. “No problem!”

***

“Now, what should we do with this?” Nami asked, the woman now completely chained up in Kairoseki.

“Not like she can do much of anything like this,” Arden said. Boy, I am not used to this much action.

“Bone-kichi, I gave her a single blow, too!” Momonosuke said, still holding onto the broken paddle he had used.

“I know. Your muscles must be really strong.”

“Y-Yeah? Are they?”

“I don’t have any muscles, though. Because I’m a skeleton. Yoho! Yohohoho!”

“It’d be too cruel to dump her into the sea,” Nami noted.

Chopper agreed. “Yeah, she’s a Devil Fruit user.”

“I don’t even wanna see her panties,” Brook said.

“Wh-Who did you call Miss Universe?”

“Nobody said such a thing! No!”

Momonosuke approached her. “Should I hit her one more time?” Arden made a face at that. Sure the woman had an odd fashion choice, but she wasn’t ugly the least to him-- at least when she’s not talking and not displaying weird art that makes his eyes slightly bleed.

“Just leave her alone,” Nami said. “We gotta hurry and meet Torao.”

“But why does he wanna leave Caesar with us?” Chopper asked, everyone now looking at Arden who was the only one that was there in person that was currently present.

“I’m pretty sure he wants to buy time for us to retrieve Caesar safely. Enoki, he…”

“Y-you idiots don’t know anything, do you?” Giolla coughed up. Wow, she gained consciousness already?!

“Huh? No, we do,” Brook answered rather freely.

“I relayed everything to them when you first passed out,” Arden continued, squatting down to pat her on the back. “Sorry you couldn’t get your last laugh in.”

“Hahaha!” The woman only laughed out. “You guys have been fooled! Violet must have unearthed all of your plans by now and all of your friends are probably captured!”

“Eeeeehhh?!” Everyone exclaimed but Arden.

“Ah, no. I’m pretty sure Violet’s on our side,” he bluntly said, causing the woman to cough her laughs to a stop.

“What?!”

Wiping dirt off her face with a handkerchief, he explained, “Well, we heard Sanji make a phone call to us about the trap and he was being chased by some people. He seemed to be running with some lady named ‘Violet’. They were both being chased down and hunted. I’m pretty sure she’s the one that told him about it.”

“How could she?! She betrayed us?!”

***

“You see Torao?” Nami asked Chopper who was looking through binoculars at the island when they arrived close enough.

“I can’t see clearly because of the fog. I see a weird forest.”

“I should go and check,” Arden said, starting to take off.

“If we take Caesar with us, what’s gonna happen then?” Nami asked.

“...” Arden stayed silent.

Brook answered it by strumming his guitar. “Doflamingo will come after us.”

“What?!” Chopper, Momonosuke, and Nami exclaimed with hands up, causing Brook to panic at the realization as well.

“I’m scared!”

The ship then rocked, knocking the four down to the ground.

“You guys okay?!” Arden asked, now in the air, looking around before it dawned on him. “Dammit, I forgot! The Fighting Fish!”

“Wh-What? What’s happening?!”

“What’s a Fighting Fish?!”

“There’s something in the water!”

“I-it’s a school of the Fighting Fish!” Giolla said once multiple dorsal fins popped up to the surface, heading straight towards them. “You got too close to the island!”

“Again, what’s a Fighting Fish?!”

“They’re a killer fish that can sink a warship!”

“What?!”

“O-Nami!”

“Arden, why didn’t you tell us?!” Nami shrieked, shaking his shoulders when he landed back on the ground.

“I’m sorry! I totally forgot!” He yelled out an apology, seeing stars in his eyes from all the turbulence that was happening. Both from the Flying Fish and from Nami. If it wasn't for the medicine he took provided by Chopper he would have surely thrown up by now. "M-Miss Nami, ple-"

“How can you forget about something like that?!” She continued to cry, rocking the man before her even harsher.

Oh god, I'm gonna throw up.

“We’re doomed!” The Straw Hats then yelled together in a chorus of despair.

.

Chapter Text

.

“Guys, shut up!” Arden tried to instruct in a shout. Though in the imminent moment of death, all one could do is to scream for help. “You’re gonna bring attention to the enemy!”

“Our enemy is the Fighting Fish right now!” they shouted back as the ship kept getting rammed from each side.

Momonosuke held onto Nami for dear life. “The ship is going to break up!”

“Stop!” Nami cried to the Fish as if they would listen. “Or I’m gonna grill you!”

That’s when the rocking came to a pause.

The fish disappeared.

A peaceful calm which seemed almost too good to be true fell down. The crew began to feel relief at the disappearance of the threats, but Arden knew better.

Shit.

The Fighting Fish left without a trace.

As if afraid of a more dangerous presence coming closer to them.

They were running away for their lives.

“Not good,” Arden said, looking towards the island to see a familiar pink figure.

“Where did those Fighting Fish go?” Brook asked.

“Bone-kichi, where did they go?”

“Fighting Fish… Fighting Fish… Eh?!?!” Chopper’s eyes bulged through the binoculars he was seeing through.

“What is it this time?” Nami sobbed.

“Doflamingo's flying towards us!”

“What?!”

“Young Master!” Giolla wailed at the prospect of her being rescued.

“What is this?! A nightmare?! Are we gonna get killed?!”

“Kch!” Arden took a step back, bracing to jump up into the sky even though he knew he wouldn’t be a match for him.

“Nooooo!!”

“Torao, help us!!!”

“Hey!” a voice came out. A certain blonde cook stepped through the sky, catching Doflamingo’s attention. “My friends are crying in fear! Leave them alone!”

“Sanji!!!” Everyone cheered as he drove a kick, making physical contact with the Shichibukai. Even with his burning kick, the two were at an even standstill.

“Diable Jambe--” Sanji used his other leg to attack after not getting much success with his initial one. “... Premiere Hachis Hash!”

Easily dodging it, Doflamingo donned a large smirk on his face as he did so.

“Pentachromatic Strings!”

Seemingly taking a hit, Sanji got knocked out of the air.

“Sanji!”

“What did Doflamingo do?!”

With how far away they were from the fight, it was hard to see exactly how it was going down. What was clear was that Doflamingo was...

HEADING STRAIGHT THEIR WAY!

“Aaaahhh! Doflamingo is coming this way!” Chopper yelled.

“You’ve got to be kidding!” Nami screamed.

“Young Master!”

“Stay away from us!”

“Go away!”

Fuck, I have to do something!

About to take flight, Arden stopped when he saw Sanji zipping their way.

He'd only be a burden there if he joined.

“Diable Jambe… Poele a Frire… Spectre!” It was a barrage of nonstop kicks that surely would have toasted whoever he targeted.

“All right, Sanji!”

“Go!”

Amidst the shouts, Arden could hear a quiet zip sound-- in that same moment, all movements from Sanji coming to a sudden halt.

He was frozen midair.

“Wh-What happened? I can’t move!” He struggled, his body visibly shaking from trying to gain control over his own limbs.

“Hahahaha! He’s been grappled by the Young Master’s power!”

Chopper stared at the display in disbelief. “Doflamingo’s power?”

“Black Foot is like a bug caught in a spider’s web now! All he can do is wait for death!”

“What?!”

“Aaah! Look!” Momonosuke, who had turned back into a dragon at some point, directed eyes towards the two fighting with a shaking finger.

Doflamingo raised a hand out in their direction, a red, thin, and incredibly long object coming out from the palm of his hands. It stretched for kilometers upon kilometers.

Why the hell are there so many ‘Large-as-fuck-moves-that-can’t-possibly-miss-the-intended-targets’ today?! This is absurd!

“What is it?!”

“A whip?!”

“Don’t do anything!” Sanji yelled, knowing that he was going to be hit by it. “Just run! Use Coup de Burst to get out of here!”

His crewmates protested at the mention of abandoning one of their own. “We can’t do that!”

“Overheat!” Doflamingo yelled before bringing his hand down.

Five seconds until it lands!

“Sanji!”

“Get away, Sanji!”

The cook was bracing for the worst as his vision was glued onto the glowing red weapon.

Then, he saw the sky.

The bright blue cerulean sky.

“Arden!” Sanji exclaimed after being knocked over by him.

The Shichibukai was too close. He couldn’t get away from the attack in time! Arden’s eyes widened at the looming figure of the other, the whip already too close for him to react.

“Room! Shambles!”

Those familiar words almost seemed to melt Arden from where he was, a tidal wave of comfort washing over him.

In front of him was Law.

“Sorry, I made a mistake,” the surgeon said after replacing his previous position with Doflamingo’s, effectively dodging the attack from striking them. Arden quickly grabbed Sanji with an extended ear, Law holding his arm in return. In his other arm was Caesar who was screaming to be freed.

Arden gave a small round of nervous laughter in an attempt to lighten up what had happened. “Thought I was going to be toast there...”

“Let’s get on the ship.”

“Mister Torao!” Brook said as they appeared on the ship in a blink of an eye.

“Sanji!” They said in a relieved tone to see him alive albeit badly hurt.

“Damn! I’m on the ship again!” Caesar screamed.

“Caesar!” The loudly dressed woman called.

Finding a colleague of his in the same ship, he couldn’t help but to plead. “Oh, Giolla! Help me!”

“I’m being held captive, too!”

Arden was trying to catch his breath silently, the scene replaying of almost being struck stuck in his head. He knew his life paled in comparison to Sanji’s-- He knew that. He’s a Straw Hat after all. 

And that wasn't how the story was supposed to unfold.

It was worth it.

Chopper screamed, his eyes glued to the sky. “Nooo! Doflamingo’s coming again!”

“Damn!” Sanji said, starting to prepare for another fight.

“Black Foot-ya,” Law called. “How’s the plan to destroy the factory going?”

Holding his injured arm, he relayed what he knew. “We found out where it is but Franky said it’s gonna be harder than we thought.”

“How’s my father?!” Momonosuke grabbed onto Sanji’s clothing, tugging at them with a worried expression. “And Kanjuro?! San-goro! How are they doing?!”

“Momonosuke,” Sanji said, looking at the child's almost crying face before patting him on the head. “The samurai is heading to the factory. He’ll be alright once everything is over.”

“... So we need more time,” Law muttered, appearing from the cabins after retrieving an object from inside.

“Hey, you!” Caesar said in shock at the sight. “Is that my heart?! Were you keeping it in the cabin?!”

“This is mine. I had your heart with him,” he answered before glancing over to Arden who took the cue and took his heart out of his own chest. He toyed with it in one hand by tossing it up and down, a nasty smile slowly spreading onto his face that read, ‘Yeah, bastard, I got your heart right here.’

“Y-You had it in your body the whole time!”

The shit eating grin from Arden saluted back.

“You guys!” Law said. “I want you to take him and head for Zou!”

“Zou?”

“I gave you the Vivre Card that leads you to the island.”

“Head for the island?!” Brook asked. “What about Luffy and the others?!”

“The only thing left to do on this island is to destroy the factory. We’ll catch up with you guys soon.”

“No!” Nami stated. “We’ll wait! We can’t set sail without our captain! We’re the Straw Hats!”

The ship shook again.

The Fish?!

No, it was something worse:

It was the ship that capsized on Green Bit!

“What?!”

“Miss Nami… I think we should set sail now,” Arden steadily said as the large shadow took over the Sunny from above them.

“The Navy Ship is flying towards us!” Chopper yelled.

“How is that possible?!”

Fujitora’s doing, no doubt. What is that Blind Teddy Bear doing?!

“Doflamingo is coming from that way!” Brook warned.

“The Navy ship is getting closer!”

“No!”

“They’re actually on board the ship?!” Arden unbelievably asked, seeing the cannons line up to them.

“You can wait here if you want but don’t let them take Caesar!” Law said, his focus on the enemy ship that hovered above them.

“Fire!”

The cannon balls shook the Sunny as the water went up around it. It could have been mistaken as geysers by how harsh the water shot up on impact with the heavy ammo.

“Something’s falling from the sky!” Chopper cried, looking at the large red object.

“It’s the meteor I talked about!” Arden answered, staring at the sky.

But something caught him off guard.

“There’s two?!”

“Meteorites?!” Nami exclaimed.

“Room!”

The navigator finally gave in with tears streaming down her face after witnessing too many near death experiences. “Torao, we ‘Straw Hats’ are gonna leave now!”

“I agree!” Chopper joined in tears with her.

“Just go!” Law shouted.

“Hey, Law,” Sanji said, grabbing his attention away from the threat in front of them. “I realize we have to carry Caesar as far as possible. It’s clear we have to leave here now. But I thought Dressrosa was just a waypoint. Our main purpose was killing Kaido of the Yonkou, wasn’t it? Aren’t you getting too hung up on Doflamingo?”

“Sanji…” Arden started, wanting to break up the interrogation. Law had a look on which didn’t seem keen on answering his question.

“Meteorites! Meteorites!” Nami and Chopper cried in a daze.

“Takt!” Law flicked his fingers when he was snapped back into reality, driving both meteorites to the bottom side of the Navy ship instead.

“Everybody ready?!” Nami shouted from the helm, taking control of it.

“I’m ready!”

“I’m ready, Nami~!”

“The whip again!” Brook yelled as Doflamingo drew closer to them.

“Joker! Help me!”

Despite the ship already moving away from the island, the attack was as quick as the previous meteorites and struck the ship, rocking it back and forth. Had it not been for Law blocking the full attack with his Nodachi, it wouldn't have been surprising if the ship capsized. 

“Nami-ya! Listen. You have to sail where there are no clouds!”

“What?! Why?!”

“Doflamingo is a String-String Fruit eater! He moves through the air by attaching strings to clouds! He can’t follow you if there are no clouds!”

“... So it was the strings I heard…” Arden murmured, the vibration of the thin strings having bothered him for a while now whenever Doflamingo was near. He knew that Doflamingo was a String-String user but it honestly didn’t completely dawn on him until then. He’s not to blame-- one would forget lots of stuff when put in danger.

“Strings?” Sanji looked closely, the bright sun glistening against the strings finally greeting him in full view. “I see!”

“Just go now!”

“Get ready for Coup de Burst!” Chopper yelled after loading it.

To prevent him from launching another attack, Law pointed his sword's blade in front of Giolla's neck. “Doflamingo, look!”.

“Law, what do you think you’re doing?!” the woman screamed. “Young Master, don’t worry about me!”

With a member of his family held as a hostage, Doflamingo was left with no choice but to watch the ship leave out of his sight.

***

***

***

“That idiot!” Arden shouted when Law (with Giolla) went back to the bridge to stall Doflamingo: in order to fend him off from going back to Dressrosa. “I’m goin--”

He was jerked back by the shoulder. Turning around, he met the eye of a certain cook. “What are you planning to do?”

Is it not obvious?!

“I’m going to help him, that’s what!” 

Sanji narrowed his eyes at him, contrasting the emotionally feuded man. “And how are you going to do that? You can barely fight.”

“....” Arden's eyes fell down in thought before looking back from where they came from. “I can hear the strings.”

That shocked him. “What?”

“The vibrations,” he turned back to look straight at him. “I can hear them clearly. That has to count for something!”

“Just because you can hear the strings doesn’t me--”

Arden broke into a crooked grin, interrupting him as he raised a beating purple tinted cube in his hand. “Here’s Caesar’s heart. And… Could I have a Den Den Mushi?” Gazing at the look Sanji gave him, he could only give another grin to try to reassure him. “I know what the Devil Fruit I ate is now. Please. Trust me.”

.

Chapter Text

.

Seeing Law on the ground writhing in pain, Arden could only guess he was shot in the legs. From what he could remember, this meant that he couldn’t activate Room anymore since his stamina was all but spent. The battlefield was the bridge which connected Green Bit to Dressrosa. As a consequence of the squabble between the Shichibukai and ex-Shichibukai, the bridge had taken a lot more damage-- parts of it destroyed; more gaps formed. 

I should have been faster!

Taking advantage of the fact that Doflamingo was on a call, Arden dove swiftly next to Law. “Enoki, get on my back!”

“Usagi-ya…?!” Law exclaimed, his expression mixed with pain and shock.

“Bullet String.”

Ears twitching, Arden quickly crouched down to dodge it.

“No, it’s okay, go on,” he heard Doflamingo say, still talking on the Den Den Mushi.

“Get on my back, now!” Arden scowled, grabbing his sword, Kikoku. Given the situation, the doctor had no choice but to obey it.

Taking off into a run after retracting his Jay wings, he began to make his way back to Green Bit. Jumping onto the remaining iron bars of the infrastructure over to the other side of the broken bridge, passing the opponent on the way.

Doflamingo only watched them pass by, still casually talking to whoever was on the other line. 

They weren't a threat to him after all.

“Sorry, I can’t fly you over. My upper body strength isn’t as strong. And your sword is hella heavy.”

“Why are you here?!” Law yelled.

“Too loud! I have sensitive hearing!” Arden snapped back. “I’m here to help you!”

“You idiot! I don’t need any help!”

“Oh really?” he said in a curt tone, annoyed with how Law was reacting. “Then you definitely aren’t in pain right now, huh? You can run by yourself?!”

Hearing another string come for them from above, Arden easily dodged it once again. “That Parasite String is going to be annoying if it lands.”

The captain continued to yell, stupefied with the situation at hand. “I need to keep fighting him or else the plan will fail!”

“You don’t think he’s going to try to finish you off?” he glanced back at the larger man. “He’s pissed off enough that he won’t go back to Dressrosa until he gets his hands on you. Don’t worry about it!” With his speed, they already were in the forest quite some ways. “Doflamingo doesn’t know me or what my abilities are so we’re going to take full advantage of it!”

Gold eyes widened. “Does that mean you…”

“Yeah! My fruit is the Hare-Hare Fruit! Model: Wolpertinger! A Mythical Zoan type. I still don’t have full control of it but it--”

At the slight mention of uncertainty, Law immediately cut him off. “You have to leave, now! You don’t know who you’re up against. You can’t win with him as your opponent!”

A chuckle came from the younger. “Who said I was going to try to win, Enoki? You’re funny." The sounds of birds greeted them louder as they bounded past trees. "I’m not stupid. I know I can’t win.”

“Then why are you--?!”

“To buy time! That’s what you’re doing too, right?!” His eyes then landed on a small cavity that was well hidden by bushes.

This seems like a good spot.

“You have nothing to do with me or the Straw Hats. What do you have to gain from it?!”

“What do I have to gain?” Arden breathed out, stopping in front of the chosen location. Putting Law down carefully, he stared at him in the eyes. “I want to watch Doflamingo be burned to the ground from where he stands. It’s not just because of the SMILE factory. You don’t know, Enoki, but the way he’s been treating his own Kingdom-- it’s revolting!!”

Law tried to protest, getting up from where he was but was pushed back down with a hand on his chest from Arden. “Stay here." Kikoku was placed on his lap. "If you get in my way he might try to marionette you to go against me. I’m going to get his full attention so you can try to recover.”

He then added the next part softly with a small smile to match. “Is that okay?”

Deep set eyes bore into brown ones. “This is my fight.”

Retrieving something from his jacket, Arden fished out a beating cube. Law had given it back to him before returning to the bridge: that was all Arden needed to know that he didn’t intend to come out of that fight alive. Lifting one side of his jacket up revealed a cube shaped hole where the heart should be.

“I knew it. You must have known something like this might happen. But given your reaction, you probably thought the percentage was low. Your heart is back on the Sunny, right?” Pushing his own heart into the man’s tattooed chest, the smile from earlier came back. “You have my heart now. If you get injured or get struck here, I might die. So you better do well to protect yourself, got it? Doflamingo is probably on his way now. I have to go or else he’ll figure out where you are.”

Law’s golden eyes widened at his words as if unsure of what to say. “Usagi-ya! You’re impossible!”

Arden blinked once before giving a sideways grin, trying to lift the tension in the air. He really did despise seeing them (The Straw Hats and Law alike) be in this state.

Don't look at me like that, Enoki. It doesn't fit you.

“Impossible? Or irresistible? Either way, I’ll take it as a compliment. Better keep my heart safe!” With that he took off, running back to where he had come from a little ways before launching himself into the air.

***

***

Immediately, he could hear strings come for him. Dodging them, he spun around to see that Doflamingo was already close, his strides mimicking that of a large bird. “So you’re with Law as well, I presume.”

“Hah! You wish!” Arden forced out a laugh, making sure to maintain a distance away from him. “I’m just someone who’s very determined to take your pink ass down!”

The king cut to the chase. “Where’d you hide him?”

“Wouldn’t you love to know that?" He mocked. "Gonna have to get through me first!” Dodging a string that had come up behind him, he then somersaulted in the air as more came for his limbs before shooting up further into the sky. 

“You don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing?” Doflamingo laughed as he lunged for him, closing the distance between them with ease. “You’re trying to buy time pathetically just like how Law was! Pentachromatic Strings!”

“Hey, hey, don’t tell me this is a clone of yours!” Arden continued to taunt, dodging the attack by only a sliver of a hair. 

I really don't want to be minced meat today.

“You’re not even attacking me. In that regard you’re smarter than that fool,” Doflamingo noted. “You’re not a fighter, are you? Like a bunny, you can only run away.”

“At least this bunny can avoid getting hit by the oh so great Shichibukai,” he sneered.

“Hehehe... Are you sure about that?”

He then heard it. Multitude of strings coming from up top and from below.

He was trapped!

“Kch! Wolpe Wither!” his entire body suddenly shrank in size, small Roe Buck-like antlers grew from his head in front of his ears, and fangs appeared: he now took the overall shape and size of an average Netherland dwarf rabbit, the only real difference being his long hare-like ears. Fluttering his wings slightly, he managed to slip through the holes of the nets.

If he were any bigger he would have been a goner.

“Wolpe Thrive!” His body then went back to what it was before.

“Interesting… What Devil Fruit did you eat?” Doflamingo asked before striking another attack.

“Like I’ll tell!”

“Bullet String! Fulbright!”

With attacks coming from different directions, Arden was having a hard time yet still managed to escape them.

All of a sudden, the attacks stopped.

Unsure of what was happening, he spotted Doflamingo going off to a certain direction.

Towards where Law was.

Did this bastard knew where Enoki was from the start?!

His eyes enlarged when the realization struck.

He’s been toying with me from the beginning!!

“Bastard! Come back here!” he zipped to chase after him. Desperate, he yelled, “Killing both your father and your younger brother, Cora, for no good reason! What a sorry excuse of a son you are!”

That caught his attention.

It really caught his attention as he was rushing back towards where Arden was. “Hahaha... my father and brother? And who told you about that?”

He sounds calm but he’s still going for me--!

“Would you believe me if I said I came from another universe where everything that happens here is fictional?” Arden said with a large grin.

He swore he could hear the blood boiling in the blonde’s veins. “Are you mocking me?!” A fast array of strings came as he continued to get closer and closer to Arden with lightening speed.

“Wolpe Wither!” Arden shouted when the Shichibukai went to grab his neck.

Gravity pulled him down as he barely dodged it, a ball of iron grey fur falling down onto the forest floor with a muted thud.

“Ugh…” he groaned from where he laid, his head swirling from the impact, but got up as quickly as he could, leaping bounds past trees. “Wolpe Thrive!”

He couldn’t let Doflamingo lose sight of him!

“What a mistake you made, rat!” he heard the other shout.

“Wither!” a multitude of strings wrapped around a tree that was in front of him, all of them visible as they had joined together like he had wanted to trap him in place.

“Bullet String!” This time, he had aimed for the ground where Arden was going to land.

His limbs were too short to dodge them!

“Thrive!” Spreading his legs, he hopped off to the side. Taking off into the air again, he heard a string come up from behind him. Being in dense area containing a small cluster of trees, he didn't have enough space to fly around freely, forcing him to transform again.

“Wither!”

“Too late!” The same entrapping attack from earlier came launching at him. He got the wind knocked out of him as he was pinned to a tree.

Arden swore, trying to wiggle free to no avail.

“So I see. You can only change forms frequently with a limit,” Doflamingo chuckled. Arden only continued to curse silently.

He still wasn’t used to transforming: unlike Chopper, it seems he could only access two forms (three if you included his fully human form) but can freely go about either one quicker than expected. 

In an attempt to stall for time, he spat out, “Rocinante… how I feel sorry for him to have ever been related to y--” his throat was grasped tightly in the other’s hand. Feeling his grip tighten, brown eyes widened from the strain, strangled noises coming out in desperation for air.

Doflamingo gave a laugh, his pink glasses gleaming with villainous intent. “My brother was a fool along with my father. They were the cause of my suffering, not that you would know.”

“Oh, I know…” Arden was finding it hard to breathe despite the fact the blonde had slightly lessened his grip to hear what he had to say. “You were hunted down because you were Celestial Dragons. Your father wanted to live a humble life. It’s a tragic story-- your mother died shortly after-- ACK!”

Punctured in the torso by a collection of strings, the taste of iron filled his mouth. “... You blamed your father for everything. You brought his head to try to get back a Celestial Dragon status but couldn’t. But have you ever thought why two people who came from the same background turned out to be so different?” His expression turned serious. “Because you were manipulated and used! By the very ones you call 'Family'--!”

“Bullet String!” Hearing the smaller man scream in pain, Doflamingo lost his smile, a sinister tone seeping into his next words. “My brother was weak! He had his head in the clouds and didn’t understand how his older brother felt. He’s a disgrace. I only took advantage to take back what is rightfully mine. And me? Manipulated? No, I was saved and got help to realize my greatness! Enough with that. How did you know of it in the first place?”

“I know your past and your future,” Arden seethed out.

“And pray tell what that might be.”

“You’re…" he grunted out through clenched teeth. "... Going to get your ass kicked by Law and Luffy! I know it!”

The veins on his forehead visibly pulsed. Letting go of his neck, Doflamingo pulled him by his ears, yanking his head upwards. “... Straw Hat?" He gave a low rumble of a laugh, his lips forming into a mocking line. "He’s busy right now. Getting pummeled by strong warriors from all over and you’re saying he’ll defeat me?”

Arden only continued to smile smugly at him.

“I guess this little bunny chase of yours comes to an end,” the larger man said with a wide and disgusting smile, hand raised up in the air.

Arden could hear the strings whipping up.

“Room! Shambles!”

“Enoki…?” Arden squeaked out hoarsely, looking up slightly to see he was now held by Law, a part of a tree trunk replacing where Arden was tied up.

Why is he here?!

“Shambles!”

“Enoki, stop it!” He cried out through heavy breaths. “You have to save your energy! You can’t do it with two people!”

Law continued to run in silence despite the other’s complaints and shouts. It wasn't long until strings cut up the trees in front of them, blocking off their path.

“Room!” He raised his hand up but couldn’t seem to muster the energy to summon it.

“You idiot!” Arden shouted before coughing up a storm, blood running out from the corner of his mouth. Feeling himself be dropped down, Law tried to lunge for the enemy with his sword. 

“Bullet String!” It shot right through Law’s leg-- right where he was hit before, causing him to cripple onto the floor in agonizing cries. 

“Stop it!” Arden tried to crawl towards the injured man but was shot multiple times himself. Fueled by anger, Doflamingo sent a kick with a razor sharp string attached to it onto the smaller man before stomping his head down onto the ground.

White noise filled Arden's ears, his vision turning a disgustingly bright white. Knowing he was still in a dangerous position, he tried to escape. Yet every time he did so, the other pushed his weight harder down, rendering him motionless.

“You’re both pathetic," he cackled out loud. "Both trying to buy time for something that’s never going to happen. One trying to act as a decoy. And one foolishly running in thinking they can save the other.”

What's happening?!  Arden thought, panicking with two of his senses being nulled, his breaths quickening to become short and rapid. I can't hear anything clearly!

In fact, the only thing he could hear was the loud throbbing in his head.

The raven-haired man tried to get up through grunts of pain, but was shot right back down before he could make even an inch. Tattooed hands dug into the dirt floor, anguished efforts to get up coursing through him.

“Stay down, Law. I still have some use for you. As for you…” Doflamingo  crouched down to look at Arden who had his own blood and dirt cake his face. “I’ll take care of you right here and now.”

A guttural scream rang through the air.

“Usagi-ya!”  

.

Chapter Text

.

“And, what did you want, Zoro?” Luffy asked through the Kairoseki bars of the Colosseum window. He was wearing a golden helmet, a red cape, and a long white beard as a disguise.

“You moron!” Zoro answered angrily, donning a disguise of his own which consisted of a black suit, a white bushy mustache, and dark sunglasses. With him was Kin’emon with a similar getup. “Why didn’t you tell me there was this kinda competition?!”

The captain laughed, knowing well the green-haired man would have loved to participate. “Sorry, sorry!”

“You were having fun while I was running around the town!”

“Hey,” Kin’emon interrupted. “That’s not what we’re here for!”

“How could you let that old man beat you??” Zoro continued. “What were you doing?!”

“I didn’t get beaten! Didn’t you see my Gum-Gum Thor Elephant Gun??”

Amidst the arguing, Kin’emon pulled out a baby Den Den Mushi given to him by Sanji and began to fiddle with it. “Is this how you use it?”

“What are you doing?” Zoro asked.

“Sanji-dono told me to call once we see Luffy-dono.”

“Yeah?” He then remembered something. “Oh, Luffy!”

“Hah?”

“The Colosseum’s been besieged by the Navy.”

Luffy picked his nose with a pinky, absolutely disinterested with that information.

“You don’t care?!” Kin’emon exclaimed. “That was what we came here for!”

“This is the Sunny,” the Den Den Mushi finally picked up.

“Sanji?” Luffy said. “It’s me!”

“Luffy!” Nami’s voice came through.

“Alright, Chopper. Call Usopp with the other one,” Sanji directed.

“Okay! There!”

“Ring, ring, ring… Ring, ring, ring… clank.”

“This is Usopp!”

“Connected!” Chopper stated.

“Okay, now we have everybody except Law and Arden on the line,” Sanji said before talking on the Den Den Mushi once more. “This is Sanji on The Sunny. We have Nami, Chopper, Brook, Momonosuke, and Caesar here. Tell me your situation.”

“This is Kin’emon,” he replied, holding the tiny Den Den Mushi in the palm of his hand, presented out for the others to hear as well. “I’m in front of the Colosseum with Luffy-dono and Zoro-dono.”

“Okay. What about you, Usopp?”

“This is Uso--”

“Ow! This is Franky! I’m with Usopp and Robin!”

“What are you doing?!” Usopp said when Franky took the Den Den Mushi out of his hand.

“Listen, guys,” the cyborg said. “We’re currently with the King Riku Army, an anti-Doflamingo coalition in this country.”

“An Army?” Sanji asked.

“Of Little People.”

“Little People?” Luffy said, confused.

“Hey, Luffy, do you remember? We met with the strange toy soldier outside of the Colosseum."

“Uh huh,” he replied. “Who are those Little People?”

“He's actually the commander of this army.”

“Oh! The commander of the Little People?!”

“And all the people here are looking to take down Doflamingo today!”

“Huh? A soldier?” Luffy backtracked, wondering why it sounded familiar. “Oh, that’s it! The ‘Toy Soldier’!” This earned noises of confusion from the two swordsmen on the other side of the Kairoseki bars. “Rebecca wants to stop him! Franky, stop the army!”

“No way!” Franky refused adamantly. “I was thinking the exact opposite! Have you talked to that girl Rebecca?!”

“Uh-huh! She’s a really nice girl! She didn’t have much money but she bought me three lunch boxes! Despite that, once she entered the ring, the audience jeered at her!”

“I couldn’t agree more,” a pause came when Franky’s tone became unusually serious. “Luffy, I… I can’t follow Torao’s plan!”

Everyone was shocked by that statement.

“What’re you saying, Franky?!” Usopp said in disbelief.

“This is how I remember his plan,” he continued. “After destroying the SMILE factory, we’ll keep Doflamingo alive and use him to take down Kaido. But then, what’s gonna happen to these people who’re looking to bring down Doflamingo today?!

We can’t stop these Little People. It seems like everybody’s happy at first but this country has a very dark side. They’re getting ready to fight a deadly battle to get rid of that dark side! They’re pretty small but they have big balls! This brave little army is going to challenge their filthy, monstrous enemy! I can’t…” his voice slightly wavered. “... let them down!”

Luffy and everybody else listened intently, starting to realize what their shipwright was saying.

“Do you still think it’s better for us if Doflamingo wins the battle?!” Franky asked, another pause taking the air as if he was hesitant to say the next few words. “Luffy! No matter what you say...” a small stream of tears rolled down his cheeks as he ended his sentence. “I’m going to fight with them!”

Grabbing the Den Den Mushi out of Kin’emon’s hand with an outstretched arm, Luffy said with an encouraging voice, “Franky! You’re free to go all out! We’ll be there as soon as possible!”

Hearing his captain’s words, Franky gave a large grin. “Ow! Thanks!”

“Alright!” Sanji said, touched by his speech as well. “Let’s go back!”

“What?!” Brook and Chopper yelled.

Nami sobbed. “I knew you were gonna say that!”

A loud noise suddenly sounded through the town. Yet it didn’t stop there. It was continuous, the source of it reaching closer and closer towards the Colosseum at rapid speed.

“What’s that?” Usopp asked. “I heard something loud from your side!”

“What’s going on?!” Kin’emon said, looking at the buildings from afar being sliced and chopped cleanly. The sliced parts fell onto the ground creating more destruction as citizens ran away screaming. “The town is…”

“It’s coming this way!” Zoro said.

In a split second, a large object landed right in front of them in a crash, dust covering the air. The cobblestone floor was wrecked with its trailing landing.

“What the hell?!” Luffy shouted. “I can’t see a thing! What’s going on?!”

His question was answered quickly when a presence was felt through the thick dust. Slow steps could be heard, and as the air started to become clear again, the owner of them revealed itself.

“Doflamingo!” the rubber man yelled, the other figure on the ground striking his attention even more. “Torao!”

Law was lying face up, his chest heaving up and down from the impact he took with the landing, completely immobilized.

“Stupid brat!” the king said, cocking the golden gun in his hand.

“Hey, Torao! Why are you with Doflamingo--!”

A gunshot tolled out.

Citizens of Dressrosa and others looked on at the display in horror as the bloodied body that belonged to Law was shot not once but twice. “You’ve pushed it too far!”

Another cock of the gun.

Another gunshot.

“TORAO!!!”

“Hey!” Usopp’s voice came out in a panic. “I heard explosions and gunshots! What happened to Torao?!”

“Can you hear me, Luffy?!” Sanji shouted. “What’s happening there?! Say something, Luffy!”

With a large smile, Doflamingo pulled back the gun he used, fresh smoke still coming out of the barrel. “I’m sorry to bother you all. He’s a Shichibukai and a pirate-- Trafalgar Law,” he said calmly. “He was behind the false report of my abdication from the throne this morning. He was trying to drag me down. But don’t worry! I’ve just gotten rid of him!”

Seeing the bloodied and passed-out body, the citizens that witnessed the display took in the words of their trusted ruler before bursting out in cheers. “Is that what it was all about?!”

“So he almost messed Dressrosa up!”

“Now we’re safe!”

But Luffy knew better. “HEY, MINGO!!! How dare you shoot Torao!”

The outstretched smile never left the Shichibukai’s face. “... Straw Hat. it’s none of your damn business. Law was originally my subordinate. Responsibility for dealing with him falls to me!”

“Kin, take Torao!” Zoro shouted as the two of them rushed for Doflamingo with their swords at the ready.

“I got it!”

“Hey!” Chopper yelled through the Den Den Mushi that was nestled on Kin’emon’s arm. “Talk to us! What’s going on?!”

“Law-dono got shot in front of us! By Doflamingo!”

“What?!” both Brook and Nami exclaimed.

“What happened to Arden then?!” the reindeer panicked. “Didn’t he go to help Torao?!”

“Pirate Hunter and Foxfire Kin’emon, huh?” Doflamingo said as the two rushed for him. “I saw a child who looked like Momonosuke on the ship earlier!”

“Don’t listen to him!” Zoro said to snap Kin’emon out of any doubt. “We won’t let him take Momo away!”

“Of course!”

Even as Zoro lunged with a swing of his sword, Doflamingo only gave a light chuckle.

His blade was blocked by another’s.

Fujitora’s looming figure stood strong as the green-haired man tried to force his way through. The ground below him suddenly started to crumble, and he found himself unable to move away. What’s this heaviness?! He thought, a lens of his glasses shattering. How can he create this much force?!

It wasn’t long until he fell a large and deep crater that had formed.

“Zoro!!” Luffy yelled.

“Zoro-dono!” Kin’emon called out, his attention away from the person he was tasked to retrieve.

“What happened to Zoro, Kin’emon?!” Usopp asked.

“Zoro-dono has just vanished…” As he was trying to process what had happened, Doflamingo attacked from above, kicking him away with a string attached to it. The Samurai flung back as a spurt of blood came out of him.

“Kin’emon!” Not able to take it anymore, Luffy grasped onto the bars. “I’m coming!” Yet before he knew it, his energy was drained instantaneously, his body falling onto the floor like melted wax. “Oh, yeah… it’s Kairoseki…”

“Kin’emon?!” Brook shouted. “Are you okay?! Oh no, don’t tell me you’re dead!”

“I can’t believe the blind old gambler was a Navy admiral!” Zoro heaved out after jumping out of the large crater, blood having stained his chin.

“An Admiral?!” Luffy said.

“He is… an admiral?!”

“I hear you, Kin’emon!” Brook cried. “Oh, good! You’re alive!”

“Thank you for your help earlier,” Fujitora spoke. “You people were nice to me so it feels like I’m repaying you for kindness with ingratitude. Life is full of ironies.”

“Don’t be surprised!” Kin’emon relayed what was happening to his friends. “A man who stands by Doflamingo is a… N… Navy Admiral!”

Everyone that was on the other line of the call shouted in unison. “What?!”

“A navy admiral is there in Dressrosa?!” Franky said.

“Maybe, Doflamingo has the Navy on his side,” Robin thought out loud. “That means there are hundreds of enemies!”

“It’s not a matter of numbers!” Usopp said. “Just one admiral is already a big problem to us!”

“Oh no!” Kin’emon exclaimed when Doflamingo grabbed Law by his coat, striding over to his ally, whispering something inaudible. Fujitora then struck his sword in the air, floating in the air with the section of the stone floor he stood on.

“Law-dono! Law-dono!”

“Where are they going?!” Zoro shouted when he saw Doflamingo take off into the air as well.

“Are you okay?!” Kin’emon continued to call for the fallen surgeon. “Say something!”

The king chuckled. “Let’s talk at the palace, Fujitora. If you cooperate with me, I'll let you catch those brats.”

“I will listen to what you have to say, Heavenly Demon. Then, I will decide what to do.”

Zoro raised his sword. “I’m not gonna let them get away!”

“All civilians are evacuated!” A voice shouted, grabbing his attention away from Fujitora and Doflamingo.

“Catch Roronoa Zoro!”

“They know who we are!” The green-haired swordsman shouted as they blocked the unending bullets that were sent by the marine soldiers.

“It would seem so!” Kin’emon responded.

“Let’s run for now!”

“This is Kin’emon! Law-dono has been kidnapped!” He yelled as they made a round around the Colosseum to lose the mob of enemies.

“What?!”

“Hey, Luffy!” Zoro grasped onto one of the Kairoseki bars in front of his captain. “Look for the exit now! We’re gonna wait for you by running around here!”

“Okay! We gotta hurry! Torao said something after being shot! I’m sure he’s alive!”

Loud shouts then rang through the Den Den Mushi.

“It’s Brook and the others! What happened now?!”

“W-w-we…”

“Sunny group! What’s wrong?!”

“We have a big problem!” Brook cried. “Big Mom’s Pirate ship is here!!! What is the ship of one of the Yonkō doing here?!”

“What?!”

“Its figurehead is singing, isn’t it?!”

“You sure?!” Luffy shouted as Zoro fended off the marines that had caught up to them. “Big Mom’s ship?!”

Their doctor screamed from the other line. “We’re gonna die!!!”

“What’s going on?! Is Big Mom on board?!”

“I don’t know!” Sanji answered as he stared at the large ship in front of them. “But I see those two that we met on the Fish-Man Island!”

“Big Mom?!” Usopp screeched. “That was what I was worried about! Luffy! You shouldn’t have picked a fight with her!”

“Seems like they’re here for Caesar!”

“Caesar?!”

“What do they want from him?!”

“Everybody wants you, you mad scientist!” Sanji yelled. “Did they come to rescue you, too?!”

However, Caesar only looked on in horror, tears coming out. “No! Please help me! I don’t wanna get help from Big Mom! Because I… swindled research funds from them!”

“What?”

“W-well… skip the details! They’re gonna kill me once they catch me and confirm that I've been fooling them!”

“I don’t care if you live or die!”

“Don’t say that! Please!”

Angered by the pleading face of the other, Sanji only continued to shout. “We can’t let anyone take you anyway so shut up!”

“Look! Look! Look!” Brook started with a shaking finger pointing towards the enemy’s cannons lining up to aim at the Sunny. “They’re going to fire at us!”

“Somebody take the helm!” Nami yelled when the cannons started raining down on them.

“Y-Y-Yes, I will!”

“Damn!” Sanji yelled after kicking a cannonball from hitting the ship. “Why now?! We’re rolling away from Dressrosa! Can you shake them off?!”

“How should I know?!” Brook scrambled with the helm to dodge the attacks. “Just pray!”

“Brook! Keep trying!” Chopper cried.

“Yes, I’ll keep trying!”

“You okay, Sanji?!” Franky yelled. “But hey, don’t bring the Yonkō here! It’ll throw the whole country out of control and mess up the plan of Toy Soldier and the others!”

Meanwhile, Luffy, Zoro, and Kin’emon were running around the Colosseum to get away from the marines that were keen on hunting them down. “Come to think of it, why is Caesar on The Sunny?!”

“The deal fell apart!” Zoro answered in a shout. “If not, why would Torao have to go through what he did?!”

“Law told us to take Caesar to the next island!” Sanji said.

“Sanji,” Nami said. “I don’t think we should go back to Dressrosa! I know you want to join them and rescue Torao and help the Little People’s army win the fight. I’m not saying this because I’m scared.” She then focused her attention on talking to her captain. “Luffy, listen! There are three things that we and Doflamingo are scrambling for! Caesar, The SMILE factory, and Momonosuke for whatever reason.

We haven’t destroyed the factory yet so it’s still in his control. But we have the other two with us here! Torao was sacrificing himself and fighting to let these two get away from Doflamingo. Maybe, he also wanted to buy time for destroying the factory. He went that far to save these two. Arden also went to lend him a hand and we don’t know what happened to him. So if we go back and make it easier for Doflamingo to catch these two, all their efforts will be ruined!”

“You’re right,” Luffy said. “Okay! We’ll take Torao back at any cost! What was the name of the next island?!”

Kin'emon, still holding the Den Den Mushi out for all of them answered, “It’s Zou."

“Sanji! Nami! Chopper! Brook! Momo! You guys go head for Zou!”

Taking the cigarette out of his mouth, Sanji said, “If you say so… Roger that, Captain! But how about giving us permission!”

“Permission?”

“Yes. Permission to… launch a counterattack against Big Mom’s ship!”

“Yeah, you got it.”

The others on The Sunny were not quite as enthusiastic about that decision.

“What?!”

“No way…”

“I already picked a fight with her!” Luffy said.

The cook chuckled. “You’re right.”

“It’s too dangerous!” the rest on board panicked.

“Please, no!”

“Alright, guys!” Sanji said. “We’ll be waiting for you at Zou!”

“Okay!” Franky followed. “Count on us to destroy the factory!”

“All of you, be safe!”

“Roger that!"

.

Chapter Text

.

Ring Ring Ring… Ring Ring Ring… Clank!

“Who's this?”

“... Hey… it’s me… Arden,” he breathed out, still stuck on the forest floor.

“Arden?! It’s me, Zoro,” the voice answered. Audible sobbing could be heard from someone else on the other line. “Where are you?!"

"That is Arden-dono?" another voice said. "Thank goodness he's alive!"

“Is that Luffy crying...?”

“Hah? Yeah, he met his brother, apparently. You alright?”

“Yeah… I’m fine. Where are you guys right now?”

“Heading for the castle. We’re on our way to rescue Torao.”

“Enoki got caught because of me, sorry,” Arden tried to laugh but coughed instead.

“What do you mean?" Zoro asked, catching the strain in the other's voice. He couldn't help but to ask the same question as before. "Where are you?!”

“I’ll be on my way. See you.”

Clank.

Arden rolled onto his back, rubbing a paw to his face. Yes, a paw. He was sure he died after taking a critical blow like that, but well, his fruit saved him. In turn, he was stuck in this tiny form for god’s knows when. Luckily, the Den Den Mushi he carried fell out of his pocket before he could transform. “Guess having an unknown fruit comes in handy…”

He had already passed out for some time, and not to mention he was in a pool of dried blood-- his blood, but he honestly couldn’t get the energy to get up just yet.

The stinging pain from the last attack Doflamingo used still lingered in his mind. He remembered so clearly the feeling of hot blood trickling out of his body and running down his cool skin. The pressure of having his head be stomped on the ground. The way he screamed like he's never done before.

All of it.

It was truly terrifying of an experience that it made him rethink what he was doing exactly. 

Thoughts to escape the island went through him but shut them all out the moment he thought back to the suffering face Law had on. No way was he going to abandon them. Not with the way things are right now.

In any case...

Mythical Zoan types are insane. No wonder they're rarer than Logia types. 

In exchange for eternal youth (the Wolpertinger being known for it in myths), the Hare Hare Fruit! Model: Wolpertinger, grants the user the ability to self-heal. Though it seems Arden could only do that when in his fully transformed state.

He gave a heavy drawn-out sigh. “Maybe I should stop trying to change the future.” Everything is just going as it should be in the story. Why put himself in unnecessary pain to change something that won’t budge?

But he couldn’t help it.

Even if it’s useless-- he had to try.

A sudden flash of memory came back to when Smoker seemed to arrive later than expected, and when Law didn’t have earplugs in hand originally.

“Is this happening because of my existence…?” he murmured.

Maybe he’s not supposed to change the future, but to make sure nothing changes. He is an unforeseen number dropped into this equation after all.

I don’t know. This is too much for my brain right now.

And my fur feels sticky as hell from the blood. I should wash it off before heading back to town...

...

...

I can't believe I just casually thought about having fur as being normal. 

Fuck.

***

“Sabo’s fighting?” Arden asked, looking up at the large screen to see a white-bearded man who had a helmet be on the same stage as someone he remembers as Bartolomeo. How could he forget such an iconic character? That rooster head is the epitome of a Straw Hat fanboy. He’d like to stay and watch the fight occur but knew that now was not the time. “Good luck, Sabo!”

He was still stuck in his full Wolpertinger form and was mistaken as a toy most times. Luckily, before any kids could approach him, he was fast enough to dodge them.

Those were obstacles he really didn’t have time for.

Seeing that the Toyhouse was near and heard visible gunshots, Arden ran towards it, wondering if Franky was doing okay. Seeing a large group of Navy soldiers at the entrance, he flew above their heads and entered the fray.

When he entered, he saw a man dressed in baby attire. It was an odd sight, but he was thankful for it as it helped him get to Franky without a problem, the Navy soldiers distracted by the unknown man’s presence. The man-baby didn't necessarily grab his attention enough to stare at since, well, he used the internet quite a bit back home.

Not a lot surprises him in that kind of category.

“He’s brushing his teeth!” the soldiers exclaimed.

“With two shoe brushes!”

“Señor is an executive of the Don Quixote Family!” One of the five women in bikinis said.

“He’s so strong!” The rest swooned, coddling his arms.

“.... Hey, Franky,” Arden whispered.

“Huh? Who’s calling me?”

“Down here!”

The cyborg scooped him up into his large mechanical hands. “These wings and ears… Arden?”

“Yeah, I am! I came to see what's up.”

“Not much as of right now. Almost got bored enough to pull out my guitar!” Franky said with a laugh before his expression turned into slight worry. “We lost contact with you for a while now. You okay?”

Arden gave a nod. "Better than I was back in Green Bit, that's for sure. I'm gonna go catch up with Luffy to save Enoki!"

“Trafalgar, huh? I heard about that." The shipwright lifted his sunglasses. "You two must have been through a tough fight.”

He couldn't help but give a toothy smile. “Yeah, I was all bloodied up! Enough of me, though. You doing okay over here?”

“Hell yeah, I am!” Franky said. "Never been better! I'll super get this job done, don't worry!"

“Everybody!” The Vice-Admiral commanded. “We’re going to make a full-scale charge now! Capture or scrap Cyborg Franky of the Straw Hats-dara!”

Franky placed Arden back down before giving a reply to them. “I’m super ready anytime!”

“Huh?” the marines suddenly said.

“He’s swimming…”

“... In the ground?!”

“Hm?” Arden turned to see that it was Señor with his Swim-Swim Fruit casually swimming around before submerging to sit on the beach chair he had out.

“Señor, you must be tired!” the girls who were waiting there said.

“Take a good rest!”

“I’m sweating a little bit,” he said before ripping two of the girls’ tops off to wipe his face, though they didn’t seem to mind it. “Let’s see how much the Navy can do.”

“So hard-boiled~!”

“Huh… I really don’t get it,” Arden tilted his head off to the side in confusion, trying rather hard to dissect it.

“I didn’t expect the Navy to cut in but…” Franky started. “It’s becoming like a party and I like it!”

Gun fires finally sounded out to get him.

“Good luck, Franky!” Arden shouted as he ran between the legs of the focused soldiers out of the building.

“Wh-What was that?!”

“A rabbit?!”

“It has antlers!”

“Focus on Cyborg Franky for now!”

“Oh, Franky,” the brunette cried as he heard him launch his rocket launchers off in the distance. “You look amazing in a suit!” In fact, he couldn’t wait to see the others who don't normally wear them. It’s a nice sight to see. Even with a full-on white beard as part of his disguise, Arden couldn’t help but have wanted to bore that image in his mind. Thinking about it even caused him to have a little skip in his run.

***

“The castle ground base thing! Finally!” Squeezing through one of the small windows that were placed up high in the walls, he fell down with a flop. Ears twitching, he heard rumbling come from close by, running towards it. “They must be this way.”

“Zoro!” Arden called out for the swordsman who was in a rather unusual-looking hallway that had deformed walls that curved everywhere.

“Arden?” Zoro said but stood confused when he didn’t find anyone in his line of vision.

“Down here!” he hissed.

“A… weird rabbit-bat?”

“I’m Arden, idiot!” he jumped up in slight aggravation. “And do I look like a bat?!”

“Oh, it is you,” Zoro said, lowering the swords he held. “Huh. Why are you like that?”

“Long story: don’t worry about it--” The ground had suddenly started to rumble from underneath his paws and a large object started to form from the brick floor. Losing his balance, he hopped onto Zoro’s head.

“Pica?!” Arden exclaimed, staring at the large head made from stone that came from where he was a second ago.

“Hah? Pica...? So that’s his name. You know this guy?” Zoro asked, leveling his weapons up once again.

“Yeah, he’s a top executive. He’s the one with the wei--” he stopped after realizing where his sentence was going, giving a head-shake. “Nevermind.”

The other looked up in confusion. “What were you going to say?”

Arden hung his head over, large bunny eyes staring at piercing black ones. “I can’t say it! I’ll lose my cool if I think about it too much,” he said seriously. “It’s too dangerous.”

“You’re not making any sense!” the swordsman exasperated, staring back at the upside-down view of the creature.

“You need any help here?” Arden instead asked, looking at Pica again, hoping to change the conversation elsewhere.

“No, I can take care of this. Luffy went on ahead already. Catch up with him!”

Arden hopped off, landing near some rubble. “You’re gonna cut it down?”

“Of course,” Zoro said with a smug grin, keeping his eyes on the enemy.

“Good luck then!” he shouted with a smile before continuing down the hallway.

***

“Wow that is one large head,” he noted as Luffy and the others came into view down the hallway he had reached. The man with the large head being the only thing in between Arden and them. He had white hair and seemed to have a rather nice style with the black and white colour scheme he had going on.

“I didn’t betray anybody!” Violet shouted as they ran away from the man who was standing still, his head still ever-growing. “Since that day a decade ago, I’ve never trusted you guys, not even once!”

“It’s gonna pop!” Arden realized, hopping into the air before zooming past the man.

“Either way," the man said. His head had stopped growing but was rather it was pulsating. "it’s disrespectful to the Young Master! Helmet Pop!”

“Wolpe Thrive! Swift Sphere!” Turning back to his original form, he enveloped the woman into his arms, wings wrapped around them both before tumbling down the hallway, the explosion causing the helmet bits to fly and hit everywhere. 

Swift Sphere was a defensive move, but he could only access it if he curled up-- his wings hardening and enveloping his whole body. He couldn’t use it simultaneously with an offensive attack, not to mention it wasn’t like Chopper’s Guard Point: his certainly wasn’t as big, and could only be used for a few seconds at a time.

“Luffy, help Miss Violet!” Arden yelled before using all his strength to throw the lady his way, transforming back into his small form involuntarily.

“Arden?!” Luffy said, staring with wide eyes after seeing him convert back, successfully grabbing Violet and continuing running like he wasn’t carrying extra weight.

“Yeah! I’m here to help! It’s my fault Enoki’s been abducted!” Arden answered, running with him.

“You’re…” he said with furrowed brows at Arden before stars appeared in his eyes. “a really cool bat-rat now!”

“What part of me looks like a bat or a rat?!” he yelled-- not so much offended but more in a sense surprised the rubber man could come to that conclusion.

“How we go doesn’t matter, right?” Luffy asked Violet as he made a sharp turn into a room.

“Wait a second!” she said. “The staircase isn’t that way--”

Luffy yelled, breaking the large window ahead of them with a kick, Arden following them close by. His eyes landed on the tin soldier that he was carrying in his other arm.

“What?!”

“What’re you up to?!”

“That must be it!” Luffy looked up, extending his foot up to hook to a window’s edge from up above.

“Pardon me!” Arden said, jumping onto Luffy’s shoulder before they shot upwards into the open window.

***

“God! We made it straight to our destination!” Soldier said in mild disbelief.

“No, you’ll have to wait!” Violet pulled down Luffy who still had Arden on his shoulder to hide behind the window.

“Huh, why do we have to hide?! Mingo is there--!” his mouth then got covered by an extended ear from Arden before he hopped off onto the floor.

“Be quiet! Don’t ruin their operation!” Violet hushed.

“What operation?”

“The Totattas’ Operation SOP! We can only make a move after they pull it off. So stay still for now!”

“This frustrates me too, Luffy,” Arden said, ears twitching as he could hear the conversation from inside the room. “But Miss Violet is right. Let's be patient and wait for the right time.”

Not like he'll listen to that kind of logic, though.

“I thought you guys wanted to destroy the SMILE factory and that’s it,” Doflamingo said. “Then why are the Straw Hats working with the Little People of Green Bit? They’re not acting on some casual whim.”

“The little people?” That was Law’s.

“How did they sneak into the basement? Why do they wanna attack Sugar? I don’t know why but they keep doing things that are causing me a lot of grief. If it’s not a coincidence, it means… They know what’s behind the darkness of this country!”

A loud slap was made followed by a woman’s voice. “Answer! The Young Master is asking you questions, Law!”

“Don’t do it if it’s gonna make you cry-dasuyan! You two never change!” another voice that sounds kind of familiar said.

“I told you,” Law replied. “I have nothing to do with them anymore! Our alliance ended. I don’t know what you’re talking about at all.”

“Are you trying to fool me? Or do you really not know anything? That bunny back in Green Bit seemed to know too much about me. It’s hard to believe you don’t know anything.”

Silence rang in the air for a few beats.

“If Violet were with us, she could tell what’s in your mind easily,” Doflamingo continued, turning his head to an older man who was chained up at one end of the room. “Or… you didn’t instigate them, did you, King Riku? The Tontattas once served you.”

“Torao seems alive,” Luffy said as the four of them were now peering into the window out of sheer curiosity.

They slumped back down and Luffy made some pounding motions against his fists. “Let’s just go in and beat Mingo already!”

Arden slapped him in the face with an ear, a frown to match.

“I said wait!” Violet said for both of them.

***

Ring, ring, ring… Ring, ring, ring… Clank.

“S-Sugar has…! I’m sorry, Doffy!”

“You’re too loud, Trebol!”

“What happened to Sugar?” Doflamingo asked.

“P… P... Passed out! She’s passed out!”

“What?” Luffy asked. “What happened?”

“Sugar has passed out?!” Violet exclaimed.

“Hey…” The blonde man said to the Den Den Mushi. “Is this a joke?!

“The servants that we’ve been collecting for a decade are turning back into humans!” Trebol said. “The spell of the Hobby-Hobby Fruit is being removed!”

“The Tontattas’ operation must’ve been pulled off!” Violet said with tears in her eyes.

“See?” Luffy said to Violet with a grin. “I told you Usopp would take care of it!”

“Oh, yeah he did,” Arden hummed, chuckling. “He always does seem to pull through, doesn’t he?”

Many Den Den Mushies began to ring inside the room, panic ensuing quickly.

“We keep getting emergency reports!”

“This is an emergency call from Sevio in the south! The toys working at the port suddenly turned into pirates!”

“This is Carta in the east! The toys turned into old Dressrosa soldiers!”

“They turned into government officials!”

“Navy soldiers and senior officials from abroad!”

“Wild animals! This is Primula District!”

“Young Master!” one of the people in the room yelled.

“I can hear the cheers from outside,” Arden noted.

“Damn those pieces of shit!” Doflamingo seethed out.

The wolpertinger tilted his head to the side as he looked up at where the soldier was, feeling a much different presence. What he found was a large muscular man in a gladiator uniform, donning only one leg. Ah, Kyros.

Violet gasped, looking at him.

“Eh?!” Luffy noticed.

Without a word, the one-legged man leaped through the window with a sword in hand, his jumps powerful with each step even if he lost a leg.

“Who is that?!” Luffy exclaimed.

“Brother Kyros!”

“Eh?”

“Even I lost my memories of him!”

“What are you talking about?! What do you mean?!" Looking around, Luffy then realized someone was missing. "Oh? Where did the soldier go?!”

“It’s him,” she said, never taking her eyes off of the gladiator.

“Huh? That’s a human!”

“The toys were originally humans but they were erased from our memories! Since the Devil Fruit eater Sugar has passed out now, we got our memories back!” Her tears flowed down non-stop. “He’s the former commander of the King Riku Army- Kyros!”

“That’s the old man the statue is of!” Luffy said, referring to the statue located in the coliseum.

“Yes, that’s him! And he’s also… Rebecca’s biological father!”

“What?! She said she didn’t know him!”

“When people forget about you, there’s nothing you can do to make them remember you! That’s why he’s been watching over his beloved daughter for a decade! He has always been by her side, day after day, as a toy soldier!”

“The power of the Hobby-Hobby Fruit is scary,” Arden murmured to himself. Before this point in time, it seemed he was the only one who even knew of Kyros’ existence. It probably had to do with the fact memories he had of Kyros wasn’t received from this universe but his previous one’s.

“Hey, who the hell are you?!” one of Doflamingo’s underlings shouted at Kyros’ presence.

Without any hesitation, Kyros went in for the attack, going straight for Doflamingo.

“You are…!”

“You’re Kyros, aren’t you?!” King Riku shouted, tears streaming down his face.

“Yes!” he responded strongly, jumping up high, sword pulled back. “I’m sorry to keep you waiting for a decade! Now, I’m here to save you!”

Bringing his sword straight down, he cleanly cut through Doflamingo’s neck, his head rolling on the floor in mere seconds. Everyone looked on in shock, friend or foe.

Arden only brought his ears down, eyes narrowing at the display.

“I’m here to take back the real Dressrosa!” Kyros shouted.

.

Chapter Text

.

“A decade,” Kyros said once he landed back on his foot. “For a decade, we have suffered!”

The only woman there, who had slapped Law earlier, screamed. Turns out she was the same one that had fought Franky back at Punk Hazard: Baby 5.

“Lord Doflamingo!”

“Young Master!” The plane man from back in Punk Hazard tried to attack Kyros but was stopped at sword point by him.

“From now on,” Kyros continued. “I’m going to rip the mask off of all your deception!

“Aaaahhh! Mingo’s dead!” Luffy shouted but soon pouted as though he couldn't get the last slice of pizza. “I was gonna kick his ass…”

“There they are!” a voice from down the hallway shouted.

“You bastards!”

“They found us!” Violet said in a panic.

“Shoot them!”

“Let’s go rescue Torao!” Luffy said, grabbing both Violet and Arden, one in each shoulder, before jumping over the window they were hiding behind. As everyone went for Kyros’ for killing their master, the three of them headed for Law with ease.

“Torao!”

“Enoki!”

“Mugiwara-ya?! Usagi-ya?!”

“I’m here to save you!” Luffy yelled, waving his hand around. “I’m glad you’re alive!”

Law seemed shocked to see Arden but focused his attention on Luffy. “You have no business here, Mugiwara-ya! What about the factory?! Did you destroy it?!”

“Here’s the key to his handcuffs,” Violet presented with a hand.

“You have everything prepared!” Luffy said.

“Wait, Straw Hat! Violet!” The exploding man from earlier shouted from behind them.

“Forget him!” Arden said.

“You can’t lay a finger on the Young Master--!” The man finally saw the decapitated body and head of his Master, his body suddenly frozen at the shock of what his eyes were seeing.

“Give me a minute! I'm gonna rescue you!” Luffy said to Law once they had reached him.

“Thanks, but the alliance between me and you guys is over! Get out of here!” he rejected in a shout. Arden hopped onto his lap before jumping up to give him a slap with an ear, round eyes narrowing to glare at him which in turn earned him a glare back.

“So selfish!” Luffy matter-of-factly said to Law. “I’ll make those decisions, not you, so shut your mouth!”

“That makes you more selfish than me!”

“Gah!” Arden shouted in aggravation, leaping off before transforming into his half-form, grabbing the key whilst thanking Violet. “We have to unlock it!”

“Oh, right!” Luffy said.

“If there’s no alliance, we’re not on the same side! If you set me free, I’ll kill you!” Law said to the captain of the Straw Hats.

“Shut up!” Arden snapped irritatingly, holding both keys with both hands near the keyhole of one of the cuffs. He wasn't one to show this much level of anger, which slightly shocked the prisoner. “Damn Kairoseki. It’s making it hard to focus, and you’re not helping!”

Making me regret that damn fruit.  

Can't believe a stupid stone is this powerful!

“Oh right, that’s because you ate a Devil Fruit,” Luffy noted casually.

“You can do it!” Violet cheered.

“You three aren’t listening to me!” Law shouted angrily.

“Why don’t you do it?” Luffy asked Violet, getting impatient with Arden who was still physically struggling.

“I can’t! I’m a Devil Fruit user, too!”

“Guys! Please! Be quiet!” Arden barked, still fighting to complete a relatively simple task. “We need to get out of here quickly!”

I’m not even touching the Kairoseki and I can already feel my energy being drained!

“Huh? But we got that one-legged man to help us,” Luffy said.

“It’s not that,” he shook his head, hands shaking to get the keys inside the lock. “It’s because Doflamingo isn’t dea--”

A familiar laugh rang through the air.

As everyone became shocked by it, the key was finally able to make contact with the handcuffs. “I got it!”

But his celebration was cut short as the ground below them suddenly protruded out high, knocking them all back from each other.

“No, the key!” Arden yelled, hand outstretched to catch it as he tumbled a landing.

“Oh! The stone guy!” Luffy said after easily getting to safety.

“Pica!” Violet shouted.

The lump from the floor then turned into the familiar face Arden saw back in the hallway with Zoro.

“I never thought I’d be taken in like this,” Doflamingo’s severed head said.

“Ah! Mingo’s alive!” Luffy yelled, eyes wide in disbelief.

“Young Master!”

“How could he still be alive?!” King Riku exclaimed.

“The whole country is thrown into chaos after the toys have been freed,” the severed head continued. "And for whatever reason, the Revolutionary Army is here secretly, too. And the Royal Palace is a mess. It’s a difficult situation. I have no choice but to use the ‘Birdcage’.”

“No!” Arden screamed, knowing full well what he meant by that.

“The Birdcage?!” Law said in pure distress, eyes trembling as if remembering something horrifying.

“Hehehehehe… We need to do something immediately.”

“That's horrifying!” Kyros shouted at the sight of a disembodied head before leaping for him. “How are you still alive, Doflamingo?!”

“Kyros! Watch out!” Arden shouted.

However, the next second, a figure came from behind the one-legged man. “Do you want me to teach you… how to kill a person?”

“Soldier!”

“Brother Kyros!”

“This is how you do it.”

“Kyros!”

The brunette tried to move, but he found it hard to, a sharp pain shooting through his body.

His wounds still weren’t fully healed.

It was fascinating that he was still able to stand the way he was. Doflamingo delivered a kick that sliced the whole top half of the castle in half. Luckily, Luffy got there in time, pushing Kyros down to safety.

“Straw Hat!” Doflamingo, with his other severed clone, came on the offense.

“There are two Young Masters?!”

“Pentachromatic Strings!”

Luffy dodged just in time, pulling Kyros away to safety.

“Sorry!” Kyros said. “I dropped my guard!”

Luffy went to attack Doflamingo but with the element of surprise by using his clone to attack from behind him, Luffy was sent flying. The stone wall he landed on became cracked and indented with impact.

“That hurts!”

“It’s like a marionette made of strings!” Violet said. “I’ve never seen such a technique!”

“King Riku,” Doflamingo said. “Do you remember the feeling you had on that night ten years ago? The day you sliced up your dear citizens and burned down peaceful towns.”

“I still have nightmares about it every night!” King Riku responded with a devastating tone. “Yes, I remember it! So what?!”

“The tragedy that will unfold soon will not be small-scale like that.”

“The key… where did it go…?!” Arden searched around whilst they were talking. Damn, why does it have to be so tiny?! It was hard to find such a tiny object amidst the amount of debris and rubble that had procured through what had happened.

“Pica! Throw these nuisances out!”

The ground started to rumble, lumps forming on the ground, throwing everyone off balance. “Damn it!” Arden screamed in anger as Pica grabbed them all with large brick hands, throwing them over the palace.

With the initial shock gone, Arden tried to fly but was unable to due to a lack of strength. “Wolpe Wither! "

“Gum-Gum Balloon!” Luffy shouted, creating a safe landing for everyone.

***

“He threw us out into the garden of the Rampart Tower!” Luffy said, looking up from where they were dropped.

“We can’t get near Doflamingo as long as Pica is there!” Violet said.

“I-It’s started…!” Law breathed out in fear. “The Birdcage!”

Strings shot up from inside the palace, enclosing the entire Kingdom. Just like a Birdcage. Arden watched it form with baring teeth, having a sudden urge to sink his fangs in a certain birdass' neck.

“The Birdcage?” Luffy asked. “What do you mean by that, Torao?!”

“Before the truth behind this country is exposed, Doflamingo is going to… Kill everyone on the island!”

“What?!”

Soon the screams started to ring in the air, Arden whipping his head towards the town. “The people are screaming in fear. In pain!” His fangs bared in the sunlight. “Kch. Doflamingo…!”

The ground below them suddenly shook once again.

“H-H-Hey! The ground is descending!” Luffy shouted, confused. “What’s going on?!”

“It’s Pica!” Law answered. “Since he can merge with stones, he can even shift the geography!”

“The Royal Palace is going somewhere!” Luffy said, looking at the Palace structure as it moved off of the King’s Plateau. “Stop, Royal Palace!”

 Arden watched helplessly as the entire Royal Palace left their reach. “This is just the beginning.”

***

“Citizens and guests of Dressrosa,” Doflamingo’s voice sounded out through the speakers scattered throughout the kingdom. “I could have reigned over you all with terror from the start.”

Arden looked at one of the Shichibukai’s faces that projected against the Birdcage as it was the only one visible from where he stood. His eyes slighted at merely the sight of the blonde.

“After finding out the truth, I bet a great number of you want to kill me now. That’s why I prepared a game for you. It’s a game to kill me. I’m in the Royal Palace. I won’t run or hide. If you can take my life, the game ends there, of course. But there is another way to finish the game. Here is how: you’ll kill all the people that I’m going to name now. Also, I will award a large prize for killing each one of them. Kill or get killed. Everyone in this country will become bounty hunters! The only way to survive… is to kill somebody!”

He had a shit-eating grin on. “Even if you run or hide, there is no safe place in the cage. The terror of the birdcage will go on for days. It’s a matter of which happens sooner: You all die or you finish the game. Yehahahahaha!”

“Scream! Hate! Suffer! You people are innocent victims!” he continued laughing.

King Riku started to break down, tears running down his face as he held onto his head with both hands. No doubt, this was bringing up painful memories for him. “Stop it… Doflamingo!”

“Think! You either come to kill me or side with us Don Quixote Family and punish the thirteen fools who rebel against me. If you make the wrong decision, the game will not end.”

Zoro had arrived to meet with them, carrying Law’s nodachi with him.

“I’ll pay one hundred million berries for each star rating! These are the criminals in Dressrosa! First, the One-stars…”

An image of a young lady in gladiator armor showed up on the screen:

Rebecca. A convict Gladiator of the Corrida Colosseum (King Riku’s Granddaughter). One star.

And it continued with each person.

Nico Robin: a Pirate of the Straw Hats. “Demon Child”. One star.

Foxfire Kin’emon: A samurai from the Wano Kingdom. One star.

Viola: The former princess of Dressrosa. One star.

Cyborg Franky: A pirate of the Straw Hats. One star.

All images of them then showed up together.

“Next, the Two-stars…” Doflamingo said.

Kyros: the former army commander of Dressrosa. Two stars.

Pirate Hunter Zoro: A pirate of the Straw Hats. Two Stars.

“Ehehehe! And as for key figures of each group with one outlier, I give them three stars!”

Sabo: The chief of staff of the Revolutionary Army. Three stars.

Straw Hat Luffy: A pirate. Captain of the Straw Hats. Three stars.

Trafalgar Law: The captain of the “Heart Pirates”. The Shichibukai (Tentative), “Surgeon of Death”. Three stars.

Riku Doldo iii: The former king of Dressrosa. Three stars.

Arden: An unknown wanderer. Three stars.

“YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!” Arden shouted in disbelief, jaw dropped down to the floor, eyes wide enough to bulge out of his small skull. The utter knowledge of the fact he's in the same tier as ANY of those people shocked him to the core. “How did they even get a picture of me?! I’m not even important! They couldn’t even be more descriptive?! Wait, that's not important! No, I mean-- I’m-- AAAHHH!”

All twelve images were now on display.

“What’d you do?” Zoro asked, also seemingly surprised by the ranking.

Grumbling, the creature gave a huff. “I’m guessing it’s because I provoked him back in Green Bit.”

He raised an eyebrow at that. “Provoke?”

“Yeah…” he dryly said. "Guess I should have known this would happen..."

What kind of an extra gets any stars during an arc like this? he thought, sobbing and throwing a mini pity party for himself. 

And the worst extra of the year goes to... Arden!

"When I get my hands on Doflamingo, I swear..."

“Plus, there is the man who pissed me off the most today!” Doflamingo continued. “It’s all his fault that you people have to play such a bloody game! The one who kills him will get… five hundred million berries!"

Suddenly the image of a certain long-nosed fellow appeared on the screen.

“God” Usopp: A pirate of the Straw Hats. Five stars.

Finally, all thirteen images were displayed in full.

If it wasn’t the fact that Arden had received three stars-- or any stars for that matter-- he’d probably be rolling on the floor in laughter with the reveal of who the five star was.

But all he could feel was utter despair.

***

“Zoro?” The voice from the other line said once the call got through.

“Yeah.”

“Where are you now?”

“Robin? I’m with Luffy and the others. We’re on, what they call, the King’s Plateau. Things are getting messy, aren’t they?”

“Is this Robin?” Luffy said, snatching the Den Den Mushi from Zoro’s hand. “Did you see it?! Mingo’s such a jerk, isn’t he?! But Arden’s bit was hilarious! Usopp’s was even funnier!”

“What did you say, Luffy?!” Both Arden and Usopp (who was on the other line) yelled at the laughing captain.

“Rebecca was also on the list. I wonder if she’s alright.”

“Rebecca is…”

A young girl's voice could be heard. “I’m here! Lucy?!”

“Oh! It’s good that you’re there! The soldier is here…” he looked around to find him. “Where did the soldier go?”

“He went off on his own,” Arden answered.

“What?!” Violet said.

Riku joined. “Don’t tell me he is…”

“Soldier?!” Rebecca asked. “He turned back to a human, too, didn’t he?! Tell me, Lucy, what kind of man is he?!”

“What kind of a man?!” Luffy said. “What are you talking about?! That one-legged soldier was your father! He’s the old man the statue is of!” Audible sobbing could be heard from the call. "I’m happy for you! The soldier guy has gone somewhere now but listen to me, Rebecca!

Don’t cry yet! I won’t let the soldier die! You have to be safe, too! I feel bad that I couldn’t let you have the Flare-Flare Fruit that you wanted. But instead, I promise I’ll kick Doflamingo’s ass for you! So stay with my friends! I’m gonna bring an end to this stupid game in no time! So survive! Okay?!”

She responded through the call, voice still fresh from crying at the news she received, “Uh-huh!”

***

“Luffy, who are you with right now?” Robin asked. 

“I’m with Zoro, Torao, and Arden. And…” he looked over his shoulder to the remaining two. It was at that moment that Arden realized that Luffy had stopped calling him ‘Ardy’. It was a small detail, but it still made him wonder where that change came from.

“Riku Doldo iii, and I’m Viola,” the woman, who went by 'Violet' before, responded.

“Okay, so there are six of you. On my side, we have… what?”

“What’s wrong, Robin?”

“... Anyway, I’m going to move there with Usopp and Rebecca.”

*** 

“Do you know what you’re doing, Mugiwara-ya?” Law asked once the call was hung up. “Our plan was to destroy the SMILE factory and provoke a conflict between Doflamingo and Kaido. But if we kill Doflamingo now, Kaido will direct all his anger over losing SMILEs at us! Then we’ll have to fight face to face with an enraged Emperor!”

Arden wanted to shout at him but kept quiet, knowing he didn’t hold the power nor the right to say anything at that moment.

Luffy finally broke the suffocating silence. “That’s not an issue now. Take a good look at this country! If I stop now, what’s gonna happen to it?!”

The both of them glared at each other with conviction, each of their own definition.

***

Luffy grabbed both Zoro and Law, glancing back at the small being with a smile. “Arden, can you fly?”

“Yeah, I can!” he gave a nod. 

“Alright, let’s go!”

“Wait!” Law said. “I’m still cuffed!”

“They’ll come off,” Luffy replied. 

“No, they won’t!”

“Miss Viola, could you…?” Arden asked the lady in question.

She nodded. “I’m going to get the key!”

“Do you know where it is?!” Law asked.

“When we fell, I saw… it must be somewhere on this plateau! I’ll find it and-- What?!”

She was interrupted by Luffy yelling, running across the Plateau with Arden following suit. 

“How should we get there?” Zoro asked, still held onto by his captain. 

“Go straight!”

“Sounds like a plan!” Arden confirmed.

Law made a look of shock.

“Is he going to jump up?!” Viola shouted.

“No way!” King Riku added.

“Wait for me, Doflamingo!” Luffy yelled, jumping straight down towards where the Royal Palace was located. 

Turning into a balloon, they landed on the ground safely with a bounce, knocking over some people in the process.

“You gotta work on that!” Arden said as he casually followed the deflating balloon, which tumbled and rotated around in the air with no control. 

“Law!” one of the people shouted.

“How could you show your face here after everything, you shitty brat?” It was the weird man-baby.

“Brother Law?” a teenage boy in high heels and short-shorts said with a hand in front of his mouth in a flamboyant way. “Well, I barely remember him.”

As Luffy landed safely onto the ground, Zoro jumped straight into a fighting stance.

“Is that…?” One of Doflamingo’s underlings said. “Straw Hat Luffy!” 

“Trafalgar Law!”

“Pirate Hunter!”

“And a weird flying rabbit?!”

“This is the worst spot to land!” Luffy said.

“You can say that one again,” Arden lightly joked, landing next to them. They were surrounded by both the Navy, and the Doflamingo family. Three of them are executives!

“Hey, Mugiwara-ya!” Law yelled angrily. “When I get uncuffed, I’m going to kill you first!”

Zoro brought two swords out. “I tell you, there’s no good spot to land here. Since everybody in this country is our enemy! Anyway, we’ve gotta run!”

“Okay!” Luffy responded.

“Let’s high tail it then!” Arden said, launching back into the air.

***

“Chase them, chase them!”

“Zoro, that’s not the way!” the captain said.

“Mugiwara-ya, it’s not this way either!” Law shouted.

“Take a left!” Arden said. “Or… well, maybe not!”

“We found the criminals!”

“Two Three-stars and one Two-star!”

“Don’t let them get away!”

“Stop!” 

The young boy from before suddenly appeared close behind them. “Ah! Brother Law! It’s so nice to see you!”

“Who is he?” Luffy asked as they continued running. “Do you know him?”

“That’s Dellinger! Don’t underestimate him! He’s…” the boy zipped and went in for a kick but Luffy dodged in time. “Not bad!” He went in for another kick, but Arden jumped in, going half-form, and blocked the attack with a leg.

“Piss off!” Arden glared before backflipping, turning small again and catching up to his allies. He had a slight limp but quickly recovered due to his Devil Fruit powers. 

Damn, did that kid have a good kick.

“Hooooh… interesting!”

 “Luffy, you have to watch out-- the ground!”

Too late. Hands grabbed Luffy by his ankles, causing him to fall face-first to the ground. 

“I got caught! The strange guy came swimming in the ground!”

“Do it, Vise!” the man shouted to another that floated above where they were.

“Let him go!” Arden shouted, sinking his fangs into the hands that held onto Luffy but to no avail.

“Run!” Law yelled. “He’s a super weight human!”

“What?! Damn! Let go of my feet!” Luffy struggled.

“Ton Ton!” the floating man from above them shouted. “Ten-Ton Vise!”

Having no choice, Arden jumped out of the way as the large man came crashing down. Luckily, Luffy extended his legs far out, dodging the attack. Arden was smacked into a nearby building by the aftershock of the attack.

“I can’t pull them out! My feet are stuck!”

The boy from before came flashing in again with a giggle. “I’m not gonna miss it this time!”

Arden picked himself up, rushing to where they were, though he couldn’t make it in time. 

“Pistol High-Heel!” But before Dellinger could unleash his kick, Zoro came from behind, knocking him off balance with his foot pushing his back. This caused Dellinger to stumble, releasing his kick onto Vise instead because of the gravitational pull.

“Too heavy!” he uttered out in surprise when his foot made contact with his ally who cried out in pain.

“Great! My feet were released!” Luffy said, legs snapping back in place.

“Watch out this time!” Zoro said. “Let’s go!”

“We’ll take the money!” a bunch of pirates blocked their path. Swords raised. “Your heads are worth eight hundred million in total!”

“That weird bunny is also a Three-star so it’s eleven million!”

“Prepare to die!”

“Shoot!”

Luffy and Zoro cleared the path for them all but were soon blocked by another group. This time, they looked like plain civilians as the weapons they had in hand were unconventional.

“There are the Two-star and Three-stars!”

“Damn! They’re pains in the ass!” Zoro said. “But is it okay to chop them up? There are civilians, too!”

“Why is your first thought to chop them up?!” Arden shouted. “You have another side on your blade, yunno?!”

“Okay, I’ll use my Haki to--” Luffy started but was interrupted.

“Stop it,” a familiar Navy Admiral came through from behind the civilians, a group of Navy soldiers behind him. “He who shoots oft, at last, shall not hit the mark.”

“Fujitora…” Arden said, slightly cautious of him. 

“The Navy admiral!” Zoro said, staring at the large figure of the man that now stood before them.

“The gambling old man!” Luffy said, surprised.

“I’m gonna kick Doflamingo’s ass!” Luffy announced to the admiral. “Get out of my way!”

“You are quite brash. But…” he moved into his fighting stance, both hands on his weapon. “... I’m not going to step aside.”

“You wanna fight?”

“What an unpleasant chore this is.”

“Arden,” was all Luffy said for the other to get the memo, transforming and catching Law as he was let go from Luffy’s arm.  

With a Haki-infused hand, he went on to the offense, trying to end it with one punch.

Fujitora was able to easily block it with the side of his blade.  

“Don’t stand in my way!” Luffy yelled, trying to push his attack but jumped back the next second, where he stood suddenly caving in caused by some mysterious force.

“You used the strange technique again!” Zoro said, charging in with both swords yet being easily fended off. 

“It’s not the only strange technique he has,” Arden said, unconsciously clutching onto Law’s clothes in his hands. 

***

The large statue that ruined tens of buildings and more roads to just emerge really did make an impact on everyone. It was hard to miss it after all. From any direction, as long as you were in Dressrosa, you were sure to see that hulking figure. 

“What the hell is that?!” Luffy yelled.

“It’s Pica!” Arden shouted. 

Everyone stared at it in shock, some running away to safety. Bracing for what was next to come, Pica then spoke. 

“Now, those of you who rebel against our family…”

“What?” Luffy said, him and Zoro’s lips pulling into a grin.

“Pfft--” Arden stifled. He knew it was coming, but darn it, it was a lot more effective when hearing it in real life!

Luffy burst out laughing almost immediately. “His voice! It’s so high!” 

Arden, unable to take it with Luffy laughing, turned small again, rolling around on the floor in a silent laugh. Luffy on the other hand was as loud and rowdy as ever. Doflamingo’s underlings looked shocked and tried to stop Luffy from laughing to no avail.

“But it totally doesn’t fit!”

“Luffy… stop...!” Arden wheezed out between breaths. 

“What a funny voice! Ahahahaha!”

“Straw Hat!” Pica shrieked.

Hearing his voice again, Arden had to cover his mouth to stop any noise from coming out, tears forming in his eyes. Luffy was on the ground, dying in laughter. “P-P-P-Please stop! Aahahahaha!” 

“Hey! Hey! Hey! Stop it, Straw Hat!”

“Lord Pica is sensitive about his high-pitched voice!”

“If he runs wild with that massive body--!”

“You idiot!” the men yelled once Pica started to move. “You made Lord Pica mad!”

“How can you guys not laugh at it?” Luffy said, finally calming down. 

“We can’t!”

“Because we don’t wanna die yet!”

More buildings fell over as a hand lifted into the air from the ground, causing the henchmen to scream for their lives. 

“Run!”

***

“Luffy, you have to stop messing with your enemies--” Zoro started, all four of them already back to running. 

“I won’t let you get away!” Pica shrilled.

“Pfft-!” Zoro covered his mouth with a hand.

“See! You can’t help laughing either!”

“A big man with a tiny voice-- haha!” Arden laughed into his paws as he flew. 

“You guys…” Law said, absolutely done with them. 

“Oh sh--" the wolpertinger yelled, looking behind them, a large stone fist coming right their way. "it’s coming down!”

“Run! It’s gonna crush you up!” Law told Luffy. 

“I am running!”

“Luffy--!” Arden whipped his head, hearing his yelp. The chains of Law's handcuffs got caught on something, causing them to trip and fall onto the ground.

“Luffy!” Zoro yelled, stopping in his tracks from ahead of them. 

“No time!” Arden shouted, zipping towards them in desperation as he went into his half-form. “I got y--!” Being semi-human again, he had an ear extend and wrap around both Luffy and Law.

Though he was easily seconds too late as a large shadow shaped to be one of a fist loomed over them.

It came crashing down, decimating the entire area. Zoro was blown away by the impact, shouting for his captain’s name as he flew off into the air. 

***

“Luffy! Arden! Law! Where are you?!”

“Luffy,” Arden said, thumping a paw down on the man’s head. He was small again. “I hear Zoro. He’s near.”

“Ah, really?!” Looking around with a hand as if surveying the area, he soon spotted the swordsman amidst the rubble. “Hey! Zoroooo! We’re up here! Up here! Heehee. I got hanged!” The man was held by his shirt being caught on a pole, up high from the ground. Arden rested on his head, still in shock from what had happened.

Surprisingly, Luffy smelled rather nice. Like meat and subtle shampoo. He couldn't help but to keep sniffing his hair, his stomach growling for food.

“Let me down now!” Law requested as he was wrapped around Luffy’s legs.  

At the end of that sentence, the Hawaiian shirt the rubber-man wore gave in and the three of them dropped down to the ground in a cloud of smoke. 

“Get off of me now!” Law shouted as Luffy laid across his torso from the landing, giving a laugh, Arden on top of them both. 

“Sorry, sorry!” 

Arden hopped off of Luffy as he sat upright, causing him to put more pressure down on Law's abdomen.

“What’s wrong with you?! Trynna hurt me?!”

“... Huh?”

“Don’t give me ‘Huh?’!”

“You guys are lively enough,” Arden hummed.

Law only sighed, lying back down on the ground. “How reckless can you be? Laughing at Pica’s voice means death.” 

They had all barely escaped death by a sudden balloon move Luffy used, launching all three of them off the ground and into safety away from the impact made by the attack. 

Luffy only gave a laugh and his signature smile, standing straight up. “Look how far we’ve got! Where are we?”

“No idea,” Zoro responded, followed by a headshake from Arden. 

“I think we got even farther away from the Royal Palace,” Law said, looking towards a direction where the building should be. 

Zoro sat down on a large slab of building remains. “Damn that stone assimilation human! He ended up being bigger than Oars! If only I knew how to beat him--”

“Straw Hat,” a foreign voice called out, a young man walking towards them. 

“Cabbage!”

Arden made a sound of interest, observing the neatly dressed pirate. He did have quite a beautiful face, his long blonde hair in spiraled locks, and even wore elegant clothes to match. Not to mention his towering height, easily being the tallest one among the group, the heels he wore further emphasized the size difference.

“You’re Pirate Hunter Zoro, aren’t you?” he asked. “And Trafalgar… Law!” His sword suddenly swung down, intent to kill as it struck where Law laid. Luffy was quick enough to pull him away just in time. “Give me back… My glory, you scoundrels of the Worst Generation!”

Arden deadpanned at that. “Huh…” So this is how Cavendish is.

That’s right, how could he forget?

“What are you doing?!” Luffy exclaimed angrily. “He’s my friend now!”

“No, I’m not!” Law snapped. 

“What?! Do you still hold a grudge against me?!” he asked Cavendish, putting his fists up, ready to fight the blonde.

“No, I’m not gonna go after you Straw Hats anymore,” he responded light-heartedly. “Because one of your crew, God Usopp, saved my life!”

“Usopp did?” Zoro asked.

“He performed a miracle, more or less,” Arden said rather proudly with a chin held up high.

“That’s right!” Cavendish said. “I won’t ever forget the brave image of him when he saved hundreds, sacrificing his life!” he then quietly added off to the side. “Although I didn’t see it.”

“Yahaha,” Luffy scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. “Well, I’m happy when somebody says nice things about my friends.”

“Oh yeah! Trafalgar. This is your hat, isn’t it? I found it in front of the Colosseum,” he produced the iconic hat from inside his jacket. “Let me put it on you. Come closer, now!”

“I don’t trust you!” he shouted.

“Lay off that sword, pretty boy!” Arden hissed slightly, the intent of harm clearly on the Beauty Pirate's captain's face.

Cavendish looked at the small creature and made a slight pouting face before dropping the hat down to the doctor’s side. “Well, who cares. I’m busy now, anyway. Do you wanna know why I'm busy?” He turned his attention to Luffy, inching closer to him.

“No.”

“Alright, I’ll tell you if you insist!” he beamed. “I’ve decided to kill Doflamingo to return the favour to you guys!”

“What?!”

“Leave the rest to me and go hide somewhere--”

“No thanks! I’m gonna do it! I have to return Rebecca the favour for buying me lunch!”

“Your reason to fight was food?!” Law yelled incredulously.

“Cut it out!” Cavendish poked a finger at Luffy. “I know you’re trying to fool me! You plan on stealing attention by killing Doflamingo, aren't you?!”

“The spotlight?! What are you talking about?!”

“Think about it…” he recoiled back, face turning bright. “If you take down a vicious pirate-like Doflamingo, newspapers won’t leave you alone! A flood of people will come to hear your story from morning ‘till night!” He then started to move to different spots, donning different voices.

“Hello, superstar!”

“Did you call me ‘superstar’? Oh, please!” He gave a wink to his imaginary audience. “What do you want?”

“Lord Cavendish! What do you think of the situation regarding pirates in recent years? Oh? You’re there, aren’t you?! Lord Cavendish?!”

“What’s wrong? I’m right in front of you!”

“You are?! But I can’t see you because you’re so bright!”

“Is it too shiny for you?! I’m sorry! But I can’t hide my brilliance!”

Arden deadpanned once again, seeing what was happening unfold, not even daring to blink. “This guy’s kind of…”

“Delusional,” Zoro finished for him, also looking on the scene as if unsure on how he should react to it.  

He nodded firmly. “Yeah. Delusional.”

“Alright,” Luffy said casually, carrying Law on his shoulder again, Kikoku in hand. “Let’s go.”

“Now, burn my image into your mind as much as you want!” Cavendish continued as the group started to make their way back to the Royal Palace. He twirled around in place while shouting gleefully, “I am a superstar!"

***

“Luffy, you know that strange guy we just met?” Zoro asked once they got far away enough.

“Oh, you mean Cabbage?”

“Cabbage? Are you kidding? Is that a name?”

Arden quietly snickered.

“I met him at the Colosseum. There were a whole bunch of strange people besides him!”

“Oh yeah?”

The conversation was cut off early as a large group blocked the path ahead of them. “There they are! One 200-million and two 300-millions!”

Arden sighed in relief. “Thank goodness I can transfo--”

“Don’t be fooled! I saw it with my own eyes! The bunny is also a 300-million!”

“Oh, come on!” he cried when his hopes were crushed.

“Don’t let them get away!”

As they came charging, everyone that could fight went to work.

“Gum Gum… Whip!”

“Two-Sword Style! Rhino Cycle!”

“Wolpe Thrive! Hare Tie!” He kicked and jumped up, his ears extending out, gathering people from opposite sides before slamming them together in the middle.

They continued to fight and run, desperate to get back to the Royal Palace as quickly as possible.

“More are coming!” Rabbit ears twitched, hearing new shouts of recognition towards them four.

“More?” Both Luffy and Zoro said, looking at the new group approaching.

“Hey, Luffy!” Zoro said, cutting a man down. “If we fight them all, it’ll take forever! Let’s go!”

“Alright!”

“There you are, Straw Hat!” a voice shouted out along the distance with a few others.

“Get out of my way!”

“Don’t stand in my way!”

“That voice is--” Luffy said, slightly annoyed.

“Wait, Garp’s grandson!”

Arden widened his eyes at the old man with a long white beard appearing out of the smoke. “Wow, that’s some head!”

“We’ve been looking for you, you bastard!” someone to the right of the old man said.

“You can’t get away from us!” the other one on the left added.

“Ugh! I thought so!” Luffy said in annoyance.

“Wait!” 

“Oh no!" The boy gulped before taking off. "Run!”

“Run…?!” Arden asked, confused. Weren’t they allies?!

“Huh? What’s the matter?!” Zoro asked but followed anyway, the mob that was chasing after them increasing in both size and ground towards them.

“They’re all so persistent!” the captain shouted.

“Wait!” the old man had joined in as well.

“They just won’t give up!”

“Did you meet them at the Colosseum?” Arden tried to confirm.

“Yeah, he--”

Both of them jumped out of the way after feeling an attack approaching, the old man had flown to where they were, landing in a crash. The trail he made was intense and carved the ground deep.

That is some head, Arden thought, staring at the long pointed-shaped head. How would the skull look like-- wait, no, never mind. I'm not even gonna try to go there. 

“I said wait, Garp’s grandson…”

***

“Don’t get me wrong, Garp’s grandson. I don’t hold a grudge against your family anymore.” The old man said.

“What? Really?”

The one to the old man’s right spoke up. “We originally came to this country to take down Doflamingo’s business. We don’t care about prizes! We don’t work for such a small amount of money!”

The old man placed both his hands on Luffy, his large hands encasing his body almost. If not for the massive size, he would have probably held onto his shoulders instead. “I was saved by not just you but one of your crew, God Usopp.”

“Usopp saved you?”

“Indeed. Therefore, I have made up my mind to return the favour by taking down Doflamingo.”

“Haah?” Luffy shook one of the large hands off him. “Don’t do it! I’m gonna kick Doflamingo’s ass!”

The old man’s white beard suddenly started to defy gravity, a grim expression on his face to match it. “What did you just say?!”

“I said ‘Don’t do it’! Because I’m gonna do it!”

You would think a normal person who's indebted to someone would take that request and step down.

That most definitely didn't happen here.

“What?! Are you going to disregard my kindness?!”

“There you are!” A giant suddenly appeared. “Straw Hat Luffy!”

“Oh! You!”

“Let’s just forget what happened in the match! For my pride as a warrior of Elbaph, I will kill Doflamingo and return the favour to you guys!”

“Hah?! Now it’s you--”

“Cut it out!” a hole was punched through, revealing a new person. This person seemed to be a king with the crown and had boxing gloves on. “We of the Prodence Kingdom have long been in debt to King Riku! I will bring down Doflamingo!”

“Th-that’s what he says!” someone said, much shorter in stature walking next to him. Seems he was affected by the punch earlier given the large lump present on the top of his head. “We don’t want any prize!”

“No, we are the ones who will kill that jerk!” A new pair showed up. One with an oddly shaped head and sunglasses, the other rich with melanin and had a moustache. Both had tears streaming down their faces. “The heavenly light shone down on God! It’s hard to forget after all!”

“Let me make a confession!”

“Wait, wait!” Another character showed up. Large, and had blonde hair in multiple braids. Seemed to be a captain due to the hat he wore. “If you’re talking about Doflamingo, I will take him down!”

“This is…” Arden squinted his eyes at each newcomer, claiming they’ll take down Doflamingo. “Really annoying.”

“Destruction is my repayment!” another one shouted.

“It’s my job to execute someone!”

“No! I will take out Doflamingo!”

“Where are all these idiots coming from?” Zoro asked.

A horse neighed from behind them. “Don’t forget about me!”

“It’s the pretty boy,” Arden exhaled in exasperation.

“Here comes the annoying one,” Zoro added. A rather tough-looking group now loomed over them, intense glares sent their way.

“Do they want to help us or kill us?” Arden asked, their towering figures seemingly even bigger with his tiny size.

“Hey,” Zoro said. “Do you guys really wanna--”

“You have to leave the task of killing Doflamingo up to us!” the old man said.

“I can’t back out on that!” The giant declared.

“I need to repay my debt!” the king said.

“What the hell is going on here?!” Zoro scratched his head in annoyance. “Okay, how about this…”

This turned everyone’s attention from glaring at each other onto him.

“We will take down Doflamingo! And you guys will back us up!”

“No way!” All of them protested at the same time. “I will take down Doflamingo! Huh?!” That's when they started to argue amongst themselves.

“Can’t we just work together?!” Arden tried to reason, but Zoro answered it by saying in disbelief,

“No good… there's too many egos.”

“Guys…” Luffy gave an exhale before shouting, “All of you! That’s enough! I said I will kick Doflamingo’s ass!”

“What did you say?!” one of the men grabbed him by the collar. “We said we’ll return the favour-- don’t you get it?! Why don’t you shut up or I’ll kill you, you dimwitted saviour!”

“Huh…” Arden only knitted his brows at the display, having turned back to be in his small form.

“That’s right! Back of--” a kick interrupted him, coming from one of the other men.

“I will do it!”

“I will destroy him!”

“I am the executioner!”

“Duty!”

“Popularity!”

“Pride!”

“King Riku!”

“Our God!”

The lot of them started to glare at each other hard enough that lightning could be seen.

“Luffy, Zoro,” Arden said, taking a step back. “I say we just run. We're wasting time her--”

A spear suddenly pierced the ground in front of Luffy.

“A spear?!” the artist yelled with large eyes.

“There they are!”

“Guys, let us help you!” ah, this new group must think the one in front of them is trying to kill them.

“One 200-million and two 300-millions!”

Arden sighed in ease.

“And that weird transforming bat-rat that’s also 300-million!”

“Oh, come on!” He whined, completely done with it. "I'm not even a bat or a rat!!"

“They’re the ex-toys who were locked up underground with us, aren’t they?” one of the ‘I’ll-Defeat-Doflamingo’ group said.

“You’re right. They certainly are.”

“What shameless assholes!”

“Catch them!” The new group shouted as they advanced but were shot down by the IDD group before they could even get close to Arden and the others.

“Go to hell! You ungrateful bastards!”

“Let’s go,” Zoro said to the other two.

Luffy nodded. “Got it.” turning to go down the road, a bull suddenly appeared from an alleyway. “Ucy!” it smiled at the mention of that name. The two looked at each other as though they were long-time friends.

“A bull?”

“Haha! I got an idea!”

***

“Never rode a bull before,” Arden commented as they rounded a corner. About as comfortable as one would expect.

“A-A bull?” a henchman yelled when the four of them, including Ucy emerged from the smoke.

“Gooo!” Luffy yelled.

“There they are! Lord Pica, I found them! It’s the Straw Hats! They came back!”

“Don’t let them get away!” gunshots began to fire at them.

“They’re riding a bull! The four of them from earlier-- and five… six… seven.. eight!”

The gunfire stopped when voices came from behind the group riding the bull.

“Wait, Straw Hat!”

“I said, 'Stop following me'!”

“Holy crap!” Arden yelled, hopping onto one of Zoro's crossed legs, watching the IDD group charging right after them. The pair that had praised God Usopp somehow got on board the bull, barely hanging on as Luffy tried to push and kick them off.

“I will take down Doflamingo!”

“Enough! If you guys get in my way, I won’t hesitate to slice you all up to kill him myself!”

“Don’t be so selfish! We are the ones who’ll do it!”

“No way! It’s me!”

“No, me!”

“Luffy,” Zoro called out. “What should we do about these idiots?”

“Stop following us!" Luffy yelled. "I'm gonna kick Doflamingo’s ass!”

“What’s going on?” one of them asked when a large stone hand rose into the air once again.

“He’s moving again!”

“He’s aiming at us!”

“I’m gonna bring him down!”

“No, I’m gonna do it! Don’t get in my way!”

“That’s absurd! Leave it up to me!”

"Can you all stop arguing for one second?!" Arden yelled.

"NO!!!" 

He made a look of dismay at their immediate answer towards him.

Seems they were able to agree on something after all. 

“You boneheads!” Pica shouted at them. “Stop talking shit!”

Hearing the shrill and high voice of the large stone figure, the large group couldn't help but burst out into a rowdy fit of laughter. “What an unfitting voice!”

“It’s impossible! That voice!”

Arden found it hard to hold back a laugh either from the large amount of laughter that was occurring. It was contagious!

“Four or four hundred, it doesn’t matter to me!” Pica shrieked, swinging his arm down.

“Here it comes!”

“Count on me!” the old man declared.

“I’m gonna crush you all at once!” Pica shouted.

“I’m right behind you!” the king told the old man as they advanced further in.

“Hasshoken Secret Technique! Drill Dragon--” the old man’s pointy head became infused with haki.

“Although I'm not fully charged… a lite version of… King… Punch!”

“... Nail!” the old man finished, his sharp top aimed straight at the fist. 

“Damn you!” Pica shouted, his hand stopped from the impact the two of them made.

Arden had to grab his ears down, the noise vibrations too strong for him. Soon enough, not only did the stone hand shatter-- the entire arm turned into debris!

“You did it! Grandpa!”

“That’s my king!”

“We’re gonna take down Doflamingo just like this!”

“Hah?!” Luffy said. “Stop following us!”

“Shut up, idiotic saviour!” the IDD group yelled.

“What did you say?!”

They’re all idiots, Arden sighed, hopping off of Zoro's leg and back onto the bull's back.

***

“Go, Ucy! To the Palace!” Luffy yelled as the bull bounded past rocks and debris that fell from the remains of Pica’s left arm.

“Don’t get hit!” one of the men that got on the bull said. “We’re counting on you, Ucy!”

“Hey! I told you not to follow me! Get off of Ucy!” he demanded before stomping a foot on the stranger's face and pushing the other man that got on the bull with his hand.

“Woah, don’t say that! Please! Straw Hat! Please let us!”

“Where did he go?! Straw Hat!” Pica yelled into the distance.

Gunshots were fired towards them by Doflamingo’s men but to no avail. “Hey! Don’t let them through! They’re heading to the Palace!”

“Outta our way!” a voice called from behind them, visibly throwing opponents up in the air in defeat wave after wave.

“Get out of our way!”

“Sai and Boo?!” one of the henchmen shouted out, after seeing their enemy come to view.

“In the name of the Happosui Army, we’ll repay our debt!”

It became a pattern. As more opponents came to try to stop Luffy’s group, more of the IDD group came to the mix.

“If only we can work together…” Arden observed when Cavendish got kicked off the bull after landing on it and made another narcissistic monologue similar to the one from before.

“You really think they can?” Zoro asked, watching as more of Doflamingo’s henchmen were sent flying by the IDD group. “It’s an ego-fest here.”

Arden nodded in agreement before looking at the figure that was lying horizontally on the bull’s back in front of him. Gently treading onto his chest, Arden tilted his head. “Enoki, are you feeling okay?”

“More or less. It would be better if I could get these cuffs off.”

“Your back looks like it’s going to break. You want me to help you up?”

Law looked at the small animal for a few seconds before limping his head back down. “Thanks, but I’m good. Don’t do anything unnecessary, Usagi-ya. Save that energy for when we need it.” His eyes then went back to the wolpertinger. “In any case, your Devil Fruit powers…”

“That’s what I’ve been wondering as well,” Zoro said. “You sounded like you were on the verge of death when you called us.”

Arden looked between the both of them, the loud voices of the IDD group continuing to argue making it hard for him to focus his thoughts. “The fruit allows me to heal practically any injuries as long as I’m in this form.”

“Heeehh…” Zoro hummed in slight amusement. “That makes you immortal then?”

“Hard to tell,” he honestly answered. "You wanna test that out?"

When he saw both swordsmen have a look of interest, Arden worriedly said, "I hope you know I'm joking. That offer is definitely not on the table."

They're definitely still thinking about it.

"I mean it, okay?! Keep your pretty blades away from me!"

“That explains why you were so reckless,” he heard Law mutter.

“Look up!” Sai suddenly yelled. “He’s gonna throw another one!” Sure enough, Pica’s other hand was now raised high in the air, aiming.

“Straw Hat!!” the top executive screeched.

“How annoying!” the old man with the pointed head said.

“I’ll take him down again and again!” The King of Provence added.

“Don’t do it, guys!” Zoro heeded as the bull passed them. “Even if you break his arm again, he can restore it! If you can’t figure out how his power works, it’s just a waste of your energy!”

“Then, what should we do?”

“You’re a military tactician, aren’t you?!” An IDD member said to the short guy who was beside The King of Provence during his first introduction. “Can’t you come up with some tactics?”

“I’d say…” the short man started as the gigantic closed fist was coming their way. “I’d say… RUN!!!”

“You’re a tactician, aren’t you?! Come up with a better strategy!”

“Hush! Running is a perfectly viable strategy! Get the hell out of here!”

“You think it’s possible to run up the arm?!” Arden yelled, knowing that was what should happen, but still feared they’d be squashed like a bug.

“Oh, hey, that’s a good idea!” Luffy said with a large smile. “You heard that, Ucy? Go!”

You mean they didn’t have a plan for this before I said anything?!?!

***

“This is a shortcut! Alright!” Luffy laughed. “Go! Ucy! Now let’s keep going to the palace!”

Arden was still shaken up by what happened as the bull who was content with being praised started to scale up the arm even faster than before. His tiny body bounced up and down from the turbulence, causing him to get knocked back, hitting someone.

“Sorry, Zo-- You’re not Zoro!”

“Yeah! Go, Ucy!” The two men who were barely on Ucy were now fully sitting on the bull’s back rather comfortably, splitting Zoro from the rest of the group.

Luffy looked back at both of them, as if not believing what he was seeing as they looked back at him with smiles on their faces. “Hey.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t you ‘Go!’ me!”

“Yes?”

“Get off! You’re too heavy for Ucy!” Luffy continued to snap.

“Oh, of course,” the darker-skinned man took it as an invitation instead. “Pardon the late introduction. I’m Jeet. And the big guy behind me…”

“My name is Abdullah.”

“I didn’t ask!” Luffy yelled.

“STRAW HAT!!!” Pica finally spotted where they were.

“He’s freaking pissed!” one of the two men said.

The only eye they could see of Pica’s bore into them. “I won’t let you get near Doffy!”

“His arm!” Indeed, his broken arm from before was regenerating at a quick pace.

Realizing what was going to occur, Luffy jumped off the bull quickly, making his way towards Pica’s face.

“Mister Straw Hat?!”

“Grizzly Magnum!”

“Straight through his head!” Arden gasped in a cheer as the rubber man smashed the large stone head to bits.

“He did it!” Abdullah and Jeet shouted, Luffy returning. “Awesome, Mister Straw Hat!”

“Great job!”

“Alright, now let’s hurry to the palace!” Luffy said as ran up to the bull.

“Luffy, the head you just smashed was nothing but stone!” Zoro observed.

“Huh?”

“We’re just running on a statue now.”

“Did he disappear again?”

“His real body is right ahead!”

Arden looked back to the front and saw the emerging figure that was Pica’s real body. Observation Haki? Arden thought as he couldn’t sense it at all. His hearing may be impeccable, but it was nothing in comparison to Observation Haki, that’s for sure.

“Huh?” Luffy said, confused. “That’s the stone guy?”

“It’s him,” Arden confirmed. “Pica, one of the elite officers.”

“First time I’ve seen him looking like a human being,” Zoro said.

Pica reached down the ground and pulled out a rather large sword-- befitting for someone his size despite it being in his normal state.

“Keep going!” Arden shouted even with the protests coming from both the bull and the two newcomers, as Pica began to swing his sword at them. He hopped off the bull, running alongside the captain. “Luffy!”

“If you can’t dodge then stop!” Jeet yelled, the bull halting to a stop yet continued to skid. “We won’t make it!!”

As Pica gave a battle cry, the sword finally swung down.

But the blade never met its intended target.

“The bull is flying?!”

“Wahahahaha!” Luffy laughed as he was still in the air, carrying Ucy’s front legs whilst Arden supported its hindlegs for cautionary purposes in his half-form. “That voice is so funny!”

“Luffy, you have to stop agitatin--”

“Straw Hat!”

Arden sputtered out in a fit of laughter himself, almost tripping.

“Here he comes again!” Abdullah yelled.

“We’re going on ahead!” Luffy said, hopping back onto the bull.

“Switch!” Arden said as Zoro jumped off, the other taking the spot he was previously sitting at.

“Sure! I got this!” Zoro said, swords already drawn out, clashing with Pica’s.

“Amazing!” Jeet and Abdullah said in amazement, tears running down their faces. “That’s God’s crew for you!”

“Zoro,” Luffy called out. “I’m counting on you! I’ll go send Doflamingo flying!”

“Good luck, Zoro,” Arden smiled at the green head’s retreating figure. Not that you need it.

***

From then on it was a downward slope down the statue’s back, making it quite an exciting ride. It reminded Arden of being on a rollercoaster. But more dangerous. Arden stood on the bull, now behind everyone, still in his half-form. He couldn’t quite remember what happened next, thus making him much more cautious of what was happening.

“How long are you gonna hang around?!” Luffy yelled at the two strangers. “Get off!”

“Oh, stop it, Mister Straw Hat!”

The two definitely took it the wrong way.

“Hey, Mugiwara-ya,” Law finally spoke.

“Huh?”

“I understand that we have no choice but to fight. I’ve made up my mind. The plan I first suggested was an indirect way to crush Doflamingo. But to be honest, I, too, wanted to take him down directly. I lost earlier, but this time I'll get him!”

Ah, this must be when he reveals his motives, Arden thought, staying quiet to let Law continue. He could see neither of his nor of Luffy’s expression as Abdullah’s large figure blocked them off, but truthfully, Arden rather had that happen. He didn’t want either of them to know what emotions were to take place on his visage.

“Thirteen years ago, someone very dear to me… was killed by Doflamingo. His name was Corazón. He was a top commander in the Donquixote Family.”

“Huh?!” Luffy said. “He was one of Mingo’s men?!”

“That’s right. I owe my life to him. He was also…" his next words shocked all but one. "Doflamingo’s little brother!”

***

“Gum-Gum Gatling!” Luffy punched a way for Ucy to continue. The moment they reached the first level of the New Royal Palace, a horde of Doflamingo’s henchmen were waiting there. “Outta my way!”

“I got this wave!” Arden shouted, flying into the air before giving a hard 'Sphere Swift' down to the group of shooting men, sending them all over the place.

“Arden, you’re so strong now!” Luffy commented as the other returned.

“I have a long way to go,” he only seriously said, knowing that he was definitely not strong. Maybe compared to when he didn’t have any Devil Fruit powers, but in the New World? This wasn’t going to cut it.

Wait, what am I thinking? It’s not like I’m planning to travel around the New World! Focus!

Ahead of them was a large smoke, yet it was strangely glittering. As it dissipated, it revealed to be a certain narcissistic blonde who had a rose in his mouth. Ucy came to a screeching halt to prevent them from crashing into the other.

“It’s Pretty Boy.”

“Ah!” Luffy said. “Cabbage!”

The smoke now fully disappeared, revealing that he was on a white horse. “Straw Hat!” Cavendish spoke into a mic. “I’ll be going on ahead of you! Ahahaha!” With that, he sliced up more henchmen before riding off.

“Damn! I thought I was taking a shortcut! You gotta run fast, Ucy!”

“Where does he get that many roses?” was the only question Arden came up with as Ucy continued running.

“Damn, everybody’s catching up!” Sure enough, the IDD group was gaining ground from climbing up the wall. “Oh no! They’re gonna get ahead of me!”

“Don’t wimp out!” a new wave of henchmen came out. “Shoot the bull!”

Ucy, however, was pretty agile even when carrying five people on his back. 

“We’re gonna fall!” Abdullah yelled as Ucy continued to dodge the bullets.

“Stop messing with Straw Hat Luffy!” a voice came from behind the wave. “You idiots!” In a few swift moves, the henchmen were quickly taken care of by the stranger in a fedora.

“Who’s that?” Luffy asked when they came to a stop. Both Abdullah and Jeet shook their heads as a response.

“Hey, don’t be so cold,” the stranger said. “I was a contender in Block C, same as you. I’m Kelly Funk.”

Arden flew up slightly from behind everyone to look at Kelly’s face, his eyes widening in recognition.

Not good.

“You were?” Luffy asked again, the two brothers also sharing the same confusion with their tilting heads.

“Hey, hey, hey! We were saved by God Usopp like the others! I found a shortcut to reach the higher levels. You can make it straight to the Sunflower Field, right in front of the Palace!”

“What? Really?!”

“I wanna help-”

“I don’t trust him,” Arden’s cold voice rang out, stopping Kelly from running off to lead the group.

“Huh? Arden?”

Kelly sweatdropped, almost seemingly a bit hurt. “I only wanna repay the favour. God Usopp saved me from being a toy slave for the rest of my life!”

“No.”

Everyone turned to look at Arden as he walked towards the larger man, glaring at him straight in the eyes. He couldn’t outright say that it was a trap-- it wouldn’t come out of his mouth! He had to do this in another way. “The only way he’d know of a shortcut is if he’s been through it to confirm that it is one. Even if that is the case, it would mean he got here before all of us. And how is that possible? The people we knew of for sure only just arrived. And you don’t look like someone who lives in Dressrosa.”

“The small guy makes a good point,” Jeet pointed out, giving a nod along with his brother.

“Before this whole disaster occurred, I somehow found it-- Staying here and arguing is only going to slow you guys down,” Kelly said.

“Taking the wrong route will slow us down even more.” Arden’s brown eyes bore into the other’s, making him take a step back. “I don’t trust people who wear fedoras.”

“Mugiwara-ya, I think Usagi-ya’s right on this one,” Law spoke, breaking the tension that was in the air.

“I think so too,” Luffy agreed, but still tilted his head to the side in thought. “But we do need a shortcut… Ah, your Den Den Mushi.”

The ringing of Law’s Den Den Mushi suddenly broke his train of thought.

Law pulled it out. “Answer it.”

“Hello? This is Luffy! The man who’ll become the Pirate King!”

“Luffy,” a woman's voice said. “It’s me.”

“Robin!”

“We’re still at the plateau you were at before. Where are you?”

“We’re at the first level of the other plateau.”

“Viola found the key to Torao’s handcuffs.”

“Oh yeah?!”

“Nico-ya, get it to me as soon as possible! What should I do?!”

“Hello, this is Leo of the Dwarf Tribe,” a cutesy voice came out. “We’re gonna escort Miss Rebecca, the rooster-human, and Robiland there at super high speed!”

“Where should we meet up?" Robin asked.

“The Sunflower Field,” Arden said. “It’s in front of the Palace.” The place was too important of a spot for Rebecca to be in that he couldn’t mess that up! It had too much significance on her character.

“Then let’s meet up at the Sunflower Field on the fourth level.”

“What? How will you guys catch up with us?” Luffy asked.

“I’ll explain later! See you at the Sunflower Field!” Leo said.

Ka-cha!

“We’re losing time, let’s go!” Luffy said.

“The Sunflower Field!” Kelly suddenly shouted, already running in a direction. “It’s exactly where the shortcut will take you. Come on, we have no time to waste!”

“We have no choice! Go, Ucy!”

Cursing silently, Arden could only hop back onto the bull, sitting in fuming rage.

“See? There’s a shortcut!” Kelly stopped in front of a dark tunnel entrance. “Now, go ahead, Straw Hat. We’ll guard the entrance!”

“Alright, thanks!” Luffy said. “Ucy, let’s go!”

“Take care!”

As the bull rushed past Kelly, Arden got off for a few moments, grabbing him by the collar. “You’ll die if you go through with this.”

“Good job, Kelly Funk!” Jeet yelled before the man could answer, standing straight up along with his brother.

“Make sure to guard the entrance! Thanks a lot!”

As the bull entered, the two brothers were hit on the head by the entrance frame, knocking them off Ucy.

“Tsk!” Arden said before rushing past all three of them to catch up with the bull.

“They fell…” Law said in utter disbelief of their stupidity. “What did they want anyway?”

“All right! Don’t worry and keep going, Ucy! Straight to the Sunflower Field!” Luffy rallied.

“I still don’t trust fedora wearers,” Arden said as he caught up to them, sitting at the back.

“Usagi-ya,” Law looked at him. “Where do you think this leads to if not the Sunflower Field then?”

Arden kept quiet for a moment, the word ‘trap’ on the tip of his tongue yet wouldn’t come out. “... I don’t know.”

“It’ll be fine!” Luffy said. “We’ll get there in no time! Let’s go!”

“Stop!” Law suddenly shouted, water splashing from underneath Ucy being sounded out. “He’s going in the water!”

“What?! It’s a dead-end!”

“Go back! Hurry!”

The bull splashed water everywhere as his legs were fully submerged in the water now. “Ucy! Don’t panic!” Luffy tried to calm him down.

“We’re all Devil Fruit users! It won't be good if you tip over, Ucy!” Arden warned as footsteps from behind them echoed out in the dark tunnel.

“Somebody’s coming.”

“This is just a slanted water well,” the owner of the footsteps said. “There’s no shortcut here.”

“It’s you…! Doflamingo!”

Arden could only give an exhale, glaring at the man before them.

“Doflamingo!” Law seethed out.

He gave a menacing laugh as he continued to slowly approach. “You weaklings are working together… Looks like you’re gonna get those handcuffs off soon, aren’t you, Law?”

“Why the hell are you here?!” Luffy yelled out, stretching his arm out to punch him, yet was easily deflected by a hand.

“I came to save you. How could you fall into such a stupid trap? That crap about a shortcut!” His finger rose up into a familiar pose.

“Mugiwara-ya!”

However, the target wasn’t either of the three. Ucy gave out a cry, coughing up blood.

“Bullet String!” Several other shots went through the bull, causing him to start toppling over.

Luffy tried to stop him from falling over, though he lost his own balance in the process. “Ucy!”

“Give him up! Mugiwara-ya!”

Doflamingo finally reached the start of where the water gathered. “You have no sense of crisis…”

“Stay... with me... Ucy…” Luffy struggled as he was now submerged in the water up to his chin, his energy fully sapped out of him. Law was still laying over the bull. Arden was in the air, trying to consider his next moves. He couldn’t just blindly go for the enemy: two other people were in a helpless condition.

“Doflamingo,” Arden said tentatively. “Are you really going to go for us like this?”

He only laughed. “Anyone could kill you guys like this. There are some idiots who are saying they’ll kill me, rampaging out there… it’s amazing how you found people who side with you under these circumstances. I’ve been giving you due respect for that special quality of yours since the War of the Best. But… you’re actually this dumb! Why did you choose him, Law? You used to be a more promising man. Even when you were a kid, you were more ruthless… and more cunning! Am I right?! Who made you… into such a coward?”

“Shut up!” Law yelled. “I’m not willing to become like you! I’ve been… saved!”

“By my brother, Corazón, you mean? If you haven’t become a coward…” his hand pointed up towards the latter. “Why do you want to die in vain--”

“If you’re going to kill someone, do it in person!” Arden cut him off in a yell, remembering something key before zipping towards him.

“Bullet String!”

It hit his arm, but baring through the sharp pain, he wrapped his ears around the outstretched arm of the other. Going up, he then quickly dove between Doflamingo’s legs, flipping him over. “Guys, now!”

“Don’t hurt Mister Straw Hat!”

“Get your hands off him!”

A pitchfork dove into the man’s torso in the middle of Arden's move, causing the impact Doflamingo took to the ground to be enhanced. Strings came out of the injured part as the king continued to laugh. Jeet and Abdullah yelled out in fear with what was happening despite having the resolve of driving a weapon through such a powerful man.

“What an annoying rat,” Doflamingo said in his usual laugh, staring straight at the one who he shot.

“What the hell is this?! What’s wrong with his body?!”

Arden watched as the entire upper torso dissolved into strings, still on guard.

“It’s his clone as I thought,” Law said.

“Clone?”

“It’s a string puppet.”

Stepping onto the wet stone floor, Arden brushed his hair out of his face with a hand. His eyes were still on the remains of the body, ears tense as if to expect it to attack again. “What I thought as well. It’s not his style to come all this way out to kill us all-- in a well no less.”

“You guys…” Luffy weakly said.

“Mister Straw Hat!”

“Glad that you’re safe! In any case, let’s pull out Mister Straw Hat!”

“Pull out Ucy too,” Arden said before turning small to heal his wound.

***

“You saved me… Thanks!” Luffy said as he was brought out of the water back onto the bull’s back.

As the four of them discussed what happened and about Kelly Funk, Arden hopped back onto Ucy. He had seen the two of them running down the well, but had realized that they were going to arrive too late. If he hadn’t done anything to buy time, the clone would have most likely shot at Law.

“If it’s true then that means he really did save us!” Luffy fumed after hearing about Kelly’s true nature. “He’s mocking us! What’s going on out there?! How about Cabbage and the others?!”

“We’re totally falling behind…” Jeet answered. “I bet everybody else reached the second level by now.”

“Damn! I thought we could take a shorter route to the Sunflower Field!”

“I told you,” Arden sang out. “Never trust fedora wearers.”

“We gotta go back!” Law barked. “Hurry up!”

“Ucy’s out of commission,” he replied before looking up with a matching pointed finger. “But if we need to go up, there is a way.”

“That’s impossible!” Abdullah said, realizing what he had in mind.

“Luffy?”

“Yeah,” Luffy said with a determined face, hand on his own bicep. “I got it!”

“Then let’s not waste any time!”

“Elephant Gun!”

“He really made a shortcut!” Abdullah and Jeet yelled out in shock as sunlight poured in from the ceiling, Luffy’s arm shrinking and returning to its original state. Both Law and his Nodachi were being carried by him once again.

“I’ll follow you, so go ahead,” Arden said.

He nodded before looking at the two astonished men. “Guys! Take care of Ucy, okay?!”

“Yes!”

Not sparing another second, Luffy whipped a hand to the top of the new opening, launching him out of the well with ease.

“It’s Straw Hat!” Everyone on the level yelled at his entrance as he landed, completely ignoring Arden who followed. Something he quite enjoyed.

“Straw Hat!”

“Trafalgar Law!”

“Let’s get going! Mugiwara-ya!”

“Yeah! Wait for me, Mingo!”

Yes, focus all your attention on those two! This is their arc!

***

“Continue running, Luffy! Don’t worry about them!” Arden yelled as henchmen came from left and right. Each time they got close enough, Arden would go into his half-form taking care of them before returning small. Being small not only healed his injuries, but also made him a harder target to track.

It wasn’t long until a certain horse and man blocked their path.

“Cabbage! Do you wanna get in my way, again?!”

“No…” he said, back towards them. “Get on.”

“What?”

Cavendish looked back with furrowed brows. “I mean I'll give you a ride because I have no other choice!”

“You sure?!”

“You wanna get to Doflamingo ASAP, don’t you?”

“Alright!” With a smile, Luffy hopped onto the horse, Arden doing the same. “I’m ready! Go!”

“Have you ever once in your life been humble?!” the ex-prince shouted.

“Whatever, just go!”

“Don’t tell me what to do! Let’s go Farul!”

“Very attractive of you to do this, Pretty Boy,” Arden complimented as he hopped onto the head of someone who he caught sight of moments before.

“Listen,” Cavendish said. “If we get caught by the Executives, we get stuck here. I’m gonna cut the wall and make a path so you kick the other enemies’ asses!”

“Got it!” Luffy replied.

“And we’re gonna go straight to the third level…” he turned back to look at them to find a surprise. “Hey! That’s one too many! Who are you?!”

“Oh, Soldier!”

“When did you get on?!”

“Not long!” Arden smiled.

“I followed the path that Luffyland made!”

“Hah?!” Cavendish yelled. “You followed too far!”

“Great! I was looking for you!” Luffy said.

“Even if you’re his friend, we’re overloaded! Get off!”

“We’re gonna meet up with Rebecca!” he continued to converse with Kyros.

“Rebecca is in this enemy territory?! Why didn’t you stop her?!”

“She’d be hunted down regardless!” Arden said, looking down at the man who he sat on. “Don’t worry, she’s with some of Luffy’s friends right now.”

“We’ll rendezvous at the Sunflower Field on the fourth level,” Luffy explained.

“She’s on the criminal list, too!”

“Don’t worry! Like Arden said, she’s with our friends!”

“Listen!” Cavendish shouted. “My dear horse Farul can only run beautifully with two people or less! That strange rabbit only counts because of his size!”

“Eeeehh?” Arden slightly whined. “I can’t tell the difference.”

“There’s a difference!!”

“By the way, pops, why’d you take off before I knew it?” Luffy asked Kyros.

“Whatever the situation is… What I have to do is… bring down Doflamingo and take back the country! But there’s one more thing! There’s one man in the Family’s Top Executives that I wanna kill with my own bare hands at any cost!”

“Old dude, you’re not willing to die?”

“No way! I won’t be defeated with this human body!”

“Alright then!”

“Nothing’s alright!” Cavendish screamed. “Get off!”

“Huh?! You get off!”

“That’s nonsense! You’re the worst! You really are part of the Worst Generation!”

“Watch out, idiot! Look where you’re going! Hey!”

“Like I said, don’t tell me what to do!”

“Can we please get two minutes of peace and quiet?!” Arden hissed.

“Peace and quiet--?! We’re on a battlefield!”

“You know what I mean, Pretty Boy!”

“What do you mean--” he was interrupted by Arden’s sudden jumpy movement as if he was shocked, his entire body tensed up.

“I just got the chilling feeling…” Arden said in a quiet tone. “... Franky kissed someone.”

“Franky?” Luffy asked, confused.

He shook his head to dismiss it. “No… it’s nothing.”

“Hey, I was talking to you!” Cavendish yelled.

“Go ahead, Straw Hat!” Sai yelled, catching their attention.

“We’re gonna keep them busy!” his brother added after cutting down an enemy.

“What?!” Luffy said, surprised. “Why are you doing this, guys?!”

“Gamahahaha!” the short man who was with the King of Provence laughed. “I am Dagama, the military technician! This is war! Even if we all run wild blindly, no one can reach the top!”

“I don’t trust Dagama but I agreed to his plan to keep the Executives here and let Straw Hat go ahead!” one of the IDD members said: the one from the Long Leg Tribe.

“Leave this mess here to us and go!” the Giant warrior said.

“Make sure to take him there, Cavendish!”

“Hey, hey! I’m not public transportation!”

“We gotta win this war!”

Just as things were looking up, Dellinger suddenly rammed his horns into Dagama, specifically targeting him as he was the one holding the IDD group together.

“Daruma!” Luffy yelled as they passed them when the event occurred.

“Get to the top! Straw Hat!” he laughed out loud, holding onto Dellinger to prevent him from freeing himself.

Keeping his promise, Cavendish unleashed an attack that created a path along the wall that ascended upwards. It effectively created a one-way route up top. “Blade of Beauty! Saint-Exupery!”

With allies’ lives at stake, Luffy had become serious as well. Turning into second gear, he quickly got rid of the henchmen who were firing at them. “Gum-Gum Jet Gatling!”

***

“This game called the Birdcage is all fake!” Cavendish said. “As soon as the weapon trafficking and the secret with the toys were revealed, all the people currently in this country were sentenced to extermination, I think. Doflamingo won’t let any information out of the country. That’s why he enclosed the island in the Birdcage. Which means Dressrosa is… a solitary island, cut off from the rest of the world!

Everyone stayed quiet as the ex-prince (now pirate) continued to address what every one of them was thinking about.

“Believing in miracles and waiting for the end of the game will get us all killed! The only way to get out of this island alive is to move forward and kill Doflamingo. There are a variety of troubles in this country… So many unexpected things are happening around him but it seems Doflamingo is enjoying it. I don’t know anyone who’s more cunning than Doflamingo. Doflamingo is a notch above all the others on all fronts but he made just one mistake! He brought in all those odd, tough warriors from all over the world for the event at the Colosseum. We’re not gonna be defeated! Because, after all, I will take down Doflamingo!”

“Dream on!” Arden immediately replied, having already known the monologue he was saying and where it was leading to.

“What are you talking about?!” Luffy shouted at the blonde. He was now sitting on Kyros’ shoulders as it gave him easy access to punch people. Arden stayed where he was on the gladiator’s head. The one-legged man didn’t seem to mind it. “I said I’m gonna kick Mingo’s ass!”

“I said it would be me, Mugiwara-ya!”

“I’m very impressed, but I’m gonna do it!” Kyros said.

Two minutes is all I ask. Is that too much, Lord, if you’re there?

“Soldier! You said you wanna kill one of the Executives!”

“That’s a personal thing! Taking back King Riku’s country is my inevitable duty! I have to put an end to the tragedy that started ten years ago!”

“If you talk about time, I have a grudge from thirteen years ago!” Law rebutted.

“Then, mine’s from thirty years ago!” Luffy said.

“Don’t lie!” Cavendish yelled in annoyance. “There’s no way that you’re older than me!”

“Why are we still arguing about this?!” Arden tried to stop the noise.

“You guys, get off!” the blonde demanded in anger.

Luffy pointed a finger at him. “You get off!”

“The road’s ending!” Kyros shouted.

Furthering the path with his blade, Cavendish looked on ahead, forgetting the argument. “Almost there! The third level!”

“All right!” Luffy yelled. “Go straight to the fourth level like this! Horse!”

However, once they arrived at the third level, Farul suddenly came to a stop, the group greeted by thick fog. Arden’s ears twitched, hearing mechanical noises just as the first few large toy soldiers appeared. “Well, damn.”

“What are those giant dolls?!”

“Dodge, Farul!” Cavendish shouted, but the horse couldn’t react fast enough, taking a direct hit from one of the large toys, his head in its mouth.

“Horse!” Luffy yelled after dodging the attack. “You bastard! Gum-Gum Jet Pistol!”

“Farul!” the blonde hurried to his horse’s side as it lay unconscious, head bleeding. “Stay with me! What a powerful jaw! It crushed his head! Don’t die on me, Farul!”

Arden, in his half-form, stared at the one that fell. “It's not over yet. They come up over and over again!” as if on cue, the thing got back up in a stagger.

“What the…” Luffy said. “I blew a hole in its stomach!”

“Toys don’t have organs! An attack like that won’t work!”

“You monster!” Cavendish seethed out, looking at the toy. “How could you do this to Farul?!” The next second he went on the attack. “Blade of Beauty! Round Table!” its head fell right off of its body, but to their surprise, the toy merely put it back on. More and more started to rise and surround them.

“Are they invincible?!” Luffy shouted.

Sugar must be awake then, Arden thought as the group began to attack the toys to the best of their abilities. He stayed close to Law to make sure the stronger ones could focus on the offensive.

“Dammit!" Law scowled. "If only I had the key to these cuffs."

A scream then sounded from above them. “What?” Luffy said. “Something’s falling from above!”

“Ah, It’s Bartolomeo!” Arden smiled widely, excitement evident on his face.

Hitting a toy soldier that was approaching them, the falling green-haired man then fell to the ground. “Ouch!” another man followed suit.

“I wasn’t paying attention…”

“Crest Head!” Luffy recognized.

“That must be Mister Luffy!”

“Robin!”

“Luffy! Arden! Torao!” Robin descended using her wings. “You guys are here!”

“Nico-ya, where’s the key?! Give it to me now!”

“Tch, she got away,” the unknown man got up, revealing himself to be the bomb guy from earlier. “Well, she’s just one little tramp. I know she can’t do anything even if she can get to the Palace. I’ll go after her and kill her later. My name is Gladius.” His arm suddenly bulged into a spherical shape. “I’m gonna take care of you all first.”

“Leave them in my hands!” Robin stated just as Arden’s group got into their fighting positions.

“Yeah!” The green rooster-haired man said.

“Luffy! Arden! Torao! And Soldier, too!” Robin said, her arms crossed in front of her chest to ready a move. “Just go now! To the Flower Field on the fourth level!”

“That’s right!”

“Robin?!” Luffy said, unsure of that decision.

“Rebecca’s waiting for you! Just go!”

***

“Those are balls of explosives!” Bartolomeo said as his barrier deflected all incoming attacks from Gladius. “They’ll explode before ya deflect them!”

“Wow! Cool” Luffy smiled at the display of the fanboy's abilities.

“Oh no! I don’t deserve such praise!”

“Wow, he acts worse than me,” Arden noted since he and Bartolomeo were basically both fans of the Straw Hats. Well, in different ways but still the same.

“Barrier-bility: Stairs!” The barrier he had been using suddenly grew and stretched along the tall wall next to them into the shape of stairs. It reached all the way to the next level: the fourth level!

“Awesome!” Luffy yelled out, entirely impressed. “You saved us a lot of trouble!”

“Please use it, Mister Luffy!”

“Why’re you looking the other way?” Cavendish dryly said.

“Thank you, Crest-Head!”

Arden looked at the rooster head with a slightly agape mouth before returning to the subject at hand. The guy was literally on his knees with tears down his face as he kept muttering things that only praised Luffy more. “In any case, we have to hurry! Sir Kyros!”

“Yes?”

“I have a feeling that Rebecca is in danger. You have to hurry!”

“Then I’ll be going on ahead!” With that, he began making his way up in a flash.

“Soldier!” Luffy yelled.

“Don’t worry about him, Luffy!” Arden said in urgency. “There’s someone on the fourth floor that’s attacking Rebecca!”

“Rebecca?!” Luffy said as he picked Law and his nodachi, Kikoku, up. “Who’s attacking her?!”

“The man that Soldier has been hunting for! So don’t stop him!”

He gave a firm nod as a response. “Alright then! We can go straight to the fourth level this way! Let’s go, Torao! Arden!”

“Go!” Law shouted.

As Luffy made the first few steps up, a toy soldier suddenly sprung up to attack him from the side.

“Hare Tie: Purge!” Arden shouted, extending the ears out and around the toy’s neck to stop it’s mouth from getting to the pair. At the toy’s side, he grounded himself on it, and clutched it, flipping it over him. Since the toy was too large, he couldn’t snap its neck off. Instead, he merely launched it back down to the ground with great force.

“Don’t stop!”

As he prepared to fight the next one, Cavendish sliced a toy soldier in front of him. “I’ll keep them here! Just go, rabbit! Straw Hat! My beloved horse was harmed on this level! I can’t go farther without vengeance against those jerks!”

Arden gave thanks before rushing to catch up with Luffy.

“Luffy, dodge!” Robin yelled as Gladius launched an attack towards them. “It’s the bombs!”

“Let me take care of it!” Bartolomeo yelled as he jumped off a toy soldier, blocking the explosions with his body.

What a dude, Arden complimented as he knew the rooster head’s barrier ability had a limit and that he used it up right then and there for the staircase.

***

***

“The key!” Luffy yelled as he jumped high into the air, entering the fourth floor as he spotted Rebecca.

There were enough toy soldiers that Arden couldn’t handle them all by himself, Luffy having to step in from time to time as they ran up the stairs. “Luffy!” Arden yelled as he was facing another one, not being quick enough to get to the one that went up to catch the two, enclosing them in its mouth.

“Room!” The toy that had engulfed the two captains suddenly split into two, the both of them revealed to be safe and sound. Along with the toy that fell was a pair of handcuffs.

“Finally, we caught up with him!” Luffy said.

“Finally, no more toys,” Arden said as the three of them landed onto the fourth floor together.

“Finally… I’m free!” Law added.

Luffy observed the building behind the Sunflower Field. “The fourth level- where Mingo is! Is that where he is?”

“Yeah.”

“Law! Straw Hat!” A man who was fighting Kyros shouted.

“Diamante.”

Ah yeah, that’s his name. Couldn’t care less, though.

Diamante had rushed towards them but was stopped by Kyros’ blade, much to Luffy and Law’s shock. “I’m sorry, you three… My hands are full with this guy. Could you take care of Doflamingo for me?!”

“Of course!” They all answered at the same time.

“And thank you, Ardeland. For telling me my daughter was in danger!”

Blinking in surprise at the thanks, he gave a nod. “It’s the least I can do!” Starting to make their way out of the Sunflower Field on a run, Arden asked the two, “So you guys have a plan, right?” 

“Yeah, don’t worry,” Law answered. “We’ll have his head on a silver platter.”

“Do you seriously think I’ll let you reach the palace?!” Diamante yelled, whipping his sword out. It moved like it was fabric, extending to their way. “You tremendous idiot! Hybrid monster! And the traitorous brat!”

Law suddenly grabbed Luffy by the shirt. “Room!” Realizing what was happening, Arden quickly held onto Luffy’s hand. “Shambles!”

“Is this.. The palace?” Luffy asked when they suddenly appeared at a different location. It seemed to be the Pool Courtyard.

“Yeah, we finally made it.”

“You--!” Arden stared at Law with an expression of disbelief, releasing his grip from Luffy's hand. “If I didn’t react fast enough I would have been stabbed!”

“You reacted in time, didn’t you?”

“That’s not the point!”

“I only have one free hand to use. And I knew you would understand what I was going to do.”

That stopped Arden from talking any further, those words coming as a surprise to him.

It was as if… Law was complimenting him?

“What a useful ability!” Luffy said, amazed at experiencing it first hand.

“It is, but it also eats up my energy. I suppose having those Kairoseki cuffs on and getting carried by you to this point wasn’t so bad after all. I was able to save my energy.” He activated a small Room around his hand near his torso. “Mes!” Seeing him grunt out in pain, Arden watched with a wince, almost instantaneously wanting to apologize for yelling at him.

“What’s wrong?” Luffy asked, trying to see what was happening.

“I operated on myself,” he replied, his hand held out to reveal three round bullets mixed in with his own blood. “He purposely used lead bullets… that bastard!”

Arden’s brows furrowed, knowing exactly what he meant by that. Man, was he really hoping Doflamingo’s defeat was going to approach quicker.

“Alright! Let’s go kick Mingo’s ass!”

“Wait!” Law stopped Luffy with a hand on his shoulder.

“What now?!”

“Doflamingo isn’t someone you can beat with willpower alone. You need to cool down.”

“What?! How can I ‘cool down’ after coming this far?!”

“I’m telling you, if you don’t, you can’t defeat him!”

“I promised Rebecca! What good will standing still here do us?!”

Arden stared into the building as the two continued to bicker on how to approach the situation. He knew someone was spying on them, but he also figured that it wasn’t a good time for him to meddle in on this. He very much remembers that this was a key moment for Usopp-- he couldn’t just meddle in and take that away from him. This was where he developed Observation Haki!

So the best course of action for him to take is-- yes, that’s it:

It’s to do absolutely nothing!

And so he purposefully looked away and turned small as Sugar finally made an appearance, crying her eyes out as she did. Looking the age of ten, her cutesy attire only topped it all off to make a convincing act.

“What the…” Luffy said, breaking the argument he was having with Law.

“Help me, please!”

“Why’s a kid here?”

“Dad! Mom! Where are you?!” she continued to cry.

“Don’t tell me she’s lost.”

“In such a place?” Law said. “No way!”

“Are you lost?”

“Don’t pay attention to her!”

That made her cry even harder, pointing a hand at Law. “I don’t like this man!”

After a few seconds of staring at each other, he turned around. “Let’s go.”

“It’s dangerous here so hide somewhere,” Luffy said to the ‘child’ before turning to follow him.

“No! Don’t leave me alone!” Sugar yelled. Despite her attempts, they were leaving her be. That was until she presented her grapes to them.

Luffy gladly stopped at the mention of food.

“You can have these,” she said. “They’re good!”

“What?! Is it okay?!”

“Uh huh!”

“Leave her!” Law said.

“What’s wrong with it?! She says it’s okay!”

It should be around this area, Arden thought. I know you won’t miss, Usopp. I have faith in you! But he would be lying to himself if he said he wasn’t feeling nervous about it as Sugar came approaching the two closer and closer with each step. He then heard a wooshing sound from behind them and Sugar screamed.

With bulging eyes, it didn't take long for Sugar's voice to be cut off by her fainting mid-scream. Falling over, her face remained frozen in horror as if she just saw the worst thing in her life.

It happened so quickly that if Arden didn’t know it was going to happen, he would have no clue as to what had just occurred. The wooshing sound belonged to an Usopp doll that whizzed by, triggering the trauma Sugar had gone through earlier-- the same one that broke the toy spell the first time.

“Lord Sugar!” Henchmen went over to the passed out girl.

“Yes! Usopp!” Arden cheered, turning half-form in a jump.

“Oh no! She passed out again!”

“Let’s go!” Luffy said, wrapping an arm around Law, the other grasped along the highest edge of the building.

“Wait, Luffy!” Arden said before he could launch off. “I’m going to stay here.”

“Huh? What for?”

“I’ll be a nuisance if I go into battle with you guys against Doflamingo. I’ll wreak some havoc in the palace to keep the henchmen occupied. I never said I wanted to beat his ass. Ah, and,” he directed this to both of them. “Be careful. He’s not the only one up there.”

Luffy nodded. “Alright then!”

Arden watched the two disappear from his line of vision before making his way inside the building. He very well knew how the fight was going to go. The ending wasn’t going to take place within the palace. It was somewhere outside the town. Memories of the fight in specific was foggy, but it was clearer than before. Even if he wanted to interfere, his body wouldn’t let him advance further with the two. That meant he wasn’t needed nor wanted by the universe to be there.

Not that it really mattered. He couldn’t use Haki, so that meant he wouldn’t do much damage to any of the enemies. The most he could be was to be a meat shield. And even that has limitations. Truly annoying situation to be in.

But one thing was clear: Law was going to lose an arm.

And Arden hated knowing that piece of information, not being able to do anything about it to prevent it from happening.

.

Chapter Text

.

“Surround him! He’s one of the criminals!” various shouts came, blocking the hallway Arden was making his way down.

He stopped, counting the heads of how many were going against him before bringing his leg back. “Are you guys ready?”

“Shoot!”

With that, he launched forward, turning small-- and like a rabbit, easily dodging the bullets. Once he closed in on the men, he launched up into the air and dove back down. As he dove, he went half-form, extending his ears out to gather the men together before going back up, smashing their heads onto the ceiling.

Patting dust off his shirt, he gave a small sigh and a tilt of the head. “I need a weapon. This is kind of inconvenient.” Although he could extend his ears, he couldn’t use them to the extent like Luffy could: meaning they weren’t as quick to be used for punches, and he couldn’t extend as far so often he had to use both ears to handle larger groups. “Guns… guns… why are there so many of them?” he ruffled around the fallen soldiers, trying to find a suitable weapon.

Guns weren’t useful: he didn’t know how to use them.

“Heavy!” he groaned as he found a sword to use. The thought of cutting someone down didn’t quite sit right with him, but it was better than nothing.

At this point, most henchmen were aware of his presence and were actively hunting him down. Needing to take a break, he went inside a room, turning small to heal the wounds he had received from fighting. Studying where he was, he quickly concluded that it was a bedroom: it was rather feminine looking. The only women that were in the Donquixote family were Baby 5 and Giolla. He liked to think this was Baby 5’s room since he knew Giolla’s would probably be an eyestrain to even look at. Something caught his eye as he looked around. Running to it, he turned back to normal-- fully human, he grabbed the thing that caught his eye and gave a bright smile.

“Perfect.”

***

Getting rid of one more wave of henchmen, Arden bounded past several corners, unsure of where to go exactly.

“The confirmed criminal, Arden, Three star, is still on the loose!”

“Careful! He has Devil Fruit Powers!”

“He’s using… an umbrella for a weapon?!”

“Light and small, perfect for me!” Arden laughed as he looked down at the folding umbrella that was in his hand. Something like a sword, he couldn’t easily handle, especially when he’s switching between forms all the time: something more compact would be better. He also liked the range it had.

“Woah!” He came to a skidded halt, staring at the two little creatures in front of him that did the same.

“Who are you?!” The one in green yelled, readying a fighting stance. He held a sewing needle in each hand for weapons.

“....” he blinked a few before breaking out into a wide smile. “Leo, is it you?!” He squatted down to get closer to their level.

“How do you know who I am?!”

“My name’s Arden. I’m with Luffy, Usopp, and Robin.”

“Luffyland, Usoland, and Robiland…?” his eyes lit up slightly but then frowned again. “Liar!”

The man only continued to smile. “No, I’m really not! I’ve been looking forward to meeting you guys: the Tontatta Tribe.”

Leo continued to glare at him along with his flying companion, Kabu. Arden only gave back a bright smile in response. After a few seconds, Leo broke out into a grin.

“Ah, alright then! Glad you’re not an enemy.”

Arden couldn’t help but to chuckle at their too trusting nature. “Are you guys on your way to rescue Princess Mansherry?

“Yes, we are!”

Two henchmen then appeared from behind Arden, but before he could turn around, both Leo and Kabu took care of them, their heads stuck in the walls. "You mind if I tag along?”

Leo gave a nod. “We’d be glad if you gave us a hand. We’re going to move really quickly, will you catch up?”

“Don’t worry about it. I might not be able to run on water but,” his wings flapped slightly. “Speed is my game.”

***

“There it is! The punishment room!” Leo yelled as they closed in on a door guarded by henchmen. Easily taking care of them, they burst into the room together. “I found her!”

“Oh god, it’s that tasteless art lady!” Arden said as the enemy was turned away from them. Lying on the floor were the commanders who were unconscious.

“Leo!” a small voice came from where Giolla was.

“Princess!”

“You’re too late,” Giolla said as men came up to surround them. “Now, come back, commanders of the Donquixote Family! Round Two, begi--”

Zipping, Arden hopped up as Leo took care of the men, landing on the woman’s face, causing her to stumble. However, the tears that Princess Mansherry let out were already falling. “Dammit!”

“Outta my way!” Kabu suddenly yelled, flying in. “Take care of Giolla! Beetle Uppercut!” In a flash everyone that was on the floor scattered across the room, the tears that were dropping down, hitting the floor with a splash, missing its intended targets.

“W-what?!” Giolla screamed under Arden’s foot. As he retreated back, Leo went to work with his Sewing Devil Fruit Powers, sewing all the enemies frozen.

“I’ll sew you all up together so you’ll never get separated!” with a pull of the string he was holding onto, the unconscious flew towards Giolla.

“What is this?!”

“Haunte Couture! Patchwork!”

As Giolla fell over from the impact, letting go of the dwarf in her hand, Leo caught Princess Mansherry swiftly.

“Leo, I was scared…” the princess said, grasping at one of his suspenders.

“Princess…” he began. “You gained some weight again.”

This earned a punch in the face for him.

“Huhhh…” Arden observed.

“Same old…” Kabu said with crossed arms, done with it.

“Leo! Leo!” the princess said as she was let back down on the ground. “I hurt my leg. You can carry me on your back if you want!”

Leo stared at her with a slightly annoyed expression.

“Or you can carry me in your arms, that works too.”

“There it is! The Princess’ selfishness! If you really were hurt, you could heal yourself! You’ve always been a good runner, so let’s just run and get out of here!”

“Then I’m not going anywhere!” she said in an angry huff, sitting down in protest whilst pouting.

“Kabu,” Arden said to the Beetle hybrid who landed onto his shoulder. “Is it really always like this?”

"Unfortunately."

“What?!” Leo angrily said to her. “There it is! The Princess’ entitlement!”

“It’s not like I want your help, anyway.”

“What’s with that attitude?! I really will leave you here!”

“Fine by me!”

“One’s dense and the other’s stubborn,” Arden said as Kabu continued to look on with an unamused look. Even if Arden offered a hand to her, she’d probably just reject him since it was pretty clear what her true motives were.

“You can imagine how tiring it can be,” Kabu sighed before flying down, hitting Leo on the head with a fist. “Just carry her on your back already! We gotta go!”

“Ow…”

***

“Honestly! You’re selfish, entitled, and quick-tempered…” Leo continued to complain as Princess Mansherry lovingly held onto him as he gave her a piggyback ride. “You’re such a bother, Princess!”

So dense, Arden thought as they ran to get out of the building. It was amusing to watch, and made him slightly envious of Leo. The feeling of being in love with someone always boded well with him since he was a hopeless romantic. As they ran down hallways and cleared out henchmen that came after them, a large rumble shook the building. 

"It came from above," Kabu said, looking up, bits of stone crumbling down slightly. 

Luffy... Enoki... He gripped the umbrella he held tightly in his hand, his lips in a taut line. I should check up on them.

“Hey, guys,” he said, getting the Tontattas’ attention. “You’ll be heading back out to the Sunflower Field, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. We have no reason to stay in this dangerous place!” Leo replied.

“Then I’m going to stay behind. I have something I have to do here.”

“Okay, then, Ardeland. Good luck!”

“Yeah!”

***

“You really should rest, Law,” Doflamingo said.

Arden (now in his small form) was hidden on the other side of a wall, outside of the building. Black smoke and the smell of ashes coated the air. Poking his tiny head up, he tried to look at the scene that was unfolding. Usually, Luffy could be heard loud and clear. Especially when in a fight. But he couldn't catch his voice anywhere. Where are they?! Luffy?! The smoke then cleared out in one small area, he was able to see Doflamingo, though the lower half of him was hidden from his sight.

“You’re not even a match for me on my own,” The pink cladded man continued. “Why would you want to challenge both of us at the same time? Straw Hat won’t make it up here that easily. If he had the guts to kill his ‘friend’ right off the bat, he might be able to save you, but…”

“He’s such a naive idiot!” A large blue man that was behind Doflamingo said.

“Trebol…” the wolpertinger murmured.

“Born in the hell that was White Town…” Doflamingo started.

Seeing Law sitting straight up, Arden’s eyes widened.

He was missing an arm.

A thin fabric was wrapped around where the limb was cut off to prevent rapid blood loss. Taking advantage of the confident monologue the two enemies were reveling in, Arden quietly hopped over the wall, using the fallen debris and thick smoke to hide himself. It slightly surprised him that his body allowed him to do it.

His arm shouldn’t be far off…

Finding it, he winced at the sight. He tentatively touched it, afraid that it might crack and turn to dust. It was undoubtedly Law's with his iconic hand tattoos peering back at him. Arden couldn’t stop his own heart from sinking. He knew this would happen but to see it live in person… It really was a different deal.

Staring at it, he then went over to his unsheathed nodachi which wasn't far from where the hand was.

“Perform the ultimate Operation Fruit technique on me.. The Eternal Youth Operation… and die,” he heard Doflamingo say though he couldn’t see either of them with the shapeless black smoke. “In exchange, I'll grant your wish, whatever it is.”

“Whatever it is…? If you really mean it…” Law said in a smug tone through slight ragged breaths. “It’s a brilliant idea. We’d both benefit from it. Alright, I'm in!”

Trebol gave a laugh. “You’re a very understanding man! Doffy will finally have eternal life!”

“Then… Bring Cora back to life, right now! When you’re finished doing that, go lick the asses of everyone in the country!”

Finally getting over his jitters, Arden picked up the arm by the sleeve carefully with his mouth, slowly making his way back to ensure its safety.

BANG!

He froze in place, head whipping up toward the direction of where the gunshot came from followed by a pained grunt.

It was where the other three were.

Doflamingo suddenly went into a fit of rage, gunshots continuing to fire until all bullets were used up.

Gulping, Arden resumed carrying the arm, the hand gripped onto the cursed sword which he placed. Safely putting it against a wall at the far-end where it faced the Sunflower Field, Arden then quickly bounded his way to where Law was, Luffy’s sudden appearance distracting the two enemies.

“Enoki!” Arden whispered, nudging his nose against the hat the other wore, worry etched in his face. “You’re okay, right?!”

“... Usagi-ya?” he heard him murmur. “I’m alive.”

He gave a smile. “Good. I’m gonna distract the two of them when Luffy gets close enough so you guys can come up with a plan.” Running off, he went to get the umbrella he had left on the edge since he didn’t initially plan on fighting.

“Hey, Torao!” Luffy yelled after noticing the unmoving body. “Why’re you bleeding so much? What happened to your arm? Hey! Stay with me, Torao! Hey! Torao!”

“He’s dead,” Doflamingo said. “Obviously.”

“That’s not true!”

“It is! He seemed to have a great deal of faith in you, too. He said you can work miracles. Can you, Straw Hat? I didn’t think you were that strong when I fought you, though… Now bring it on! There’s only two of us left.”

“Ah, ah, good thing it’s not a 2v1 then,” Arden’s voice rang out before Luffy could go running towards them in a fit of anger. Everyone turned to look at the grinning half-man, half-beast as he twirled the closed umbrella around.

“It’s the rat,” Doflamingo laughed. “It’s no matter, I'll have you both follow Law in death shortly. Let’s end thi--”

“ ‘Game’?” Arden finished off the sentence for him, walking around in a casual sense as he sang out the sentences he was saying, opening the umbrella he held. “‘The rules of the game have changed’. That’s what you were going to say, wasn’t it? The birdcage is shrinking and soon enough it’ll cut everything in its path until it meets at the center. Which is here. Closing just… like. An,” he then closed the object in his hand.

“Umbrella. And it’ll close in fully in about an hour. Meaning we probably have less than an hour to end all of this. Which means the friends that already died just hit the sack a bit earlier than expected. And it’s fine since you’ll just build another country." He put on a shit-eating grin as he continued to taunt. "I’m correct, aren’t I, Doffy?”

The veins on Doflamingo’s forehead bulged, immense anger flowing through him.

That was all Arden needed to know he was hella pissed off.

“I told you back in Green Bit and I’ll say it again: I know your past and future,” he pointed the umbrella at him with a fully straightened arm, chin tilted up in pride. “Celestial Dragon blood may flow in your veins but just like them, you are no god!”

“Ridiculous! Then are you saying you’re one…?! YOU RAT!” his hand then tensed up into a claw formation. “I’m not going to spare anyone. Especially you! Join Law in death!” he yelled out in immense anger, charging straight for him.

However, Arden didn’t budge an inch, only staring straight at what was behind him.

“Mingo!!!” Luffy shouted, running towards him. “Gum-Gum…!”

Doflamingo quickly turned around to focus his attention on the bigger threat, but was too late as the next split second shocked him from reacting any further.

“Shambles!”

“Law!!” He said in disbelief as the one in front of him wasn’t Luffy but the one who he thought he killed with his own hands.

His one hand was high up in the air, an intense green light glowing from it into the shape of a tangible weapon. “You’re the one that’s going to perish, Doflamingo!”

“Do it!” Luffy yelled.

Driving the green light into the enemy’s chest, Law shouted, “This operation will destroy you from the inside out! Gamma Knife!”

Spitting out blood, Doflamingo was frozen from the pain. Arden ran to Luffy’s side, looking over the multitude of injuries he received since they last saw each other.

“Law!” Trebol yelled. “How are you still alive?! How are you using your Operation abilities without creating a Room?!”

“No, this is a Room! It’ll shorten my lifespan somewhat, but I created a Room so big you can’t even see it!”

“What?!”

“I did it all for this moment… to set up this attack!” He kept the Gamma Knife in his chest, wanting to finish him off properly.

“Doffy, you’re a king! Don’t prostrate yourself!”

With a hand, Doflamingo held onto Law’s face. “Now you’ve really done it!”

“Luffy, he’s going to attack! Enoki needs help!”

Going into Second Gear, Arden watched as he jumped up just as Doflamingo was beginning to strike with his other hand.

“I won’t let you live… Law!!!”

“Gum-Gum! Jet Stamp!” Luffy hit him straight in the stomach with an extended kick. Jumping over in a flash, Arden dealt a head blow with his umbrella onto the flying figure to further the final impact he’d receive when he crashed into the wall. The parasol snapped in half with the attack.

“Doffy! Are you alright?!”

Seeing he was still able to move, Arden instinctively started to move towards him to not give him a chance to breathe. Luffy thought the same as he said, “You bastard!”

“Wait, Mugiwara-ya!” Law stopped them. “Usagi-ya!”

“Enoki...?”

“Torao…”

Crawling on the ground, he struggled to get closer to the enemy. “That bastard is... mine!” Staggering up as he stood on two legs, he slowly steadied himself. “Room! You’re finished, Doflamingo!”

“Law! Damn you! What have you done to Doffy?!” Trebol had started to launch himself towards them but was kicked away easily by Luffy.

“Don’t get in their way!”

“You just…” Law breathed out. “Gathered people that were convenient to you and called it a ‘family’. And when your real brother, Cora, tried to end your rampage, you…”

“Yeah, that was a shame… he betrayed me… even pointed a gun at me…”

“But you knew! You knew Cora couldn’t pull the trigger! I would have pulled it.”

Doflamingo gave a maniacal round of laughter. “I bet you would have.”

“Enoki, he’s trying to buy time!” Arden warned him, taking a step forward. The grip he had on the umbrella handle didn't loosen despite it being broken. “You have to finish this quickly!”

“You’re the same as me,” Doflamingo continued.

“Yeah.. that’s fine by me. But on that day… you should have died, not him!”

“Law, I’m sure you’ll love to hear this… Corazón was a drag and an eyesore to me. He acquired this silly sense of justice and wore that worthless heart of his on his sleeve. He was an incompetent man. When I killed him that day, it was a huge load off my--”

“Counter Shock!” Electricity spewed everywhere as Law put a hand over Doflamingo’s large torso. “Go to hell, you demonic bastard!”

“Doffy!”

Law, thinking it was over with as the other’s body went limp finally gave out due to exhaustion, falling over to the ground. Luffy went to check up on him, but Arden only rushed towards the unmoving body.

“Doflamingo isn’t dead!” Swinging the remaining bits of the umbrella down, it was easily blocked by a hand. “Tch! Just stay down!”

Trebol laughed. “As expected of our king!”

“H-How is that possible…!” Law uttered.

Giving a laugh, Doflamingo used his other hand to grab Arden by the head, smashing him onto the ground, leaving a dent in the stone floor. “Given enough time, I can mend myself. As we speak, the strings within my body are repairing my internal organs.”

“What?!”

“It’s all about how you use your ability. It’s a bit different from recovery, though. Good job on the suicide attack, Law.”

Before either Luffy or Arden could react as Doflamingo was approaching Law, Trebol interfered. “Sticky Chain!”

“Stop it!” Luffy yelled as they were thrown up high into the air, stuck in the mucus that they wrapped around in. Crashing onto the ground, Arden coughed in pain, blood trickling down from his forehead.

“I’ll put you out of your misery. It’s the least I can do,” Doflamingo told Law.

Arden huffed out in long intervals, turning small again involuntarily. “Go! Luffy!”

“Dammit!!!” Law yelled out as the other brought down his foot to finish him off. “Dammit…” Silence filled the air as Luffy intercepted the attack with his own foot, staring at Doflamingo with a glare.

As the two fought, Arden struggled to force himself to go back to at least his half-form. Come on, what I went through was nothing compared to those two!

Get up! Change forms!

DO IT, DAMMIT!

With deep breaths as he finally was able to retain his half-form to a stable place, he rushed over to where Law was after retrieving his arm. Law was clearly paralyzed from both exhaustion and pain.

His body was at his limit.

“We’re gonna go for now,” Arden said to him as he wrapped Law's arm behind his own neck.

“Usagi-ya… I need to stay and watch the fight!” Law seethed out through ragged breaths.

“Don’t be an idiot! Not from this up close!” he snapped back. “Let’s at least go back down to the Sunflower Field, okay?!”

“Trample Law’s head while you have the chance!” Trebol laughed.

“Hey!” Luffy yelled, trapped in the sticky mucus Trebol encased him in. “Don’t do it, Mingo! Fight me! Torao can’t even move a finger!”

Choosing to ignore everyone out, Arden only focused on the task at hand: Get Enoki to safety!

“He’s right,” Law said after Luffy punched Trebol to try to escape, but was met with nothing despite him not being a logia type. “That won’t work on a papier-mache bastard like him.

“P-p-paper-mache?!” Trebol stuttered.

Law held out a hand in front of Arden as if to signify for him to stop to let him talk. “The main reason I didn’t want to sit on the Seat of Hearts was because I didn’t want to be lumped together with morons like them!”

“So you can still move that mouth of yours,” Doflamingo said.

“What’re you saying, you talking corpse?!” Trebol said, snot flying everywhere. “We top commanders are the foundation of the Family! I’ll never forgive anyone for making fun of us! Sticky Stick Launcher!” The mucus which trapped Luffy suddenly bubbled over and started to spew out mucus chunks into the air to where the pair were.

“This is bad!” Arden yelled, resulting to carry the taller man bridle style in a hurry, jumping to avoid the blobs of mucus raining down.

“Stop it!” Luffy yelled.

“Too… heavy…!” he strained out before being eventually hit by a mucus shot, knocking the two of them away from each other.

“Law, you bastard!” The Sticky-Sticky Fruit user started to approach him after he was for sure not going to move, the mucus keeping him from doing so even if his body was already paralyzed. “I gotta teach this brat a thing or two! Move, Doffy! Listen up, Law. Doffy will always be the one true king.” He removed his sunglasses to reveal rather intimidating eyes. “We, the current top commanders, are his perfect equals! That’s because… one day, some thirty years ago, the four of us acquired this immense gift that fell from the heavens! We granted him power, and raised him to be a charismatic force or evil!”

“What did I say?” Arden directed this to Doflamingo. “You were raised incorrectly. You were taken advantage of, Doflamingo! Why won’t you under-- Mmph!” His mouth was covered by a goop of mucus.

“We set up Doffy as a king, and proved his worth to all our subordinates! Even the five of us: Doffy and the top commanders, all value the family equally, and we’ve raised it to its current status! Like a real family! Understand, Law?” He then gave a sinister laugh. “Do you remember that my mucus is flammable?” the head of the staff he held suddenly revealed a little flame at the top. A lighter. “I can shut those annoying mouths of yours instant--”

“ ‘Family’?” Law said. “It’s only you guys who think that, Trebol.”

“Huh?!”

“He doesn’t give a damn about you guys.”

“Wh-what did you say?!” he raged out, slamming the staff down.

“How pathetic. You act like you’re his chief of staff, but to me you look like Doflamingo’s foolish jester!”

“F-F-Foolish jester?! Unforgivable!” He made his way to Law’s side.

“Enoki, can you not rile them up for five minutes?!” Arden tried to shout but was muffled to a silent garble by the mucus over his mouth.

“Hey, don’t fall for it, Trebol!” Doflamingo warned.

“Room!”

“You’re inside his Room!”

“This brat is barely alive as it is… but I've also restrained his movement with my mucus! What can he do under these circumstances?” he hovered the bottom end part of his staff over the other’s face. “Now, open your mouth!”

“Stop!” Luffy yelled after freeing himself from the mucus slightly only to be overwhelmed by more.

“You insolent brat!” He forced him to lower his jaw. “I’ll shove this down your throat and impale you!”

“Enoki!” Arden yelled. Finally being able to force the mucus off his face with a hand, he scrambled to get rid of the remaining ones that were holding him down.

“I’m a ship captain, as well! If I leave both you and Doflamingo in Mugiwara-ya’s hands, I’ll lose face!”

“You can’t even move! What can you do? Damned worm!” He then swung his staff down in full force. “DIE!”

He made a flicking motion with his hand. “Takt!” 

“What are you-”

Law’s severed hand suddenly spun towards Trebol, the sword which Arden had placed earlier still in his hand.

“His arm?!”

“Sterben!” Driving the sword into where the stomach was, it then dragged upwards Trebol’s torso, causing a disgusting yellow liquid to spew out followed by a small mixture of blood. Trebol screamed in pain, his body dissolving into mucus. It soon revealed that the large body he presented was only an armor. His real one being comically thin and small compared to his enormous head.

“What is that?!” Luffy said after being freed from the mucus he was trapped in that was connected to the armor body. “This super-skinny old guy came out of the gooey stuff!”

“That’s his real body!” Arden said.

“So that’s why my punch went right through his body!”

“Curse you, Law…” Trebol’s hand hovered over his wound, blood dripping down.

“You fool!” Doflamingo said.

“Law…” he shakily put the head part of the staff down, the flame still going. “You die as well!”

Realizing what was happening, Arden shook off the last of the mucus, rushing over to where the target was.

“Shit!” Law yelled. “He’s gonna light us up!”

“I’m taking you with me!”

The next second blazed by in a world of red and orange, as the intense heat of the fire engulfed the entire area.

***

“Luffy!” Robin yelled. “Send Torao this way!”

“Robin, thanks for the help! Take care of him! Torao’s done enough to corner Mingo!” Luffy said as he was mid air, carrying both Law and Arden. They had barely escaped the fire. Tossing Law down,

“It can’t be… his arm!” she said after noticing it. “Cien Fleur: Spider Net!”

Safely landing in the net, everyone in the Sunflower Field couldn’t help but to feel shocked at the sight.

“Lawland’s arm is…” Leo said.

“How terrible… Torao, stay with me!” Robin said after settling him down, holding him up.

“Nico Robin!” Doflamingo shouted from above, having also escaped the explosion. “Don’t do anything unnecessary! He’s still breathing. I haven’t dismissed him yet.”

“Doflamingo!” Kyros unsheathed his sword to prepare a fight.

“That bastard’s still going for Torao!” Luffy yelled, still in the air, letting go of Arden.

“I’ll finish you off!” He raised up a finger for a ‘Bullet String’.

“Gum-Gum… Hawk Whip!” But it was too late. Several were already fired. “Dammit! Torao! Robin!”

“Ardeland!” Leo yelled at what happened next.

One. Two.

Three.

Four. Five.

Five bullet strings shot through Arden’s body as he attempted to shield the two in a desperate attempt. His Swift Sphere was too unpredictable to use properly in this situation. Catching most that would have hit them, he saw one pass by him by a hair.

“No!” He hoarsely screamed out, falling limp onto the ground.

It wasn’t just Law that was being targeted but also Robin!

Body... Fucking move faster!!

But he could barely move an inch as a blood-filled cough came out of him.

“Precious Metal Axe!” A voice yelled, followed by a blade deflecting the last bullet from hitting.

“Pretty Boy…” Arden breathed out, breaking the panic he had.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I just woke up.” Going over to where Arden was, who was now in his small form, the blonde cradled him into an arm. With a frown at the sight, he looked up after making sure the wolpertinger was still breathing. “Haven’t you settled this yet, Straw Hat?!”

“Cabbage!” Luffy yelled from above, blocking Doflamingo from approaching the others. “Take everyone and get off this plateau!”

“Don’t be absurd! Doflamingo’s standing right here in front of me! Let me get in at least one hit!”

“I’m leaving everybody else in your hands!”

“Le-Leave them in my hands? Trust…” he suddenly smiled brightly, sparkles visible everywhere around him. “Respect.. Popularity! Straw Hat’s now my fan.” Cavendish then gave a gasp at the realization. “A fan is asking me a favour… I can’t turn it down!” He turned to Robin. “I know Bartolomeo is on the lower level! Let’s go down there now using his ability!” Placing Arden down next to Law, Cavendish then ran off to fetch said person.

“Can you treat him somehow, Leo?” Kyros asked as the three Tontattas and others gathered around the heavily injured.

“The cut is ragged,” Leo observed Law’s injury. “If I can manage to sew them together... “

“If you can do that,” Princess Mansherry said. “I can heal him with my Watering Can.” She then approached Arden, hands out as they glowed a warm yellow. “Let me heal your wounds.”

“No…” the creature said, struggling to get up on all fours. “Save your power for others.”

“But…”

“Enoki is far more injured than me. Don’t worry about me: I can heal them myself. I just…” he flopped back down to the ground like a blown over house of cards. “... need time.”

As the palace continued to fall apart from the fight that was occurring between Luffy and Doflamingo, the rest were on their way to escape the havoc. Cavendish carried Law whilst Robin with Arden.

“Wait!” Law suddenly grasped the blonde’s shoulder, making them stop.

“You’re awake, Trafalgar!”

“Leave me here!”

“What are you saying?!”

“For the past thirteen years… I've stayed alive just to kill Doflamingo. I’ve done…” he fought out words. “Everything I can. I’ve gotta leave the rest to Mugiwara-ya. If he’s gonna win, I want to witness it with my own eyes, here!

If he loses, I need to be here and… die along with him! I… Got him involved in this fight. I wanna see this through, right here. Just leave me!” his body then went limp due to exhaustion again.

“Trafalgar...”

“Torao,” Robin said. “Captains in an alliance must be on equal footing. Luffy is here on his own free will. He won’t fight if he doesn’t have the will to do so.”

“Leave me here… I’m begging you!”

A few seconds of silence passed before Cavendish gave a defeated sigh, putting Law down on the grass. Never had any one of them seen him this desperate in a situation before. “I don’t think I can talk you out of it... Nico Robin, go on ahead.”

“Cabbage!”

“I can’t abide by a death wish,” he said, sitting cross-legged next to the man. “I’ll stay here too.” When Law made a face in protest, he only said, “You’ll just have to deal with it. If you’re gonna die, it’s gonna be after me.”

“Miss Robin!” Bartolomeo’s voice echoed out from far away.

“Bartolomeo made us stairs!” Rebecca said to her.

“Go,” the blonde said, removing his coat to hand it over to her to cover the wounds she got on her back. “Here, you can wear this. You have to go, Nico Robin. Let me look after him.”

She looked to Law who gave a tilt of the head, signaling for her to go as well. “Thank you, Cabbage.”

“... Leave me here, too,” Arden finally spoke up, pushing himself out of Robin’s arms to land on the ground, staring up at Cavendish’s blue eyes.

“Arden,” Robin said, unsure of what to make of it.

“I’m not a captain of any pirate ship-- I’m not even a pirate of any kind,” he said. “Which means I shouldn’t have any obligation to be here at all.”

“Then why stay here, rabbit?” Cavendish asked. “You’re asking for a death sentence.”

“Because despite all that, I still have to fulfill an unsaid promise I made to myself.” With a determined look, he proclaimed, “No matter what: I will not let any of the Straw Hats or Enoki die!”

“Usagi-ya…” Law said in a glare that was peppered with anger. “Leave.”

“Please,” he pleaded, continuing to look at Cavendish with large eyes.

The blonde stared back but then gave a sigh off to the side. “I’m surrounded by stubborn fools. Do as you wish.”

“Be careful, Arden,” Robin said, after covering herself with Cavendish’s coat.

He gave a toothy smile. “I’ll try.”

“Usagi-ya!”

“Thank you,” Arden said towards the blonde before getting comfortable from where he was, Robin having left to get to safety. It was probably because of Cavendish's soft spot for animals but he was grateful either way to be left to stay.

“Tell me, rabbit. Why are you adamant in protecting Trafalgar and the Straw Hats?”

“They mean a lot to me,” he answered, looking over at the fight that was occurring, explosions sounding out almost every five seconds. “They’re good people-- whether they want to admit it or not. And I’m sure they’ll be able to change this world for the better. They already have in a lot of ways and I want to believe that that’s just the beginning. I want them to at least not lose a limb until after I part ways with them. But, well, I guess I kind of already failed in that department, huh?”

“Rabbit…”

“And I think that also includes you, Pretty Boy,” he finished with a smile. "You'll also help better this world in your own way."

Cavendish gazed at him before breaking out with a sparkle in his eyes. “Oh, so you’re a fan of me as well? I am popular, aren’t I?”

Arden looked over to where Law laid and found him to have a frown on, though his eyes seemingly weren't looking at anything in particular.

Maybe he shouldn’t have said all that with him there.

“But listen here, rabbit: no matter how valiant of an effort you make, I will not allow him to touch his hands on you before me,” the pirate then said, donning a serious look. “I won’t forgive you if you stand in my way. You’re barely alive as it is.”

“Something tells me there’s no need for that, but thank you, Cavendish,” he replied gently, feeling the true nature of the blonde coming through. “I have a feeling the tides will change to our favour.”

***

“What a surprise. I didn’t know there were Dwarves in Dressrosa,” Cavendish said whilst looking at the beautiful field of sunflowers in front of them. “On top of that, their princess even has the power to heal. I hope your arm gets reconnected properly. They said when blood starts flowing, it’ll be cured.”

“I know. I’m a doctor.”

If he wasn’t so tired, Arden would have shot an unamused look towards the injured man.

“When I saw the underground trade port, I understood… This battle… even with Doflamingo defeated, it won’t be over.” He looked at Arden then at Law. “It’ll cause tremendous ripples across the world. And you guys will be the object of everyone’s attention.

“Yeah…” Law replied. “I’m well aware that’s what’ll happen.”

“Many wars will be decided upon once the ripples occur,” Arden said quietly, feeling his head being pet by the blonde. “And many lives will be lost. But the end result will be one where corruption won’t be as prominent as it is right now.”

Suddenly, a figure shot past them from where the fight was occurring and straight towards the city.

“What was that?” Cavendish asked.

“Doflamingo,” Arden answered, watching Luffy in Fourth Gear: Boundman chase after him.

“Did you see that?!” this time what he spotted shocked him enough to turn around as with Law.

“Yeah…” Law said.

“Can’t believe how he changed. Is that really Straw Hat? He’s overpowering the formidable Doflamingo! He’s amazingly strong!”

“But he’s using Haki too much.”

“Using Haki too much?”

“When he’s in Fourth Gear, he can only maintain it for so long,” Arden explained, marveling at the form himself. It was quite pretty. “I’m not sure what the time limit is specifically. But after that, he’ll be too exhausted to use Haki for ten whole minutes.”

“I see… He’d have to be careful then.”

“Yes…” he looked over to see Law still staring out towards the city with a look Arden only knew would be him thinking of doing something hasty.

***

Between the announcement to encourage the citizens of Dressrosa to not give up on surviving and the fight that was taking place Downtown, what caught everyone’s eyes was when Doflamingo clearly took a harsh landing into the plateau’s wall, forming a large crater.

“Amazing! How destructive that was!” Cavendish said. “There’s no way he’s still alive!”

“You think so? He stitched up his own organs using his ability back when we fought him,” Arden said, not wanting to admit that it was an amazing feat.

“Hey!” Law said, his eyes going up. “Look up in the sky!”

Cavendish audibly gasped, the realization striking after seeing that the Bird Cage had not disappeared.

Doflamingo wasn’t dead yet.

***

“Where are you going, rabbit?” Cavendish asked, grabbing Arden by the scruff of his neck when he tried to run off.

“To town!” he kept trying to run, kicking his short limbs up in the air. “Let me go!”

He couldn’t just sit back and idly watch anymore.

I have to do something!

“Do you not have faith in Straw Hat?!”

He stopped, body going limp, the words echoing in his head. “I do but…!”

Cavendish turned him over and raised him up so they were meeting eye to eye. “You’re being rash. Calm down.”

“The fight hasn’t continued for a while now,” Arden said, though he seemed to have abandoned any impulsive decisions for the meantime. “Luffy must be trying to buy time.”

“I won’t be able to help you if you leave the Sunflower Field. And as I said before: I don’t accept death wishes.”

“Tell that to Enoki.”

“Eno…? You mean Trafal--” he then turned to where Law laid, seeing just in time as he used ‘Shambles’. The next second a pebble dropped onto the grass replacing where he was. “--GAH?! What?! Where did he go?!”

“Wolpe Thrive!” Being released from Cavendish’s hold from the sudden size change, Arden took a step back, giving a half smile. “I’ll be going now. Thank you for everything, Pretty Boy!”

***

Warping and flying were indeed two different things. Even with Arden’s speed, it was still hard to catch up with the other. Luckily, Law was both injured and exhausted. Bounding past rubble that used to stand tall as buildings, the brunette used height to his advantage, scouring the area for an unknown entity that would pop up from time to time.

Landing on a street-walk lightly, he looked at the physique of the taller man who laid on the ground.

Law was audibly heaving to get breaths.

“Get on my back, Enoki.” Seeing him look up to meet his own eyes, he tried to give a reassuring smile. “You have a plan, right? Save your energy. I’ll be your transportation.”

It didn’t take much to convince him at that point since it was the most convenient route to take. Withdrawing only his wings, he made sure Law was as comfortable as he could get before advancing any further. Law held Kikoku with his one good hand, resting all his weight against Arden.

With every jump, he could hear Law’s breath becoming irregular just the slightest in cohesion with the movement. Compared to when Arden carried him back in Green Bit, his breathing was much more jarring.

“I’ll tell you what I know,” Arden said, intent with every word he spoke. “Although Luffy’s able to use Haki after ten minutes pass by, he’ll still be exhausted. Physically, he won’t be able to do much. He’ll have to end this whole fight in a single punch.”

“That’s what I figured,” Law started after a few seconds, mustering up strength. Though it was no more than a murmur, it was loud enough for the brunette to hear since they were close together. “We need to make use of our time and end this as soon as possible. It won't be long until the Birdcage fully closes. We’ll be placing all our bets onto it.”

Arden gave a nod with a sound of agreement. “And you believe we’ll win, right?”

He could practically hear the smirk with the response he received. “Yeah.”

***

“Hey!” Arden called towards a group, blocking them from going any further down the road. “Give Luffy to us.”

“Who are you?!” The man who was carrying Luffy on his back said. That’s when he noticed the man Arden was carrying. “T… T-T-Trafalgar Law! The Sh-Sh-Shichibukai…!”

“You guys,” Law said, lifting his head up to get a better look at them. “I think you’re running too far.”

“Oh, that’s because…” The man-- who Arden remembers being the announcer guy for the colosseum tournament-- stuttered, possibly scared to be in the presence of another shichibukai since they were currently running away from another one. “Um… Um…”

“How many more minutes do we have until he’s able to use Haki?” Arden asked, almost impatiently.

“Three minutes and twenty seconds to go!”

“There’s no time to lose,” Law stated. “I’ll take him under my care from here.” Although he said that whilst being carried, which may have raised questions on the validity of that statement, his intense stare gave the confirmation the announcer guy needed.

“Okay!”

***

The loud feedback rang into Arden’s rabbit ears like nails on a chalkboard, making him wince. He was in his small form as his wounds weren’t fully cured quite yet-- the exhaustion from jumping around earlier settling in as well.

“Alright, everyone!” It was the announcer guy’s voice that boomed across the whole of Dressrosa. “It won’t be much longer! Our star will return! Everyone, do you remember?! Yes, I know you remember! About that funny and bold star that burst onto the scene… in the tournament at the Corrida Colosseum today! I remember! He tamed the killer bull that everybody feared and mowed down the towering Giant! He even knocked down the living legend, Don Chin Jao!

He’s the little gladiator who made the colosseum… I mean, the whole of Dressrosa bubble over with excitement! I’ve never before seen anyone fight so freely and make a competition as thrilling as he did! His name is… Lucy! Yes! He’s Lucy! But that was just his temporary alias! His real name is… the pirate - Straw Hat… Luffy!”

As the speech continued, Arden stayed by Luffy’s side, watching him for any sort of movement. The three of them were now on top of a building, hidden from plain view of anyone from down below.

That’s when the countdown from the civilians started.

“Luffy!” Arden said, staring at his hand that started to move. The rubber man wobbled to his feet without a word, trying to maintain his balance at the very least. “Listen, we have a plan...”

“Noo!!!” Rebecca’s voice rang out from near them, running straight towards Viola with a sword in hand. The two of them were being affected by Doflamingo’s ‘Parasite String’. “Miss Viola!!!”

“Close your eyes, Rebecca! You don’t have to see a thing! This is a bad dream! No matter what happens, forget everything! I won’t hold a grudge against you so…” the woman said in tears. “just forget it. It’s not your fault after all!”

In an instance, before Rebecca could drive the sword into the woman, Viola was replaced with Luffy who blocked the blow with haki.

“Go!” Law shouted, his hand up in a position that’s used for Shambles.

“Miss Viola, you're safe now,” Arden said as she was now where Luffy was previously.

She seemed to be in mild shock. Well, of course she would be: anyone would after being in a situation like that.

“There he is!!!!” The announcer boomed out into his microphone followed by loud chants for ‘Lucy’ by the people of Dressrosa.

“Straw Hat!” Viola said after realizing what had happened, tears continuing to stream down her face.

“Lucy came back!!! Now, please, Lucy! Knock him out with a single blow!”

It wasn’t long until Rebecca also appeared onto the rooftop after almost being killed by Doflamingo. That caught his attention, finally able to see where Law was exactly. “Humph. There you are. Well, watch closely. As your hope gets crushed.”

Even though the both of them were at their very limit, the fight was intense nevertheless. Doflamingo was the first one to attack relentlessly, even piercing through Luffy’s Haki before being knocked into a wall with great force. The attacks didn’t stop there.

Rebecca and Viola looked on with horror, afraid for the worse. Arden sat at the edge of the rooftop, watching with wide eyes as Luffy came out of the wall, moving strangely as he was being controlled by Parasite String.

But that was Doflamingo’s big mistake: not going straight in for the kill.

Activating Fourth Gear: Boundman once more, Luffy was able to break the marionetting easily, taking the fight into the sky. Both using one final move, clashed together, causing a huge whiplash across the whole country. Arden could barely stay on his feet with his tiny body because of it. It seemed that they were going head toe to toe, not one breaking or the other. Yet within seconds after, Doflamingo was shot down from the sky, the buildings and land below crashing to ruin as well.

Everyone went into shock at the revelation of what had just occurred.

Needing to snap himself out of the trance, Arden shouted, “Enoki, prepare a Room! I won’t be able to carry Luffy for long!”

Confusing the three others on the roof, he didn’t give room for questions before jumping off of the building. Turning half-form mid fall, he started to dash towards where Luffy stayed afloat in the air, still in Fourth Gear. Just as he got close to the other, his body started to deflate. Catching Luffy in his arms, Arden was glad the other wasn’t particularly tall or heavy. He could have left Law to warp him to safety, but the Room he would have to create would eat up his stamina more than Arden would hope for.

Steam came out of Luffy’s body, him being completely unconscious. Arden stared at the young man and the multitude of injuries he had procured in both fascination and relief. “Thank you, Luffy. You performed another miracle.” Despite the undeniable heat, Arden tightened the hold he had on him, bringing Luffy closer to his chest, afraid he might somehow slip away if he let down his guard even the slightest.

“Shambles!”

“Lucy!”

“Straw Hat…”

Placing the body down carefully, Arden gave a beaming smile towards the two ladies who had tears in their eyes. “He did it.”

“Look at the sky, Dressrosa!” The announcer boomed, referring to the Birdcage. “What’s fading? The Birdcage… or Doflamingo’s domination?! I-is the scenery that was outside of the cage… a town that’s been sliced up? Or… a free land where no one will manipulate us anymore?! The ‘Dressrosa Defensive War’! 2,000 members of the Donquixote Family, the pirate group… versus the fateful warriors who happened to arrive! The duel between their leaders! Versus… the Shichibukai - Donquixote Doflamingo… versus… the gladiator- Lucy!"

Sobs were then clearly audible. “Dah vinner… dah vinner… dah vinner… dah vinner is…'' more sobs as he tried to go through with his final sentence. “Dah… Dah… Dah… The winner is.... The winner is…! LUCY!!!” A loud eruption of cheers sounded out at the relief of their victory.

***

***

***

“That’s unnecessary,” Law said as Arden wrapped a piece of fabric from his own shirt around the arm where it was severed. Blood had been dripping down his arm for quite a while now.

“... It’s bleeding through the bandages,” he gave an oddly quiet reply. “I know you’re a doctor and all but… how can you be so stupid?!”

The sudden change in tone surprised Law but it was quickly replaced with a scowl. “Your wounds also haven’t healed completely.”

“Forget about me. I can heal them on my own whenever. I won’t die as easily,” Arden returned the look, tying the knot of the makeshift bandage. “Even back in the Sunflower Field, you didn't think I noticed you leaning on your injured arm to look at the fight that was happening in town? You know I would have been willing to carry you if you had just asked-- You’re supposed to be smart, aren’t you?!”

Hearing himself being lectured at, the pirate couldn’t help but to give a glare, prepared to fire back with a few choice words of his own. Yet his expression changed when he saw tears drip down from Arden’s cheeks.

It wasn’t long until the brunette became a blubbering mess, snot and all.

“I knew we would win but I couldn’t help myself from worrying. I couldn’t stop you from getting your arm severed off, and you went through so much pain,” he uttered out airily through his sobs. Wiping the never ending tears away with his hands, he managed to whimper out, “I’m glad you’re still alive, Law. I really am. Luffy too-- I’m glad everyone’s safe now.”

Arden couldn’t help but to be reminded of the tragic past the man has, nor could he shake off the image of the young boy Law once was in front of him. He almost wanted to reach his hands out and hold Law into a hug, but restrained himself from doing so, closing his eyes tightly as he tried to stop the tears from flowing out. On top of the overall stress he had to deal with through this whole ordeal, it wasn’t hard to understand why he would let it all out.

“Usagi-ya,” he said in a tone Arden hadn't heard him speak before.

Opening his eyes, he witnessed a truly rare sight through thick tears:

Law gave the faintest of a warm smile.

“You did well.”

.

Chapter Text

.

“So you’ve been living on top of a hill,” Law said, now properly bandaged up, looking around the cozy and modest house. Luffy was bandaged from head to toe and took up the only bed in the house, sleeping soundly away.

“It was convenient for me and Scarlet,” Kyros replied, carrying a pile of folded up blankets “Sorry, but my place isn’t as good as the Palace.”

“It’ll do.”

“We’re thankful for your hospitality,” Arden quickly added, small daggers shot towards the surgeon though it went unnoticed. The artist was still in his small form, not wanting to take up too much space on the already tiny house for the amount of people in it currently.

“There’s one for each,” Kyros placed them down on the floor. “Help yourself.”

“Law-dono,” Kin’emon pointed at a passed out blonde who was also bandaged from head to toe. He had great scarring on his face. Bellamy… “Who is this man that you brought here earlier?”

“He’s somebody Mugiwara-ya knows. I picked him up.”

“I’m sorry but I’m gonna turn in first,” Kyros said, laying down, resting his head against a makeshift pillow consisting of books. “If you’re hungry, you can eat anything in the house. I think there’s only dried meat, though.”

Usopp gave a chuckle. “When Luffy wakes up, it'll be gone in a second.” Arden gave a nod at that, the word ‘Meat’ audible from Luffy’s sleep talking. The long nosed man turned his attention back to Kyros only to find he was already passed out. “Hey, you fell asleep so quickly! You, too?!” he referred to Law who was also fast asleep, snoring.

“You fell asleep in an instant, too,” Franky noted after seeing Usopp being the next to hit the hay. Even he sustained damage, his left eye now red and exposed to reveal the metal underside. Though to Arden it made him look otherworldly-- in a good way.

“I’m sure everybody was tired,” Robin replied.

“I guess they’re not gonna wake up for a while.”

“We should let them have a good rest now.”

“Zoro, pass me some meat,” Arden said, somewhat drooling at the thought of food. Nothing to end a day full of stress and near death experiences than to chow down on some grub.

Rummaging around the cupboard, Zoro let Arden squeeze in-between his arms to see what was inside of it himself. “Boy, he has no booze here--” the green-haired man stopped after sensing the presence of a stranger at the door, hand on his sword. Everyone else who was awake also reacted to it.

Arden on the other hand only continued to stare at the unopened jar of dried meat. “Hey, hurry up!”

“Who is it?!”

The door creaked open, revealing the person. Zoro started to go on the offense, but was stopped when a bottle of beer was thrown his way. “Here.”

“Sabo!” Robin smiled, getting up from her seat.

The mysterious man gave a friendly smile. He wore steam-punk Victorian clothing with a tophat and metal pipe at his side-- his preferred weapon. The blonde had eyes that were similar to Luffy’s, the only real difference being the scarring on the left side of his face. “Yo.”

“You know him?” Zoro asked.

“He’s... Luffy's brother!”

“What?!”

“Yunno, the one he was crying about when we were talking on the Den Den Mushi,” Arden said, grabbing the jar down to the ground with his two paws. “He was talking about Sabo.”

“Ah… wait, how do you know that?!”

Not wanting to answer that question, he turned his attention to one of the two samurai, pushing the glass container towards him. “Kin’emon, open the jar for me. I don’t have opposable thumbs right now.” He gave a slight glance to the Samurai with pink hair, Kanjuro, the one which Kin’emon was trying to find in Dressrosa. He couldn't help but to glare at him, though it was not entirely noticeable to others. It was hard for Arden to maintain a face other than hostility whenever he looked at him.

Of course he would-- he knew of Kanjuro's secret after all.

***

“So you know him from the Revolutionary Army?” Franky asked Robin, his tiny yellow hands out and about to fix his exposed eye.

“Yes,” she said with a smile, excited about his presence. She then got up, saying, “Luffy--”

“Robin, you don’t have to wake him up,” Sabo said in a quiet voice, seated on the bed both Luffy and Usopp were sleeping in. “I just came to see his face before I leave.”

“Are you leaving the country already?” Robin asked, sitting back down onto her chair.

“Yeah. Because some troublesome people are headed back here.”

“Who are they?” Franky asked.

“CP-0. They played a part in Doflamingo’s deception. They’re targeting us.” As he spoke, Zoro and Arden ate the dried meat in silence, the other deeply invested with what Sabo was saying. The moment Zoro put down the alcohol, Arden took a sip of it as well to help down the food. It was hard to drink it, but by using all four of his paws, he made do. “Dressrosa will get crowded in a day or two. You guys should leave as soon as possible, too.”

Robin gave a smile. “Thank you for telling us.”

“Either way,” Zoro said. “We’re not gonna stay here for long. And what’s more, I didn’t know he had another brother besides Ace.”

“You’re right. I’ve never heard of it,” Franky agreed.

Sabo gave a glance towards his sleeping brother. “I bet so. I think it surprised Luffy the most.”

“Hm? What do you mean by that?”

“I was presumed dead for a long time.”

That caught everyone’s attention. Robin, having a somber look as though she knew of what he was talking about. Arden only stared at the blonde’s face, images of what he saw on screen about his backstory flashing before him. Again, he felt that what was happening was all too surreal.

“I was always with Luffy and Ace when I was a kid. We ran around like wild and had it hard because of that old man, Garp. and we dreamed about becoming pirates… we exchanged cups of sake to become brothers. But I got involved in an accident one day.” He then shook his head, gingerly touching his scar. “I mean an incident.”

He told them what happened on that fateful day: how he was nearly drowned and saved by Dragon, losing memories prior to that event, his childhood henceforth being in the Revolutionary Army, and the news about Ace ultimately being the catalyst for him to regain his lost memories.

“At that moment, I felt Ace said to me, ‘You’re Sabo. you’re Luffy’s and my brother.’ That’s why I…”

“Wait a moment!” Zoro suddenly said.

“What do you want?!” Kin’emon exclaimed, tears in his eyes. “Don’t interrupt now!”

“You…”

“What?”

Arden gasped. “Kin’emon! You ate all the meat!”

“And why did you finish the bottle?!” Zoro grabbed onto the samurai’s gi’s collars. “It’s empty!”

“I can’t listen to such a story without drinking!”

“Woah-woah, both of you…” Kanjuro tried to break it up, but Arden hopped onto Zoro’s shoulders slapping Kin’emon straight in his face with an ear.

He fumed enough that steam came out of him. “I can’t believe you! We shouldn’t have let you touch them!”

“Well, we don’t need alcohol,” Robin said. “But we’ll be in trouble without food when Luffy wakes up.”

“All of our crew eat so much!” Franky added, tears in his eyes from hearing the tragic story Sabo gave.

“I’ll go and get groceries later with Kin’emon,” Kanjuro offered, earning a glare from Arden.

“Thank you!” Robin said.

Zoro raised up the empty wine bottle. “Get some booze, too.”

“Luffy’s friends are funny,” Sabo said to Robin with a smile.

“You’ll never get bored.”

Franky wiped the salty water drops out of his eyes. “Hey, I wanna hear the rest already!”

“Alright,” Sabo said before giving the conclusion they were waiting for. About how he met Luffy back in the Colosseum, how the rubber boy didn’t believe he was alive after all this time. But when the realization hit, he became a blubbering mess, endless tears flowing as the reality hit that he didn’t lose both his brothers.

“Luffy…” Franky said, waterfalls coming out from both his eyes. “He’s laughing.”

“I wonder what kind of dream he’s having,” Zoro said.

On that note, Sabo then got up from the bed. “I’m leaving now.”

“Already?” Robin asked.

“I got to see his face so… here,” he said, walking over to hand Zoro a blank page. “I made a Vivre Card of Luffy’s just in case.”

“Eeehh, when did you have time for that?” Zoro asked, holding up the paper.

“I’ll take a piece of it,” Sabo answered, ripping a corner of it off. “Luffy might be a bit much for you to handle, but take good care of him.”

“Yeah!” Franky said, still a sobbing mess, the left side of his face short-circuiting due to the water exposure. “You can count on us!”

Robin gave a wave of a goodbye herself.

“Sabo!” Arden called out before he could make it out the door. After catching his attention, Arden hopped onto his shoulder, giving a whisper. “Be careful about Burgess.”

“Burgess?” Sabo asked curiously, unsure of who that was.

“The guy that wears that mask you fought-- the one who tried to attack Luffy.”

“Ah, him? I dealt with him, though. He shouldn’t be a threat now.”

“Don’t underestimate him. He’s a sneaky one.”

Eyeing the creature for a second, the blonde then smiled. “Alright then. I’ll keep it in mind. Thanks, bat-rat.”

“You’re welc-- Bat-rat?!” Arden jumped up in a hiss. “What part of me looks like a bat or a rat?! Hey, are you listening to me?!”

***

Arden's never been one to sleep-talk nor has he ever been one to snore when sleeping. 

But after dealing with several near death experiences whilst also helping in the defeat of an evil ruler...

Well, exhaustion got the better of him.

“Thirty more minutes…” Arden murmured, tossing and turning around in his blanket despite the obvious food that was near him.

“Aren’t you hungry?!” Usopp tried to shake the wolpertinger awake.

“We’ll have a banquet later… Banquet...zzzz…”

“What are you talking about? Heeeyy, c’mon! We’ll be leaving soon!”

“Leave him be,” Zoro said. “He’s not gonna wake up like that.”

“The total opposite of a certain someone,” the sniper eyed Luffy who was both sleeping and eating at impressive rapid changing intervals.

“Ee molla ketchupon Wanji’z group, woo, ina buwwy! (We gotta catch up to Sanji’s group, too, in a hurry!)” The captain weeped out with a stuffed face before half snoring another bite down.

“Get mad or cry or rush or sleep or eat!” Zoro snapped angrily. “Do one at a time! You’re so restless!”

He slammed a fist onto the table, raging to nobody in particular, “Rebecca’s father is that soldier man…! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.”

“You’re not fully recovered!” It was Usopp’s turn to yell at him. “Don’t get greedy and get more sleep! Look at Arden! Fully knocked out!”

“Ay dunder! Oo wradap dacha eye?! (By thunder! Who would make up such a lie?!)”

“King of the Court...” Arden snored out, burying his face hidden.

***

“Hey, hey! We don’t have time to think!” Bartolomeo yelled. “Let’s just run, war buddies! Alright, let’s go!”

“Ah, Zoro…?” Arden yawned after being picked up by the scruff of his neck by the swordsman. “What’s happening…?”

“The Navy,” he answered.

“Mmm… that’s nice…”

“Shoot!” A man yelled the moment they exited the house, gunshots endlessly firing towards them.

“AH, MARINES!!!!” Arden snapped his eyes wide open, flailing around in the air as he nearly got hit by a bullet. “THIS IS A NIGHTMARE!! Someone wake me up!!”

“Oops!” Bartolomeo said before crossing his fingers together. “Let me handle this! Barrier!” Instantly, a blue transparent wall appeared, blocking the gunshots from where it was being shot from. “Okay, this way, everybody!”

I just wanted to wake up in my bed at two in the afternoon like always!!! Why?!?!?! Arden silently cried as he saw the Marines starting to chase after them.

“You’ll be in deep trouble if you run into Fujitora! Whatever you do, don’t get separated! What?! Mister Luffy?!”

Luffy had stopped in his tracks, finishing off the chicken bone he had in his hand. “I’ve got something to do so just go ahead!”

“What?!”

“Luffy!” Zoro called out as the Captain ran off. “We don’t have much time! Go finish your business in a hurry! We’ll wait for you at the east port!”

“Say Hi to her for me!” Arden said as well, watching his figure get smaller.

“Let’s hurry!” Zoro said.

“Mister Zoro, you’re heading south!” Bartolomeo said. “But even that aspect of you is cool!”

“Zoro!” Arden barked, wiggling around still in his grasp. “You’re going the wrong way again! How hard is it to follow them?!”

“Ah, shuddup!” he responded. “I wasn’t getting lost!”

“If you get lost, that’s fine. But don’t take me with you!”

“Good thing we’re not getting lost then.”

“You were a second ago!”

To help prevent Zoro from going astray again, it seemed Bartolomeo had prepared a ‘This Way Come Here’ flag to wave around as they were making their way through the town. “Hey! This way, everybody!”

Due to the tough terrain from what happened two days ago, it wasn’t hard to misstep. They didn’t make it through the town long before one of them tripped.

“Mister Soge King!” Bartolomeo yelled, looking back. “Even when you fall down, you look cool!”

“Is it really safe to run through the town like this?!” Usopp wailed after getting back up and resumed running with the group.

“Don’t worry! Let’s hurry up!”

A wave of Marine soldiers bounded from a corner, their guns raised up straight at them. Before they could shoot, however, they were swept off the floor. “Go ahead!” Cavendish said as he fended off more foes riding on top of his horse. Oh, good thing the horse is safe. “Straight to the port!”

“Thanks!” Usopp said.

“Don’t waste my time telling me about your gratitude!” Sai said, appearing in the scene. “Debt after debt! We have too much to repay!”

And so, more and more of the IDD group came to help their run through the town be a lot more efficient.

“Y'all are doing great!” Arden cheered.

“Keep running!” The green-haired fanboy yelled once they exited the town, heading towards the portside. “We’ll be there soon!

***

“Luffy isn’t here yet?” Usopp asked when most of the pirates gathered around the East Port.

“Trafalgar Law’s not here, either!”

“What are both of our bosses doing?!”

“There are some enemies that can’t be held back even by us…”

“Fujitora’s coming,” Arden said, his hearing picking up movement that came from the town. Hearing that, Zoro dropped him down, hands at the ready on his swords.

“Fujitora!!!” Usopp screeched, absolute horror on his face.

“The unwanted one’s here!” Bartolomeo followed, the Admiral’s figure now fully visible, revealing himself to be flying on a rock. “Mister Luffy, hurry up!”

“Wh-wh-wh-wh-what should we do?!”

Zoro whipped one of his blades out with a smirk. “Only one thing to do!” Swiping the air, the rock Fujitora was shattered to pieces. The man himself dodged it with ease, continuing to approach them in a walk.

“Mister Zoro!” Bartolomeo ran in front of said man before a second blade could be presented out. “You and your friends should stand back! Leave it…”

“... Up to us!” Cavendish finished the sentence, pulling out his sword, the rest of the IDD readying to fight as well.

“My barrier! Break it if you can!” he said with crossed fingers.

“Oh, is that a barrier?” the blind man said, stopping in his tracks. “Looks like this’ll be real tough.” he then took his sword out of its sheath by only mere inches, yet a powerful aura was already launched.

“Wh-what?!” Usopp yelled.

“Dude’s insane,” Arden breathed out as he watched the rubble of fallen buildings and cracked roads start to float up in the air, making their way towards where they were. In less than ten seconds, over half the city’s ruins were high above the ground.

“Well…” Fujitora said, his sword now fully out. The entire area was engulfed in darkness as the large mass covered the sun from shining through. “I guess nobody’s using all of this. It’s what’s left after those hideous pirates fought.”

“Don’t tell me he’s gonna use it as a weapon?!” One of the IDD members said.

“A barrier that only covers a limited area won’t stand a chance against this!”

“Is he crazy?!”

“That’s not fair!”

“Hey, you guys!” Law ran towards them. “Wherever you are, we’re all at risk! Go to the port and set sail!”

Cavendish nodded. “Okay! Trafal-- Gah! Law!” His tone then turned into a shout. “We’ve been waiting for you and Straw Hat! Where were you?!”

“Everybody, run to the ship!” Sai instructed. “Prepare to sail out!”

“Yeah!”

“Hurry up! Prepare to sail out!”

“Run! Run!”

“I don’t mind running to the ship, but…” Zoro started. “I don’t think he’ll let us get away.”

Fujitora… c’mon. Just let us free! Arden sobbed silently, knowing he was a good character in his books.

“Ah!” Usopp exclaimed, pointing in a direction. “There! There he is! Luffy!”

“Mister Luffy!” Bartolomeo waved his hands once he saw the boy running towards them from far away. “Hurry up!”

“Straw Hat!”

“Everybody’s here! Run to the ship!”

“Mister Luffy! Watch out for Fujitora right there! Mister Luffy! Hurry up! Dodge him somehow!”

“Don’t worry about him,” Arden mumbled.

“Hey, you old gambler man!” Luffy shouted. “Do you remember me?!”

“I was expecting you, Straw Hat!”

“I’m gonna punch you! Gum-Gum… Elephant Gun!”

No one expected him to go for the Navy Admiral as boldly as that.

“M-M-M-M-M-Mister Luffy!!!!” Bartolomeo shouted. “He’s one of the Navy HQ’s greatest military powers-- a Navy Admiral! What are you doing?!”

“Punching him,” Arden replied as if it was obvious, nodding at the scene as Luffy retracted his hand from the punch after delivering it.

“ ‘Take him down someday’ isn’t good enough anymore!” Luffy answered. “Even if he’s a Navy Admiral, why should I run?! I would’ve done that until two years ago but not anymore! Even a Navy Admiral or a Yonkō, I gotta beat them all! Otherwise… I can't become the King of the Pirates!”

“Well, that’s kind of true,” Franky said.

“Okay, Luffy!” Usopp resigned to accept his captain’s decision. “Since it’s come to this, just fight it out!”

“What?! Mister Usopp, even you?! Are you sure?! He’s a Navy Admiral!”

“I’ll go all out!” Luffy announced, activating Second Gear. “Old man!”

“Fine, I’ll do all I can to capture you, too! Prepare yourself!”

“I’m gonna punch you!”

Arden scratched his head as the fight commenced, sitting on the ground. Everyone seemed to be confused with the way the rubber man was announcing his moves before delivering them. “Luffy’s evening out the match.” He caught everyone’s attention.

“But why would Mister Luffy do that?!”

He gave a smile. “This isn’t like fighting Doflamingo to him.”

“I’m gonna kick you!” Luffy announced, pulling a punch. “Oh, my mistake! I meant ‘punch’! Sorry, Old man!”

“Don’t worry,” Fujitora replied. “It didn’t even graze my body.”

The fight continued in the same fashion until it seemed that the Navy Admiral couldn’t take it anymore, clashing his blade with Luffy’s Haki infused fist. “What exactly have you been doing all this time?! Announcing ‘kick you’ or ‘punch you’... are you taking pity on me?! I’m a Navy HQ admiral! Everyone says I’m like a monster! I don’t want anybody to go easy on me after all these years! Does it bother you that a blind man is on the battlefield?! If you wanted to make me mad, you succeeded! I’ll chop off your head before you know it!”

“Shut up!” Luffy yelled. “I just can’t attack a blind man like you without saying a word! Because I don’t dislike you!”

The older man suddenly burst out laughing, causing the younger to fall back. “What’s so funny?! You jerk! I’m gonna kick you!”

How torn he must be... This big ol' teddy bear. Arden could basically feel the deep regret Fujitora was emitting-- the fact he had to carry out his duties as part of the Navy even against his own desires.

“Gravity Blade!”

“Oh, shit! Run away!” Zoro shouted.

“Raging Tiger!” The area where everyone was gathered soon turned into a pile of trash, a hole made right through the stone wall that was behind them. Had they not ran away, they would have surely been done for right then and there.

“There’s Straw Hat, Hajrudin!” Cavendish pointed up as Luffy flew in the air from the impact of the attack.

“Hey!” Luffy yelled when Hajrudin caught him with a hand. “Let go of me, Giant!”

“Take him to the ship!”

“Alright, Luffy!” Zoro grinned from ear to ear, hands on his swords. “It’s my tur--”

“No, you won’t!” Arden jumped in the air and slapped him in the face before he could finish his sentence.

“Please stop, Mister Zoro!” Bartolomeo pleaded. “We have our own arrangement!”

“ ‘Arrangement’?” Zoro asked.

“There are ships waiting for us,” the creature explained. “No time to fight. Let’s go!”

The makeshift water bridge one of the IDD group’s crew made was certainly impressive as it stretched along for kilometers. Besides the bridge were well built ships ready to sail off when needed. Luffy was still complaining about needing to fight, despite everyone’s obvious protests to it.

“Whatever you do, don’t look up!” Arden warned as they continued running.

“What do you me-- Yaaaahhhh!!!!” Usopp shrieked, seeing the large mass of rubble being moved to where the ships were being docked at, a large shadow being casted over the group already. “Where should we run?! I don’t wanna get defeated by garbage!”

“Hah, that would be funny, wouldn’t it?” Arden laughed slightly, seeing the beginnings of rubble being projected straight towards them. Yet the attack was stopped for some reason. Right on time, Dressrosa.

“It’s not coming down!” Usopp observed, having braced for the worst to come.

“What is it?! It’s noisy back there!”

“It’s the people of Dressrosa! What do they want?!”

Sure enough, hundreds if not thousands of people started to appear in the port from town, yelling out threats towards them.

“Don’t let him get away!”

“We won’t forgive you, you damn pirates!”

“Save Miss Rebecca!”

“I’m gonna start crying,” Arden sobbed slightly, his vision blurring from tears forming. Everyone else seemed to have caught on about the people’s plan as the large mass stopped by the edge of the port, waving and saying their good-byes. As long as innocent civilians were present, Fujitora couldn’t unleash the weapon he created.

***

“Now, look at that!” Bartolomeo presented once they got in front of a certain ship.

“Oh, it’s huge!” various Straw Hats mused.

“This is the largest ship I’ve ever seen,” Arden breathed out in amazement at the size and overall beauty of it.

“Isn’t the ship great?!”

“It’s not yours!” Cavendish shouted at the rooster-head.

The Yontamaria. Incredible. Wow, look at those etchings on the window frames--!

“Hurry up and get on board!” Bartolomeo continued. “This is a state of emergency! I’ll show you my ship later! You’ll be surprised!”

“It’s fashioned after the Straw Hats, isn’t it?” Arden asked with a smug expression.

“Wh-Wha--” he looked shocked before crouching down and whisper-yelled, sweat forming on his face. “How do you know that?!”

“Pretty obvious, if you ask me,” he huffed out proudly.

“Y-you even know about--”

“The tangerine trees? Yep.”

“And even--”

“The homage to the Going Merry? Yep.”

Bartolomeo looked at the small being with bulging eyes, not believing what he was hearing. “Does Mister Luffy know?!”

“Nah, none of the Straw Hats know,” he hummed, completely amused with the expression he was receiving. “I’ll keep it a secret just for you.”

***

“What are you guys talking about?” Luffy asked towards the IDD group. “Do whatever you want!”

“Well,” one of the IDD members started, everyone now safely situated on The Yontamaria. “The fact is, we totally hit it off while we were staying at the Palace for two days!”

“Huh?”

“I’ll explain! For your information, we decided the order by lot. First, the Beautiful Pirates, 75 members! The representative is its captain, ‘White Horse’ Cavendish!

Next, the Barto Club, 56 members! The captain is ‘Man-Eating’ Bartolomeo!

The Happosui Army, about 1000 members! The 13th leader is… Don Sai!

The XXX Gym Fighting Alliance, 4 members! The representative is ‘Destruction Cannon’ Ideo!

The Tontatta’s Tonta Corps, 200 members! The leader is Leo the Warrior!

Just five members now! The future Giant Pirates! The captain is Hajrudin!

And I’m… the commodore of the Yontamaria Fleet, 4300 members! The ‘Adventuring Pioneer’ - Orlumbus!”

“H-Hey…” Luffy said when Bartolomeo came up from the representative lineup, going down on his knees.

“A big troop of 5600 people in total!” he announced. “Mister Luffy! Will you exchange cups of sake as father and sons… with us seven representatives?!”

“Father and sons?!”

“That’s right! You’ll be the boss and we’ll be your followers! Will you take us under the umbrella of the Straw Hat Pirates?!”

“Now, we’ll exchange cups of sake as a parent and sons!” Orlumbus said.

Bartolomeo now held a rather obscenely large bottle of alcohol in his hands. “That’s right!” Pouring cups for each of the representatives, Luffy only looked on with a large frown. Even more so when the large cup of sake for the ‘parent’ was filled right in front of where he was. “Alright, we’ll exchange father-and-son vows to inaugurate Mister Luffy as our boss and us seven as his followers… Please take the cup, Mister Luffy.”

“I’m not gonna drink this,” he said with a smile.

All seven of them were shocked. “What?!”

“I thought so,” Zoro smiled, along with the rest of the Straw Hats, Arden nodding in agreement.

“I don’t like this sake much,” Luffy started.

“No, it’s not about the taste!” Bartolomeo explained. “It’s about the vow! From now on you’ll be targeted by big names because of the incident on this island! When that happens, it doesn’t matter how strong you all are, it’s gonna be a tough battle!” As he spoke, the other six nodded. “But since you saved us, we can help you at those times!”

“But if I drink this, I’ll become the grand captain of this grand fleet, right?”

“That’s right. If you have 5600 subordinates in total, you’ll finally be one of the greatest pirates! You’ll become the King of the Pirates eventually! If you wanna conquer the world, this won’t be enough though.”

“ ‘Conquer’?” Arden raised an eyebrow at that word, chortling at the absurdity of it.

“You’d better stop!” Zoro said to the seven of them. “That line of reasoning won’t work on him. Anyway… pour this into a beer mug,” he pointed at the sake. “I’ll drink it.”

Arden clicked his tongue. “Hey, at least share it with us.”

“Like I said, we’re not doing this to enjoy the taste!”

“Why, Straw Hat?! Why aren’t you happy to amass such a great military force?!” Hajruldin asked. “Doesn’t matter how strong your enemy is-- he can’t compete against the force in numbers! I’m sure you’ll need our help someday like we needed you!”

Luffy’s frown only further deepened. “I need my space!”

“What?!” All seven of them exclaimed. “He looks so annoyed!”

“That aside, aren’t they preparing for a banquet in the back?”

“He’s interested in eating at a time like this?!” Ideo said.

“Screw you, Straw Hat! I’m a star and more experienced than you but I’m saying I’ll fly under your flag!”

“Let’s force him to drink it!”

“You don’t know how strong we are, you damn liberator!”

“Ah, this seems oddly familiar,” Arden slightly squinted his eyes. “Deja vu, much?”

“You can’t talk to him like that if you’re his follower!” Usopp snapped.

“So what?!”

“Cut the crap!”

Usopp immediately shrank back. “Sorry…”

“Listen!” Luffy yelled. “I just wanna become the King of the Pirates! I don’t wanna become someone important!”

Silence fell before the seven men tilted their heads to the side in pure confusion.

“Hey,” Law said. “What is he talking about?”

Zoro went ahead and grabbed a handful of the sake, tasting it. “This is pretty good stuff.”

“Use a cup!” Usopp yelled. “You have bad manners!”

“Did you even wash your hands?!” Arden shrieked, horrified at what he did.

“Oh!” Franky perked up. “Let me try! Give me some!”

“I’d like to have a little bit, too,” Robin chuckled.

Seeing as how his crewmates were on board with it, Usopp gave a smile. “Okay, I’ll have some, too!”

“You’re right! It’s good!”

“Isn’t it?!”

“Mister Luffy! What did you mean by that?”

The rubber man stretched his arms to get himself onto a higher railing before addressing everyone, “Guys! When we think we’re in danger, we’ll shout for you so come save us! I don’t have to be the boss or a great pirate, do I? When you guys are in trouble, call us! We’ll come help you no matter what! I’ll never forget that we fought together against Mingo!”

“I’m starting to understand what he’s saying,” Bartolomeo thought out loud, tears forming in the corner of his eyes. “And what it means to be the King of Pirates to him! He’d rather be free than just important!”

Suddenly, a whizzing sound came followed by a large splash of water.

“What was that?!”

“Somebody’s firing at us!”

“Is it the Navy?!”

“It can’t be!” Leo said. “We’ve sewn their warships together tightly!”

“They’re pirates with a grudge,” Arden said, watching and hearing more cannons being fired towards them.

“Let Columbus take command!” Orlumbus said to one of his men. “We’re still busy here! Whoever it is, get rid of them!”

“Yes, sir!”

“People of Dressrosa! Get back to the land! It’s dangerous!”

“But if we’re not here, Fujitora will attack him!”

“Fire back!”

Turning back to his human form, Arden rushed over to the side of the ship, watching the rubble start to fall from the sky. None of them were directed towards them however-- but to the enemy pirate ships.

He gave a large grin at the display, whispering, “Thank you, Fujitora.”

“Freedom… freedom… that’s what Mister Luffy wants… in that case, I admire you even more, Mister Luffy!”

Hajurldin gave a laugh. “So do I! Hey, Bartolomeo! Make the oath! He doesn’t have to drink out of the parent’s cup.”

“He’s right.”

“You can do whatever you want-- so can we.”

“You can’t take away our freedom, either!”

Leo, being the naive one, said, “Oh, really?”

“Mister Luffy!” Bartolomeo started once all seven were seated down, holding the cups in their hands. “Allow me to make a brief oath!”

“An oath?” Luffy asked, confused, whilst the rest of the Straw Hats looked at the sake thirstfully.

“Here it goes, Mister Luffy. We now become Straw Hat Mister Luffy’s followers and we’ll be his shield or pike in all weather! To repay him for what he did this time, we seven will… drink out of these Sons’ Cups of our own volition, devoting our lives and souls!”

“Sons’ cups?!” Before he knew it, all seven of them drank the sake dry, causing Luffy to drop his jaw in shock. “What’re you guys doing?!”

The rest of the men on the ship cheered at the sealed oath. “Now we’re formally…”

“Hurry up and prepare for the banquet!”

“Celebrate the formation of the Straw Hat Fleet with over 5600 crew in total!”

“YEAH!!”

“Food! Food!” Arden shouted in glee, seeing the display of meals being presented out like there was no tomorrow.

“Hey!” Luffy said. “I never drank out of this cup! Although it’s empty for some reason…!”

“Man,” Zoro said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Kin’emon, Kanjuro, and Usopp right behind him did the same. “That was good!”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Sai said. “Nothing has changed for you. We just decided to go ahead and swear our loyalty to you. And when something happens to you, we’ll be there risking our lives of our own will. You’ll lose nothing by having us, right? Now take a good look and remember our faces--”

“He already left!” Arden said, seeing Luffy dash towards the food, skipping towards it himself. He pumped a fist into the air as Luffy yelled that he wasn’t their boss and that he didn’t give any order to set sail. “First meal of the day, let’s go!!”

“Alright, guys!” Luffy shouted, raising a mug into the air. “In the battle against the Mingo Family, we… won!”

“Yeah!” Everyone roared out into a loud, thunderous cheer.

“Cheers, Pretty Boy!” Arden gave a wide grin, presenting his mug out and clacked it with the captain’s. Gulping down a large mouthful of alcohol, he then chowed down on an equally large bite of chicken that was in his other hand.

Another arc successfully done!

He couldn’t help but to feel pure relief as he watched all of the Straw Hats and allies alike continue to party joyously with one another. His eyes twinkled with emotions he didn’t know how to quite express with words.

“Ardeland,” Leo came over to him. “It was fun fighting besides you! We’ll meet again, right?”

The smile he had on slightly dropped at that question. No, we probably won’t. I don’t belong here, after all. However, he gave a nod instead, his lips curving upwards. “For sure! Cheers!”

***

“Luffy! Cheers!” Arden shouted towards the rubber man, his belly having expanded three times at this point.

“Arden! Cheers!” he returned it, giving a wide smile. “Mingo’s down and we can feast! This is great!”

He nodded, glad to see Luffy up and about as lively as he was. "It was tough as hell but I’m glad you guys pulled through it.”

Luffy made a confused noise as he gulped down a bite. “You too, Arden!”

He blinked, unsure of what to make of it. Tilting his head, he couldn't help but to furrow his brows in confusion. “Me?”

“Of course!" the younger man said matter-of-factly. "Without you it would have been a lot harder.”

“I doubt it.” Would have played out exactly the same without me in it. That’s how the series works.

“Stop lying!” Luffy angrily chewed on a piece of meat. “Without you, or Torao, or Zoro, or everyone else, Mingo wouldn’t have been defeated." He pointed the drum stick out towards the other with a rather cute expression. "Got it?!”

Arden gave a small nod before handing him another drumstick which Luffy gladly took in his free hand. “Yeah, I got it. Thank you.”

Luffy frowned, detecting that he wasn’t being truthful. Though he didn't say anything as he kept on eating. 

"I'm serious!" the artist huffed out, hating that he was about to crumble under Luffy's stare. 

He only gave a deeper frown, pouting almost. Taking a large bite, he swallowed it in seconds before saying, "Liar."

Damn his high EQ, I swear to god-- 

"I don't know why you think you didn't do anything, because you did a whole bunch. You're strong, Arden."

He gave a silent exhale through the nose, expression falling as he couldn't keep up with the cheery façade. Arden hid it by drinking out of the large beer mug, not wanting to have Luffy read him any further.

Being complimented on only weighed it heavily on him that he was anything but that. He wasn't strong. He was scared throughout the whole ordeal.

He thought of escaping and leaving them all in Dressrosa.

He was scared of dying.

I'm sorry, Luffy.

He wasn't strong in the slightest.

***

“Oi, Arden, how many rounds did you go through this time?” Zoro called out for him when he was in his view.

“........ Threeeee,” Arden tentatively said after much effort, a little hitch in his step as he walked over to him.

“You look like you’re gonna pass out,” he snickered. “Sit down, I’ll pour you another one if you want.”

Doing just that, his eyes then travelled over to the man Zoro had in one arm. “Ah, Enoki, you’re here too.” He gave a toothy grin. “Warming up to the Straw Hats!”

“No way!” Law shot, disdain evident on his face.

“Eeeeeehhhhh,” Arden sang, clearly unconvinced, meeting eyes with Zoro who only gave a returning smile as if to agree. “Enoki,” he then said in a serious tone, sharp eyes looking into gold-coloured ones. “How strong do you think my liver is?”

“Can’t be as strong as mine,” Zoro challenged.

“How do you even know?! You’re not a doctor!”

“It’s my body!”

“That’s not how it works! Have you even taken a biology class?!”

“Haaahh? 'Biology'? That’s nerd talk.”

Law only looked at the two with a glare, half clearly not wanting to be there, and half already having an answer to Arden's question in his mind. Though of course he didn't dare to entertain them.

***

“All right! Look around as you like!” Bartolomeo said with deep pride. “This is the Barto Club’s pirate ship that’s filled with love for the Straw Hats! It’s called… The Mister Luffy Go!”

“Is this right, guys?!” Usopp exclaimed at the rather eyeful design the ship had. “It looks like Luffy’s on this ship more than ours!”

“I’m so happy to hear that!”

“It’s not a compliment!”

“Oh, look!” Luffy pointed.

“I’m glad you noticed! It was the Straw Hats’ first pirate ship and a dear friend-- the Going Merry! I duplicated its bow as a homage!”

“It has evil eyes,” Zoro said as everyone observed it.

“I want you to take a good look at this curve!” Bartolomeo was blushing with excitement, hugging the sculpted curve. “I asked a woodcrafter to duplicate Mister Luffy’s Gum-Gum hands just like the real ones!”

“Could it be…” Robin said, pointing at something.

“Yes, Miss Robin, you have a good eye! You’re right! It’s a homage to Mister Chopper’s horns!”

“Then, those orange trees are…”

“Yes! They’re a homage to the orange trees that Miss Nami took from Miss Bellemere’s grove in Cocoyashi Village!”

How do you even get that information? What?

“Sometimes oranges are just oranges!” Zoro blatantly said.

“I’m sooooo moved!” Franky tearfully confessed. “Look how nerdy those details are! Everywhere you look, you feel a sense of fun! It’s filled with super love!”

“Thank you very much, Mister Franky!” The entire Barto Club hailed.

“When you put it like that, it makes everything less creepy,” Arden sighed, touched by his words like always. If it was in his own world, something like this would have been a One Piece fan’s dream come true. But it’s the fact that it exists when they’re real people in this universe kind of… bewilders him to say the least.

“A nerd has stirred a pervert’s mind…” Usopp muttered.

“And more than anything,” Bartolomeo continued with a large grin. “What we’re thrilled about now is, in the direction this vivre card is pointing towards… We have the real Mister Luffy!”

“Hah?”

“Welcome!” The Barto Club then burst into tears. “Thank you again for coming on board this ship!”

“Boss! He’s so dazzling! I can barely see him!”

“Me, too!”

Luffy burst out laughing at their antics, Usopp, on the other hand, not having it. “So they’re all like that…”

“Sounds like one of Pretty Boy’s scenarios,” Arden thought out loud, referring to when he first saw him back in Dressrosa.

“Ah, yeah, you’re right,” Zoro agreed as that was his first encounter with him as well.

***

“Aaaahh, I had so much fun at the banquet!” Luffy reminisced. The lot of them were provided couches to sit on-- courtesy of the Barto Club. They certainly go beyond for their idols. “I like them now!”

“Bartolomeo, just hurry up and go to Zou,” Law said.

“Eh?” Bartolomeo said. “Who do you think you’re talking to…”

“I’m counting on you,” Zoro said, flipping through the newspaper in his hands.

His attitude suddenly did a 180 as he clasped both his hands together. “Okay! Leave it in my hands! Guys! Let’s head for Zou at full speed!”

“Anyway, I wonder if Sanji and the others got to the island safely,” Usopp wondered.

“Nami was with them so I’m sure navigation was fine but they were chased by Big Mom’s ship…” Franky said.

“I’m worried,” Robin finished it off.

“Nah, I’m sure they made it there fine,” Arden reassured.

Zoro then suddenly spoke. “Hey, Luffy.”

“Hah?”

“Seems like our bounties have gone up.”

“What?! Really?!” He beamed.

“Oh, you didn’t know?!” Bartolomeo blushed, a red carpet suddenly appearing to lead towards a room, the rest of the Barto Club lining up and creating an arc tunnel with their hands. “Well, I have the wanted posters of you all in my room so come on!”

“Please!” The rest of the club joined.

“Alright, I’ll go!” Luffy said.

“Hey, Trafalgar. I threw out yours but your bounty has gone up to 500 million.”

“Oh. Thanks,” Law said indifferently. “This is me caring.” As he walked away, Bartolomeo made a face towards him childishly.

Grabbing the newspaper as it was left behind, Arden sat down on the couch and read the contents inside. He could hear the cheers of the Straw Hats and their comments towards their bounty raise from inside the room even in his full human form. Humming along as he read it, he went over the contents on the topic of Dressrosa, intrigued with the way it was worded. His eyes went over to the photo of Fujitora and his men kneeling down apologetically towards King Riku and Dressrosa alike on behalf of the Navy Government. Flipping the page, he soon found the bounties of the IDD group and their increase, along with the Straw Hats’ and Law’s.

Yet his smile faltered once he saw one specific photo.

What the shit?

He looked closer.

No way.

The newspaper was practically only an inch away from his face.

What the fuck?!?!?!

There it was: A photo of him in his small form. The text underneath it in bold read:

ARDEN

PET

15 BERI

“You’re shitting me…” He breathed out in both disbelief and in relief. No way did he think he would get a bounty on his head. But thankfully, it was misleading-- he should still be able to fly under the radar unnoticed. Not to mention he only had a total of 15 Beri on his head.

This was good. One of the best outcomes.

“By the way…” He heard Luffy say even with his unenhanced hearing. “Where’s Arden’s?”

“Huh?” Everyone sounded out.

“What do you mean by that, Mister Luffy?”

Arden froze from where he sat, fearing for what’s to come. Slowly closing the newspaper, he placed it down before quietly getting up. Nice and slow. Like I never existed--

“Oi! Arden!” A hand shot past him to grab onto a piece of the couch for holding, the person it belonged to followed suit in a flash.

“Luffy, listen. I c--”

The taller man by just three inches gave a large grin followed by a ‘shishishishi’.

Arden gulped down a lump that formed in his throat, hoping to the heavens that what came out of Luffy's mouth was untrue.

“Join my crew!”

.

Chapter Text

.

Trafalgar Law was known to be the Surgeon of Death: a reputation to be seen as a feared, and even creepy man. Why would anyone ever approach him with the expectations to become acquaintances? Luffy, he understood why would be so friendly-- he saved his life back in Marineford, after all.

So what reason does the other man have?

To act so friendly as though he could see through Law’s multiple barriers. Whenever he looked into those gentle brown eyes, he felt utterly vulnerable-- like all his secrets were known.

It unnerved him.

Yet there he was, sitting next to the sleeping man while staring up at the night sky. Leaning his back against the wall, he glimpsed where the other rested. A medical box laid close to the shorter lad, and a sketchbook rested on his lap. The pencil he held rolled onto the floor from his body relaxing into a sleep-induced state.

From what golden eyes could see on the page, it seemed to be a portrait of a woman. Nico-ya? He thought, taking notice of the defined nose and long raven hair.

Visual art wasn’t something he particularly took interest in: it wasn’t something that he could find to be useful asides from navigation purposes.

However, the surgeon found himself having a deeper respect for it after seeing the brunette draw certain things for him.

It was entertaining.

~

2 days ago

~

“You haven’t talked to anyone much these days,” Arden said, opening up the medical box to bring out the gauze and disinfectant.

“Don't have any need to,” Law responded accordingly.

“Mmm, yeah,” he hummed, chuckling. “I can’t see you talking to anybody from the Barto Club. Bartolomeo doesn’t seem to like you all that much.”

With narrowed deep-set eyes, he rolled back the sleeve of his button-up t-shirt to give easier access to his injury. “That so?”

Arden snorted, inching closer with the required materials. “You’re dense, you know that? It’s pretty obvious.”

Law looked away, seemingly trying to recount instances where the green-haired fanboy showed such displays. As the other worked to redress the wound, he found himself being the one to break the silence. “Have you thought about your answer?”

“Answer?” he said, not looking up from what he was working on.

“For Mugiwara-ya.”

Delicate fingers stopped, Arden’s body tensing up at the mention of the captain’s name. “A… Ahhh... You mean that.” A pause took the air before he continued, collecting the used bandages off to the side. “... I just want to go home, that’s all.”

Hearing him say that in an unusual melancholic tone, Law wondered if there was any deeper meaning to that sentence.

“The life of adventure and all that-- it’s not for me,” the brunette continued, though the words seemed a bit disconnected. “Even if being with everyone is fun and to be able to experience things I’ve never felt before or seen things I’ve never seen before in my twenty-two years of life and--” he broke off his sentence, realizing he was getting into a territory he didn’t want to touch on. “... it’s not for me. That life isn't for me.”

Lie.

It wasn’t hard to detect when the other was lying since his heart was literally in the surgeon’s chest. He could feel every heartbeat which also meant he would notice irregularities. Since his own heart was on the Sunny, he figured he might as well keep the artist’s in him. It was also the safest there. 

“Usagi-ya…” he suddenly glared. “You forgot the water.”

“Shit,” Arden swore, eyes widening from the mistake he made, making it clear he wasn’t necessarily an expert at this. “Sorry. I forgot.”

The number of saline packets available on the Barto Club ship was sparing to none. It was surprising that they had lasted for six whole days.

Seeing him begin to panic, Law gave a small sigh off to the side. “I’ll take the gauze off. You go get the water.”

“Yeah,” the brunette smiled before scrambling up, rushing away. “I’ll remember to wash my hands again, don’t worry!”

Sighing once more, he took the thin silk fabric off which wrapped around his arm. Had it not been for the fact he couldn’t do it for himself efficiently, he would have never agreed to this.

It was during the second day of sailing on the Mister Luffy Go (honestly, it’s a ridiculous name).

Arden had caught him changing his bandages and insisted on helping. Of course, Law declined. He was doing fine.

Well, that’s what he said.

But the brunette was observational, taking notice of how it was wrapped, saying, “This doesn’t look like a doctor did it. It must be hard to do it with one hand. C’mon, let me help-- I've taken care of plenty of cuts back home.”

“Cuts?”

“Cooking's a scary thing, Enoki.”

Even when Arden did a rather horrible job at his first attempt, he was determined to get better. He even took notes and surprisingly was a fast learner. Though he doubted Arden understood many of the medical terminologies he was throwing out subconsciously.

During the day, they didn’t necessarily talk to each other much. It seemed that Arden flipped his schedule to sleep during the day and only be awake at night.

Rarely did he speak to any of the Straw Hats.

Not since after Luffy asked him to join his crew.

“Here,” the brunette appeared back with a plate of water in one hand and a mug in another, the mug held out for him to take. “It’s tea.”

Muttering thanks, Law took the hot drink with his good hand, taking a small sip, and savouring the taste of it. It was good.

The taste of Chamomile.

A drink he’d been given for a few days now by the younger.

“It’ll help you go to sleep!” Arden had said so ever proudly.

Law knew the validity of it was questionable to say the least-- though it was a common myth, there had been no conclusive studies to effectively back that claim up. Help calm someone down? Yes. Helping to sleep? Questionable. Yet maybe it was because of the placebo effect that he’d been finding it oddly better to sleep at night.

Taking another sip of the tea, he glanced over to the other who was working efficiently. In his mind, he had wanted to ask something that’s been nagging in his mind. Ever since a particular moment occurred back in Dressrosa. As usual, he had imagined several different scenarios to how those conversations would go but never seemed to get a chance to go through with it.

He had walls of his own, but it seemed Arden had his own fair share of them despite what outward appearances might say. It was hard to get to know him better. A psychic and a mythical zoan user; it wasn’t hard for Law to take interest in him.

And that was what he kept on telling himself.

That the only reason he wants to get to know Arden was because of how peculiar he is as a being.

Now’s probably a good time to ask--

“Say, can you tell me anything about Sora?” Arden spoke whilst straightening the patient’s arm to continue the bandaging.

“Sora?” Law repeated, brows slightly furrowed as he was caught off guard by that question. Does he mean...

Arden’s face morphed into one of deep thought, scrunching up his nose as he hummed. “I think it’s Sora of the Sky? I’m not too sure.”

“You mean ‘Sora, Warrior of the Sea’?”

“Yeah! That’s the one!” He laughed. “Wow, I was way off.”

Law, though slightly excited on the inside, kept it hidden with a smirk. “It’s a comic series, why would you want to know about it?”

“Well, I was thinking I should try getting into some hobbies, you know?” Arden truthfully answered, having finished bandaging Law’s arm, now putting away the supplies.

If Arden were to settle to try to find a way back home, he was for sure going to be bored as heck. Obviously, he was a nerd and was able to consume any media he loved at his fingertips back home.

But now that he’s in a whole nother universe?

Hard to do that. He’s basically back at square one. One of the only real entertainment series he knows that comes from One Piece was Sora, Warrior of the Sea. So why not give it a shot?

“You know anything about it?” He then asked, though he already knew the answer to that question.

Glancing away, Law took another silent drink of chamomile. “Yeah. Everyone in the North Blue knows about it.” His eyes bounced back to Arden. “What do you want to know about?”

A beaming grin came from him, his eyes slightly gleaming. “Everything.”

The surgeon couldn’t help but smirk once again. “Really? There’s a lot to cover then.”

“It’s fine. Oh, wait!” He quickly ran away, soon returning with a sketchbook in hand. Flipping to a blank page, he gave a nod. “Tell me about what the characters look like first.” Seeing the look Law was giving him, he made a prompting gesture. “I’m a visual learner. I need my pictures!”

~

Present

~

Stirring awake, Arden gave a large yawn, extending it by a few seconds to wake himself up. Ah, how long has it been? Feeling a presence from beside him, he groggily looked over only to jump back from where he sat, now fully awake. “E-Enoki?!”

Law lifted the beak of his hat with a finger, having lowered it to get some shut-eye as well.

Realizing that he most likely woke him up, Arden immediately apologized. “Sorry, I woke you up.”

With the way he constantly apologized, Law was reminded of his Navigator. “If you had woken me up any earlier, I might have punched you.”

“If you punch me, make sure it’s nowhere near my abdomen, okay?” Arden said in a serious tone, eyebrows furrowed in fear. “I’ve had enough pain there.”

Seeing the shocked face of the other, he broke into an easy smile. “Joking.”

You slept as quiet as a mouse.

After sighing in relief, he said in a slight whine, “You can’t joke about that to someone who just woke up." Getting up, he closed the sketchbook he held in his hands before talking to the doctor once more. “Let me wash my hands first.”

“You don’t have to get me tea,” Law said after seeing him get on his feet.

“Hm? Are you tired of it?”

“I got tired waiting for you to wake up,” he lightly teased before revealing a mug beside him that was out of view from Arden prior, casually taking a sip out of it.

Giving a pout in slight embarrassment, Arden muttered something underneath his breath that seemed to be an insult before walking off. Lips still touching the ceramic cup, Law counted to a total of ten seconds before creating a ‘Room’, his other hand facing upwards to catch another mug that appeared from thin air.

***

“It’s good,” Arden smiled as he unwrapped the bandages off Law’s arm. “The tea, I mean. Thank you for it. But your arm is looking a lot better than it did a few days ago. No infection.”

“I know. I’m a d--”

“Doctor,” he finished off for him, giving a slight eye-roll. “I know. A stubborn one at that. And prideful. Dense with how people feel too--” feeling an intense glare be on him and glancing to confirm it, Arden coughed to cut his sentence off. “Doctors are smart! Very smart.”

“... It’s not helping your case.”

Giving a feign sound of hurt, Arden nodded quickly. “Yeah, I’ll shut up now.”

Law observed the bandages wrapping around his arm.

It was a lot more efficient this time around. Extremely quick as well.

Which was a mistake on his part as he wasn’t fast enough to pry his eyes away, soon meeting the gaze of brown ones.

Something inside the surgeon tickled. Just the slightest.

Something indescribable that he would brush off as nothing.

Arden’s eyes slightly squinted as he gave a grin. “Done! I think this is a personal record. You can go to bed now-- take that as my official apology for sleeping earlier.”

“You say that we have around an eight-day travel to get to Zou,” Law started as the other packed up the supplies. “Then we should be arriving soon.”

“Yeah, I think so,” he said. “It should be when the sun is still up. Morning, maybe.”

“That means you don’t have a lot of time.”

Arden stared at the wooden floorboards, a small exasperated exhale following afterward. “I told you, already. I’m not joining them. I’m going to the East Blue. It’s the safest out of all four seas, after all.”

“You really think the Barto Club will be able to make it that far?”

“I doubt it. I think they’d want to be as prepared as possible to help Luffy out whenever,” he lightly laughed. “I’ll be ship hopping. It’s a thing, right?”

His brows furrowed together. “You have no idea what your plan is exactly because you don’t have one. It’ll be safest if you come with us.”

Arden’s face contorted into a deep frown, closing the medical box shut. “I doubt it.” Silence filled the air for a few seconds before he continued in a quieter voice. “If I stay with you guys any longer, I might not be able to say ‘no’.”

Law knew what those words meant.

He wouldn’t be able to say ‘no’ to joining the Straw Hats.

They were close as friends that it came as a surprise when Arden had first declined them. Although the Straw Hats knew of the reasons for his decision, it seemed they had wanted the answer to be different.

Though the captain of that crew wasn’t as easily swayed.

Luffy had an odd talent for that: knowing how someone was feeling on the inside despite the words they say-- something Law didn't necessarily grasp as well with.

It wasn’t until Arden said these words did Luffy backed off:

“I can't go!" the brunette exploded in a shout. “Nothing makes sense right now and I can't drag you guys into my mess! I have my own life to figure out and I don’t even know who I am right now. Why was I drowning in the middle of the ocean? Why did I have a Devil Fruit in possession--”

“Who cares about all that,” Luffy argued back. “You’re Arden: our friend. You draw cool pictures and can turn into a really cool bat-rat. What more is there to know?”

“I want to say yes.. but I can't--”

“Then just join!”

“But…!”

Luffy’s eyes widened with the next words.

“My family,” his voice cracked in sorrow. “I never even got to say goodbye to them. Let me at least try to find them again. Please."

"... I see," the rubber man smiled in understanding, finally hearing a reason he could accept. "But you'll always have a place with us! Cuz you're our friend."

.

Law found himself speaking without meaning to. “Why don’t you join my crew?”

“Eno--”

“You can leave when you get back home. A temporary recruitment.”

Arden looked at him for a few moments, as if contemplating about it before eventually shaking his head. “That’s not the point. It’ll be undeniably dangerous in Wano Kuni. That’s where you guys are heading after Zou. You know that already: you’ll be fighting one of the Yonkō, of all people! It’s not safe. No matter how strong you guys are, I don’t want to go and mess something up.”

“Going all the way back to the East Blue alone is idiotic,” he argued. "The amount of pirates that try to get into the New World and fail to do so is already high. And for the ones that want to get back to Paradise, the chances of that occurring is zero to none. Crossing the Calm Belt would be the easiest way but that's also dangerous with the amount of vicious Sea King's present if you can sail through it in the first place. We have a submarine-- that would be the safest route. The sea isn't something you should underestimate, Usagi-ya!"

“Kaidō isn’t going to be like Doflamingo. He isn’t a shichibukai-- he’s a fucking Emperor. One of the most feared pirates of all seas.” He locked eye contact with the doctor. “Known to be the most powerful creature on earth and you’re telling me it’ll be safer for me to go with you guys?” When Law gave no immediate answer, Arden heaved a long sigh. “I'm not underestimating the sea. I'm trying to avoid underestimating what's waiting in Wano Kuni. Besides, I’ll just be extra weight on you all. You don’t need me in Wano. You didn’t even need me in Dressrosa. I just so happened to be there. Nothing would have changed.”

The raven-haired man wondered if that was exactly true or not. He wasn’t the one that’s psychic after all.

But now that that idea popped up, the nagging thought he’d been having resurfaced quickly.

If he's going to leave, I need to ask him now then.

“Usagi-ya,” he said after letting the silence dwell on for a few seconds, catching the attention of Arden before he held his hand out, a beating heart laying in it.

He let Arden process what he was seeing and gave a nod when the other pointed to the heart then to his own chest as if trying to confirm if it truly was his.

But he didn’t immediately take it.

“I told you to give it back to me when I’ve earned your trust.”

“Why would I need your heart? I don’t need it anymore.” Looking at the still dubious man, he smirked. “Or do you want me to keep it as a souvenir?”

“No!” he rejected almost suddenly. “Then… Thank you.”

Watching a smaller hand come out, Law purposely waited until the other’s fingertips touched the organ before his expression dropped.

“What are you?”

Arden almost recoiled his hand back in surprise. “... What?”

Icy eyes narrowed into wide-- almost fearful brown ones. “Back in Dressrosa, there’s been something that I keep thinking about. When we first fought Doflamingo in the Royal Palace, and the Birdcage was already active. You went to become a distraction so Mugiwara-ya and I could relay the plan smoothly. You said to that bastard, ‘I know your past and future’.”

“It was just to provoke--”

“If it really was an act of provocation, then why would he react that way? He’s also mentioned that you knew too much about him.”

His lower lip slightly quivered at the situation he was in, tightly clamping his jaw shut to prevent himself from trying to physically run away.

Law looked at him deeper, the silence almost being too loud. “So tell me: Who are you?”

Arden slowly took the heart out of the doctor’s light hold, now cradling it with two hands. Staring at his own heart beating through and feeling each rhythmic thumping, he could feel his pulse quickening.

How am I supposed to answer this one?

None.

He couldn’t think of anything.

“It doesn’t matter,” Arden said in a low and tired voice. “I’m going to be out of everyone’s hair soon enough. All you need to know is that I’m not anyone of importance nor am I anyone you should have any interest in. There’s no point.”

His eyes went back up to the taller man’s face, a steeled look on as if to shut out any unwanted emotions to show.

The floral and sweet scent of chamomile which lingered in the air turned bitter.

“We won’t see each other again.”

.

Chapter Text

.

“Boss! I see something at two o’clock!”

“What is it?!” Bartolomeo yelled back to the lookout. All the Barto Club members were currently sick to their stomachs. The green-haired fanboy knelt over, face pale, seemingly as though he were about to throw up.

Honestly, shouldn’t they be used to the sea by now? Arden thought, popping another ‘anti seasickness' pill given by Chopper.

He pitied them.

But not enough for him to share his medicine.

“In the dense fog, there’s a mountain or a monster…”

“I hope there’s no monster that can be mistaken for a mountain!”

“But it looks like it’s moving slowly…” the lookout relayed, looking through binoculars.

“You’re just drunk, you—” Bartolomeo doubled over again, hand covering his mouth.

Arden sat on a railing, yawning out loud. He should be asleep by now, but since there was a chance that Luffy and the others were going to reach Zou soon, Arden thought staying awake would be the best.

He was going to at least say a proper goodbye to them. It was the bare minimum of what he could do to repay them for their kindness.

Luffy perked up the moment he heard something strange was up ahead. “If it’s a mountain that moves, let’s go--!”

Usopp immediately smushed Luffy’s cheeks to stop him from talking. “No, idiot! Anyway, what we gotta do now is get out of this foggy maze as soon as possible! Otherwise, we’ll hit a reef and capsize!”

“Wait, God,” Law said.

Usopp turned his attention to him with a blush present. A silly giddy smile was on. “Did you call me ‘God’? I’m flattered! I’m a man of 200 million and I’m flattered!” whilst making a bashful motion, Franky’s daunting figure loomed over behind him terrifyingly in jealousy.

Arden giggled slightly at the sight.

“I’m sure even the Navy admirals are aware of you now,” Law said, raising a hand with a Vivre Card, looking towards the strange moving mountain. Usopp instantly snapped out of his fantasies. “Look. The Vivre Card is pointing towards that.”

“Oh, you’re right!” Luffy said. “That means your friends are there!”

“Usopp, you look sick,” Robin said in a worried tone. “Do you want some chewing gum?”

“I’ve been refusing to face reality…” Usopp trembled out, face as pale as a Barto Club member.

“I heard Zou blocks out invaders with dense fog and an adverse current,” Law said.

“There are headwinds too!” Franky chimed in, understanding what Law was saying. “Take in the sails! We’ll row it forward!”

“Roger that…” the Barto Club members said dejectedly before succumbing to their seasickness once again.

“Hey! That’s not how you respond!”

To please one of their idols, the fanboys forced out a cheer before getting to work.

“Is this really the island, Zou?” Luffy asked, looking up at the massive figure.

“No, that’s strange!” Bartolomeo exclaimed.

“This is no good!” Usopp said, fear evident. “Let’s run! Turn it around!”

“No, this is it,” Law interjected as the fog began to clear up.

“Torao! But this is an elephant!”

At the sight of such a large unimaginable creature, everyone screamed. Arden only looked on with fascinated eyes. Zunesha.

“Yeah,” the surgeon responded. “Zou is the name of a place that flourishes on the back of a massive elephant.

“What?! It’s alive?!”

“It keeps moving so it’ll never be at the same location. It’s not actually an island so Log Poses won’t get you here. I’ve never been here before either. It’s showing it’s back to us. That means Black Foot-ya and the others could’ve gotten here much earlier.”

“So we were chasing an elephant that was walking away,” Robin said.

“Yeah. Get ready to make landfall.” He turned to Bartolomeo. “Can you give us some food?”

“For you?!” the rooster-head pointed a finger at him in a ‘How-dare-you’ tone.

“Can you give Mugiwara-ya some food?”

Bartolomeo’s personality did a 180, a smile and blush plastered on his face. “Take everything in the food storage!”

“Idiot…” Arden murmured.

“So this is Zou!” Kin’emon exclaimed, looking at Zunesha with wide eyes. “There are such unusual things outside our country! I wonder if Momonosuke is okay.”

“Hey!” Kanjuro said to Law, making Arden narrow his eyes. “I heard there is a tribe that hates humans.”

“Yes, it’s the Mink Tribe. They hold off humans and people say the history of their country goes back nearly a thousand years.

“A thousand years?!” Luffy shouted in disbelief. “On the elephant’s back?! Does that mean the elephant has been alive for a thousand years?!”

***

The closer they got to Zou, the easier it was to see their surroundings. “Oh!” Luffy said, eyes squinting. “That's…”

“What?!” Bartolomeo rushed to the front. “D-D-Don’t tell me it’s…”

“The Sunny!”

“Shut up!” Zoro shouted when Bartolomeo suddenly began to run and bark everywhere at the sight of the Straw Hat' ship.

“That’s… That’s…” tears started to form in his eyes. “The grand ship that carries the sacred bodies of the Straw Hats!”

“The Mister Thousand Sunny! I feel blessed! I feel blessed!”

This is literally a cult, Arden thought when the rest of the Barto Club members joined, bowing down to the ship.

“Don’t worship it!” Usopp yelled.

“Good!” Robin said. “So they made it to Zou for sure.”

“I guess they got away from Big Mom nicely,” Franky said. “There’s no major damage.”

“Sanji! Nami! Chopper! Brook! Momo! And… uh what’s that Gas-guy’s name?”

“Not good… no one’s answering,” Usopp said worriedly.

Launching himself back onto the Sunny, Luffy’s figure disappeared before them.

“Bartolomeo,” Arden spoke up, catching everyone’s attention. This was the first time he’s said anything to them this whole morning. “You should connect the ships. We’re gonna lose it.”

“Hah?” Bartolomeo said, face turning into one full of attitude. “Who are you to order—”

The waves suddenly got a lot harsher around them, causing everyone to stumble around. Zou… No— Zunesha was on the move!

“Wait!” Bartolomeo yelled after the fleeting ship. “Hey! Keep up with it!”

“Aye, sir, Boss!”

He then crossed his arms in front of him in an X shape, along with crossed fingers. “Barrier-bility: Stairs!” A blue transparent dome-shaped staircase joined the two ships together.

“D-Did it stop…?”

“No, the leg on the other side is about to move forward now!”

“All of you Straw Hats, hurry up and cross over— Oh? Where’d they go?”

“Waaaayyy ahead of you,” Arden sang, heading poking into his line of vision.

“Oh! They’re already crossing!”

***

“All of you Straw Hats!” Bartolomeo happily announced from the Mister Luffy Go. “We moved all our food to your ship so I think you’re gonna be okay for a while. Is there anything else you need?”

“No, we’re fine!” Franky said, closing the pantry doors. “Luffy! We’re ready.”

“Alright, let’s—!”

“Guys,” Arden spoke, landing onto the ship with a foot, changing back to his human form. In his arms were a pile of papers.

“Arden!” Luffy said with a grin. “Have you decided?”

He smiled gently. “Yeah.”

The Straw Hat’s expressions seemed to collectively glow up.

“I’m gonna go with the Barto Club.”

“Eh?” Usopp said. “But, Arden, we—”

Luffy raised an arm out to halt him, his eyes glued on the artist. His face fell for a moment but a smile quickly replaced it, nodding. “Ah, I got it.”

Arden nodded back. Shifting in place, he sifted through the papers in his arms and handed over a stack to the captain. “Here.” His eyes were on the floor, his words coming out in a slight stutter. “I’m sorry for not talking to you guys these days. I needed some time alone to think about all this. I know it’s not much but please accept it. As a farewell gift.”

The Straw Hats gathered closer around, Luffy grabbing the papers in his hands with a tilted head full of curiosity. “What is it?”

“Don’t go through them until you meet with the others. It’s—”

“Oooohhh, it’s Robin!” Luffy exclaimed, flipping through the pages.

“Oh my,” the archaeologist said. “This is lovely.”

“Is that Nami?” Usopp noted, looking over Luffy’s shoulders.

“This one’s definitely Zoro!”

“Huh…”

“Franky, you’re even—!”

The next second, a foot whizzed from the air leaving Luffy on the floor, head sizzling from being freshly beaten.

“... ah,” everyone looked at the scene in disbelief.

“D-D-Did he just hit Mister Luffy?!” Bartolomeo yelled. “How dare he!!!”

“Arden-dono…”

“I-I said don’t look at them!” Arden shouted in a chagrined fashion, his face feeling unusually warm, jay wings and rabbit ears twitching around uncontrollably. In a panic, he went half-form and kicked Luffy without thinking. “I’m serious! Or I’ll take em and throw them in the ocean!” He hugged the remaining artwork in his arms tighter, taking a step back. “Got it?!”

“Yeah. Got it...” Luffy mumbled, the papers in his hands held up perfectly unharmed.

Robin took the pages and smiled at Arden. “I’ll keep them safe. We won’t look through them.” Seeing her reassuring expression, he relaxed his posture. “Thank you, Arden.”

“No… it’s the least I can do. I wish I could do more for you guys…” he shook his head, mumbling the last part. Moving his gaze over to Law who was looking with mild amusement, he held out the other half of art for him to grab.

Law looked at it with a confused expression, brows furrowed.

“Take it. Don’t look at it until you’re alone, though.”

This caused him to furrow his brows even more.

“What could he have drawn that Law-dono must only see when alone?” Kin’emon whispered down to Usopp.

“No clue…” the long-nosed man bounced his eyes between the two.

Arden frowned at the surgeon’s hesitance. “Hurry up. My arm’s getting tired.”

“I don’t—”

With a huff, Arden stepped forward, pushing the pages onto Law’s chest. A slightly annoyed tone could be heard as though he was losing patience. “Take it. I’ve spent several nights drawing them.”

When Law finally accepted them, the brunette smiled widely. “Alright then, that’s all from me. I won’t hold you guys up from getting to Zou anymore.” Taking off into the air, his head nodded towards where the poop deck was, Kanjuro already getting to work.

“Is that an earthworm?” Robin asked when they relocated to that area.

“It’s a snake, isn’t it?” Usopp said.

“It has legs so it’s a lizard,” Franky said.

“They’re totally ignoring me!” Arden heard Bartolomeo exclaim once he landed back onto the Mister Luffy Go. “Complete disregard!”

Was he saying something before? Arden wondered before bringing his attention to the people back down on the Sunny.

“But I’m happy even with that!”

“So happy!” The rest of the Barto Club joined in tears.

“There! Finished!” Kanjuro said, stepping back to admire his masterpiece. Drawn on the poop deck was a reptile-looking creature who bared a long body, though the legs and face didn’t quite match what the concept was going for it seemed.

“What is this?” Luffy asked.

“I still think it’s a snake.”

“I-Is that a snake?” Kin’emon thought out loud.

“Appear, Rising Dragon!”

“Dragon?!”

After Kanjuro made a motion, the black and white drawing soon had colour adorn it and it unexplainably came to life. Literally. It popped out of the floor and became a real breathing pink creature.

“Cool!” Luffy exclaimed.

“Oh, it’s gonna say something!”

“Ryu…” it struggled to get out, stumbling in place as though it was losing balance. “Ryuu (Dragon)...! R-Ryuuuuu…”

Adorable, Arden thought, fully human once more, not being able to contain the smile on his face.

“Some kind of pathetic creature appeared!”

“Dragon!” Kanjuro called out, but the creature didn’t seem to understand until it was called out several more times, earning him a lecture from the samurai.

“Well, if we can fly on the dragon, we can get there quickly,” Usopp said.

“Alright, everyone. Cling to its back! It’s gonna climb up!”

“It’s not gonna fly?!”

“Yahahaha!” Luffy laughed with excitement. “Okay! Let’s go!” He then turned his head over to the Mister Luffy Go. “Arden!!”

Surprised to hear his name being called, Arden locked eye contact with him. “Yeah?!”

Grinning widely, Luffy waved both his hands in the air. “Good-bye!! I had fun!!”

“Don’t die out there,” Zoro said.

“Hey, hey, don’t jinx it,” Usopp retorted.

“Hope you find your family soon!” Franky waved.

Hearing the multiple good-byes being given to him, Arden was rendered speechless. Multiple emotions flooded through him. Most of which he didn't know how to properly say in words. One thing was clear: he had to say something.

C’mon. Open your mouth! Need words! Don’t cry!

“Yeah!” he finally shouted back with a beaming smile, waving both his hands high in the air. “Good luck! Say hi to them for me! And don’t worry about the Minks! They’re friendly!”

“Is it true?” Usopp asked Law. “I thought you said the Mink Tribe hated humans.”

Law gazed over to Arden who wasn’t really paying attention to anyone in particular. His eyes narrowed just the slightest in thought before looking away.

“Ugh, I’m so jealous of him,” the Barto Club members sobbed to the side.

“Mister Luffy!” Bartolomeo sobbed with endless tears rolling down his cheeks, looking at them climbing up Zou. “I’ll look forward to seeing you again! I, Bartolomeo, will devote myself every day to becoming a fine pirate!”

“To becoming a fine pirate!” The rest of the crew cried.

“Hey, Lame-o!” Luffy’s identifiable voice echoed from the long distance between them. “Bye, Lame-o and everybody! Thanks for bringing us here!”

“D-Did he just call my name?!”

“He said your name wrong, yunno,” Arden said dryly with a side glance, the captain's behaviour and his crew still very odd to him.

“H-He called my name for the first time!” Bartolomeo went into another round of crying, hiding his face with an arm.

“I’m happy for you, Boss!”

“Y-You too! Thank you very much!” the green-haired fanboy yelled back to Luffy. “Please take care on your journey!”

“You too!! See ya! And Arden! Stay safe!!”

***

“So what are we eating for lunch?” Arden asked the men after they escaped the fog of Zou.

“Food?” One of them, Haeril, repeated. “We don’t have any.”

“We gave them all to the Straw Hats, remember?”

“That way, they won’t ever starve on their tumultuous journey!”

“To think we were able to give them a hand in that way… I could cry again thinking about it.”

“Me too, Mardillo!”

“Same here!”

“A-Ah…” Arden said, face in an expression of dismay. “Not even bread?”

“Nope! Nothing!” They opened the pantry doors to reveal that it was, indeed, empty as hell.

Holy shit, we’re gonna starve to death before a Sea King ever gets a chance. Is it even possible for me to starve to death if I remain small? 

I really don't wanna find out the hard way.

We'll probably hit land in a few hours maybe... Hopefully...

“I guess I’ll just brew myself some tea then… Eh?” he exclaimed, taking a step back after seeing the crew simultaneously doubling over. “What’s wrong with you guys?!”

“To be able to send off the Straw Hats to their next journey…” Bartolomeo muttered out, face turning blue. “We were sent a surge of energy to fight against the seasickness…”

“But that excitement is gone so now we--”

“Oh, ew, the side of the ship! Side of the ship!” Arden shouted in a panic, the man who was talking puffed his cheeks, covering his mouth to prevent his breakfast from coming out.

“Gum!”

“Need… Chewing gum...!”

“... Gum…”

“I’m so sick I can’t even move…”

“I’ll get it for you guys,” Arden said, dodging around sick men who were supposed to be brave warriors of the sea. “Where do you usually keep them?”

“The kitchen!”

“First drawer to the far left… Urk!”

“Okay, got it. Don’t you dare throw up on the shi--!” he shouted, sprinting towards the kitchen.

“Bluugh!”

“Okay. Nevermind then. Someone get the mop!”

I know I made up my mind but...

Is it wrong if I start to regret my decision about all this?

.

Chapter Text

.

“Bartolomeo…”

“Yeah?”

Arden stared up at the captain with an unamused look, perched on one of the sofa’s handles. Lowering the book in his hand, he sighed in slight annoyance. “I’m trying to read here.”

“Yeah, I know,” Bartolomeo replied, looming over the smaller figure with writing utensils in his hand, casting a shadow onto Arden. A large smile was on his face. “But, y’see—”

“No.”

“I haven’t even asked ya yet!”

“The answer’s ‘no’, Bartolomeo,” Arden caustically said, his patience wearing thin. He swung his legs up and over before he could be asked again, causing the green-haired man to take a step back to avoid being hurt. Standing straight up, he closed the book in his hand, looking at the Barto Club members who were sprawled on the used gum-filled floor in pain. “Besides, you have more important things to worry about.”

“I dun see a problem,” Bartolomeo scanned the area, though his attention was only mildly there in answering. Sliding in front of the brunette’s view once more, he batted his eyelashes. “But ya see, small man—”

“Again,” he tiredly replied like he was talking to a child asking for more candy. “I’m not doing it.” A pause as his eyes flitted to the side. “Not anymore…”

“I’ve seen you hand those drawings over to the Straw Hats. It can’t be hard to draw for us!” Bartolomeo said in almost a whine. “Ya’ve been sailing with them for days, and to have this talent to be able to draw whatever ya want… It shouldn’t be a problem for ya to draw ‘em.” Tears started to form in his eyes along with snot but he sniffled them back from dripping down. “It’s the least ya can do for us escorting ya!”

“I’ve been doing nothing but drawing these last few days to give it to them,” Arden argued, though there was no bite. “I’m tired of drawing. I’m not a machine, you know.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest, lips in a taut line. “Besides, I thought you’re doing it because Luffy asked you to.”

Bartolomeo made a noise as if found guilty. “B-But y’s—”

“ ‘Yes, Mister Luffy! Anything for ya, Mister Luffy!’ “ Arden made a twirling motion with clasped hands similar to the one he saw from earlier on the day before dropping it. “Was pretty sure what you replied to him with.”

Bartolomeo stiffened up with another noise.

A rumbling suddenly rang through the air, causing Arden to raise his eyebrows. Almost on cue, a loud harmonious rumbling sounded out through the entire ship.

“So hungry….” the crew groaned in unison.

Sticking a thumb in their direction, Arden gave a judging look at the one titled ‘Cannibal’. “This wouldn’t be a problem if we had at least a crate of food with us.”

“And to regret our decision in help Mister Luffy?!” he exclaimed, almost hurt. “Never! And you guys!” he directed this to his men. “How can ya be hungry so quickly?! It’s not even dinner yet!”

“Because,” Arden drawled as the men only groaned an intelligible answer. “You guys threw up whatever you ate in the morning. I would know: I was the one who mopped up the vomit.” His upper lip twitched in irritation. “I don’t think I owe you anything now that I think about it.”

“Ya weren’t even thinking of paying us back,” Bartolomeo said.

“Food’s an issue…” Arden put the edge of the book to his chin in thought. “I’m not hungry right now but it’ll be pretty bad if we don’t hit land soon…”

“Hey, don’t ignore me!”

“Humans can survive without food for days but I’m not keen on that idea…” He looked up at Bartolomeo. “Do you guys have any fishing supplies?”

“It’s in the stora— Hey, don’t change the subject!”

“You ever fished before?”

“Here and there,” Bartolomeo replied, scratching his head in thought. “I’d say Jerin is the best fisher out of all of us. In fact,” He then gave his usual grin which would terrify most people. “We’ve been planning to fish from the very beginning! Jerin!”

Calling out his name, a voice answered, the owner draped over the railing. One hand of his lazily held onto a fishing rod that was threatening to slip out, and the other raised into the air weakly. “Yes, Boss, Sir…”

“So about those orange trees—”

“The ones in homage to Miss Nami’s???” Bartolomeo gasped, waving his arms around in defiance. “Never!”

“Yeah, that’s what I figured,” Arden sighed once more, trying desperately not to facepalm into oblivion. Of course, the one thing edible on the ship is for display purposes only.

“Small man, ya can fly can’t ya?” he asked before pointing upwards to a flock of seagulls above them. “Why not catch some birds? You’re the only one here that can do it.”

“I don’t…” the next words came out in a mumble, Arden slinking back with the book in front of his mouth, eyes finding a particular wad of gum on the floor to be rather interesting.

“Hah?” Bartolomeo leaned forward towards him, a hand cupped to his ear. “Can’t hear ya.”

Humming in a grimace, Arden continued to stare at the blue chewed-up substance. “I… I can’t kill a bird…”

Bartolomeo almost didn’t believe his words. “Whaaaaaaaat? Ya’ve already fought one in Dressrosa. A big pink, evil ass bird and you’re sayin’ ya can’t catch these damn birds?!”

“I’ve never hunted an animal before,” Arden finally admitted. His next words came out hesitantly. “I’ve only really touched any kind of animal a few times in my life…”

“Were ya locked in a cell for years?”

“No...”

“Were ya not allowed to touch any?”

“No...”

Bartolomeo stared at him in disbelief.

Was it really that hard to believe? Arden only had fish for pets, and of course his ten year old turtle. Any encounters he’s had with dogs or cats always ended with him apologizing to them in some way to prevent them from possibly scratching his face off. A friend of his did own a dog but he’s only met it once and that was when it was still a tiny pup.

And his experience with birds?

Hm.

Does getting pooped on once back in the seventh-grade count?

“Look, it’s not import—”

“WAHAHAHAHA, what are ya?!?!” the ex-gang leader burst out into a fit of laughter, a hand pointed at Arden accusingly. “Are ya scared of ‘em or somethin’?? WAHAHAHA.”

Making a discontent noise, the brunette decided not to further delve into the topic. “Do you guys know when we’ll hit land?”

Catching his breath as he clutched his aching sides, Bartolomeo wiped tears away from his eyes. “Hard to tell ya since we don’t have a navigator.”

“What a true blessing this ship is,” Arden sarcastically remarked to the side before turning his attention to the vast sea. Nothing but calm blue ocean waters from what he could see. Not even a speck of a signal that they would be reaching land any time soon.

I need a higher view…

“Hold this,” Arden said, stretching his arm out with the book in hand.

Unsure of what was happening, Bartolomeo obliged, confused. “What for—”

His question was answered when Arden launched into the air with flapping wings. Bartolomeo spat out a feather that got blown into his mouth in disgust, shielding his eyes from the sun’s harsh rays as he tracked the other.

“I’ll be borrowing this. Thanks,” Arden said once he reached the Crow’s Nest, grabbing the binoculars out of the Lookout’s hands. The man didn’t put up much of a fight, as he tried to put another gum in his mouth.

Flying up higher to rest on the very top of the main mast’s structure, Arden peered through the binoculars and started to scan their surroundings.

“Blue… blue… Ah!”

Bartolomeo, who was watching him this whole time, started to get excited. “What? Is there land?!”

“Ahhhh. Nevermind. It’s just a rock.”

It was Bartolomeo’s turn to snap. “Don’t bring our hopes up like that!”

“It’s a pretty rock… Hey, you still got that pencil and paper on you?!”

“What happened to looking for food?! And didn’t ya say ya were tired of drawing?!”

“Tsk,” Arden tongue-clicked. “Now you’re worried.” Pivoting in place, he continued his search in silence.

Chewing another piece of gum in his mouth, Bartolomeo cracked his neck from looking up for too long. “Hey! Ya haven’t moved for a hot minute. What ya find?!”

“... a ship…” Arden replied in a mumble, trying to make sure what he saw was correct before dropping the binoculars from his eyes, looking down back to the main deck. “There’s a ship a bit away from us!”

“What good would that do for us?!” Bartolomeo said, uninterested in the newly found information with a pinky in his nose. “Ya expect them to give us food?” His expression then turned into worry. “Wait, is it a marine ship?! Did they somehow know where Mister Luffy is going?!”

“Mister Luffy’s in danger?!” A Barto Club member exclaimed, the rest following as if their motion sickness went away.

“We gotta go help them!”

“Boss, Sir!”

Taking one last look at the faraway vessel, Arden went back down, turning back into his original form once his feet made contact with the ground. “No… It’s a pirate ship.”

“Phew! Mister Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hats are a-okay then,” Bartolomeo said in relief with the rest of the crew following, wiping a sweat that had formed on his forehead. Glancing over to Arden, he raised a browless brow. “What are ya thinking now?”

“Nothing.”

“Ya might not have been on this ship long, but it’s obvious when you’re thinking,” Bartolomeo said, blowing up a grape-flavoured bubble, letting it pop before talking again. “Ya got that whole thinking face on and your eyes are going everywhere like crazy.”

Is it that obvious? Arden thought before huffing a little, meeting eyes with red irises. “I’m wondering how hard it would be to steal from a pirate ship.”

“Thinking of raiding a ship, eh?” Bartolomeo said with interest. “Ya got spunk. It shouldn’t be hard. We should change course—”

“No, that won’t work,” Arden said, shaking his head before heading over to the sofa to grab his bag. “Even from that distance, I can gauge how large it is roughly. Needless to say, it’s massive.”

“Are ya underestimating us, small man?”

“One ship wouldn’t be a problem,” he continued. “But…”

“But?”

“It’s not just one.” He grabbed the bag, lifting it up before frowning. Why’s it so heavy?

“How many ships are there then?” Bartolomeo asked lazily, twirling the chewing gum with a finger, stretching it from his mouth.

“At least three…” Arden replied absentmindedly, unzipping the backpack.

His eyes widened.

Blowing another bubble, Bartolomeo looked over his shoulder. “Eh, why are ya buggin’ out aga—”

The gum popped to cover his entire face with what he saw.

“Th-This is—!”

***

***

***

“Okay, ya guys,” Bartolomeo said solemnly, eyes bouncing to the men who were in his view. Everyone was now in a circle formation, awaiting further instructions.

There was a thick atmosphere of tension, some men gulping down lumps that had formed in their throats.

“We’re gonna have to decide this quickly before all of us start to lose it.” He slammed his fist down on the table in front of him, shouting the words with conviction. “Got it?!”

“Yes, Boss, Sir!” They all responded with the most gusto that’s been heard from them since the Straw Hats left the ship.

“Well, then…” he tilted his chin upwards to a nod. “Small man, bring it out.”

The group parted for a path to be made.

Why do I feel like I’m in a gang movie? Arden thought as he walked through it, his backpack in his arms, entering into the main circle where the Captain sat.

“Introduce yourself first.”

“Is that really nece—”

“You’re the one that found it,” Bartolomeo said seriously, his golden septum piercing gleaming under the light. “Tell them.”

“... right.” He turned around to face the men and cleared his voice. “As you all know, your dumb ass captain gave away all the food you guys ha—”

“The other thing!”

Arden made an unamused look, sighing to say ‘I can’t believe this’ before continuing. This time, seriously. “... With the food crisis and with no land in sight, there’s no telling if we’ll make it out through these seas alive. And with dozens of men on board, the call for food is at its highest.”

Silence blanketed the group, some of the men starting to sweat from the reality settling in that they were in deep shit.

“Yes, this is a grim time for us all,” Arden continued, settling the backpack down on the table. “However, there’s hope for us. Some of us.” Turning it upside down, several fruits and loaves of bread rained onto the clean surface.

The men collectively gasped in shock.

“Th-this is—!”

“Boss, is… is…”

“Yes, men!” Bartolomeo called out with arms raised to calm down the now overly excited crew. “We have food!”

“But there’s not enough for us all,” Arden added, which silenced them again. “That’s why we’re gonna…” he brought out his sketchbook, flipping to the last page that was used. Showing it to them, Bartolomeo continued for him.

“We’ll be playing games with the food as prizes!”

The paper, in red bold, read:

“FOOD GAMES: SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST.

GOOD LUCK, MEN!”

Noise-rattling cheers filled the air.

“Boss! Sir!”

“God exists!!!”

“I want to eat them now!”

“I’m going to win all the games!”

They then collectively stopped cheering, a beat passing by before they asked:

“What games are we playing?”

“I say poker,” Bartolomeo said with a satisfied nod.

“No way,” Arden immediately rejected.

“Eh, why not?” he asked before making a mocking expression. “Don’t tell me ya don’t know how to play it.”

Arden flickered his eyes away in embarrassment. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Then…” Bartolomeo said before announcing proudly, “Our first game will be to make a list of games that all of us can play! The first one that passes will get one whole orange!”

Animalistic roars and cheers rang through the air once again, the men howling and hyped.

They most certainly forgot about their motion sickness by now.

.

Chapter Text

.

Arden stared into the sharp gaze of a large lumbering man, his own wavering in fear. “Show me some pity, please?”

No response.

“What do you want me to do?” he continued to try to bargain, his eyes stinging as tears began to emerge.

“No can do, twerp,” the man laughed, leaning closer to him, an intimidating look with visible red veins running around his eyes. His words came in a snarling manner, spit flying everywhere. “It’s mine!”

Letting a tear roll down his cheek, a string of swears flew out of Arden’s lips before he looked away, hands to his face.

“Nino wins!” Bartolomeo announced loudly with a rather proud tone, tossing an apple in the winner’s direction.

Still feeling the effects of having dry eyes, Arden let tears freely fall down his face as he walked off to the side to get some space.

All around them, the blaring ruckus of rambunctious men competing against one another through childish games was lively as ever. Groans of defeat could be heard along with choruses of cheers.

Arden thought for sure their stomachs were probably filled with the adrenaline that was going through them. The food was just a bonus.

Walking off to an area that was much more secluded, Arden propped his elbows onto the ship’s railing, hands still to his face.

“Shut up,” he mumbled in mild irritation, the rumbling of his stomach louder than the last time it occurred.

How long has it been now?

Before he knew it, the moon came out to greet them, all the while the hunger he didn’t feel from earlier quickly caught up to him only a few hours before.

He was damn hungry, but there wasn’t much he could do. He was the one to agree to this ridiculous idea, after all.

Hearing footsteps heading towards him, Arden thought it was someone else needing some alone time as well.

He didn’t expect to see a palm-sized chunk of bread in front of his face.

Puffy red eyes looked up to see the captain of the ship.

“How many times have ya lost?”

“Don’t need to rub it in,” Arden frowned, leaning away from the presented food, thinking he was being mocked. “You haven’t won much either.”

Bartolomeo only gave a shrug, popping the bread into his mouth before turning his attention towards the sea. “My men need to eat, too.”

Arden tilted his head in slight confusion, seemingly tracking where he was looking. Expecting Bartolomeo to say more-- when it didn’t occur, Arden leaned forward against the railing again in a pose similar to the one the green-haired man was in as well.

A few seconds of the calm waves sounding through with the mix of the partying noises behind them, it finally dawned on him.

He was losing intentionally.

“No need to cry, ya know,” Bartolomeo said in his usual tone that would rile up most people.

“Is that why you’re here?” Arden snorted in disbelief, eyes still on the glistening water though he didn’t deny it. In fact, he felt like sobbing. The weight of losing so frequently damaged his ego in a way that it was humiliating. Even to the point where Bartolomeo of all people was trying to show him pity.

How pathetic could he be?

“Nah, I’m here to get a better view,” the green-haired man said casually.

“Better view?” Arden knitted his brows, glancing up to see Bartolomeo looking through binoculars. When the hell did he pull them out?

Choosing to ignore that, Arden found himself intrigued with the subject in hand. “What’d you find? I’m hoping it’s a restaurant.”

“A restaurant? In the sea?” Bartolomeo laughed.

“It exists,” Arden snarkily replied back. “It’s called The Baratie."

“Never heard of it.”

“Of course you haven’t,” he said, a somewhat nostalgic smile on. “It’s in the East Blue. It’s not a surprise someone like you hasn’t heard about it—”

Even the slight thought of having a chance to taste any of their food caused a loud rumble of hunger to take place.

“Shoulda ate the bread.”

Usually, he would be able to handle not eating for hours, but when you spend several hours doing stress-inducing activities? Harder to contain his hunger in that scenario. Especially when a lot of the activities included physical movement.

“You think I didn’t hear your stomach, too?” he huffed, still confused at the fixed attention Bartolomeo was giving to a certain thing out in the far distance. “What’d you find, anyway?”

“Two ships,” Bartolomeo said. “They’re hella huge. They were a lot closer before, but ya probably weren’t paying attention. Ya know, busy with losin—!”

His sentence was cut off with a yelp, Arden jumped on his back in his half-form, grabbing the binoculars away from the other.

“What cha doing?!”

Flapping his wings, Arden situated himself to stand on top of Bartolomeo’s shoulders, causing the green-haired man to need to grab his ankles in fear he would fall off.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?!” Arden said, eyes eagerly peering through the scopes.

“Haaah? Why should I tell ya?!” He argued back. “Not like we could catch up with them!”

Adjusting the binoculars, the brunette blinked in surprise at the sight. “This…” What he saw confused him. “What’s going on?”

“What do ya mean?” Bartolomeo asked, taking notice of his change in tone. “Are we in danger?”

“Those ships. They…” Making sure what he saw matched what he was thinking about, he lowered the binoculars, peering down at expectant red irises. “They look like the ones I saw earlier.”

Bartolomeo made a face and sound audible with confusion. “Didn’t ya see them in the afternoon? Ya must be looking wrong. No way could they still be there.”

“Of course not,” Arden said, dropping back onto the floor with ease, staying in his half-form. He held out the binoculars back for Bartolomeo to take. “I saw three back then.” he nodded towards the sea. “There’s only two here.”

Confirming it with his own eyes, Bartolomeo said, “Ya think they’re from the same crew?”

“That’s what I think,” Arden answered, eyes in thought. “I couldn’t see the jolly roger from the three ships since they were so far away, but the style and shape of the ships are the same. They’re heading the same way, too.”

“Can’t tell what jolly roger they got either from here,” the captain said. “Must be a big shot.”

An idea crept up in Arden.

One of desperation.

“You remember what I said about those ships earlier?”

“Hah?” Bartolomeo stuck a pinky in his ear, seemingly feigning a search for a memory. “Ya said something about stealing from ‘em, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Weren’t ya the one saying we can’t raid ‘em?” Bartolomeo said after eyeing down on the shorter lad, wondering what he was thinking about.

“I never thought about raiding,” Arden said, pulling out his sketchbook and a pencil. Quickly sketching a rough diagram, he circled a rooster on the page. “We’re here. The Barto Club.”

An arrow pointed from the rooster to some large ships, another leading to another direction. One more pointed from the large ships to the opposite direction from where the rooster was going in.

“We’re heading in entirely different directions. If this ends badly, we’ll be stuck for— at best— another few hours with no food and we won’t be any closer to land with the time we waste. And no doubt small rowboats will never catch up to those ships. Not with this distance.”

“All I’m hearing is that it’s better to ignore ‘em.”

“In a normal setting, yeah,” Arden responded. “No one in your crew is capable of doing anything here.”

Piecing the puzzle together, Bartolomeo began to chew on a stick of gum, eyes narrowed. “Ya can’t go alone.”

Arden remained glued to the page he was holding. “Listen. I’m—” he scribbled a stickman with rabbit ears and wings. In unison, his own wings fluttered as if to confirm he was drawing himself. “I’m the only one here that can get to them fast enough. Since the ships are so large, there should be a large amount of crew on board. I'll blend in with them, grab enough food and fly back.”

“Ya losing me here,” Bartolomeo said, grabbing the pencil away from his hands, doodling a stickman with X in his eyes. “If ya go onboard and they catch ya, you’re a dead man. Ya can’t fight.”

“I can handle myself fine enough,” Arden said, though it wasn’t very convincing. Especially not with Bartolomeo continuously scratching out the dead mini Arden on the page, a circle of erratic graphite quickly being created. Annoyed, he swiped the pencil away from him, growling slightly. “I get it. You don’t trust me.” His next words came out with a strong attitude. “I don’t need you to.”

“Mister Luffy gave me the task to get you to safety,” Bartolomeo said, revealing his real intentions. “What will he say when he finds out you’re dead?!”

“I don’t care,” Arden snapped back, throwing the materials into his backpack before readjusting it on his chest. Since he was planning on flying, he couldn’t wear the backpack normally. “I’m hungry as fuck, Bartolomeo. I’m gonna pass out at this rate. Don’t worry, I’m not doing this for your crew. I’m doing it for myself.”

“But Mister Luffy—”

“You can lie, can’t you?” He was getting impatient. “You’re a big boy. Lie through those fangs of yours and everything will be fine.”

Maybe it was the hunger getting to him or maybe it was him not wanting to be associated with the Straw Hats anymore. Either way, the growling of his stomach made it clear what his decision should be.

“Lying to Mister Luffy?!” Bartolomeo took a step back, not believing the words he was hearing. “Never! I’ll never be able to call myself a fan of the Straw Hats if I lie to them!” Seeing the glare not leaving Arden’s face, Bartolomeo’s accent became thicker as he tried to convince him out of the impulsive plan he was thinking of. “Since there was food in ya pack, there must be some elsewhere in the ship. We just gotta look for ‘em!”

“There’s no more,” Arden said plainly. “The food…” he trailed off, eyelids drooping down. The amount of bread inside was frightening. “I think I know who put it there.”

Taking a deep breath in, Arden heaved a long drawled-out sigh, calming himself down.

His emotions were too all over the place.

Must be the hunger talking.

“Luffy isn’t the type to take out his anger needlessly. If you tell him I went on my own will, he’ll understand.”

Seeing the unconvinced look on Bartolomeo, Arden broke into a sideways grin. “This is food we’re talking about. If he was here… He would do something as stupid as this if he could, I bet.”

“Mister Luffy…” Bartolomeo looked up at the night sky, nodding with an understanding look. “He would, but that’s okay since he’s hella strong. He’s gonna be king of the pirates, after all. But, small man,” he said, looking back down. “you’re not.”

Don’t need to tell me twice.

“It’ll be a win-win for us if I’m able to come back with food,” Arden said instead. “If I don’t make it back, don’t come after the ships. Take it as a dumb ass making a dumb ass decision, resulting in a dumb ass outcome.”

“I’ll tell Mister Luffy about it when I see him again,” Bartolomeo stated.

“Hey, I’m not dead yet,” Arden joked lightly before attempting to lighten up the mood. “Yunno, you’re a pain in the ass, Bartolomeo.”

“Ya too. Ya got a death wish.”

“Death seems kinda sexy right now,” he shrugged. “But thanks.”

Although the two didn’t see each other in the brightest of views, the short amount of time they spent together and the mutual respect they had for the Straw Hats undoubtedly created a rather odd bond between them.

“Thanks for mopping up the vomit.”

“I’ll never forgive you for that even after death,” Arden said, pulling out his pencil once more sketching something quickly on the white railing. “It’ll probably wash away the next time it rains.”

Bartolomeo peered over his shoulder, eyes enlarging at the sight of the picture of a familiar figure with a Straw Hat. “M-Mister Luffy!” Grasping onto the railing with both hands, tears started to well up in his eyes, his knees quaking in place.

“If I make it back, I’ll draw him better.”

Suddenly, Bartolomeo held onto Arden’s shoulders, his words coming out in a crying mess. “Ya better come back alive!" He shoved his face into Arden's, snot dripping out of his nose. "Ya hear me, ya bastard?! Or I’ll kill ya!”

“Yeah,” Arden said in a laugh at the absurdness. “Got it.”

Hunger's a funny thing.

It really does do weird things to a person.

.

Chapter Text

.

“Are ya really gonna leave without sayin’ goodbye to the guys?” Bartolomeo asked after recollecting himself from weeping.

“... yeah,” Arden said, hopping onto the railing, back turned away from the ship. “I have no reason to say any sentimental farewells.”

In truth, he didn’t want to dim down the liveliness the Barto Club was having right now. There wasn’t any need for him to bring down the mood like he was anyone of importance. Hell, he might not even see them again.

The journey to the large unknown ships would already be quite draining. By the time he could recollect his energy again to go back, the Mister Luffy Go would be long gone. It would be rather hard for him to step foot on the ship again.

But he couldn’t say that to Bartolomeo.

“Well, anyway,” Arden continued with a smile to reassure himself of the situation he was putting himself into. “See you in a few.” Before he could hear Bartolomeo say anything else, a gust of wind shot from him, Arden taking off into the sky.

***

***

The cool crisp night air cleared his head enough where he was sucked into a planning mode, eyes stuck on the golden lights which emitted from his destination.

A large ass ship like that should have a small boat I can use. Just large enough that I can pull with a rope.

The plan was simple enough: sneak around in his small form, borrow an extra pair of clothes to make himself blend in, take enough to last a couple of days, borrow a boat, and he would be home free.

Simple.

It's easy enough. 

“Small, sneak, clothes, food, boat. Small, sneak, clothes, food, boat…” Arden chanted to himself as he felt the palm of his hands turning clammier and clammier the closer he got to the ships, revealing just how massive they were.

Any one of them should do.

The moment he was within what he thought would be a hazardous zone, he turned small, gaining more height to avoid eyes on him. Hopefully, to the unknown strangers, he was just a weirdly shaped bird.

At worst: they try to shoot him down.

Deciding he gained enough altitude, he found his eyes to be glued on the jolly roger which waved back at him in greeting as he tried to steady his breaths from his flight.

A cold shiver climbed up his spine.

Why…

Brown eyes narrowed in concern.

The jolly roger had four bones going across the skull, intersecting each other, with horns on either side of the head, and two rectangular bent shapes. The head of the ship also donned a scorpion of some sort.

This looks familiar.

That was never a good sign. He wasn’t one to pay attention to jolly rogers per se, but eerily enough, he had a feeling this wasn’t one belonging to a friendly crew.

He looked over to the other ship only to see the same flag.

So they are part of the same crew. Does that mean the previous three are under it as well?

Arden clenched his fist after a few moments of contemplation.

I should turn back.

“Fuck.”

If he turned back now, he could probably make it back to the Mister Luffy Go, but even then, how could he face Bartolomeo? He made such a grandiose statement as well that he was going to get food no matter what.

Was he really going to chicken out?

No.

The mere thought of Bartolomeo’s face contorting into one of mocking was enough for Arden to second guess his thoughts to go back.

He had to go through this.

No fucking way was he going to go back empty-handed. Not only for his pride but also for his hunger pains.

What were the chances I was going to make it to the East Blue anyway?

He knew he was an idiot. A tremendous one at that.

Might as well continue being one.

Right...?

Recollecting himself, he took a large breath in. Momentarily turning to his half-form, a hand fished out an eraser from his backpack. With all his strength, he threw it as far as he could from where he was.

Watching it fall into the ocean and hearing a faint “plop” sound, he waited until he heard clamouring towards where the eraser fell.

Ceasing his wings from fluttering, Arden let his weight carry him down onto the ship. Turning small, he fell onto the roof of a structure with a muted thud.

“That’s probably a fish, man.”

“What kinda fish makes that noise?”

Lowering his ears in fear he would be spotted, he peeked over the roof to see the men still conversing about the foreign sound. They were definitely wearing a uniform of some sort. It resembled very similarly to barbaric wear.

“I saw it fall. It was like a weird white thing.”

“Huh? Could it be hail?”

This clothing. It reminds me of--

A throbbing pain suddenly shot through his head, causing his paws to fly up to his temples. “...!”

Something about Sanji…? Sanji… Sanji…

“... He’s been taken by Big Mom,” Arden said to himself in disbelief, memories of what was supposed to happen in the next arc flooding back in.

What’s the point in me remembering this?

Why now?! Is this a cruel joke?!

In a frenzy, Arden lost his footing, falling off the rooftop and onto the wooden floorboards.

Sanji…! I should have warned him. I should have--

“Oh, what’s this?”

Wide eyes looked up to see a young-looking man crouching down to inspect the fallen creature. “A weird squirrel…?”

***

“Sorry,” Arden murmured as he placed the body of the now unconscious stranger down onto the ground carefully, in his half-form. “Didn’t mean to drag you into my mess.”

Clearing his throat, he shouted in a loud and distorted voice, “YOYAYAYAYAYAYAYAAAAA!”

“What the--?!” multiple steps hurried to where he was.

“Did you hear that?!”

“It’s at the back!”

Turning small, Arden flew over-board the ship, sticking closely to its side. Flying to where he assumed the sleeping quarters would be, he waited for a chance to slip by whilst most of the men went over to investigate the odd scene that occurred.

“God, it stinks,” Arden scrunched up his nose after entering the cabins unnoticed. Inside was dark, but he had to make do. The moment his eyes adjusted, he started to rummage through the room in his human state, easily finding attire he could wear.

“Small: check. Sneak: check. Clothes?” Arden listed off, wearing the final shoulder pad. “Check. Next: food. Then I can get the hell out of here…”

The faster he could finish this, the better it would be.

Thinking about anything else at this moment was useless. What could he do to help Sanji, anyway? He could hardly change the future as it was. Not to mention, he wasn’t going to be part of the Straw Hats’ lives anymore.

There wasn’t any point in him worrying about any of that!

***

Exiting out of the cabins, Arden could see a group of men emerge from the side.

“I knew you were a pussy, but fainting when we’re about to arrive? Haha!”

“Easy on the newbie, Stife. He already got a beating from what he went through on that monster the first time.”

Monster?

Through the group, Arden could spot the man he knocked out in the middle, seemingly to be the subject of the conversation. The stranger in question rubbed the back of his head, a confused look on before turning his head to meet Arden in the eyes.

Blue. They were blue.

Not as blue as a clear sky, but one of a more subdued colour. 

They were pretty.

Frozen with the stare, Arden wondered if he was caught. No, calm down. He doesn’t know. There’s no way he could. I made sure of it.

And so, he put on an easy look despite his fast-paced heartbeat, a smile full of contempt shown before walking off towards the kitchen.

***

***

***

Life has a funny way of punching you down the moment you start to get cocky.

Though Arden felt nowhere near that, he couldn’t help but feel that everything was going smoother than he thought it would be.

Maybe things will pan out well…

Was what he thought.

But again:

Life’s a bitch.

“You hungry, too?”

Arden turned his head around almost too quickly, catching the gaze of a woman who was relaxed on one of the dining room chairs, her clothes as revealing as his-- spare for the bra. Taking a sip of the drink in her hand, she swirled the contents of it around lazily, looking up with a matching gaze. “Well?”

“... yeah,” Arden nodded, his stomach answering as well with a growl. “A midnight snack. If that’s alright.”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” she cocked up a brow, brushing her long brown curls back. “It’s our ship, after all.”

Arden only nodded back, tentatively making his way to the pantry. Though she had a charismatic air around her, he couldn’t help but to feel… off.

He couldn’t place his finger on it.

“Are you going to be cooking?” she asked.

“Yeah. I guess,” he blandly answered, hoping to hell that she would leave.

But she didn’t.

“What are you gonna cook?”

“... a sandwich, maybe.”

A laugh came out. “A ‘sandwich’? That’s pretty lame.”

Please, please, please. Leave! Leave me alone!

Not saying a word, he slowly pulled out a few ingredients to make said dish. He had to think of something. Maybe it would be better to stick it out on this ship for the night and leave.

He could just eat his fill right now and leave. He should be able to make it back to the Mister Luffy Go no problem then.

Yeah.

That sounds like a pl--

“If you’re going to trespass onto one of the Yonkō’s ship…” a chilling hushed voice came from behind him, followed by a cool flat item perched in front of his neck. “You should make something less pathetic.”

Yonkō?!

Not daring to look at the person, it wasn’t hard for him to conclude that it was the woman who was seated down. His eyes flitted over to the now empty chair where she was seated, the drink from earlier still half full-- the unknown liquid settling about being the only indication that movement occured.

The pressure of the knife tilted his chin upwards.

“Who are you? What’s your goal?” She continued in an easy voice. “Answer wisely: your life depends on it.”

His stomach growled noisily as he scrambled to think of ideas.

I couldn’t even hear her creep up-- how skilled of a fighter is she?

"You better answer quickly~"

“Food.”

“Hm?”

“I want food. That’s all.”

Another laugh. “You expect me to believe you did all this for some food? You’re either stupid or you have no idea who you’re messing with.”

“They say stupid people tend to have better luck.”

“Oh?” she had an amused tone. “Then you know who’s ship this belongs to.”

Arden felt his mouth dry. He really would be stupid if he couldn’t figure out who’s ship he was on by now. “... yeah. This ship…”

“Mmhm,” she cooed, prompting him to continue. “Go on.”

Fuck.

Fuck. Fuck.

FUCK.

“... It belongs to the Beasts Pirates,” he eventually answered in an unconscious tremble.

The next word which came out of the woman brushed past his ear in a breath. “Bingo~”

.

Chapter Text

.

So Arden made a mistake.

A mistake that was very obvious that anyone would be able to tell would occur.

A mistake that Arden somehow hoped wouldn’t happen.

A mistake Arden knew would likely happen.

Ninety-percent chance.

He was never one to have much luck in lotteries.

***

A large fist punched the daylights out of him, causing him to fall over and hit the wooden floorboards on his back. Golden lantern lights swam in his vision as he tried to compose himself, struggling to get back up when a kick came out of nowhere.

He flew and hit the side of the ship.

“Intruder, you better listen to our Miss and fess up,” the low, demanding voice of the offender said, his heavy steps gradually making his way towards Arden.

Breathing unevenly, Arden managed to get onto his knees despite his hands being tied behind his back. His head hung low as he said, “I don’t know--”

His sentence was cut short by another kick.

“Acting dumb won’t get you anywhere!” He turned his attention to the woman from before who lounged casually on a chair on the floor above them, watching the scene unfold. “Miss, I say we get rid of this pest as quickly as possible before his backup comes.”

“Boooo!!!” several of the men in the audience shouted, circling the display. “Timber, don’t ruin the fun!”

“Rip him apart limb by limb!!”

“Yeah!!!”

The woman rose a hand.

The men went quiet almost immediately.

“Timber,” she said. Though it wasn’t loud, it seemed to echo across the whole ship. “Don’t be rash. We don’t know who we’re up against right now. It’d be best to get as much information out of him as much as possible. Hasn’t Lord Jack taught you that?”

“Y-yes, Miss,” Timber answered before going over to Arden, but this time-- instead of injuring him-- he ripped off the backpack he wore. “Check what’s inside there,” he directed this to a random crew member, throwing the backpack towards them.

“Don’t touch--!” Arden cried out before doubling over from the injuries he sustained, his shoulders hurting as well from where the straps of the bag were forced to be torn off.

The stranger rummaged through the contents of the bag, announcing each item as he brought it out. “A set of clothing… A pencil… a sharpener… a… book?” he flipped through the insides of it. “They’re drawings.”

“Bring it,” the woman said, though she didn’t seem particularly interested in it. Timber acted as the messenger, handing over the sketchbook to her. Skimming through the contents inside it, she was met with half of the pages being cleanly torn off from the spine for some reason. The few pages which were still intact were all but small doodles.

Her eyes landed on a particular scribble of a man picking his nose. “...” she looked over to Arden. “What crew do you belong to?”

Cheek against the floor as he didn’t have the strength to get up, Arden answered with effort, “None. I don’t… belong to any.”

“Then you’re saying you’re not a pirate?”

“Yes.”

“Are you a marine?”

“No.”

“Then what are you?”

“... No one. Someone that likes to draw. That’s all,” he said, looking at her with hatred as she continued to flip through the pages nonchalantly. He couldn’t help but feel territorial over it.

“Hm,” she simply sounded out, leaning back against her chair in an even more comfortable manner. She looked over to the man who had Arden’s bag with a nod. “Continue.”

The beasts pirate announced that there was nothing left inside the large pocket, going over to the rest of them. It wasn’t until he checked the final pocket did he find one last item. “A…” he mumbled, feeling the item in his hand bring it out. “A…” he was confused, flipping the smooth object over in his hands, observing it. “A brick?” He then raised it high in the air. “An unknown shiny brick box!”

The woman’s eyes instantaneously widened when she got a better view of it. “Give it!” Her voice contrasted greatly from before. There was clear demand in her voice.

All the other Beasts Pirates seemed also taken aback at her change in demeanor.

Once she had her hands on the item-- once she observed it for only a few seconds, she looked over to Arden with a blazing stare. Though Arden didn’t notice as he had his eyes closed, feeling his body wanting to transform to heal himself.

No. Not here. Not now.

The only card he had up his sleeve right now was his devil fruit powers. He couldn’t let himself slip up and reveal what it was.

He couldn’t. Not if he wanted to live.

“Miss,” Timber said, glancing at Arden when he noticed the look she was giving him. “What does it mean?”

“Nothing of your concern,” she caustically said. “This isn’t anything of importance.” She slipped it into her bra to evade curious eyes. “You all hear me?!”

“Yes! Miss!” the pirates chorused.

Turning around, she gave her final orders for the moment, “Take him down to the storage unit. Have someone tend to his wounds and feed him.”

“But Miss--!” Timber started, but bowed down instead when she shot a glare at him. “... Understood.”

***

The storage room was dusty as hell.

Coughing up a storm, Arden squinted, the one dimly lit candle being the only source of light in the room. It was more armor and cannonball ammo in crates from what he could tell.

What the hell do I do now?

His first instinct was to transform. He was aching and hurting in so many goddamn places that it would be foolish if he didn’t. If he did, he would be able to slip out of the binds easily.

But he didn’t know what the situation would be like once he did that. The woman from earlier was someone he’s never met before. He’s never heard of a character like her in the series.

He didn’t know what she was capable of.

And for once-- he was truly frightened.

Not even encountering and fighting Doflamingo came close to this.

The unknown scared him.

The world of One Piece scared him.

“Shit…” he seethed out through his teeth, curling up into a ball on his knees. Being scared wasn’t going to get him out of this situation! He banged his head on the floor, hoping that it would help clear his head from the unending thoughts of fear in him.

It wasn’t until the seventh headbang that he felt his nerves start to calm. Maybe it was because he was feeling dizzy from the soft physical trauma his head was being dealt.

The storage room door creaked open.

Seeing the area around him being spilled with light, Arden looked up, blood trickling down his face from his self-injury. It didn’t take long for his eyes to adjust, the stranger in front of him kneeling down to his level.

“Don’t touch me!” He growled, falling backward to create distance between the both of them, his back smashing into crates.

“I’m not here to hurt you,” the stranger said, staying put from where he was. “I was tasked to take care of you.”

When Arden figured the other wasn’t going to leave after a few heavy seconds of nothing but silence, he glared over to him.

It was the man from before. The man with those beautiful, muted blue eyes. They contrasted well with his dark hair and olive skin.

“... Leave me alone,” Arden said, head turned away after realizing it was the person he knocked unconscious. “Don’t need help.”

“No can do,” the man said. “Timber gave me a task. Timber’s orders are Miss’ orders. Going against Miss is like going against the heavens.” He got up, closed the door, and lit a lantern to light up the room properly. “I’m not going to touch you if you don’t want me to. But I’m not leaving until you’re patched up.”

“Then you’re gonna be staying here for a while.”

“...” the man stayed quiet for a few, sitting in front of Arden cross-legged. “Fine by me. Better than going back out with nothing to show for.”

Another round of silence.

“Name’s Peter, but I guess people around here call me Cristofori.”

How the hell do you go from Peter to Cristofori? Arden thought but didn’t show any sign of intrigue on his visage.

“Heard that you might be hungry but I wasn’t allowed to feed you fresh food. Lucky enough, I took some bananas and a few other stuff.”

At the mention of food, Arden’s attention was finally brought over, eyeing the leftover fish and fruits.

His mouth twitched in desire.

His stomach showed no shame and roared.

Instinctively trying to use his hands to grab for them, he was quickly reminded that they were bound.

“I can feed you if you want.”

Arden looked over to Peter, distrust obvious on his face.

Peter didn’t seem to notice that as he already peeled open the banana, scooching over with it held out. He gave a toothy smile. It reminded Arden of a golden retriever almost.

Hesitantly, Arden took a bite out of it. It didn’t take long for the relief of finally having substance in his stomach once again to take over.

One bite became two. Became three.

Until he was soon hungrily looking at the fish.

Peter caught on and was already holding the plate up, chopstick in hand. Throughout the whole time Arden ate his fill desperately, the Beasts Pirate only kept quiet.

It wasn’t until Arden took his final bite did he speak once again. “Can I take care of your wounds now?”

“I don’t…”

“The floors are stained with your blood.”

“Sorry,” Arden habitually apologized in a murmur.

“Why are you apologizing?”

Arden stayed quiet in thought, eyes glued to the spot where he hit his head repeatedly. He then glanced up to the man, nodding briefly. “I’d appreciate it.”

Not once did Peter ask for his name.

***

***

***

It was maybe an hour or so later when Arden received another guest.

“Make sure no one is within hearing distance,” a woman’s voice said from behind the door before it opened.

What the hell do you want now? Arden thought, unknowingly glowering at her. She was the last person he wanted to see right now. She was the reason he was in this mess after all.

Dammit, all he wanted was a sandwich.

“When can I leave?” he said in a tired voice, not even bothering to look at her in the eye. “Or are you gonna kill me right now?” Either way, you suck ass.

“Hm,” she hummed, leaning against the closed door in ease. “The plan originally was to slowly torture you for information on a potential ambush. Then throw your body into the sea. But this changes everything.” She brought out the sleek, black object from inside her bra, holding it up.

Arden allowed himself to see what it was, and his eyes slightly rounded in recognition. My phone…?

“What does that have to do with anything?” he couldn’t help but ask, scoffing at the absurdity. “You can keep it. It’s a useless thing.”

“To someone from this world, yes,” she cooly said, confusing him. The next question confused him even more. “Are you with the Straw Hats?”

He laughed dryly. “What makes you ask that? The Straw Hats? Those bunch of nobodies?”

“Then what were those drawings? The straw hat,” she asked though it was more in a rhetorical sense, the last words coming out in disgust.

“So if someone wears a straw hat they’re automatically a pirate?” he spat out in a cackle. “Fuck, what are you on, lady?”

The next second he was knocked down on the floor, jaw aching in pain. The woman shook her heels as if to fling filth off of them. She crouched down next to him, yanking him up by his hair.

“You,” she said, staring right at him in the eyes with her violet-coloured ones. "You’re not from this world.”

.

Chapter Text

.

Peter ran through the forest as quickly as his legs would take him.

He ran past the large ruined gates, feet pounding against the elephant skin ground. His breaths were unsteady akin to his thoughts which bounced inside his head.

Following him closely was a supposed acquaintance of his. It didn’t take long for him to be tackled onto the floor by the fellow Beasts Pirate.

“What are you doing?!” The man yelled, straddling on top of Peter, both hands shaking his shoulders. “Siding with the enemy-- What did he do to you?! Cristofori!”

Clenching his teeth together, Peter swung his arm to deliver a blow to the man’s head. Getting up, Peter dodged the sword that the other used before punching him once again.

And again. And again.

As the enemy swayed in place, the blue-eyed man could make out several others a long-distance away heading towards where he was. “I’m not him,” he said, taking a step back to run once more just as the other lost consciousness. “And I’m not a Beasts Pirate!”

***

Everyone was on guard the moment he was in their view. He could feel it.

“Who are you?!” A mink exclaimed among the large group.

“They’re back!” Peter didn’t hesitate to deliver the message he was tasked with.

“What do you mean?” A large cyborg said.

“The Beasts Pirates!” he yelled loud enough to make sure everyone heard.

Almost all the minks started to exclaim in worry with the mention.

“They’re going to take down Zou,” he began to explain. “Several are already here trying to set up--”

“I remember him!” a young mink shouted, a finger pointed accusingly towards him.

“What do you mean?” A young man with a straw hat asked.

“He was with them! The scary pirates!”

“So he’s an enemy,” a green-haired swordsman said, hands already on his swords.

“That’s not important!” Peter yelled. “Zunesh--”

“What is it?!” A large bandaged-up cat mink said an ear perked up.

The low roaring sound resounded through the entire place. It was followed up quickly by a thundering call that felt like it came from the ground itself.

The next was the change in altitude, causing everyone to fall down to the floor. It became steeper and steeper, everyone needing to grab hold of the nearest tree to keep themselves from flying away.

“Again!”

“It’s going the other way now!”

“The whole island is shaking!”

Peter, with wide eyes, looked over to where he came from. Don’t tell me he…!

… Five Hours earlier …

Arden didn’t know what to say.

Forced to look at the woman with his hair pulled up, the look of shock was evident on his face.

“Tell me everything you know,” she threatened, knowing she caught him off guard.

“ ‘Tell you’?” he repeated after the shocked expression lingered around a moment longer. “Tell you what? You want me to say I came from the moon?”

The woman’s eyes slit before she slammed his head onto the wooden floorboards with a sounding thud. Pulling him up again, she said, “Washington? California?”

“... what?” Arden asked, dazed with his head feeling ever so light, blood flowing down from his nostrils. Why does she know…

“New York? Or are you from another country?”

When he provided no answers, she released her grip on his hair, standing back up. Looking over to the phone in her other hand once more, she asked in a quieter voice, pressing the volume button to be presented with black. “What year is it?”

“I don’t kn--”

“2010?”

Arden looked up to see the back of her figure, still trying to dissect the situation at hand. Goddammit, his nose ached.“... 2021.”

A laugh surprisingly came out of her though it seemed pained. The next sentence came out in only a whisper-- as if she was talking to herself. “She’s probably already married.”

Knitted brows accompanied the question he asked. “... where were you from?”

“Hornsea,” she quickly replied. “The UK.” Leaning against the wall with her back, she looked at him with a different look than before: a look of vulnerability. “Though I lost my accent long ago.”

The brunette only stared at her, seemingly as if she was a completed puzzle he pieced together. I’m not alone.

Sure, she may be someone that quite literally almost got him killed and also slammed his head to the floor several times.

But the thought that he wasn’t the only one to be transported into this world…

As shitty as it may sound:

It comforted him.

“You know who you’re working for, don’t you?” Arden suddenly asked, questions popping up left and right in his head at the new revelation.

“Of course,” she said. “Kaidou. King of Beasts. Ruler of Wano. And…” she looked at him with a piercing gaze. “My captain.”

“But you know he’s going to be beaten,” he said.

“Not this time. He’ll reign victorious. I’ll make sure of it.”

“But what about Luffy--”

“What about him?” she said. “Monkey D. Luffy: Son of Dragon the Revolutionary leader, Grandson of Garp of the marines, and brother of the late Portgas D. Ace and Sabo of the Revolutionary Army.” A pause in the air before she asked in a threatening low tone, “What about him?”

That didn’t make sense to Arden. He’s never met a One Piece fan that ever looked that way when talking about the protagonist of the series. It was almost like…

She doesn’t know who Luffy really is.

Arden’s eyes became saucers as he looked down at the planks of wood.

She doesn’t know what One Piece is.

To her, Luffy was just some pirate that defeated her captain.

To her, he was the enemy--  an unruly teenager of the Worst Generation.

A brat.

But that also didn’t make sense.

If she didn’t know what the show was, how could she possibly know Kaidou would be defeated by him?

“I thought I said not to bother us,” She then said.

“Apologies, Miss,” a familiar voice came from the other side of the room. “But I was told to prepare to look over his wounds again.”

“I see,” she simply said, her demeanor returning to normal after giving Arden one more glance.

Opening the door, she sashayed out of the room, the man from the other side bowing deeply to her until she was out of sight.

Peter.

***

“Everyone’s talking about it, you know,” Peter said as he dabbed cotton of antiseptic on the wound of Arden’s cheek. “That you’re a part of the Straw Hats.”

“You don’t say,” Arden said, wincing slightly at the pain.

“So are you?”

Noting the brightened expression on the Beasts Pirate’s visage, Arden said, “No, I’m not.”

“Are you friends with them?”

“... I don’t know.”

“How long have you been with them?”

“Why are you asking so many questions?”

“Oh…” Peter said, hand stopping. He blinked once. “Dunno.”

“You’re a horrible liar,” Arden said. “You know that, right?”

Eyes bouncing away for a few seconds as he was deep in thought, Peter looked back at him. “I shouldn’t say it.”

“New York.”

“How’d you know?”

Arden blinked in surprise.

He didn’t expect that.

Peter blinked back at him. A sound of shock suddenly came out of him, his hands flying to his mouth, the cotton ball dropped out of his hand.

“You’re…” Arden said with matching wide eyes to his. “Not from this world?”

A slow nod came out of him but he quickly shook his head instead. “N-No, I’m not NOT from here!”

“You are!” The brunette exclaimed, straightening up his posture.

“N-No I’m--”

“Favourite Straw Hat?”

“Chopper.” Again, he then shook his head quickly to dismiss his answer.

“Aha!” Eyes glistening, Arden smiled widely at the discovery of another person that came from his world. Leaning in, he said, “You know it, right? This series?”

“Of course! I mean, n--”

“Me too!”

It finally dawned on Peter.

“Really…?”

“Yes!” Almost too ecstatic to meet an almost for-sure ally, Arden couldn’t contain himself. “I was drowning in the sea and Luffy and the others saved me. I’ve been with them since Punk Hazard.”

“Then you know that Zunesha’s going to be attacked.”

Arden nodded, thinking that he probably just hadn’t caught up to that arc yet. “But it’ll be fine.”

Peter shook his head. “No… Not with Miss’ plan.”

Arden frowned. “What can she do? We can’t change the canon story.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’ve tried plenty of times-- it never worked. I can’t even get a word out.”

Peter looked at him with concern. “But Miss has prepared everything. She’s even told Lord Jack. I’ve never heard of any of that happening in either the manga or anime.”

His expression faltered, almost too scared to ask. “About… what?”

“... That the Straw Hats and the son of Oden are on Zou.”

***

***

“That’s where this ship is heading?!” Arden yelled, Peter, nodding tentatively in response.

I can’t believe it. I should have known. Of course with the direction--

“Peter, listen,” Arden said urgently. “We can’t let them get away with it. I know it might sound impossible but-- never mind that. I need you to get my clo--” his sentence was cut short when he saw his folded-up clothes presented out to him.

Peter said sheepishly, “Well, I didn’t know you weren’t from here, but I was planning to free you from the start... What’s your plan?”

“I don’t have any,” Arden admitted with a smile. “But we can come up with one.”

***

***

***

“How long do we have left?”

“Twenty minutes, approximately,” Peter said, closing the door behind him before sitting down cross-legged in front of him. “Everyone’s busy. They won’t come down here for some time. Especially Miss.”

“That’s good…” Arden murmured to himself, transforming into his small form to escape his handcuffs. Peter looked with curious eyes-- the first time he saw Arden shift, he freaked out. He didn’t expect the weird squirrel he saw earlier on to be him, after all.

Arden eyed him as he took off the Beasts Pirate uniform he wore as a disguise after returning to his normal form. “What?”

Peter shook his head. “I’m just wondering what Devil Fruit you have.”

“The Hare-Hare Fruit,” he replied, changing back into his usual clothes. “Model: Wolpertinger.”

Peter nodded though it was obvious he had no idea what that word meant. “I wish I didn’t take it off.”

“It’s fine,” Arden tried to reassure with a smile. “You didn’t know.”

When they were coming up with a plan, they both relayed everything which occurred to them. Peter seemed to have arrived not long ago. He was on his way home from boxing practice when he was suddenly flailing around in the sea.

Unlike Arden, he was a skillful swimmer, but the backpack he wore was restraining to him. Even more so with the stress of the battle taking place between the Beasts Pirates and the Marines.

Yep. He was isekai-d right in the middle of a battle.

Although he was able to find a stray blown off plank of wood as a floatation device and somehow evaded the attention of the Marines when the battle was over, he was also left abandoned by the Beasts Pirates which were led by Jack. It was a wonder that Miss’ ship passed only a few hours later, saving him in the process.

And just like that, this ship now harbored three foreigners.

“You’ll take me with you, right?” Peter asked, taking a bite out of an apple he grabbed out of a nearby crate.

“I still think it’d be better for you to st--”

“You know I can’t do that!” he shouted, though it was muffled with his full mouth. “Cristofori was on Zou the first time around, but I’m not him. I can’t let them think that I…”

“But you know I probably can’t carry you,” Arden interjected though it wasn’t demeaning.

“I’ve been on a diet recently. I should be five pounds lighter than before.”

“You’re also 5’9”.”

“Yeah?”

“And I’m 5’4”. You know where I’m getting at, right?”

“What’s the worst that can happen?”

Oh, I don’t know-- we fall into the sea, get caught, then die? Arden thought inside his head but instead gave a sigh as a response. “Nevermind then. Did you get any more details?”

“All the zoan types that can fly are going to make their way up along with some others,” Peter said, finishing off the apple in his hand. “... they’ve got more bombs in stock than I thought they would.”

Arden drummed his fingers along one of the many crates in the room. “... Can we handle them?” Before Peter could answer, he spoke again. “We need to change our plan.” he looked straight into the other’s eyes. “I’ll take you to Zou. We should hurry and take advantage of our head st--”

“Clear the deck!!” A voice could be heard from above along with thundering footsteps which shook the ceiling.

“Prepare to land on Zou!”

Chunks of apple flew out of Peter’s mouth. “Did Miss send out an early order?!”

Arden could feel his heart sink. “... what?”

.

Chapter Text

.

Plans falling apart never boded well with Arden. It made him nervous-- shaken with the ropes of control being snatched away from him.

"Let's go," Peter directed, hand already at the door.

"No!" He immediately rejected. "We can't go right now. We should figure out something and--"

"We'll figure something out as we go. Standing here is wasting time," Peter responded.

"Fuck, you sound just like them," Arden said with irritation, glaring at him.

Peter only opened the door, head tilting. "You coming or not?"

Scrunching up his face in thought, the brunette let out a sound of frustration before tousling his hair in the same manner. Heaving a long exhale after a moment, Arden looked back up. "How else are you gonna get to Zou?"

Peter smiled brightly. "That's the spirit! Off we go to save an elepha--!"

His last word was muffled by a rabbit ear. "You're horrible at this stealth thing."

"Your fur's really soft," he whispered, removing the ear away from his mouth. His nose wiggled a little from the lingering tickle. 

An automatic response came out. "Thank you. You think so? I actually--" It then hit him. "No, what? Peter, we-- Stop that!" Arden snapped his ears away from the other's touch. “Are you not worried at all about how this’ll go?”

“Sure am,” Peter responded simply with an innocent nod. “I kinda feel like peeing.”

“Too much information.”

“Is it?” He laid a hand on top of Arden’s head. “It’s okay to be nervous, but letting it get to you before a big match won’t be any good. You’ve been traveling with the Straw Hats, right?”

A nod.

“You met Caesar Clown; fought with Doflamingo, and you’re still alive, aren’t you?”

Another nod-- but this time slower.

Peter smiled, ruffling Arden’s hair. “Then you’ll be fine here.”

Silence this time. The shorter man only looked down at the floorboards, rebuttals crowding inside his head.

“Hey!” He suddenly scowled, feeling his long ears being tugged at. “What did I sa--”

“Come on,” Peter said after getting his attention, his smile unwavering. “Luffy and the others are waiting.”

Arden’s eyes rounded after meeting his gaze. Those blue eyes were so comforting… so homely. Peter knew what Arden went through, and he could understand it properly because he was going through the same thing right now.

They reminded him of home.

“... yeah.”

***

“I’m gonna tell you right now,” Arden whispered once they were somewhat alone. “I don’t know how long it’ll take exactly to land on Zou. I’ve never been there.”

“We got this in the bag,” Peter reassured, adjusting his posture so his boots hid the now small creature. Tasked in helping with the heavy lifting of supplies, Peter was able to survey the situation they were in much easier than he thought he’d be able to.

“You’re staring too much.”

“Right-- yeah,” the man shook his head, eyes prying away from the one in charge of everything: Miss. She’s the one obstacle they should avoid at all costs. Jack may be relatively close by, but he can’t do much. Not at sea.

“You can stay,” Arden said. “I’ll be fine on my own.”

“No, I have to do this.”

“What I mean is that it’ll be easier if I went alone.”

“I know it would be,” he murmured.

“...” An instant feeling of regret washed through him. If he went alone, that’d be essentially abandoning Peter. There was no guarantee that they’d meet again, and Arden knew he didn’t want to be a Beasts Pirate any longer.

Not to mention Cristofori-- the original one he replaced having been part of the massive brutal attack with Jack’s crew.

“I’m sorry.”

Peter shook his head. “You should go now.”

“I--”

“Everything’s tied up!” He suddenly called out, clueing Arden in on what he meant by what he said.

“Fast work as always, Cristofori,” A Beasts pirate whistled at the containers in front of them, walking up to him. “It’s gonna be one hell of a sight when this elephant falls over.”

“Has Miss informed Lord Jack about this yet?”

“Of course,” he scoffed. “She’s been on his ass about it since he’s been assigned on this mission. But between you and me,” he looked around his surroundings before signaling for Peter to come closer. Leaning in, he whispered, “I don’t think Lord Jack trusts her. And she knows it.” He leaned back. “But honestly, I don’t understand it. Miss has never been wrong in her judgment. It’s like she can tell the future.”

“How?”

“Well--”

“Cristofori! Just the man I was looking for,” a loud voice laughed, interrupting their conversation.

“Timber, sir!” The other Beasts Pirates saluted him.

“You were part of the troops with Lord Jack initially is what I heard,” Timber said.

Peter nodded, opting out of vocally answering in case he was to stutter.

“Then you’ll lead the group since you’re familiar with the area.”

“Thank you, sir,” Peter said with a smile and a salute. “It’d be my pleasure!”

“If I can hide in one of those crates…” Arden muttered to himself, hearing the whole conversation from a higher ground, hidden from sight.

This was definitely a better route than what they thought up initially.

But there was still the issue with Miss. She was observant, keen, fast, and most of all-- mysterious. All he knew about her was that she came from the United Kingdom; she stayed in this world long enough for her to lose her accent as well. But she looked fairly young… Late twenties at most.

Just how old was she?

What’s her goal in the grand scheme of things?

Maybe she arrived when she was still a young child… Arden tried to come up with a reasonable explanation.

And speaking of the devil, the woman came into his line of vision. Wearing a cloak and hood of some form to mask her figure, she talked to Timber for no less than ten seconds before taking off into the air.

Her Devil Fruit?

No… the movements seemed much more familiar.

“Sky… Walk?” Arden exhaled in disbelief, the move he’s seen plenty of times from Sanji being displayed in front of him.

***

Peter, now up in the air, was shocked at the revelation as well but only asked, “Why is Miss going ahead of us?”

An Insect Zoan Devil Fruit user that was tasked to take him up to Zou shrugged. “It’s not unusual. Surveying the area, most likely. Searching for enemies on the sea heading our way. All that jazz.”

“So she won’t be going onto Zou?”

“Maybe. If she feels like it. Depends. You hanging k there?”

“Not really,” Peter admitted. He was seated on a wooden surface that used ropes to tie itself to the other man’s waist. “I mean, everything’s amazing!”

The man gave a judging look but focused his attention above. “We’ll probably get there in seven minutes give or take.” As they went up, the moment they were at the same level as a certain person, the Beasts Pirates gave a salute. “Miss!”

Miss, who had dismissed a few other pirates who were ahead of them, turned her attention to the two of them. Looking over them, she seemed affixed to Peter. "You’re the guide, I presume.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Hm. How’s the boy?”

“You mean the one in the storage room?”

“Yes. You looked over him several times in the night, did you not?”

“Uh, yes, of course,” Peter said almost too quickly. “He’s doing fine.”

She looked at him-- stared at him.

“He… he’s still on the ship!”

“I never asked if he was or wasn’t.”

“Miss, apparently he’s sustained some injury to his head which caused some sort of change in personality,” the Insect Devil Fruit user interjected. “It might be best for him to remain down there.”

“No,” she said. “A change in personality doesn't mean he’s lost his memories. He’ll still be of use to us. It’ll make everything go smoother. This plan requires that. If we’re not quick…” she trailed off, eyes going down to where Jack’s ship was located. “Go on or else you’ll make the others wait.”

Peter’s eyes remained glued on the woman despite them already being some ways off. She seemed to be returning a greeting to a small group that had one load of crates.

“You got a puppy love for her or what?”

“What?”

“You’re ogling over her. Watch out though, she’s a difficult one. Always keeps everyone at a meter’s distance,” the man laughed.

“She’s not my type,” Peter simply said. “I’m wondering what she’s thinking.”

He scoffed. “Sounds like a crush to me.”

“What’s happening down there?” Peter asked, head craning downwards. The group was staying there longer than they should be.

“Hey, sit still! You’re not light!”

“They…” he ignored the demands, eyes squinting to see better at the fading figures. “Shit!”

“What are you--!”

"Arden!" He shouted as he fell. In Miss' hands was undoubtedly a weird squirrel creature!

"Idiot!" Arden yelled back, everyone near him looking up in surprise then back at the wolpertinger in front of them who-- astonishingly-- was talking.

"You're--" Miss realized who exactly she was holding by the scruff of its neck.

"Wolpe Thrive!" he shouted, the change in form allowing him to free himself of her grasp. At that same moment, Peter crashed into the group. Heavy crates fell through the sky, men scattering around to try and catch them before they fell into the ocean.

Tumbling down, Arden managed to grasp onto one of Peter’s arms, his other hand clawing onto Zunesha’s skin.

“Thanks!”

“You were almost there!” Arden shouted in anger. “I would have been fine!”

“You wouldn’t have!” Peter said. “Miss would have found out sooner or later. You expect me to abandon you?!”

“...” He darted his eyes in frustration, ears picking up the sounds of several pirates coming towards them. “Grab hold of my legs. We’re going up!” The extra weight was evidently affecting how he was flying and moving in general.

“Keep going! I got this!” Peter yelled after seeing Arden struggle to dodge attacks coming for them.

Unsure if he should listen, he decided to comply, focusing his attention on getting on top of Zou above all else.

“Kick your left leg!” Peter ordered, Arden reacting on instinct and doing just so. Using the momentum, Peter let go of the hand which held his right leg, launching himself up to kick an enemy away.

“I’m going down, catch me in two seconds!” Letting go of both hands now, Peter used his dropping weight to knock out someone else, grabbing hold of another to use as a meat shield and transportation to take care of others.

“You’re insane,” Arden exclaimed after he dove back down to catch Peter from falling further.

“Hey, it’s working at least! How long we got?!”

“Not long. We should arrive--” he suddenly stopped.

“Miss…!” Peter widened his eyes.

“... what are you doing?” She asked, looking down at them, the hood of her cloak blocking her features from clear view.

“Wouldn’t you love to know?” Arden asked back, cautious of her actions.

“I’m surprised you were able to get one of my men onto your side,” she glanced at Peter before looking back at Arden. “I should have known that you’re a Devil Fruit user.”

“From your right!”

“Wither!” Dodging the lunge made from a Beasts Pirates, Arden then went back to half form, catching Peter’s leg. Struggling to hold him up with his lack of arm strength, he said, “You okay?!”

“The supplies need more attention,” Miss said to the mob of Beasts Pirates that came to back her up. “Focus on delivering them onto Zou safely. I only need a few here.”

“Arden,” Peter said, still hanging upside down, seeing the crates going up Zou once more. “Miss wants to rush this plan as quickly as possible.”

“Yeah, because of Zunesha, I know.”

“No, that’s not it,” he shook his head. “It’s because of Jack!”

“... fuck,” Arden said, the idea clicking in his head. “Are you serious?!”

“You get what I mean, right? If we can just stall--”

“Way ahead of you!” Somersaulting, Arden threw Peter upwards, right towards where Miss was.

“AAAAHHHH!” Peter yelled in shock as he shot through the group, colliding with several men.

“Where did she--” Arden faltered, flying upwards to catch Peter again. A load of crates fell through the sky and into the sea from the previous collision.

“To your right!”

Once more, he spun in the air, snapping Peter right in that direction.

And again, he hit no one.

“She’s quick…!”

“Holy fuck, I feel dizzy!” Peter cried, still hanging upside down. “There has to be a better way!”

“I can’t fight since I need to carry you,” he said, eyeing the woman who was some ways where they were again. “And I can’t go up because of the men.”

“Then drop me down!”

“What?!”

“I can swim fine, it’s okay!”

“You’ll die from this height!”

“But we’re in a different world. Different rules--- different physics!”

“I’m not taking that chance,” he murmured. Gripping onto Peter's ankle tighter than before, he started going up again. “I’m gonna swing you, okay?!”

“Wh- wha?!” Before Peter could ask what he meant by that, he was thrown up into the air, grabbed onto by the legs with rabbit ears, and swung around like a Beyblade.

Suddenly, an invisible attack came their way, nicking one of Arden’s ears despite him dodging it. “I knew it.”

“Is it her Devil Fruit?” Peter said, though his vision swam in motion sickness.

“No. She doesn’t have one,” Arden said, studying the woman. “Remember CP-9?”

“The ones from Water 7?”

“Yeah.”

“So she’s not actually flying!”

“No… it’s not unusual for someone to learn the martial arts, but it’s still not very common.”

She’s quick, she can do air attacks, and she can go in the air.

If she plans to go all out, we don’t stand a chance! Not like this!

“Below!”

“What--”

Peter punched the Beasts Pirates that came for them, but what the stranger said surprised them. “Haha! I got him, Miss!”

Before Peter could react to what he meant by that, he found himself hurling down the air. “Arden?!”

“Wolple Thrive! Thrive!” he wrestled, his ears and wings gone from view. It didn’t take long for the other to see a silver concrete rope-like object.

Outstretching his hand, Peter grabbed onto the chain that wrapped around Arden’s waist. The two of them struggled with the kairoseki. “Oh!” Peter said as he kept fiddling with the chains. “I think I got--” Pushed out of the way last minute, he saw a Beasts Pirates lunging at Arden, a sharp object in his hands.

“Ar--!”

“Fuck off…” Arden seethed, the nasty smirk of the enemy exuding victory. Grabbing on the loose chains and with all his strength, he choked the other enough for his powers to deplete as well. Letting go of the chains, he turned small, the knife falling out.

“That was close,” he said, catching Peter.

“I thought Kairoseki saps your energy!” Peter said, shocked.

“The Beasts Pirates are located in Wano,” Arden said. “I’d doubt they’d bring Kairoseki that strong on board with a bunch of Devil Fruit users. And I’m fine,” he quickly added, noting Peter’s gaze. “We’re not getting anywhere like this.”

“A load probably arrived at Zou already.”

“Yeah…” Arden looked up, seeing Miss looking down at them like before. “What would happen if their beloved Miss falls?”

Peter’s mouth opened in disbelief at his question. “... What’s your idea?”

“My idea,” he started, shooting upwards towards the sky. “Is to get you gone.”

“Flinging me won’t work!” Peter shouted, bracing himself to be thrown like a rag doll again. However, they flew past the woman instead.

“I’m getting you onto Zou no matter what!” Arden announced.

“Your left!”

Immediately, he was kicked upwards, Arden turning small to dodge the attack and flying up to catch Peter again. “Tell me if you feel like throwing up!”

“I felt like throwing up three minutes ago!”

“Good to know,” he said before sending Peter up again.

“I really hate this idea,” Peter groaned out when he was caught.

“It’s the hostage!” A random voice shouted.

“What’s he doing here?!”

“Shit, we arrived!” Peter shouted, seeing the group that arrived before them, unaware of what was happening below. “Let’s go--”

“No,” he steadily said, watching as they began to be circled by Devil Fruit users. “If we both go now, there’s no stopping them from planting the bombs.”

“Arden, you can’t--”

“Miss!” Arden shouted, glaring at the woman who was a bit away at a distance. Almost as if she was viewing beetles fighting. “How many of your men are down in the sea right now?” He smiled wickedly. “If you don’t do something quickly, the count is just gonna go up. Or are you gonna remain there? Watching your men drop like the flies they are?”

“Get him!!!” Howled the Beasts Pirates, fueled by rage at the insults thrown at the leader.

“Don’t mention me to any of them,” Arden said, wrapping his ears around Peter despite his protests.

“Luffy and the others can take care of them!”

No, they won’t be quick enough.

“Arden…” Peter pleaded, seeing the smile on the brunette’s face. “You can’t. Please.”

“See ya, Peter,” Arden beamed happily before kicking himself upwards and with all his might, catapulting the man towards the heart of Zou.

“Peter,” Miss mused, humming, the disappearing man shouting his ally's name to no avail. “So he’s not from here either.”

“Yeah, kind of a small world, huh?” Dodging the men who came after him, he laughed, though it dropped the second after. “Zou isn’t going down today.”

“It’s odd, isn’t it,” she kicked the air to be closer to them. “That I’m trying to change fate and here you are trying to prevent that. It’s silly. We both come from the same place yet here we are: against each other. Why is that?”

“I could ask the same thing,” Arden said, taking the opportunity to catch his breath. “Do you not know who Luffy is? That you’re siding with the enemy? That all of this is f--”

The next second she was in front of his face.

“Don’t say it.”

.

Chapter Text

.

“Mr. Jiang!” A stern voice called out, matched with a loud whacking noise-making contact with the surface of the work table.

“Yes!” Arden darted up in his seat, a hand furiously wiping away the drool from the corner of his mouth.

The teacher sighed through her nose in annoyance. “School is for learning. Sleep in your free time, but not during my lessons.”

A round of snickers could be heard from the other classmates.

With embarrassment filling him up, Arden nodded meekly. “Yeah… sorry.” Another look shot his way, and the teacher turned around, starting to continue the lecture.

A dream? Arden thought, pen in hand, writing down meaningless scribbles in his notebook to make it seem like he was paying attention to what was being taught.

He sighed.

Of course, it is.

All that crap about being in another universe full of fantastical powers and such… Him meeting the Straw Hats in person-- Of course, it was all a dream.

But here he is back in his boring world.

Back to taking boring notes of boring lectures.

Back in this boring sch--

His pen stopped, a blue circle of ink bleeding onto the paper. Arden looked up and around, eyes rounding.

Him in school?

That didn’t make any sense.

He graduated college two years ago.

And the classroom he was in was very reminiscent of the ones in his old high school.

His hand rose up.

“Yes, Mr. Jiang?”

“May I go to the washroom?”

She nodded.

Closing his notebook in a frantic, Arden got up as quickly as he could.

Though, he fell flat onto the floor the next second.

“Hey, is he okay?” one of the students whispered to her friend.

That was when the sharp pain hit.

Grimacing, he couldn’t contain the shout of anguish inside of him. His hands flew to where his ankles were. Jaggedly cut, where there were supposed to be feet was nothing but a source of spewing blood.

“Mr. Jiang,” the teacher said. “Refrain from making a scene, please.”

He tried to yell for help, but an unintelligible garble of a scream came out instead. A slew of feathers came out of his mouth, preventing his words from being reached.

“Crying over spilled milk, are we?” the teacher appeared before him, a pair of shoes in her hands as she held it up by the untied shoestrings. Though the shoes weren't unworn-- two dismembered feet occupied the space. “How pitiful.” Her face abruptly contorted into another’s. This one was all too familiar.

Miss…!

She kneeled down to where he was, bottom lip jutted out in a mocking way. She dangled the severed pair of feet in front of him. “And here you are thinking you can save the day.”

A cackle sounded out.

Her mouth widened further than humanly possible as she continued to laugh; jaw unhinging to roll out a long and forked tongue.

“What makes you think you’ll survive?”

Arden’s vision began to turn red, the gleaming shine of the monster’s teeth in front of him being his only focus.

Frozen in fear, he waited for her next wor--

“FISH!” She alarmed.

… Huh?

“FISH!”

“FISH!”

This voice…

“CHOP FISH!”

“TOMATO”

It’s--

“THIS GREEN THING.”

Arden snapped his eyes wide open, a soft yet sharp gasp coming out of him as he returned back into reality.

Pupils dilating and enlarging, he studied the surface he was staring up at. “... The Sunny,” he breathed to himself, voice barely audible.

He was in the dining room.

“Mmmmm, how do you cook rice? Ah, well!” The same voice that woke him up said.

Turning his head, Arden stared at the figure that was on the other side of the room: the kitchen. The person donned a chef’s hat on top of what seemed to be another hat, covering up his dark hair.

“Luffy.”

“Ah,” the man turned around on his heels, a wide smile spreading across his face upon hearing his name being called out. “Arden!” Sandals slapping against the floorboards sounded out as he ran around the kitchen counter, going over to the couch where Arden was lying on. “Feeling better?”

“Why--” Arden started, confusion in the word though he halted when he tried to get up. A wince replaced it instead, slight pain shooting up from his lower left leg. Removing the blanket that was on him…

He gave a sigh of relief.

Both his feet were still intact.

Though stitches lined around right above where his left ankle was.

Luffy grinned. “Sanji’s not here, but the food’ll be ready soon. It’ll be delicious!”

Staring at black irises impassively, it was broken off by a sizzling, bubbling sound. Arden glanced over to the kitchen. “The water’s boiling,” he said, words coming out in a tired tone.

“Oh no!” Luffy reacted, rushing back over to the stove.

Head in his hand, brown locks fell into his face, Arden staring at his supposed injury.

… it hurts.

His fingers gingerly touched the meticulous stitches. As he did so, his breathing became slightly uneven, unexplained emotions filling him up. Pulling his hand away as if it’d stop his irregularity, he then buried the rest of his face into it.

It hurts.

That was all he could think of.

Though the source of it was much more complicated than the stitches led one to believe.

“Big trouble, Luffy!” The door suddenly slammed wide open, a panicked Chopper shouting.

“Eh, but I’m cooking right now,” Luffy frowned, chucking a fish head into the pot. “Oh, yeah. Chopper, Arden’s awake.”

“He is?” Chopper asked, large eyes going over to where Arden was. They glistened in glee. “Arden!” Running over to him immediately, he pulled a chair from the dining table, hopping onto it and holding the stethoscope he already had in hand up. “How are you feeling? Does it hurt anywhere?”

“It hurts…” Arden mumbled, still in a closed-off position.

“Where does it hurt?” the doctor asked in concern. He made a sound of realization, briefly turning his attention to Luffy. “Pedro said it’s serious, Luffy.”

“Pedro?” Luffy said, head tilted to the side, adding a slab of meat into what he was cooking. “Alright then.” Quickly dropping what he was doing, he went out of the kitchen to address what matters were occurring outside.

“We found you in a horrible state,” Chopper started, stethoscope up to Arden’s chest. Tears filled up his eyes but he quickly blinked them away. “We found a trail of blood from the deck into here.”

“Chopper, I…” Arden said, voice cracking. His body started to move. “... I need some water.”

“No, sit tight!” Chopper instructed sternly, a small hoof pushing him back down. “I couldn’t hook you up to an IV with blood or anything. Your body rejected everything. The side effects were severe!”

Making sure the patient would stay put, Chopper then walked over to the kitchen. A brief shocked comment about what was happening on the stove came out of him but he soon reappeared in front of Arden with a glass of water. “Here.”

“Thank you,” he said, accepting the drink with both his hands. The cool liquid going down his throat seemed to clear his mind as his brows started to knit together. “I’m sorry.” his eyes flitted around, hot tears stinging them. “I said I was going to leave the ship and that I could take care of myself.” He swallowed a lump that formed in his throat. “But here I am back in your care.”

He tightened the hold around the glass until his knuckles turned white. “We weren’t supposed to see each other again.” So why…

Chopper listened quietly in sympathy. Luffy had told his group back on Zou that Arden left to go on his own adventure. But one thing that was a stark difference was that Luffy said they’d meet again in a rather confident tone as he always does.

It seemed Arden didn’t think that way.

“We should do something about the food,” Arden then said, surprising Chopper. His eyes followed brown ones to where the stove was. There was the pot Luffy was in front of: a large tower of food stacked on top of one another protruding proudly out of the soup pot. “That’s the last of it that’s in stock. He’s messed up a couple of times now.”

“Eh?! Seriously?!” Chopper exclaimed in disbelief. He sniffed the air. “It’s starting to burn!” Running over to the kitchen, he transformed into a larger form to take care of the mess. “Where do I put them?!”

“Eh?! That’s my dad?!” Luffy yelled, catching both of their attention.

“Turn off the stove first,” Arden brought the attention back to the task at hand.

“Right!”

“If you can salvage anything,” Arden said quietly though Chopper’s exceptional hearing picked it up. “I’ll cook.”

“You shouldn--”

“Let me,” he cut him off at a louder volume, looking at him. “Please.”

Chopper nodded after a moment, seeing the determination on Arden’s face changing his mind.

“What is this? Electro?!” a voice Arden couldn’t recognize yelled from outside after a lightning bolt sounded out. A slew of similar sounds thundered followed by the rocking of the ship.

“Furl the sail now!” Nami’s voice could be heard. “The wind is gonna rip it out!”

Chopper snapped his attention towards where the deck was. He looked over to Arden who nodded his head as if to give permission. “Rest well,” Chopper said before exiting the room to help the others out.

Hearing the clamoring outside, Arden pushed aside the rest of the blanket off him, getting up with some effort. He winced at the notable discomfort when he put weight on his left leg.

Can’t transform, he thought to himself, trying his damndest to will himself to change forms. Nothing occurred.

He took a step forward.

Suddenly, his body shrank and he fell to the floor with a thump.

Okay, I guess I c--

The next second his back arched upwards before he went into his half-form involuntarily.

“Unstable. Got it,” he concluded in a murmur, exhaling in mild bitterness. Could it have been the kairoseki…? Flashes of what happened previously reappeared in front of him.

He lifted his shirt up, revealing his torso to be bandaged up as well. “It’d be too simple if this was all a dream, huh?” He said to himself, hand hovering over the multitude of wounds he remembers receiving before pulling the hem of his shirt back down.

Getting up from the floor, he hopped into the kitchen area with his one good leg, using the walls as support as the ship continued to rock violently back and forth due to the strong storm that came out of nowhere.

Peering into the large pot, he couldn’t help but scrunch up his nose at the foul smell. A bunch of the larger chunks of meat was taken out and put into a box on the floor, the remaining inside the pot was… questionable to say the least.

Uncooked rice piled up on one side, the overall look of the liquid being purplish--

Wait, what’s that blue slimy thing?

The hell happened? He thought, scooping out the uncooked rice with a ladle. Did he even wash the--

No, he probably didn’t.

Most likely didn’t.

...

...

...

He definitely didn’t.

***

“Food! Food!” Luffy chanted, marching into the dining room with confident strides. “Arden, what are you doing?”

“Just in time,” Arden replied, bringing out the bowls to be filled. “Can you give me a hand?”

“Hmmm?” Luffy hummed in a confused way before looking at the stove more carefully. “What happened to my homemade curry?”

“It wasn’t good…” he mumbled, eyes averted but cleared his throat, hand waving to a large pot that lay in the corner of the kitchen. “It’s over there.” An idea clicked in him. Walking over to Luffy’s creation, he picked up a scoopful with the ladle. “Say ‘aahh’.”

“You sure?” he said, though he walked forward anyway, the bowl of the ladle disappearing inside his mouth. Pulling back, he happily chewed it for a few seconds before the expression on his face contorted to that of disgust. “Yuck!” He stuck his tongue out. “How can I eat this?!”

“Here,” Arden then presented him with a bowl filled with a translucent liquid: carrots, sweet corn, pork bones, and honey dates.

“It’s good!” Luffy grinned widely after taking a large gulp of it despite being unsure if it was edible or not. “Did you make this?”

He nodded. “It’s not done yet. Still has fifty-seven minutes to go.” He limped over to another pot that sat a bit away on the countertop, going back into his normal form without any warning. “Rice and steamed fish for now if that’s okay.”

“Wow, you never said you could cook.”

“I lived by myself,” Arden said, filling up the bowls one by one with rice.

“What did I say about lying down and resting!” Chopper ran into the kitchen. “Your body needs to-- Oh, what’s that smell?”

“He made some really delicious soup,” Luffy said, lifting up the pot lid. “You wanna try some?”

“Yeah!”

“The soup isn’t ready yet,” Arden warned with a look. “Chopper, here.” He lowered a filled-up bowl of food with a fork. “Can you pass these to the others?”

“Oh sure-- Wait you have to rest!”

Arden only replied with a smile.

***

“To have you cook for us even with your injuries,” Brook said, accepting his share of food. “You have our deepest gratitude.”

“It’s the least I could do,” Arden returned it, shaking his head, sinking down in the coat Chopper provided him. It seemed to be Zoro’s from his understanding.

His gaze wandered to the new faces: all of which seemed to be minks. A tiger whose one eye was covered by his hair,

Pedro.

a lion with sunglasses on,

Pekoms.

and--

“You were the one who did those drawings, right?” A bunny mink said. “They were really pretty!”

He nodded as thanks, though kept his eyes on her despite the others striking up a conversation with one another. Carrot. It had to be her. The blonde hair. Fur as white as the snow that was falling. The innocent look.

It was how he remembered her to look like except for one thing:

A section of her right ear was bandaged up. Like it was cut.

Along with her right arm in a sling.

Odd.