:note: (previously aslMeno)

I'M BACCCKKK :D *gets shot

So it's been four/five years since I started this story, and three years since this has been updated. *scream* I completely lost inspiration D: Sorry! I recommend (if you haven't just got to this chapter recently) to re-read the previous chapters as most have been updated and changed slightly, with new interactions etc.

But the good news is, I'm actually prepared now! (Not that I wasn't prepared before what pfffff). I know this was meant to go out a few months ago, but I instead opted to making a chapter-plan so that I don't run into another hiatus again.

I just want to say a huge thankyou to the response I got from the last update! I can't believe people were still waiting for this, asdfghjkl. Please forgive this lazy writer ;-;

Disclaimer: Ohhhhh no. I'm not starting this again.

(P.S The time I previously spent for writing I've instead spent on YT doing One Piece edits! You can tell, 'cause I started my yt channel suspiciously three years ago. The channel's name is KayaaHiko, and I upload there often :D *shameless advertising*)

Chapter 26

The sound of heavy footsteps filled the cobbled room, the pirates and revolutionaries inside bracing themselves for the fight they'd have to put up. Instantly looking behind him, Sabo yelled; his words laced in concern. "They're surrounding us! We need to get out of here now."

The rest of the group were unable to respond, as the marines began to charge at them, shouting their commands. "Surrender now Straw-Hat Pirates!"

Slamming his fist into his hand, Ace smirked; sparks flying off his fingers. "I'm no Straw-Hat Pirate, but I'm sure as hell not surrendering." Quickly pulling his hood over his face, the ex-Commander raised off the ground. "I've been itching to have a fight for years."

Her eyebrow raising, Robin briefly glanced towards the fire-thrower. Shaking any thoughts off, she quickly crossed her hands over her chest; preparing for the fight ahead.

Noting this, Zoro brushed his hand over the tips of the swords hanging beside him; his eye locked onto the marines. "Anyone got a plan?"

"Yeah," Sabo spoke, his tone still doubtful. "...But you're probably not gonna like it."

Another boom hit the room, though this time coming from behind the group of pirates. More sounds of footsteps echoed from every corner of the room, bringing the blonde to frown even more.

"Well?!" Buggy screeched, reaching for the knives hidden beneath his cloak.

Seemingly not waiting for a response, the first group of marines charged towards the group; their swords swinging in the air. Blocking their attacks with ease, Zoro glanced over to the blonde; knocking the marines to the ground in one swift move. "What is it?"

"That's our exit." Pointing towards the door at the far-side of the room, Sabo elbowed a Marine from behind; gesturing to the mass of soldiers coming from behind him. "They've found the tunnels, we can't go back in there. By now, they're probably packed with Marines- waiting for us to run into their trap."

"That exit, the one we just came from?!" Buggy exclaimed, his voice breaking. "We've just escaped from there! Now you're expecting us to go back out there?!"

Frowning, Robin glanced towards Buggy. "It seems we don't have any other choice, though..." Whispering under her breath, she looked over to the door. "Wouldn't the Colosseum be the inferior option? From what we saw, it looked like it was the main place the Marines were heading."

Hearing this, Sabo grimaced; though shook his head. "Either way is bad. But..." Smiling, he gestured towards his brother and Zoro. "Would you rather fight in tunnels, or a Colosseum?"

Understanding his point, Robin nodded; cracking the necks of the marines she had in her hold. "The Colosseum it is then."

"S-so our plan is to just fight through them?" Buggy stuttered, snot dropping from his nose.

Throwing fire from his fingertips, Ace's grin grew; the flames eating up the marines standing in the way of the door. "Sounds like it."

Ignoring the high-pitch yelp from the clown, Zoro smirked; placing Wado in his mouth. "I happen to love that plan." Not waiting for the others to follow, the green-haired man took lead, slicing his way through the crowds of marines charging at him.

Watching with a hesistant look still on his face, Sabo sighed. It's not going to be easy, considering the vast amount of marines that lay waiting outside, but-

Looking towards Ace, Sabo smiled; his eyes scanning every feature of the grinning ex-Commander.

"I guess anything can happen."

Trafalgar Law's day wasn't going to plan.

This didn't particular surprise the ex-Shichibukai, but it certainly didn't sit well with him. Dolflamingo had already defeated and captured him, from what he could remember. For reasons unknown, his memories were blurred and gone, his mind unable to focus on the exact details before the fight. Everything was going wrong, they were spiralling out of control; and all he could do was watch. Watch from the chair he had found himself handcuffed to.

His eyes were glued to the screen in front of him, showing a series of events that shocked the doctor.

Are those Marines?

They were everywhere, scurrying around in immense, overwhelming groups all over Dressrosa. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember them being there beforehand; before the exchange of Ceasar and Dolflamingo's status.

Was that the reason they are here?

And that wasn't the only thing that surprised Law. The screen lit up with images of a tall Colosseum, spilling with Marines that were battling their way through the crowds to get inside. Was there something important in there?- No, there had to be.

The doctor didn't have to question long about what was inside, as the next images that hit the screen; causing Law's eyes to widen.

Battling their way through the crowds of marines were three familiar faces, ones that caused Law to shout out in shock. "...What the hell are they doing there?" Fighting the Marines, was none other than the other members taking part in the drastically failing plan. "Zoro... Robin, what are you doing?" He questioned to himself, confused in seeing Buggy the Clown amongst the group as well.

It wasn't a huge surprise to Law that the Crew he'd traveled with would at some point deter from the original plan, but for this many Marines to be loitering around Dressrosa, all whilst he was chained to a chair hopelessly watching? None of this was going well at all.

Shaking his head, Law groaned; his arms instinctively struggling against the sea-stone wrapped around him. Frustrated, he yelled out, unsure if anyone would answer. "Hello?" With only his voice echoing back to him, the doctor gritted his teeth; the reality of his situation slowly setting in. He was sure there was someone in the room with him before, watching him whilst he was semi-conscious. Could it have been Dolflamingo, or one of his lackies? Either way, the doctor didn't want to wait around; his heart beginning to race as he heard footsteps approach the room.

"Yo! Is someone in there?"

Not expecting such a casual remark, Law faltered; his head trying to look over his shoulder towards where the voice was coming from. "In here." He replied calmly, accepting that he'd have better chances of understanding his situation with another persons' input.

"Ah, Law! What are you doing here?" His tone still friendly, the voice stomped over to Law; a defeated old man in hand. "Weren't you meant to be at Green Bit by now?"

Gazing up, the doctor found himself at the familiar sight of the Straw-Hat Crew's shipwright. "Franky?" He questioned, surprised at the unlikely appearance. "What's happened? How long have I been gone?"

"Huh?" The cyborg uttered, lifting up his shades to reveal his raised eyebrows. "Well, well. What have you been doing here this whole time? 'Gonna be honest, I didn't take you as the napping kinda' guy."

"...I wasn't having a nap!" Law shouted back, surprised at his reaction.

Seemingly not believing it, Franky his head shaking with disappointment; gesturing towards the screen in behind him. "Look, I don't blame you. But if the others knew that you were just sitting back watching some screen whilst it's going crazy out there, they'd be pissed. It's not cool, man."

"I told you, I wasn't-"

"Don't worry, I'll keep it secret." Franky interrupted, pointing towards himself with a grin. "This is just between us. Oh," Holding up the battered old-man in his hand, the cyborg winced. "...and this guy."

His eyes widening, Law stuttered; his tone in disbelief. "I-is that Lao G?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Franky let go of the man, ignoring the shudder the building took at he hit the ground. "Ah, so his name is Lao G. That explains this super shirt, I bumped into him on the way here." Folding his arms, the cyborg continued. "Boy, was he not happy to see me."

"Is anyone else here?" Law questioned, his memories slowly coming back to him.

Sensing the desperation in Law's voice, Franky shook his head. "Not that I know of, this place is pretty deserted. Only came here to avoid the Marines, it seems like they're avoiding this building."

"They're avoiding it?" His eyes furrowing, he let out a small murmur. "That can't be good."

Surprised, Franky glanced back towards Law. "Huh, really?"

"...Yeah." Sighing, the doctor gripped his fists; his teeth gritting. "It can only mean that the Marines and Dolflamingo are still working together. And that would only be possible if-" Dolflamingo had lied about quitting the Shichibukai.

Law shivered, his emotions slowly boiling as the realization of his mistake set in. Slamming his fist as high as he could whilst restrained, Law yelled out; surprising Franky. "Damn it!"

"Woah bro, calm down!- Hold up, have you been handcuffed to that chair?" Franky asked confusedly, though his words fell on deaf ears.

"Of course he'd plan something like this." Law whispered out, his eyes shadowed. He'd been played. Everything that he'd been working towards had been pointless, it should have been obvious that Dolflamingo wouldn't give up just like that- he should of seen this coming. "Our plan has failed."

Catching this, Franky smashed the side of the stone; jolting Law from his thoughts. "Nothing's failed yet!" The cyborg yelled out, causing Law to ignore the cracks being formed that slowly freed his arm from the chair. "So what if there's a few Marines hanging around? It's nothing we haven't seen before." Placing his shades back over his eyes, Franky let out a pose; a smirk crawling onto his lips. "Don't put down the ability of our crew just yet!"

Blinking, Law stared at the cyborg, unable to respond.

Continuing, Franky chuckled. "Once our Captain's set his mind to something, there's no getting out of it. So sorry, there's no more time for you to be sitting 'round napping,"

Twitch.

"...Let's go take that flashy bastard down!" Seemingly content with his performance, Franky sent Law a wide grin.

Sighing once more, Law nodded; flexing his fingers as a small smile crept onto his face. "...You're right." Slowly standing up from the chair that he'd been laying on for way too long, the doctor stretched, his eyes falling onto the screen once more. "I suggest we go join them. They might know more about our current situation. It'll give us a chance to re-group and change our plan."

Letting out a sigh to mirror the doctors, Franky deflated. "Man, you with your plans. Fine, let's go join- hey! That's Zoro and Robin!"

"You're are quick to notice things." Law murmured to himself, re-adjusting his hat. "They're at the Colosseum."

Nodding, Franky's eyes widened. "I know, I was there today with Luffy."

Twitch. Law groaned. "...And why was that?" Don't be surprised, of course he wouldn't follow the plan.

"Ah, his brother's devil-fruit was being bargained off as a prize there." Franky replied, his tone somber. "I wonder how Zoro and Robin got there though, they're normally pretty good at avoiding trouble."

"And yet the one who attracts the trouble is not there." Law stated, his eyes searching for the familiar rubber-captain. "Oh, it seems like Buggy found his way there too."

Pointing towards the screen, Franky furrowed his eyebrows. "There's two others with them too, the guys in cloaks. Know who they are?"

"No, I don't." Shaking his head, Law turned towards the exit; ignoring the fallen Lao G on the floor. "It doesn't concern me, as long as they're on our side."

"Right." Franky agreed, his eyes locked onto the duo in white. "Let's hope so, it seems like they're pretty strong. It also looks like one of them won the tournament. I hope Luffy's okay with that."

Stopping in his tracks, Law tilted his head; turning towards Franky. "One of them has the Mera Mera no mi?"

Franky nodded, not noticing the confused stare he was receiving from the doctor. "Yeah, seems like he's picking it up pretty well." Passing Lao G, the cyborg joined Law at the exit; pumping himself up for the fight. "'Ya ready?"

His eyes shadowed, Law frowned. That shouldn't be possible, not if what I heard was right.

Shaking his head, he gave out a long sigh; nodding towards Franky as he continued exiting the room. "I'm probably mistaken." Law whispered under his breath, hoping that it wouldn't be an issue later on.

Usopp had always been an incredibly cautious (not frightened, he reminded himself) person in life, in fact- it was one of his most notable traits. But to his dismay, as he was walking through the eerie barren tunnels that were hidden under Dressrosa; he wished he'd been more cautious of who he was traveling with. To say the duo that had saved him were strange, would be an understatement. It wasn't like the long-nosed pirate wasn't used to meeting bizarre people on his adventures, some of them even became his crew-mates. But the two strangers were, to put it mildly, unnerving.

Everything had been fine at first. After all agreeing to help find each other's friends, they had set off; silently albeit but determined to find their way out of the tunnels. To fill the silence he'd opted to studying the two strangers, noting down the constant exchanges they gave each other as well as the looming awkwardness in the lack of conversation. He knew something was up, that in the midst of his rescue that he'd interrupted something important.

But he was too cautious to question, so watching them it was.

"...How do you think the others will react?" One of the strangers finally spoke up, the one who'd previous addressed herself as Haruta. Her words were whispered, very obviously only to be heard by her partner. She was fidgeting, (not that Usopp could blame her, these tunnels screamed danger) her mind seemingly elsewhere.

Her top-hatted partner sighed in response, throwing Usopp a quick glance. "Maybe this isn't the time to talk about that."

"And what, there's a better time? Vista, do you realize what's just happened? This changes everything!" She exclaimed, her eyes still frantically searching the different pathways the tunnel took. "This weight that we've been carrying for the last few years, no. The weight that Marco's been c-"

Interrupting her, Vista waved his hand; the girl's enthusiasm clearly not mirrored. "Haruta, enough. It's too early to be saying anything like that."

Blinking, Haruta turned towards the swordsman. "Why aren't you acting to same way, is something wrong?" Before Vista had a chance to reply, she continued. "I mean, I know that we've just lost him, again, but isn't this something to be elated about? You're not exactly acting like we've just seen someone we thought was dead, it's a big deal."

"It is a big deal." Vista shot out, a frown etching onto his lips. "But I don't think you've realized our situation. What's just happened shouldn't have been possible."

"I know that," Haruta uttered, her words sounding un-convinced. "...but as I said earlier. You didn't see the condition his grave was in. The moment I saw it I thought-"

"-that he was alive?" Interrupting once again, the swordsman shook his head; slowly forgetting the soft tone the duo were previously speaking in. "When was the last time you heard of someone who's been confirmed dead for two years, crawl out of their own grave in perfect health. Are you not even slightly suspicious of his story? I mean the chances of us bumping into him here, with the tournament on, it all just seems so-" His words failing him, Vista gripped his fist; refusing to look his partner in the eye.

Silently walking behind, Usopp had a feeling the duo had forgotten he was there. Gulping, the sharpshooter tried his best to not audibly react to what they were saying; his mind running wild with the information he'd just overheard.

...Who had crawled out of their grave? Wait, nope. He didn't want the answer to that.

Glancing down to the small Gnome that was currently resting in his pocket, he was met with mirrored concern that was filling his eyes. Swallowing hard, Usopp shook his head; trying hard to keep his presence down.

"All I'm saying," The man picked up again, catching the attention of his partner who'd been suspiciously quiet in his response. "Is that we shouldn't trust him, just for now. The only thing worse than this not being what we think it is, is having Marco and the others believing in this so-called miracle."

"Then what?" Haruta finally said, her eyes glancing towards Vista. "What else could this be? 'Cause from what I see, he's just as confused as us. I doubt he's some zombie controlled by some evil mastermind- you've just been reading too many horror stories."

Z-zombies? Usopp shuddered, the memories of Thriller Bark racing back to mind. He'd already had his fair share of experiences with zombies. He was in no rush to repeat that again, he'd take finding a dragon any day.

Letting out a sad laugh, the swordsman shook his head. "It's not like that."

Placing her hands on her hips, Haruta nodded; a pout forming on her lips. "Yes it is. too much. Can we just," She faltered. "...for one minute be happy about this?"

"I'm trying." Visa said, another sigh escaping his lips. "I want nothing more than for this to be alright. There's just too many questions unanswered to start celebrating just yet. Not to mention," Pausing, the swordsman examined a passage to the left of him. "-was it just me, or was he talking to himself back there?"

"You noticed that?" Haruta replied, her tone surprised. "It totally freaked me out, though I was too distracted to say anything."

Should I just leave? Usopp pondered to himself, ultimately deciding that he'd been completely forgotten about. He didn't have enough courage- no, no he was just cautious- to dare interrupt them during their chat. But after listening to the discussion, he'd concluded that; getting away from these two seemed like the safest option. He planned just to step away, lose himself in one of the many passageways and hope for the best that he'd bump into Zoro down there.

However, the Gnome in his pocket had other plans.

"Do you guys even know where you're going?" It yelled out, causing for the strolling duo in front to pause in their steps; their eyes widening as they turned to meet Usopp.

Smothering the Gnome's mouth with his finger, Usopp yelped; his hand frantically trying to cover the source of the noise. "S-Shut up!" He stammered out, flailing as the Gnome fought back.

"H-hey what are you doing?!" It screamed, squirming in the sharpshooter's hands.

"Damn," Haruta whispered out, her eyes blinking rapidly. "I forgot about him." Turning to her partner, she winced. "Think he heard everything?"

Mirroring the awkward wince, Vista gritted his teeth. "I think so. Though thankfully," Letting another laugh out, the swordsman approached Usopp; smacking him swiftly on the back. "It's not like we said anything damning, right?"

Yelping once more, Usopp fell back; letting the Gnome fall to the floor. "No. Nothing. I'm basically deaf, can't hear a word!" Laughing weakly, the sharpshooter sent Vista a smile, relieved to see a nod in response.

"...Sure." Haruta uttered, leaning down to pick up the creature which was squirming on the floor. Her eyes studying intensely, her eyebrow raised. "What even are you?"

Shaking off his fall, the Gnome stood up on the girl's palm; sending her a cheerful smile. "I'm a dwarf from the Tontatta tribe. The name's Flapper, it's nice to meet you! Are you zombies?"

Ignoring the last part, Haruta pondered. "The Tontatta tribe? I've heard stories about them. Never actually thought there was any truth to them."

Forgetting his fear for a moment, Usopp straightened up; glancing towards the Gnome- no wait, it's a dwarf. "Your name is Flapper?" He questioned, his tone surprised.

"Yep!" Flapper exclaimed, sending a thumbs-up to the sharpshooter. "And it's a pleasure to be in the presence of someone like you, the Great Usoland!"

Raising an eyebrow, Haruta glanced towards Usopp. "...The Great Usoland?"

Shaking his hands, Usopp sweat-dropped; a grin subconsciously making it's way across his lips. "Ah, pay no mind to that. Just something my followers call me." He claimed, unable to stop digging a hole for himself.

"Followers?" Vista questioned, starting to walk once more. "You famous or something?"

Gulping, Usopp refused to look towards the grinning Tontatta, instead opting to look at the ground. "N-not quite. I'm part of a crew." Mumbling his words, the sharpshooter shook his word, trying to regain his composure. "A pirate crew. The Straw-Hat pirates."

Why can't I just keep my mouth shut for once?

Placing the Tontatta in her pocket for safety, Haruta looked up; a surprised look crossing her face. "The Straw-Hat pirates?" Instantly sending a glance to Vista, she continued. "Is your captain here in Dressrosa?"

"Y-yeah." Usopp answered, unsure about how much to say. "You know Luffy?"

Shaking her head, Haruta started pacing forward; her head turning away from Usopp. "No, just curious."

It was obvious from her tone that there was more to it than that, but Usopp decided that going off the previous conversation he overheard; he'd best leave it. After-all, Luffy was strong and crazy enough to match these people, he had as much faith in that as he did in own lies. Thinking back, Usopp smiled; the reminder in Luffy's faith in them as a crew regaining some courage in his venture.

And as if fate was listening in to Usopp's thoughts, Vista yelled out; alerting the brunette and liar. "I think I see something!"

Both quickly rushed over towards Vista, their hopes of escaping the tunnels raising as their eyes locked onto the light beaming from a crack in the ceiling.

"Finally!" Running her hands over the break in the wall, Haruta jumped up; her eyes meeting Vista's. "Think we can break our way through here?"

Usopp glanced towards Vista, waiting for a reply. Though to his surprise, the swordsman didn't match the brunette's enthusiasm; seemingly troubled by something.

"Wait." He ordered, pushing Haruta back from the wall. "Something's up." Ignoring the confused replies from his partner, the swordsman peeked through the crack. "...What the?" He mumbled, his head cocking to the side.

Before he had a chance to question, Usopp jolted; a loud screaming echoing down the tunnel. Though to the sharpshooter's dismay, it wasn't coming from the passageways. No, they're coming from-

Pressing his head against the wall the crack was situated on, Usopp's eyes widened. "T-the scream came from the other side of this wall, there's more of them." Usopp exclaimed, glancing towards Vista for answers.

"What? What's happening?" Haruta question, looking everywhere for the source of the noise.

Pushing his eyes away from the crack, the swordsman gulped; twiddling with his mustache nervously. "I think it might be safer to stay on this side of the wall for now." He claimed, a shocked look crossing his eyes. "It's teeming with Marines out there, the streets are filled with them."

"Huh?" Usopp yelped, confused at what the swordsman was claiming. "The Marines are here?!"

Stunned by this, Haruta stepped back. "What are they doing here? I thought Dressrosa was protected by that Shichibukai guy."

Gulping, the sharpshooter turned towards the brunette. "You mean Dolflamingo?" Seeing a nod in return, Usopp placed a hand at the back of his head; a nervous smiling appearing on his face. "Yeah, about that. He kinda resigned today. Not that we had anything to do with it, aha."

"Damn it." Vista uttered. "That was unexpected. Finding our friends might not be the hardest thing we have to do today."

"Yeah," Haruta mumbled, turning towards the pathway beside the cracked wall. "...this makes finding them as quickly as possible all the more important. We need to find a different way out of here. Look over there." Raising her hand, the brunette pointed to the stairway which to Usopp's disappointment; was near enough destroyed. "What about those?"

Sighing, the swordsman examined the stairs; an uncertain looks crossing his eyes. "They don't look the safest, but-"

"...we don't have another choice, do we?" Haruta finished, glancing towards Usopp for agreement.

Reluctantly, the liar nodded. So much for being cautious.

"So, just to be sure. You both don't have any clue where your crews are right now?"

Seeing a synchronized nod from the two pirate captains, Koala gave out a heavy sigh. This was going to be a lot more work than she had first anticipated. She hadn't thought two well-respected captains of crews such as the Whitebeard Pirates and Straw-Hat Pirates would be that careless in leaving their crew to wander, but here she was. Seeing just that.

"Well, I know for sure that they're in Dressrosa." Luffy chimed in, giving the impression that'd help Koala.

It did not.

Leaning on the wall, Marco looked away from Koala; noticing the irritation coming off the revolutionary. "The last time I saw my crew stationed at the East Dock. They've definitely moved from there by now, most likely towards the outskirts of Balsa. Though I can't say for sure."

Waving her pen in the air, Koala let out a sigh. "Yes! That's what I wanted to hear. At least it's something." Scribbling down a cross on her notebook, the revolutionary groaned; the lack of information voiding her plan. "If only we knew where their main plan of attack was."

"You said that our crews were in danger, right? So let's go already!" Luffy exclaimed, bouncing around; unable to stick to one spot.

Ignoring the rubber-captain, Koala continued to mumble to herself. "If it had been the Colosseum, then there's no way we would've escaped so easily." Clicking her fingers, she once more glanced towards the blonde. "Wait, if you're not sure on where your ship is docked, how'd you normally find out?"

"Normally? I would have a transponder snail on me." Marco replied.

Smiling, Koala jumped up from the ground. "Great! Why didn't you tell me earlier you had one on you?"

Frowning, the blonde shifted. "Because I don't. I left without one this morning."

Twitch.

Falling to the ground, the bob-hatted girl gripped her face in frustration; her emotions getting the better of her. "Of course you did." She wailed out, closing her notebook. "That's fine, we'll just have to improvise on our getaway."

"Improvise?" Marco questioned, his eyebrow raising. "That doesn't sound great."

Sending him a dirty glare, Koala pouted. "Yeah, well I said the same thing about this entire scheme. Turns out Sabo doesn't like to be told his plans suck."

Luffy halted from his bouncing, a certain name catching his attention. "Huh? Sabo?" Darting over to where Koala was kneeling, the rubber-captain peered over her shoulder; leaning in closer to made sure he had heard right. "What did you say?"

Noticing her fumble, Koala etched away from the teen, a hand covering her mouth. Oops.

From what she gathered from Sabo's feeling towards his brother, she was pretty sure he didn't want her to spill the fact that he was alive to the teen until it was assured that everyone was safe. To her annoyance, the blonde was far too worried about Luffy's reaction.

I'm guessing stupid runs in the family.

"Wait, do you hear that?" Marco questioned, bringing Koala out from her thoughts. Though the revolutionary didn't have to listen out for long.

Within seconds of his question, the stairway's roof began to quake; bringing Koala to her feet with the Straw-Hat captain covering in front of her. "Someone's coming." Luffy stated, gripping his fists.

Before Koala had anytime to prepare, an immense thud rocked the building. Glancing up, the revolutionary winced; stunned at the crack that was slowly appearing through the ceiling. Marco instantly kicked the two teens to the side, narrowly avoiding the blocks of cement that fell to the ground without warning. Grabbing Koala, Luffy extended his stomach, crashing into the side softly.

"...It's you." The rubber-captain muttered, wiping the dust from his mouth. Following his gaze, Koala peered up to the ceiling; her heart dropping at who she saw.

A figure slowly appeared standing on the outside of the building, harboring a terrorizing smirk with an outfit that'd were recognizable throughout the world. "Straw-Hat." He started, his voice calling out tauntingly. "...I sensed you hadn't wandered far."

Staring back at the trio, stood the former Shichibukai dressed in pink feathers and shades; Dolflamingo.

And we're done! A longer chapter for the longest wait ever :D

Hopefully I haven't completely forgotten how to write, though I did struggle at some points. It's been so long since I've wrote anything, it's strange ;-;

So just to recap: Usopp, Haruta, Vista and Flapper (yes, he did have a name this entire time xD) are in the tunnels. Ace, Sabo, Robin, Zoro and Buggy are currently fighting in the Colosseum. Franky and Law are on their way there, and Luffy, Marco, Koala and now Dolflamingo are in the stairways leading away from the Colosseum. Hope that helps any confusion :D

Also, as I was editing the old chapters...man. I had huge notes omylord. So I'm trying to fix that, no more endless yammering (ironic).

QUESTION: Would you rather have shorter, regular chapters or longer less regular chapters? At some points, I felt as though I could split this chapter up into two- simply going off my previous word counts. What do you think? Please let me know :,)

I'm replying to the reviews in the PM, but for the guest reviews- here you go!:

Guest #1: I'm back! Thanks for waiting around so long :D

Guest #2: Thanks! I hope you liked the update!

Guest #3: Oh wow, that means a lot! Thankyou so much for sticking around all this time! ;-;

FlowerEater: I am doing well, thankyou! :D

Mar: Thanks! And... I can't say yet. But, you won't have to wait another three years ;D

Skylar: I am back! :D Ah thankyou! Hope you enjoyed the update!

Guest #4: Your English is fine, don't worry! It's great that you enjoyed the chapters, it means a lot- thanks! :D

Guest #5: Thankyou for being so patient, I hope you enjoyed the chapter :D

Guest #6: 3

Mia: Well, there's plenty of storyline to go- ;)

Again, thankyou so much for sticking with me on the unexpected hiatus. I hope you'll stick around a little longer, and that you enjoyed this chapter See you again soon! :D

-KayaaHiko