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After a hectic dinner, Corazon discovers one of Leona's wistful letters to her missing sibling, prompting him to do some digging into his location from the shadows...
CW: This slow burn fic delves into some distressing topics such as drug addiction, violence, gore, and dark themes. Please check AO3 for all tags.
Character reference || Masterlist
Previous || Next
+++
Law groaned, feeling the agonizing pain of the fall he'd just suffered yet again at the hands of that stupid blond bastard for the umpteenth time since he showed up. God, it pissed him the fuck off… It's gotten to the point where even just seeing heart shapes or cigarettes makes his blood boil.
Law's thoughts were interrupted by his stomach growling again, and he ground his teeth. All he did was go up to the hideout to eat. Nothing more. The dinner bell rang, and he went to fucking eat. Why the hell did that asshole have to throw him simply because he wanted to just EAT!?
There was the metallic sound of scrap shifting and clanking against itself, like someone was approaching him, and then the hot sun was blotted out by a shadow casting over Law. Curiously, he looked up and then scowled.
It was the glasses girl. Doflamingo's weird daughter who liked to follow him around. What the hell was her deal? Can't she tell that Law didn't like her? She never took the fucking hint!
“What do you want?” he spat, glowering under his hat.
“You're bleeding.” She said simply, looking down on him with those eerie brown eyes rimmed with dark bruises.
Law struggled to get up, settling to just sit for a moment. “Tch… don't pretend like you care.”
Penumbra didn't respond to that, instead reaching into her arm sling and pulling out a box. “I brought you some bandages.”
“I don't need ‘em!” Law snapped.
“Please? I wanted to apologize.” She said, shaking the box a little.
Law eyed her suspiciously. “...For what?”
“For Cora throwing you off the balcony twenty-one times.”
Law scoffed. “What, you counted?”
“No, I just remember each time.” She stated matter-of-factly. “Once on the day you arrived, three times on Monday, five on Tuesday—though two of those were him pushing you down the stairs, three on—”
“Okay, okay, I get it! Shut up!” Law growled, slapping away the box in her hand and making it fall into the trash heap.
A beat of uncomfortable silence passed, then Penumbra spoke again. “My dad is looking for you.”
“I know, the guy in the suit already told me before that bastard threw me.” Law spat as he finally managed to pull himself up on his shaky legs.
“Señor Pink?”
“Yeah, him, whatever.”
The two kids walked back to the hideout stairs, to which Penumbra bothered him again. “Do you need any help?’
“Leave me alone already!” Law barked, rushing up the steps himself to give them some distance.
When the door to the dining room opened, all heads turned towards the two kids who entered.
“There you are, honey bunny!” Giolla gasped, looking at her niece. “I was wondering where you went!”
The woman then glanced at Law, and her face quickly soured. “Ah, and I see you brought the boy. Come now, dear, we're enjoying dinner! Show that tramp the door.”
“Actually, I called for him,” Doflamingo said, much to Giolla's shock.
The man turned back to the children with a grin. “Penumbra, my dear… did you go fetch Law for me? What a dutiful daughter I have! I couldn’t be more proud. Pull him up a chair, would you?”
Penumbra perked up, eyes glittering. “Yes, Dad!”
Trebol snickered and turned back to Law as Penumbra excitedly went to drag over a chair. “Hey, hey, Law! It's been about a week, buddy! Ain'tcha ready to get outta here, yet?”
The man put his hand on top of Corazon's head while he ate next to him. “I wouldn't blame ya… you've been Corazon's personal punching bag since ya got here!”
Law's eyes shifted to Penumbra, who placed his chair next to hers at the end of the table, patting the seat and smiling at him. He grimaced, but obeyed since that's what Doflamingo wanted in the first place.
“Uncle Lao! Pass me and Law a slice, please!” Penumbra said, standing on her chair and holding out two plates over the table, which the man with the rabbit ear hat did for her.
Law wrinkled his nose when the girl placed the plate with a massive slice of seafood pizza in front of him. Bread. Out of every dish on this table, of course they'd give him the one with fucking bread.
Diamante was the next one to open his stupid mouth. “I'm shocked you've made it this far. When things get tough, we usually see the weaklings bail! You oughta have some big balls if you wanna run with us, kid!”
“Well, I'm not going anywhere!” Law spat.
“That's what they all say…” Pica muttered with his squeaky voice, causing Buffalo to quietly snicker while stuffing his mouth.
The brolic man glared at him, and Penumbra loudly cleared her throat, presumably as a warning to Buffalo, making the boy immediately stop in a cold sweat.
Lao G steered the conversation back. “Remember this, kid, we have a blood law around here. The Family will fall apart if the Executives aren't shown proper respect.”
“Yeah! Like this one time, I laughed at Mr. Pica, and he tortured me so bad I almost died!” Buffalo said with odd glee, making Baby 5 laugh.
Law narrowed his eyes. “If you're trying to scare me away, it won't work. I've already seen true hell.”
There was a soft gasp next to him, and when Law looked over, Penumbra's pizza slice had splattered on her plate, and her tearful eyes stared hollowly at her empty hands.
“Are you okay?” Baby 5 asked her, making her jump.
“Huh!? Oh, uh—y-yeah, yeah, I'm okay.” Penumbra said quickly, scrubbing her eyes dry and picking her food back up. Law squinted. Weird.
Doflamingo chuckled ominously. “You play a good hand, kid. But I can see through your little bluff. Regardless, Corazon is my dear little brother by blood, so if I find out anyone lays so much as a scratch on him, well…” he then traced an invisible line in front of his throat with his steak knife. “...You get the picture.”
Law's eyelid twitched in annoyance. Dammit! Of course Corazon is the one who gets the FUCKING nepotism privileges!
There was a sudden shout at the table from the ginger-bearded meathead next to Giolla. “Look at his skin!!”
“Huh?” Law muttered, looking down at himself.
Ah. His shirt was slightly open, revealing the white lead spots spreading on his torso.
“Penumbra, my love, you get away from that boy this instant!! That's the White Lead disease!” Giolla shrilled, bolting over to the end of the table to drag her away.
Buffalo, on the other hand, slammed himself flat against the wall, sweating. “Isn't that really painful!? Get outta here before you infect all of us!!!”
Law gritted his teeth and glowered at him, but then a distressed cry made him whip his head the other way, where Giolla struggled to carry a squirming and crying Penumbra away from him. Penumbra kicked her legs and attempted to cover her ears. “Stop it! Stop!! You're all making it worse!!”
A sudden, forceful slam on the table shocked everyone into freezing.
“Quit it, Giolla. You should know better than to give in to senseless rumors. For shame.” Doflamingo scolded. He pointed his thumb over to Buffalo, who continued to press himself into the wall. “You scared Buffalo half to death, for god's sake. The disease isn't a virus or an infection; it's caused by poisoning.”
“Mmh… o-okay, but stay away from me, just in case…” Buffalo mumbled.
Penumbra used Doflamingo's scolding as an opportunity to squirm free from her Aunt's arms and pick up the chair knocked over in their struggle.
Law noticed her look at the blotch of discoloured skin on his chest, then how her gaze shifted up at his eyes. Her eyebrows worried, and her lips mouthed a sympathetic “sorry”.
He continued to watch as she made her way around the table, tugging on Doflamingo's feather coat, prompting him to lean down. “Yes, Princess?”
The two had a small, quiet back-and-forth that Law couldn't hear, but then Doflamingo sat back up, shaking his head. “No, darling, you know what happened last time I let you have an open flame in your room.”
“B-but Dad, I know better now…!” Penumbra whined.
“I'm not taking the chance, honey. You may have dessert before bed, but no, I will not give you matches, even if it's just for a scented candle.”
He leaned forward, taking a plate with a small slice of cheesecake and a fork on it, then handed it to her with a pat on the head. “Is that all?” …Then you may go. Goodnight, sweetie. Don't forget to brush your teeth.”
“I won't.”
Law's eyes followed the girl as she made her way around the table from the right side, taking notice when she paused for a mere second behind Corazon before continuing on her way. As she passed him, he couldn't help but witness a silver glint from within her sling catching the light.
Did she… Did she just steal something from Corazon without him noticing…?
Doflamingo cleared his throat, snapping Law out of it. “Apologies. Daddy-daughter stuff, you understand. Now, where was I?”
***
Rosinante carefully stalked through the darkened halls once everyone turned in for the night, frustratedly grumbling to himself under the muting power of his Devil Fruit.
“That goddamn brat… always taking my lighter…! That was a gift! An expensive gift, you spoiled shit! Take someone else's or get your own already!”
He stopped in front of a door decorated with glow-in-the-dark stars and a glittery nameplate with ‘Penumbra’ written in cursive on it. Slowly, he opened the door, careful despite not making a sound. He was, admittedly, a notorious klutz after all.
The room was dimly illuminated with the gentle glow of a gas lantern that sat on the girl's desk—a nightlight, as children her age tended to use. Rosinante was glad for it, as it meant he didn't have to risk waking the girl by using a flashlight.
The tall man crept past the girl's stuffed animal-infested bed, carefully watching for any signs of discomfort or stirring.
The girl was peaceful, dutifully sleeping with her sling as per the doctor's orders. Rosinante couldn't help but notice the way her good arm desperately clutched a particular toy cat to her chest, as if it were about to be taken from her, but it didn't matter. He wasn't here to watch a little girl sleep. His lighter was somewhere on that desk. It always was.
When he reached it, his eyes scanned all over the surface. An open notepad… pencils… a small stack of Sora comics… an empty plate and fork dirtied with crumbs and a single, burnt-out birthday candle, for some reason…
He tried each of the drawers first… not there. It wasn't under the comics or inside her pencil case, either. Not taped under the chair or desk, nor on the floor in a hard-to-see spot.
Rosinante hummed, drumming his fingers on the desk. When a little pink jewelry box sitting against the wall caught his eye, he opened it to reveal his silver heart-shaped lighter hidden under a pile of tangled necklaces.
“Aha!” He turned and pointed at the sleeping girl as if she could hear him. “You thought you were clever, didn't you, brat!? You can't outsmart me!”
He plucked the lighter from its hiding spot, tucking it back in his back pocket where it belonged. After closing the jewelry box, he was about to leave, but the notebook caught his eye again.
He pursed his lips. While it didn't feel morally right to read what could be the personal diary of a nine-year-old girl, the fact that she constantly goes out of her way to steal his lighter and hide it somewhere gave him reason to check for some kind of manifesto at the very least. Everyone in this Family was fucked up and bloodthirsty in some instance, after all.
Rosinante picked up the notepad, reading it.
“Dear…” he squinted at the name, trying to make out the scrawly, obscured letters in the dim light. The graphite was smeared for some reason, much like some other spots on the page. He thought he could see “ny” at the end of it… Or perhaps “ng”? Whatever. He'll come back to it.
It's been two years since we were seppera separated and I still miss you as if it was yesterday. I hope that if you are still alive, that you are safe. I still go to the beach to look for the Beaufort just in case it comes back for me. It might not, but I still have hope. I'm very sorry if my letter is hard to read. I broke my wrist shooting a gun I got for our birthday and have been practis practisc practicing righting with my left hand and its annoying. Tonight I took a piece of cheese cake into my room to sing you happy birthday, even though it isnt our birthday anymore. I have been very busy practicing. Last week another new boy named Law showed up and hasn't run away yet like the rest. It's giving me some hope of a new friend! Buffalo and Baby 5 are ok, but they are also really mean sometimes and make me cry… Law is mean to me too, but I can tell he is also hurting inside. Sometimes I hear his heart crying, just like how mine cries when I write you these letters. Maybe he will open up if I'm nice? I hope so. I think he needs a friend.
Dad tells me that those cries are something called “Haky”, and that many people in the world have it. Do you have Haky? Do you hear people's hearts when they are sad? I wonder…
May the sea bring my letter to you so we may find each other again one day. I love you.
Missing you always and forever,
Your twin sister,
Leona.
Rosinante blinked. He was expecting a detailed plan to burn him to death, or how she planned to sell his lighter for money to escape… not a sad, heartfelt letter to her missing brother.
His eyes shifted to the dirty plate and the burnt birthday candle. So that's why she wanted dessert and matches before bed. And while it didn't explain the other several times she stole his lighter, it explained why she did it tonight, at least.
Rosinante looked back at the letter, then glanced at the sleeping girl, then looked back at the letter. There were tear stains on the paper near the bottom, which tugged on his heartstrings… a lot.
Despite the distance he tried to keep between himself and Leona… his heart broke for her. His heart broke for all of the children, even when they pulled their pranks or stole from him. His heart even broke for that new boy… he couldn't even imagine the pain he was in. He wondered then, if Leona and this brother of hers were reunited, would there be a way to save them from his own? To give them a real home somewhere far away from here, where they could grow up happy together?
He placed the notepad back down gently and sighed. From what he remembered about her, Leona was on a slave ship attacked by a sea king before she washed up here. If by some miracle that ship escaped and made it to the auction house, then there was a chance he was living somewhere as a slave now. But still, that was a very, very big if.
The man crept back over to where Leona slept, still clutching the toy cat tight. “I can't guarantee results, since I don't have a face, kid…” he said, reaching for his cigarettes and taking one out. “But I'll see if the Marines can help find him.”
He then left her room, slowly closing the door behind him. As he walked down the dark hall, he took the heart-shaped lighter out of his pocket, lighting his cigarette and taking a deep drag.
“I'll do my best for you…” He whispered, breathing out smoke. “...but even still… I wish I could do better.”
***
Doflamingo chuckled sinisterly to himself in his office, retrieving a spool of blue ribbon and a sharp pair of scissors from a drawer. “At last… at long last…”
During dinner last night, Doflamingo had given several family members a mission to raze the kingdom of Rakesh off the map after some concerning behaviour that went against their protection agreement with him. It was such a shame to lose such valuable customers in his black market trade… but it wasn't all bad.
Why, just today, he had received great news of a Devil Fruit being delivered his way in a last-ditch attempt at sucking up to him. And while nothing could save them from the hole they dug themselves into, at this point… it was certainly a most pleasing bonus.
With a pretty bow tied on top of the small chest containing said Devil Fruit, Doflamingo licked his lips gleefully. “She'll love this… no doubt in my mind.”
Leona sat on the same beach she always went to whenever she could. These days, due to all of her physical training, missions, and everything in between, it made scouting for the Beaufort much more of a rare occasion… but that was okay. Leona was glad to be able to do it at all. If anything, it made it feel more… special.
The waves were calm today. Not a whole lot of wind, which made ships coming around rather scarce. Leona gazed at the empty beer bottle she had placed her new letter into, turning it back and forth, scratching off leftover pieces of the label that still clung to the glass.
Suddenly, two hands the size of her head obscured her view. “Guess who?”
Leona giggled. “It's you, Dad!!”
Doflamingo chuckled, taking a seat next to the girl in the sand. “Good afternoon, sweetheart. See many ships?”
“Not a single one.” Leona shook her head. “It's too calm today.”
“Ahh, there will always be those days.” He nodded, looking out onto the horizon with her. “At least you get a pretty view, no?”
Leona nodded. “I guess so.”
A bit of silence passed as the two took in the sea's ambiance, and then Doflamingo spoke again.
“I've been thinking, dear… about the little incident with your birthday gun.”
“Oh…” Leona said, eyes falling to her arm in its cast. “...Yeah. I don't wanna say I'm… ungrateful for it… I do like my gun, but—”
“You're afraid of using it again, aren't you?” He interrupted.
Leona glanced up in surprise, then felt a wash of shame and looked back down. “Uh… yeah. Sorry, I-I know it was meant to be a special gift…”
“Hey, it's not your fault, sweetie,” Doflamingo said, stroking her hair. “Accidents happen. What matters is how we make up for those accidents to come back better and stronger.”
Leona watched as he reached behind his back and revealed a small treasure chest wrapped in a pretty blue bow. “I've been looking around for something to make up for that present, and today, I finally got it. Here you are.”
Leona gingerly took the box, untying the ribbon. “What is it?”
Doflamingo grinned excitedly. “This,” he said, lifting the lid. “Is a Devil Fruit.”
The girl's eyes lit up in stars. The fruit looked similar to a cantaloupe melon, except it had some round, shallow craters in the white rind, complete with a thin silver-blue swirling line in each crater.
“D-dad… aren't these super rare!? She asked, fingers tracing the swirls in the rind.
“Oh, incredibly.” He nodded, taking it out of the box. “There's only one fruit of each type, with certain ones already belonging to certain people. They go for quite a pretty berry.”
“A-and… you got one… just for me?”
The man chuckled, kissing her on the crown of her head. “Just for you, my dear… as an apology for my mistake.”
“So… what does it do?” She asked, inspecting the fruit. “Do you know?”
“Hmm, I regret to say that I don't, darling… but I do know it's called the Moon-Moon fruit.”
“Hey, that's kinda like my name!” Leona said excitedly. “Like how a penumbra is the lighter part of the moon's shadow!”
“That's right!” Doflamingo chuckled, taking a knife from his back pocket to slice the fruit for her. “Interesting how life throws us coincidences like that, huh?”
When the fruit was sliced, the flesh, which would normally be bright orange on a cantaloupe, was instead a bright blue and glittered in the light. Leona picked up the slice in her hands.
“Oh wow… it's so pretty, Dad!” she gasped. “Can I eat it now?”
“Go right ahead, my love.”
While Leona bit into the fruit with excitement and wonder, the taste that filled her mouth made her regret her choices immediately. It was so putrid! It tasted as if she had taken a mouthful of sun-baked rotting garbage!
“G-grrmfh!” She gagged, unable to spit the nasty fruit out. The only choice she had was to swallow. Gulp!
“BLECH!” the girl cried, shivering and spitting into the sand. “I-I think it went bad!! It tasted horrible!!”
Doflamingo, on the other hand, was quite amused. “It's supposed to be that way.”
“They are!?” She gagged. “W-why would anyone want to eat one!?”
“Because the reward vastly outweighs the catch, my dear daughter.” The man explained. “Tell me, how do you feel? Can you sense anything new about your body?”
Leona stopped, sitting back up and looking at her hands. “Um… I don't… think so…”
“Try moving around, thinking about what the name of your fruit means… When I ate my fruit, I thought about the essence of string and how things in nature made it. Like this.”
Doflamingo oddly positioned his fingers, and then some strings shot out quickly like a yo-yo towards town. He then pulled his hand back, retrieving a white rose from… somewhere.
“Where'd that come from?” Leona asked him, watching him meticulously trim off the thorns on the rose with the same string.
“A flower vendor in town.” He said. “Don't mind me, just focus on you. What do you think of when you hear the word ‘moon’?”
Leona looked back at her hands. The moon… Well, for one, the moon is very big, and it controls the waves… it cycles between many shapes… and when the moon is full, it's very bright!
Upon thinking about the moon's brightness, Leona felt a strange sensation in her hands, and they glowed a bright silver-blue!
“My eyes?” Leona asked as the lights slowly faded. “My eyes were glowing?”
“Like lights!” Doflamingo said. “How interesting… so your powers make you produce light, like the moon…”
Leona's eyes sparkled. “This is so cool… I can't wait to find out what else I can do!!”
Doflamingo looked over the rose once more, then gently lifted Leona's chin to tuck the stem of it behind her ear. He stroked her cheek with his thumb, smiling. “Neither can I, my dear daughter. You are brimming with potential that I can't wait to see bloom.”
Happy tears welled in Leona's eyes, and she dove into Doflamingo's arms. “I love you, Dad…”
He chuckled, stroking her hair. “I love you too, Penumbra.”
Hours passed as the two continued to watch the calm sea, pointing out funny-shaped clouds and just generally enjoying each other's company, until eventually, the sun began to set, making the sky go from a bright, cheery blue to a soothing, calm orange.
“Dinner should be ready soon, darling. Let's head back.” Doflamingo said, picking Leona up.
“W-wait!” she gasped. “One more thing!”
“Yes, dear?”
“I forgot to throw my letter bottle… But… Dad? Could you throw it instead? Really, really far?”
Doflamingo smiled. “Is that all? Then of course.”
He picked the bottle up off the sand, reared back, then threw the bottle as hard as he possibly could. The two then watched it fly away so far that it disappeared from view.
“...Do you think he'll get it, Dad?” she asked quietly.
After a birthday party unexpectedly goes wrong, a peculiar boy shows up, demanding to join...
CW: This slow burn fic delves into some distressing topics such as drug addiction, violence, gore, and dark themes. Please check AO3 for all tags.
Character reference || Masterlist
Previous || Next
16 Years Ago
Spider Miles
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PENUMBRA!!”
Leona's eyes lit up with joy as she entered the dining room and saw it decorated end to end with balloons, confetti, and streamers with her name on them, complete with her whole family (save for Corazon, who was away on a mission) gathered to celebrate.
She gasped, walking up to the table filled with gifts and snacks, climbing up onto one of the large chairs to admire the chocolate cake decorated with strawberries and nine candles arranged in a heart in the center.
“All this… for me!?” She asks, looking up as Doflamingo approaches her. She giggled when his large hands placed a party hat on her head, and he bent down to place a kiss on her cheek. “All for you, kiddo. Do you like it?”
“I love it!!” Leona squealed, hugging him. “Thank you all!!”
“Penumbra! Penumbra!!” Baby 5 interrupted, shoving a gift in her face. “Open my present first!”
“Nuh-uh!” Buffalo interjected, shoving her out of the way and shoving his gift in her face. “Open mine first! I spent all of this month's allowance on it!”
“You're such a liar, Buffalo!!” Baby 5 shoved back, stamping her foot. “I saw you buying sweets at the bakery just yesterday!”
“That was the last of it!” He argued. “I was hungry from shopping all day and had some left over! So sue me!”
“That's not your whole allowance, then, is it!?”
“U-um…” Leona muttered, nervous to speak up.
“Hey!” Trebol barked, hitting the kids over their heads. “Time and place, you damn brats! Smarten up!”
The two nursed their growing bumps and slumped over sadly. “You're right… We're sorry…”
“Uh, i-it's okay!” Leona flustered as Giolla took their gifts and put them up on the table, "I'll do… um… this one!” she said, grabbing the one closest to her, Baby 5's.
As she tore the gift wrapping, Baby 5 peeked at Buffalo and stuck out her tongue, much to his annoyance.
Leona opened the small box, gasping at what she saw. “A bracelet! It's so pretty!”
“I made it myself!” Baby 5 said proudly as Leona slipped it on. “It's a friendship bracelet!”
“Really? I love it, Baby 5! Thank you!”
Leona then reached for Buffalo's gift, unwrapping and opening the box to reveal a big, fluffy pink teddy bear with a white ribbon tied to its neck and a heart-shaped nose and paw pads.
“Aah! So cute!” Leona cooed, hugging it tight. “Thank you, Buffalo!!”
Buffalo beamed with pride. “Heh, it was nothin’...”
Giolla came up to her, handing her a sparkly red case of some sort tied with an oversized pink ribbon. “Here, sweetie. These just came in! I picked them out myself!”
Leona undid the ribbon, opening the case to reveal a round, oversized pair of glasses with thick red frames that glittered in the light.
“You got me glasses?” She asked, putting them on and blinking.
“Why do you think I took you to the optometrist a few weeks ago?” She asked, holding out her fingers in a rectangle with her in frame. “Ahh!! Look at you! So cute!!! How are they, sugarplum? Can you see crystal clear now?”
“Yeah…” Leona said, taking in her clear surroundings. “Everything is so crisp!”
“Interesting choice in frames.” Señor Pink commented.
“Oh, aren't they just the sweetest?” Giolla asked. “They're red, just like her daddy's! The moment I saw them, I knew she needed them!”
The celebration went on as Leona gratefully opened more gifts from the rest of the family. Dresses and shoes, stuffed animals, hair accessories, art supplies and so on, until Diamante handed her one last gift.
“This last one is extra special.” He said, his huge mouth grinning wide.
“Ooh?” Leona untied the silk ribbon on the box, opening it to reveal a flintlock pistol, resting in a foam insert.
“A gun…?” She wondered aloud.
“That's right, dear,” Doflamingo said, coming up behind her and resting a hand on her shoulder. “Time is flying by, and you’re growing up fast. With a day as special as today, we figured, why not allow you this privilege? Today, you get to go to the shooting range and start your marksmanship training.”
Leona gasped, excitedly standing up on her chair. “Really!? You mean it, Dad?!”
Doflamingo chuckled, scooping her up into his arms and kissing her on the head. “Of course, sweetheart.”
“YAY!!” Leona cheered.
Later, in a section of the scrap heap outside, Gladius set up several paper targets and spraypainted lines across the ground in preparation for Leona's first day of firearm lessons. “Alright, kid, I'm gonna walk you through this so you don't get hurt. As we know, guns aren't toys, and it's really easy to hurt yourself if you don't know what you're doing.”
Gladius threw the can of spray paint aside, stepping over to Leona, placing big safety goggles over her glasses and noise-cancelling headphones on her ears. “Do you know why I put these on you?”
“Um… ‘cause guns are really loud and can hurt my ears, and gunpowder could get in my eyes?”
“And debris, ricochets, spall, and dirt, as well, but very good,” Gladius said, giving a thumbs up.
“Now,” he began, placing the pistol in her small hands. “Don't fire yet. What we wanna do first is make sure your posture is correct. Feet apart.”
Leona spread her feet, then looked up. “Like that?”
“You're close.” Gladius used one foot to slide them apart a little more. “You want shoulder width. Next, bend forward.”
Gladius assisted Leona in bending at the right angle. Then raised her shoulders. “There we go. Now, arms all the way out. Don't bend your elbows.”
“Okay,” Leona said, doing as told.
Gladius left her side, standing back. “Great, now, since it's your birthday, I did the preparation for you, but next time you're on your own, so take mental notes here. First, I loaded the muzzle with gunpowder, but not too much, otherwise the gun will explode. Then, I jammed the bullets down the barrel with a ramrod, put a little bit more powder under the frizzen—again, not too much—and then I pulled the hammer down. All you need to do is pull the trigger, got it?”
“Uh…” Leona muttered. “I think so?”
“Perfect. Alright, kid, let ‘er rip.”
Leona truthfully had no clue what a ramrod or a frizzen was, nor the correct amount of gunpowder to use, but she assumed she'd get to learn that later… maybe.
Nervously, she aimed the gun at one of the targets, squinting one eye.
“Ready…” she muttered. “Set…”
Just as Leona was about to pull the trigger, Gladius noticed she had subconsciously bent her elbows again and was also slightly bending her wrists. “Wait, kid—”
BANG!
Too late. Leona pulled the trigger, and just like he'd anticipated, the recoil made her hands fly back into her face with an audible crunch, and she crumpled to the floor screaming, cupping her bleeding nose with her right hand and clutching her right wrist with her left.
“...Oh, fuck me…”
***
Leona hissed in pain as the medic who had been called to the hideout prodded around her nose.
“Well, it isn't too severe…” He finally said, slipping off his gloves and rolling his chair back a bit. “But it's too swollen at the moment for me to set it back into place.”
“How long will it take for the swelling to go down?” Doflamingo asks.
“From what I can tell here, I'd say a bit less than two weeks.” He stated. “But even if I set it by hand, the way her nose has been fractured could make it heal crooked and cause some issues with the septum long-term. In that case, if you want it completely back to normal, surgery is your best option.”
Leona swore she felt her heart skip a beat then. Her clammy hands curled and uncurled slowly as she watched the doctor's every move with frightened eyes.
“I see… and her wrist?”
“It's a pretty bad fracture,” the medic said, showing an X-ray of her wrist he took with a special camera snail. “But that'll be easier to treat. All she needs is a cast and—”
“What's wrong, my dear?” Doflamingo asks, kneeling and moving some hair from her pale, sweaty face.
“Does it… does it have to be surgery…?” She mumbled, nearly inaudible.
“It's either that or a crooked nose and breathing problems down the line. Why? What's scaring you, dear?”
Leona snaked her arms around her waist, holding it tightly. “I-I… I dunno…” she whimpered, tearing up. She truly didn't know why the word ‘surgery’ was making her stomach hurt. All she knew was that she really, really didn't want any part of it.
“You don't have to worry, Penumbra.” The medic attempted to reassure her. “I can assure you that my team are experts in all kinds of procedures. We help your family with all kinds of problems from broken noses to open heart surgery! I promise you're in good hands.”
Leona suddenly spewed vomit onto the floor, narrowly missing the doctor's shoes.
“EW!!” Buffalo cried, backing away.
“...Baby 5, clean that up,” Doflamingo ordered.
“Right away!” She said, leaping off her chair and rushing to get the mop.
“I-I'm sorry!” Leona coughed. “I-I-I didn't— I didn't mean to—!”
“Hey, hey, sweetie, it's okay,” Doflamingo said, petting her hair and dabbing her face with a cloth. “You're okay. Daddy's here. Would it make you feel better if I were there when you get it done?”
Tears streamed down Leona's face, and she nodded, embracing him and burying her face in his chest. “Please… I don't wanna be alone…”
“Of course, dear, I'd never abandon you when you need me most.” He whispered, rubbing soft circles into her back.
Once Leona had calmed down, the medic pulled Doflamingo outside the room. “Boss, I have some concerns…” he said quietly. “You said that pistol was a .45 calibre, right?”
Doflamingo pinched his nose. “Yes, thank you for reminding me to rake Diamante over the coals about that later… What the hell was I thinking, letting him pick the gun? I told him to get a pistol fit for a little girl her size, but I should've expected that he'd think a .45 is small enough.”
“Right… that aside, based on what Gladius told us, I don't think the recoil alone should've done that much damage. I'll analyze the X-rays I took of her wrist and call you later if my suspicions are correct.”
Doflamingo didn't like the sound of that, but he nodded and let the man return to the room, watching from the doorway.
“Alright, Penumbra, let's get a cast on that arm, and then we'll talk about what to do going forward regarding recovery. I won't touch on the nose thing for now.”
“Okay…” Leona nodded, holding out her injured wrist as he prepared the plaster and wrappings.
Doflamingo drummed his fingers against his arm in thought. Given how easy Leona seemed to be prone to injury, she must be a bit on the softer side… but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. If physical training didn't seem to work, then perhaps a Devil Fruit could be what she needed. And, of course, even if that didn't work, she still had some use to her, what with that superhuman memory and all.
Doflamingo grinned to himself. Oh yes, this might work out just fine…
***
Two Months Later
Leona scrunched her brows, frowning at her reflection in the hand mirror she had propped against some junk on the dining room table. With her good hand, she gently poked at the dark bruises around her eyes and her bandaged-up nose.
“Don't touch it, sweet pea,” Giolla said, approaching the table with a plate of freshly baked treats. “It needs to heal. You don't wanna undo all of the surgeon's hard work, do you?”
“I'm not touchin’ my nose…” Leona mumbled, not looking up from the mirror. “It's these stupid bruises! I look dumb…”
Giolla put the plate down in front of her, pushing the mirror away. “Don't touch the bruises either, hon. And you look just fine! What brought this on, anyway?”
Leona pouted, taking a cookie from the plate, mumbling, "Buffalo was teasing me… He said I look like a beat-up raccoon.”
The eccentric woman scoffed, taking a cookie for herself and sitting across from her. “As if that kid hadn't had a few black eyes himself. Don't let him get to you, shnookums, you look fine.”
There was a beat of silence as the two nibbled on their treats, but then a loud crash followed by a scream from outside alerted them.
“...What's going on out there?” Leona wondered, sliding off her chair and going out onto the balcony to investigate.
Outside, Doflamingo leaned against the rail, observing some kind of fight down below in the scrap heap between Diamante, Trebol, and some pale, scrawny boy Leona’s never seen before wearing a spotted hat, armed with grenades strapped to his body. Baby 5 and Buffalo watched on the sidelines below, as well.
“Another runaway?” She asked, watching him get back up and amateurishly clash swords with Diamante.
“I will say, the grenades are new.” Doflamingo chuckled. “He's got tenacity. I like it.”
Leona rested her cheek on her good hand. “Do you think he'll last longer than two days?”
“Well, only one way to find out., Doflamingo said, slightly leaning forward. “Don't play too rough with him, Diamante! I wouldn't want you killing the boy before he's completed his tryouts!”
“Yeah, yeah, I know, Doffy.” Diamante waved off, not even looking at the kid who was clearly giving his all.
The boy stepped back, glancing up at Doflamingo on the balcony. “If I can beat him, then you'll make me an executive too?”
That caught Leona off guard. He's so… arrogant! You can't just demand an executive position off the bat like that! Who does this kid think he is!?
Everyone in the scrap heap started laughing, much to the boy's annoyance, and Leona nervously looked up at her father, who was surprisingly even more interested now.
“Stop laughing! I'm serious!!” The boy yelled, gunning towards Diamante.
Unfortunately for him, Diamante easily swatted him away, wiping a tear from his eye. “You can't kill a person with just your spirit alone, boy!”
“Nnrgh… I told you, I have explosives! I'm gonna die soon anyway, so I'm not afraid of anything!!”
At that statement, Leona felt an abrupt and intense wave of emotions hit her like a train for a very brief moment, and she flinched. It was so fast, she couldn't even process what they were. All she knew was that it felt very, very bad.
“W-what the hell…?” She muttered.
“Hm?” Doflamingo asked.
“Uh… nothing. Thought I felt a nosebleed coming on…” She said, returning her attention back to the scrap heap.
Suddenly, Diamante flipped his blade, bellowing, “You should know better than to mess with pirates!!” before sending the boy flying hard into a mound of scrap metal.
Leona gasped, leaning forward. “DIAMANTE! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?”
“What?” Diamante asked.
“Are you stupid!? He had live grenades on him!”
“Uh, yeah, I have eyes, Penumbra!”
Leona resisted the urge to pinch her nose. “Oh my god—YOU COULD'VE MADE THEM EXPLODE WITH THAT HIT, YOU DUMBASS!”
“HEY! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A DUMBASS, YOU LITTLE SHIT!?” he yelled back.
Doflamingo and Trebol burst into laughter, and Diamante gritted his teeth. “Doffy! Teach your brat some damn respect!!”
“Ahh, lighten up, Diamante! She's just a kid!” He said, ruffling Leona's hair.
As this was happening, Leona and the boy locked eyes, and Leona became spooked, darting back inside. Doflamingo chuckled, following behind her.
Around twenty minutes passed, and Trebol and Diamante returned to the hideout, bringing the boy along with them.
He looked around, glaring under the brim of his dirty hat. “Where's the captain?”
Diamante scoffed, sitting at his designated cushioned chair on the other side of the room. “Doffy is a very busy man and doesn't have time for a brat like you.”
“Mmhm, mmhm!” Trebol nodded, stabbing a smoked sausage from the lunch spread on the table with a fork and joining him. “A dying kid is dead weight, y'know! Beheheh! Hey, hey! You said you're sick, yeah? When are you gonna kick the ol’ bucket, huh, kid?”
“Three years and two months from now.” The boy said gravely.
“And who told you that?” Diamante asked.
“I read it on my medical charts. My dead father was a doctor.” He stated. “In that time, I want to kill as many people as possible and destroy everything.”
That emotional wave from before crashed into Leona again, just as quickly and discordant, but much, much more intense. So much so that she had a fountain of tears well up and drip down her cheeks.
Quickly, she wiped her eyes, but she was dumbfounded. This was Haki… right? Doflamingo had told Leona about Haki before, but she didn't understand it very well at all. Why did this boy saying these things make her feel as if a shockwave was blasting her? It made no sense!
Diamante and Trebol cackled.
“Get a load of mister tough guy over here!” Diamante mocked. “Ha! Well, alright. We do accept kids, too. We must've had around a hundred or so come through… but most of ‘em run away crying within a day or two.”
He then looked over his shoulder. “Hey, Penumbra! How many kids have come and gone in the last year alone?”
Leona jolted. “Um… thirty-three.”
He turned back to the boy. “Ya hear our walkin’ library? Thirty-three in one year!”
Suddenly, Buffalo and Baby 5 popped their heads into the window.
“Hey! Guess what, Diamante!” Buffalo said.
“Yeah, Guess what, Trebol!” Baby 5 added.
“Ah, and there's the rest of ‘em. This is Buffalo and Baby 5. Along with Penumbra here, these are the only kids left.” Diamante explained.
The two kids locked eyes once again, and Leona decided to give a little shy smile and wave this time, hoping to show that the family wasn't quite as scary as Diamante made it out to be.
Unfortunately, the boy returned her gesture with the coldest and most venomous glare she thinks she's ever seen, shocking her.
“Cora's on his way home!” Baby 5 said excitedly as she and Buffalo squeezed themselves in through the window.
As if on cue, the door squeaked open, revealing the extremely tall, intimidating, heart-clad form of Doflamingo's brother himself, Corazon. He took one step past the threshold and—
SLAM!!!
…Completely slipped and fell ass-up on the floor.
Leona gasped, leaping off her chair.
“He slipped, he slipped!!” Baby 5 cheered.
“I knew it! That's so Cora!” Buffalo joined.
“Cora fell on his butt! Cora fell on his butt!” The two chanted, laughing at his misfortune.
“H-hey, don't be mean!” Leona tried to warn them.
Corazon slowly rose from the floor, then quickly struck the two kids across their faces so hard they flew back.
Leona cried out, ducking and shielding her face.
After a second, she fearfully peeked up from behind her cast-bearing arm, seeing Cora glaring down at her as he usually did from behind his shades before he went to go sit down.
Leona sighed in relief and slowly put her hands down, then gasped when she realized she was right next to the boy. “S-sorry!”
The boy didn't respond, and Leona took that as a sign to just shut up and move away from him.
Trebol finished his snack. “Beheheheh! You can still climb the ladder, even if you're a kid. As long as you do it right, Doffy will promote you. Just don't waste his precious time. Best of luck… you'll need it.”
Baby 5 and Buffalo suddenly got a mischievous glint in their eyes, and they ran off to the kitchen. Leona followed, whispering, “Hey, whatever you two are up to, quit it!”
“Shut up, narc.” Baby 5 said over her shoulder as she put a kettle of water on the stove, sticking her tongue out. “If you squeal, I'll break your other wrist!”
“B-but Baby 5!” Leona tried to reason. “Corazon just got home! Can't you wait at least a day or two before you start pulling pranks?”
“What are you talking about?” Buffalo asked. “Now's the perfect time! He's been gone for months!”
“No, it isn't! I always get dragged into it, even when I never do anything!! It isn't fair!” Leona stomped her foot.
“Oh, boo hoo! Have you tried running away?” Baby 5 teased.
“You aren't listening to me!” Leona whined.
“Yeah, ‘cause you don't know how to have fun!” Buffalo said. “Stop being so prissy, Prissy Penumbra!”
“Haha! Prissy Penumbra! Prissy Penumbra!”
Leona pouted, tears welling in her eyes. “You guys suck! I hate you!” Then stomped back into the main room to sit down and seethe.
Soon, Baby 5 emerged from the kitchen with a large cup of tea. “Oh, Coooora!” She sang. “I made you some tea! Careful, it's hot!”
Leona looked away as Cora took a sip, then squeezed her eyes shut when he spat out the flesh-meltingly hot tea, falling over backwards.
She held her breath for a minute… and when nothing happened, she gave a silent sigh of relief. ‘Okay… he left me alone…’
“Hey, Corazon… didja finish the job?” Diamante asked while Baby 5 cleaned up the tea and broken cup.
Cora nodded.
Diamante held out his hand. “Then gimme my cut already. There's gotta be transparency here when it comes to money.”
He then glanced at the boy, who still stood near the door. ”Law, was it? This guy, who just came back, is an Executive like us. His name is Corazon. He may be clumsy, but the truth is, he's got powerful blood.”
Leona watched Cora as he stood up, glaring at Law. Nervous butterflies began to swarm in her belly.
“...That is to say, he's Doffy's little brother.” Diamante continued. “He doesn't talk anymore ‘cause of some old trauma, in case you're wonderin’. Oh, and I should mention…”
Corazon walked up to the boy, grabbing him by the head in one of his huge hands…
“He hates kids, so be careful.” Diamante finished.
…And suddenly dragged Law full speed over to the window, whipping him through the glass like a goddamn brick and into the scrap heap below.
“Well, he's dead now.” Baby 5 commented, looking out the window.
“Right in the trash!!” Buffalo added.
Leona ran out onto the balcony, sinking to her knees and grabbing one of the bars with her good hand. “W-w-what the hell, Cora!?” she cried shakily as he stepped outside as well and sat up on the rail. “That was way too far!”
“Ahh, relax Penumbra! Not everyone has your glass bones! Maybe he lived!” Trebol laughed. “And even if he didn't, he was on death's door, anyhow! It was a mercy kill!”
Leona tuned out Trebol's cruel mocking, anxiously biting her nails and watching the boy struggle to get up from underneath the scrap he landed in.
Corazon pulled out his cigarettes and lighter, smirking like he was… proud or something!!
Leona hated it. It made her sick. She knew her family wasn't made up of the greatest people, but… but this was just unnecessary! Corazon always did this! Not just to her, Baby 5, and Buffalo, but to all of the other kids who tried to join too, even when they so much as looked at him!
Leona hated Cora. She didn't really like any of the executives, but out of all of them, she hated Cora the most. He was so needlessly cruel… she wished he'd just… disappear!!
Suddenly, the smell of smoke broke her from her thoughts, and she looked up.
Fire. Cora's black feather coat was on fire, sending the kids into a panic.
Im bored outta my mind today anyone wanna ask me questions abt the current fic (bats my big long eyelashes and twirls my hair while kicking my little feet)
A 7-year-old Leona washes up on a beach after a horrific accident at sea, catching the eye of a certain man...
CW: This slow burn fic delves into some distressing topics such as drug addiction, violence, gore, and dark themes. Please check AO3 for all tags.
Character reference || Masterlist
Previous || Next
18 Years Ago
A Beach On Spider Miles
Pain. All Leona could feel was pain.
The hot sun beamed down on her exposed skin, skin that felt heavy and swollen with water. The wet sand beneath her shifted slightly with every waterlogged breath she struggled to take.
Her vision was blurry, but she could see her pale arms, sunburnt and bruised, that were linked together with chained cuffs. One of her little hands weakly reached up to her neck, brushing against the metal collar wrapped around it. It felt much too heavy and much too tight… but she had no energy to move beyond that.
‘Where…’ she wondered internally, as she could hardly breathe without choking up seawater. ‘Where am I…?’
Suddenly, there was a sensation on her back, like someone was poking her with a stick. Poke. Poke poke. Poke.
“...is she dead?” She could barely hear through the water plugging her ears. Was someone there? Hey! Maybe they could help!
She wheezed as she attempted to take a deeper breath than the sad, shallow ones she was already taking, but she ended up violently coughing.
“SHE'S ALIVE!!” A voice screamed.
“W-W-WHAT DO WE DO, BUFFALO!? SHE'S CHOKING!” a younger-sounding voice panicked.
“WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME!?”
“Hhh…” Leona wheezed as she tried to form words, but all that came out was more coughing.
Leona suddenly felt the vibrations of thudding footsteps running away from her. Huh!? Wait, no! Come back!!
The footsteps faded away into nothing, and Leona felt so sad she could cry. Why would they leave her? Were they afraid of her? Did she do something wrong?
‘Please…’ her thoughts cried as her eyelids grew heavy. ‘Someone help me… I'm scared…’
Her eyes fluttered closed despite how hard she fought to keep them open.
…However, when Leona opened her eyes back up, she found herself somewhere completely different. She was lying on her back… in a bed?
The first thing Leona noticed was that her throat and chest were sore, but she was breathing much easier. Secondly, the cuffs on her wrists were gone, along with that collar that she had on her neck.
“Well, hello there, my love!” A loud woman's voice cooed, making Leona jolt. “You poor thing, you must've been exhausted! You slept right through me giving you CPR!”
The woman was tall and voluptuous, with one of the strangest hairstyles Leona thinks she's ever seen, a pair of pink-tinted cat eye glasses perched on her hooked nose, and a gaudy shade of red lipstick painted on her huge smile.
“W-who are you!? Where am I!?” Leona cried, voice hoarse.
“Oh, don't be scared, cutie pie, you're safe!” The woman reassured, scooting closer on her stool towards the bed. “My name is Giolla, but you can call me Auntie, Big Sis, Beauty Queen, whatever you'd like!”
“As for where you are…” spoke a much deeper voice belonging to a very big man with spiky blond hair and a pair of scary-looking red sunglasses. “You're in my home on Spider Miles. Welcome.”
“Spider… Miles?” Leona repeated.
The man grinned. “That's right. Now, where'd you come from? What's your name?”
“Um… I-I'm Leona… and I'm from a place called Rakesh…” Leona muttered.
The big man raised an eyebrow, leaning forward like he was interested. “Rakesh, you say? While still in the North Blue, that's still quite a ways away… how'd a little thing like you end up washing up half-drowned on my beach?”
“Um…” Leona muttered, fidgeting with her fingers. “I was on a big boat called The Beaufort… and I, um…”
Her brows furrowed as she subconsciously began picking at the skin on her fingers. “I was in a really big cage with a lot of other girls… and then I slipped out of the cage, but I got caught by one of the scary men on the boat, and he grabbed my arm really hard…” She then showed the dark bruises littering her arms. “A-and then… a sea monster attacked us and made a hole in the boat… and I fell out.”
“A cage on a ship, hmm?” The man asked, drumming his fingers on his leg. “Is that why you had these on when we found you?” He then dangled the now-unlocked cuffs and collar in front of her.
Leona swallowed. “...Yeah. Everyone had those…”
The man chuckled. “I see, I see… so what I'm getting is, you were a slave, and you were trying to escape? Interesting…”
Leona shook her head furiously. “I wasn't trying to escape! Honest!! My brother was crying in another cage, and I wanted to…”
Suddenly, Leona's face fell as the memories cleared up. “Make him… feel… better…”
Tears welled up in her eyes and poured down her cheeks as the events replayed in her mind over and over and over, from the point she squeezed her way out of the cage, to the point where she lost consciousness in the storming waves.
“What's the matter, sweetie?” Giolla asked, wiping her tears.
“M-m-my… my brother… Where's…” she hiccuped. “W-w-where's my brother…!?”
Giolla and the man looked at each other, unsure of what to do as the girl uncontrollably sobbed for her lost sibling.
“Oh, you poor little angel…” Giolla attempted to soothe, reaching for her. “Come here, let Auntie Giolla hold you tight and make you feel all better…”
Leona batted her hands away, curling up and continuing to cry. “No! I want my brother!!”
“She's tender, Giolla.” The man reminded her. “You just gave her chest compressions, remember?”
He thought for a moment, then stood up and knelt right next to the girl at her bedside. “Leona, right?”
Leona nodded, despite still crying her eyes out. “M-mhm…”
“What's your favourite animal? Do you have one?”
Leona paused, albeit still sniffling and hiccuping. “Um… I like… c-cats...”
“Yeah? You like kitty cats?” he grinned. “One second, I'll be right back.”
He stood up and left the room, returning minutes later holding a stuffed toy of a cat. “I knew the brats had one lying around here somewhere. Here you go.” He said, handing it to her.
Leona gingerly took the toy, staring at it curiously.
“There isn't much I can do about this brother of yours right now, but how about this… give that kitty a biiiig hug whenever you're missing him. We'll figure something out, okay? What about your parents? Were they on the ship, too?”
The girl sniffled, wiping her eyes. “I… I don't have parents… I lived in an orphanage…”
“Ah, so that brother is your only family then, huh?” He asks. “I know what that's like… are you two close?”
Leona nodded. “Uh huh! We're twins, so we do everything together.”
“I see… inseparable twins, forced apart…” the man hummed. “Tragic. Terribly tragic.”
Suddenly, a little girl with black hair and a big bow on top of her head and a large, heavyset boy with buck teeth and braids sticking up like antennas burst into the room.
“Giollaaaa!” The girl whined. “Is she awake yet? I wanna play with her!”
“At least wait for her to get better, Baby 5!” Giolla said with her hands on her hips. “I just got the water out of her lungs!”
“Baby… 5?” Leona muttered.
“Yep, that's me!” Baby 5 exclaimed, running up to the bed. “Don't let the name fool ya though, I'm actually six!”
The large boy joined her. “I'm Buffalo, and I'm twelve!”
“What's your name, huh? How old are you?” Baby 5 asks.
“Yeah, and where'd ya come from? How'd you wash up on the beach?” Buffalo asked.
Leona anxiously hugged the stuffed cat as the kids, in all of their childish curiosity, asked her questions a mile a minute.
“Yeesh, you two!” Giolla scolded, shooing them away. “Give the poor thing some room to breathe, would you?”
“Aww but Giollaaa!!” Baby 5 whined.
“No buts! Now get! Go on, both of you!” Giolla demanded, shoving them out.
Leona turned her attention back to the large man. “Um… you asked my name earlier, but… what's yours?”
“Hmm? Oh, how rude of me! I am Donquixote Doflamingo, my dear,” he said with a theatrical bow.
Doflamingo grinned. “Wow, there you go! You learn fast, don't ya, kid?”
Leona gave a wide smile dotted with missing baby teeth and giggled. The giggling quickly devolved into a coughing fit, which had Giolla fussing over her.
“You okay, kiddo?” He asked.
Leona nodded as soon as the coughing calmed down. “Uh huh… but I'm kinda tired…”
“Well, we'll make sure you get plenty of rest, so you're all better in no time, okay, pumpkin?” Giolla said, combing her fingers through her still-damp, tangly hair.
Leona nodded, hugging the stuffed cat tight and moving to lie down. She watched as Giolla drew the curtains on the windows, then patted her gently on her head. “Don't be afraid to yell if you need something, okay, sweetums?”
“Okay… thank you.” She nodded.
Giolla and Doflamingo left the infirmary, quietly shutting the door behind them so Leona could nap in peace.
“Ah, the poor dear… cute as a button!” Giolla cooed as the two walked off. “Oooh, I just wanna keep her!”
“Hey, why not?” Doflamingo shrugged. “It's not like she has any family begging to take her back anyway. That brother of hers likely got killed in that accident.”
“Oh, undoubtedly.” The woman nodded. “Sounds to me like those idiots steered their ship right near a sea king nest. There ain't no coming back from that.”
“Makes you wonder how she survived, eh?” Doflamingo chuckled with a raised eyebrow. “Maybe she's a good luck charm.”
“And now she's all ours!” Giolla squealed. “Ooh, just imagine what she'll be like in a few years… she's brimming with potential, I tell ya!”
“And since Buffalo and Baby 5 like her already, she'll have no trouble fitting in. Still, this all hinges on whether or not she can handle our training.” Doflamingo grinned, licking his teeth. Suddenly, a thought came to him, and he hummed. “Hmm… there is something she said that bothers me, however…”
“And what would that be?”
“That ship she mentioned… The Beaufort.” He recalled. "That's one of the supply ships for the Sabaody auction house…”
“Oh, that's right!” Giolla gasped. “We'd certainly get news about losing a supply ship and cargo, wouldn't we?”
A vein popped on the blond's forehead. “Indeed, and the fact we didn't means that something's going on under my nose… looks like I have some calls to make.”
***
3 Months Later
Leona had healed quite well since the day she washed ashore, but fitting into the family was… a bit hit or miss, to say the least. While she and the other two kids have been getting along well, she was incredibly shy around the adults, especially the larger ones.
While Doflamingo and Giolla were alright to be around, some members like Trebol and Diamante were unnerving to her. She refused to be within close proximity of Trebol, finding his mucus coat and constant running nose to be disgusting. In Diamante's case, she was more afraid of his height. She didn't like how his unnatural-looking long legs looked when he sat down. It reminded her of spiders.
Pica, on the other hand, terrified her. Before she had met him, Buffalo warned her about what he did to people who laughed at his contrastingly squeaky voice, telling her in detail of the torture he had suffered at his hand for doing so. It had put the fear of god in her to never ever even stifle a laugh in his presence.
And then there was Corazon… Leona found Corazon to be quite mysterious. He was the younger brother of Doflamingo, yet he wasn't as warm or as inviting as he was. He was always ice cold, tending to glare at Leona and the other kids whenever he was around them. She had even witnessed him hurting Buffalo and Baby 5 on occasion when they'd pull their childish pranks, which frightened her. He wasn't all that easy to talk to, being mute and all… but Leona felt like even if he could talk, it still wouldn't be all that easy.
Despite that, though, Leona could feel there was more to Corazon under the surface. She had a strange, tingly sense whenever he was around, especially when the adults were discussing things she didn't understand. More often than not, Leona got the feeling he was… sad. Sad and angry. She just couldn't prove it.
For the most part, the rest of the family took quite a liking to Leona, treating her lovingly and teaching her many things the neglectful staff at the orphanage never did. She'd found she had a passionate love for arts and crafts when spending time with Giolla. She enjoyed practicing her acrobatics and flexibility, beaming with pride whenever Doflamingo would praise her.
And yet… she had a habit that the rest of them found odd.
Leona made it a point to go out to the beach she washed up on whenever she was able, sit in the sand, and just stare out at the ocean for hours at a time.
“Do you ever wonder what that girl is thinking, boss?” Señor Pink asked as he, Machvise, Trebol, Corazon, and Diamante sat at a large round table playing poker while Doflamingo lounged on the nearby sofa with a glass of wine. “She's been sitting there all day. I don't think she's even moved!”
“Maybe she just really likes the ocean,” Diamante suggested, looking over his cards. “Kids are weird like that. They get into some shit, and it's all they ever talk about for a while.”
“But she never talks about it. It's like she's in a trance.” Machvise said, tossing a couple of chips into the middle of the table from his stack. “Raise.”
Doflamingo hummed and swirled his wine, watching Leona stare out at the sea from the window. “I wonder… perhaps she's searching for something. Maybe she's looking for that ship she fell out of...”
“Behehehe!” Trebol chortled. “Why? So she could save that brother of hers or something? She's gotta get over him already! That boy's as good as dead!” He then clicked his tongue at his hand. “Fold.”
Doflamingo kept watching Leona as she continued to stare unmovingly. Eventually, he downed the rest of his drink, placing the glass down next to the ice bucket that the bottle rested in. “I'm stepping out for a moment, gentlemen,” he said as he stood up and left the room.
Leona didn't know how long it had been since she left to sit at her spot on the beach, but it'd been long enough for the sea to go from a deep cerulean blue to a bright tangerine orange as the sun went down.
Suddenly, something pink entered her peripheral vision, and she looked up to see that it was Doflamingo sitting down next to her.
“Hello, Mr. Doflamingo.” She said, looking back out.
“Hey, kiddo.” He replied. “Beautiful view tonight, huh?”
“Uh-huh.” Leona nodded.
There was a stretch of silence between them before Doflamingo spoke again. “I wonder… what's going through that little head of yours every time you come out here? Are you searching for something?”
“A ship,” Leona said.
“A ship?” He repeated. “Planning on leaving so soon?”
“I dunno how to sail.” She said, still looking at the sea. “I'm just looking for the ship I was on.”
Bingo.
“Wasn't it attacked by a sea king?” He asks.
“Yeah, but… they could've fixed it.” She said, “Like, what if it didn't sink? And it's still out there?”
“Possibly… but how are you so sure you'll know it when you see it?” He asks. “Do you know what you're looking for?”
“A long ship made of dark brown wood, three masts, ten white sails, two red flags, and four cannons on both sides,” Leona answered instantly without pause, which took Doflamingo back a bit.
“Come again?”
“Long, dark brown ship, three masts, ten sails, red flags, four cannons on each side.” She repeated. “That's what The Beaufort looked like when I first saw it.”
Doflamingo was gobsmacked. Not only was she completely confident in her answer, but she was entirely correct! That was exactly what The Beaufort looked like, put into simple terms!
“How do you remember all of that?”
Leona paused, blinking. “Um… I… I dunno. I just do, I guess…”
“Quick, what colour of dress was Giolla wearing yesterday?” Doflamingo asked, testing her.
“It was bright purple with yellow polka-dots,” Leona answered.
“How about a month ago today?”
“Light pink with a darker pink wavy pattern.”
Hang on… this might work…
“My god, kid! Your memory is incredible!”
Leona glanced up at him, surprised. “I-it is?”
“It sure is, kid. You have an amazing gift there.” He said, pulling her closer and playfully shaking her a bit. “I'm jealous, I mean it!”
Leona giggled, hands on her rosy cheeks.
The two sat there, continuing to watch the sun setting over the sea for a while until the oranges and yellows started to fade into the indigos and blues of night, and the full moon rose in the sun's place.
“Say, Leona… I have a question.” He began, looking up at the sky. “Let's say that ship never arrived… what would you do then?”
Leona was silent for a while.
“I… don't know.” She whispered, finally. “I don't have a home, or parents… I… I don't have anything…”
“Hm… don't be so sure, dear.”
“Huh?”
Doflamingo glanced down at her with a grin. “Well, for instance… You have us.”
“You, sir?” She asks.
“Of course. You washed up on my beach, and I let you heal up in my home… You help out whenever you can, and we love to have you. You like to play with Buffalo and Baby 5, right?”
“Uh-huh.” Leona nodded.
“And you love to make crafts with Auntie Giolla, right?”
“So much!”
“Well? Whaddya say, kid? Would you wanna stay with us? Be part of our family?” He offers.
The stars above couldn't hold a candle to how glittery Leona's own eyes were just then. “A family?” She whispered. “I get to have… a family…!?”
“If you'd have us.” Doflamingo grinned.
“Yes!!” Leona squealed, leaping up and hugging Doflamingo as much as she could. “Yes yes yes a thousand times, yes!! I've always wanted a family!!!”
Doflamingo laughed, picking Leona up and lifting her high in the air, making her laugh. “Consider yourself ours, kiddo!!”
When Doflamingo eventually set her back down onto the sand. He stroked his chin.
“We have a custom here in our family, you know… each of us gets a special name to go by… a codename.”
“Really?” Leona asks.
“Yep. And now that you're one of us, you need one too. Let's see…”
Doflamingo looked up, eyebrows raising as the moon caught his eye. Hmm…
“Do you know what a penumbra is, my dear?” He asks.
“No, what's that?”
“A penumbra is this thin layer between a shadow and light, a part that looks like a lighter shadow. It can be easy to miss, since it's so little… such a pretty word, don't you think?”
He then turned his gaze down to her, poking her in the belly. “I think it'd fit you, since you're both little and pretty!”
Leona giggled. “O-okay! I'll be Penumbra! And um…” she twiddled her thumbs.
“You look like you want to ask me something.” He said.
“Um… you can say no… but… I wanna call you something too…” she began. “Would… would it be okay if…”
Doflamingo chuckled. “Go on.”
Leona hid her face in her hands in embarrassment. “Can I… c-call you… My dad?”
Doflamingo's eyebrows raised at this, but then his face slowly split into a wide grin. “Me? You'd give me the honour of being your dad?”
Leona nodded bashfully behind her hands.
Doflamingo laughed heartily, scooping Leona up in his arms, making her laugh.
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When the Tontatta lead Leona's group to their headquarters, Leona comes face to face with a certain toy who's all too familiar with the family...
CW: This slow burn fic delves into some distressing topics such as drug addiction, violence, gore, and dark themes. Please check AO3 for all tags.
Character reference || Masterlist
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“N-nnh…” Leona mumbled under her breath, fists gripping the grass beneath her as she sensed the entirety of Law and Doflamingo's fight above them with just her Haki. From Law's overwhelming panic, she could sense that things were getting dire… she wanted nothing more than to rush to his aid, but that wasn't the only thing amiss, oh no. She had also picked up signals of intense distress radiating from where the Sunny had been anchored, and based on the additional set of rather bizarre and abstract wavelengths she had sensed, her friends were being attacked by none other than Giolla, a maternal figure to Leona, as shameful as it made her feel to admit.
“What's going on out there?” Usopp asked, concerned. “You look like you're in pain…”
Leona snapped out of it, opening her eyes. “Oh Usopp, it's awful…” she whimpered, hugging herself. “It feels like everything is going completely wrong!”
“Hey, just breathe,” Robin said. “What did you sense?”
“Law is getting overwhelmed, I think…” she said, getting up and standing next to them as they waited for Leo to finish his preparations. “The Admiral and Doflamingo seem to be teamed up, but I couldn't tell you why…” She wiped her teary eyes. “Your ship is also being attacked, and it isn't looking good either…!”
“They got to the Sunny!?” Usopp cried.
“Law did say it was a possibility, remember?” Robin reminded him. “Still, that isn't exactly comforting…”
“I-I'm sorry I can't tell you more…” Leona sniffled. “I wish I could tell you exactly what was happening to them, but…”
“H-hey, you're doing the best you can,” Usopp said. “You can't take everything on at once by yourself, you know.”
If that was true, then why did Leona feel responsible for their friends getting hurt…?
Suddenly, Leo left his little home. “Oh, have you all gotten enough to eat?”
“Yeah, I totally pigged out!” Usopp laughed, but then remembered he had to keep up his “Usoland bravado” and puffed out his chest. “I-I mean, I've had enough, and I'm ready to go!”
Another sudden quake hit, and Usopp once again covered for it by pretending that it was his “Haki”, which the dwarves thankfully kept eating up. Usopp then leaned close to Leo on his balcony.
“By the way, Leo… your people keep mentioning some final battle involving yours truly, but uh… what reason do you want to fight Doflamingo for…?”
Leona tensed, looking away nervously as the dwarves began laughing at what they mistook for their hero making a joke.
“You're so funny, Usoland!” One giggled.
“We want to rescue our five hundred friends who are being enslaved at his secret factory, of course!” Said another.
Leona felt like a thousand knives ripped through her heart at that statement.
“Secret factory!?” Usopp gasped. “Like… the one Luffy and the others sent out to destroy?”
“The ones making those SMILE fruits?” Robin asked next.
“That's right.” Leona nodded. “But that makes me wonder… had Franky found it alright? Oh, I hope my instructions weren't too confusing…”
“Well, no matter what they're making there, they even have one of our most important people!” Leo said. “Our obnoxious, selfish, fickle, despicable and downright rude Princess Mansherry, being held prisoner in that awful place! That's why we have to hurry!”
“The way you talk about her makes her sound terrible…” Usopp said.
“No kidding… what a way to speak of your own when in a time of such crisis…” Leona muttered under her breath.
“Oh, she is!!” Leo agreed with a smile. “But she's still one of us, so we're helping! Wouldn't Noland do the same?”
“What!? Uh… er… Y-yeah, of course! No matter what, that's what a true hero does! I am his descendant, after all!”
The dwarves cheered, and Leona and Robin just looked at each other with exasperation.
Suddenly, the pink polka-dotted dwarf appeared again, shouting for Leo.
“Flapper?” Leo inquired. “What's the matter? Anything important?”
“You bet!!” Flapper panted. “I just heard the Donquixote Family is leaving the palace! They're probably going beneath the colosseum!”
“Oh shit.” Leona gasped, quickly grabbing her suitcase. That wasn't good. That was not good at all. The factory was located directly underneath the colosseum!
“The Yellow Kabu Squad and Bian's Pink Bee Squad are ready to fly anytime!” Flapper declared.
“Right!” Leo said, leaping off his balcony to the ground. “Let's move out, Usoland, Robiland, and Pepperoniland!” He then turned to his fellow people. “Are the rest of you Tontattas ready to go!?”
“YEEAHH!!!”
“With the legendary Usoland on our side, there's no way we can lose!” Leo rallied. “He's the strongest ally we could ever hope to have! It isn't a miracle!! It's destiny!! We shall win today's battle and rescue our missing friends!!”
As the Tontatta cheered and led the way, the three humans looked at each other with fiery determination… and a bit of anxiety.
“Here we are! The airport!” Leo declared as he led everyone to a sort of dwarf-sized technological facility with lanes and a runway for the dwarves to get a running start on their beetles and hornets in preparation for takeoff. It was absolutely, positively, adorable.
“Aah! How cute!” Leona squealed, watching the dwarves line up on their numbered insects.
When the three stepped over the gate onto the runway, they were introduced to the leaders of their respective squads. Kabu, leader of the Yellow Kabu Squad and Bian, leader of the Pink Bee squad, both apparently Devil Fruit users.
“Um, I hate to be a bother…” Leona started, gently poking at one of the yellow beetles’ carapaces. “But we're much too large to ride your bug friends… What do we do?”
“Ah, worry not, my large lady,” Kabu said. “We come prepared! You three have the luxury of riding our special twenty-passenger buses!”
Bian hovered up in the air, raising one of her four hands to her mouth. “Linear foxes, come in!” She called.
On cue, three blue and white foxes with huge, bushy tails came through, lowering themselves to be mounted. Leona swung her leg over the fox, seating herself on its back. The fox's tail came up and pressed against her back, acting like a soft backrest. “So soft!” She gasped. “I had no idea these little guys lived here!”
“Alright, everyone!” Leo rallied. “Let us fly! With Usoland by our side, we shall seize victory!!”
With that, the three humans and the army of Tontatta raced down the long, secret underground tunnel back to Dressrosa.
***
When they finally reached their destination, Leona disembarked from her fox, gave it a few scratches under the chin—which was met with some cheerful yipping—and looked around. “Where are we…?” She wondered aloud.
“Welcome to the Riku Royal Army Headquarters.” Leo introduced as they entered a secret room filled with boards detailing plans, shelves lined with books and years of carefully curated information, supplies, weapons, and a video transponder snail projecting the annual colosseum event onto a wall, all with a wooden spiral staircase leading up to… well, wherever it went.
“The heroes have arrived!!” Leo declared to the room as their group greeted everyone else. “I want everyone to meet Usoland, Robiland, and Pepperoniland!”
Leona was about to wave, but a sight made her heart immediately catch in her throat. Franky was there, which confused her a little, but it wasn't unwelcome, and he had one of the town’s toys beside him. A very… familiar toy…
The Thunder Soldier…
While Leona didn't remember who the man used to be by the nature of Sugar's devil fruit abilities, she did recall that he was in the palace on the day of the siege… There was no chance in hell he didn't know who she was.
“Hey, you guys!” Franky greeted happily. Leona gave a nervous wave, trying not to look Thunder Soldier in the eye. God, she hoped the disguise was doing its job…
Leo leapt off his bug, saluting with the captains once he landed in the grass. “Yellow Kabu Squad and Pink Bee Squad, arriving from Green Bit, sir!”
Thunder Soldier saluted back. “Well done, Leo.”
It wasn't lost on Leona how Thunder Soldier kept side-eying her as they prepared for the meeting. She just kept nervously glancing away every time, despite the fact that she knew that likely made her look even more suspicious. She sat alongside her friends, opting to hide behind the brim of her hat and listen quietly as the meeting commenced.
“Listen well, my friends.” The toy began. “This battle is a chance for us to reclaim our freedom, and to restore the honour of our disgraced King Riku!”
A few Tontatta cheered, and Thunder Soldier gestured for them to calm down.
“As you know, on that terrible day ten years ago… Doflamingo came to our country with his men and took away our peaceful lives we all shared.” He said, pointing the tip of his plastic rifle at a picture of Doflamingo hanging on the board. “We will never forgive that! For an entire year, we've planned for this day! No longer shall we be oppressed by these demons wearing human skin! Anyone associated with his name shall once and for all know our fear… our pain!!”
Leona accidentally flinched at this. Once more, the sharp knives of guilt tore through her heart and crushed her with the weight hanging off every word he spoke, all at once.
It wasn't until he spoke again that she realized she had slipped.
“You there! Woman in the black hat!”
Leona jolted, snapping her head up. “Huh? M-me?”
“Yes, you.” The Thunder Soldier said, eyes zeroed in on her. “I've been watching you closely since you arrived. I couldn't help but feel I knew you from somewhere… Your reaction just now proves I cannot ignore it any further! Who are you!?”
“Leo told you already, hadn't he? My name is Pepperoniland!” Leona attempted to lie. “I-I'm not sure who you think I am, sir, but—”
Before she could finish speaking, the Thunder Soldier lunged forward on his only leg, using his plastic rifle to fling Leona's sunglasses and hat off her head, startling her.
“W-wait, please—!” She cried out, but the toy's voice made her flinch again.
“Aha! I knew it!” He shouted. “You thought you could trick the Tontatta and these pirates, but you cannot trick me, you snake! You're that Penumbra girl! Doflamingo's hellspawn!!”
“Hellspawn…?” She whimpered, hugging herself.
“Hey, cool it!” Franky butted in. “She ain't with them anymore! She's with us!”
“So you may think, my friend… but do not believe this witch's silver tongue! She has played you all for fools! Not only is she Doflamingo's most trusted spy, but she even shares his tainted blood!! She is a devil by nature!” Thunder Soldier accused, pointing his little plastic hand at her.
The Tontatta started to panic, and Leo drew his needle. “I can't believe this… You lied to us? After everything we've done for you!?”
“Stop it!” Robin tried to get through to them. “You don't know the full story!!”
The crowd of dwarves didn't listen. They jeered at Leona, shouting threats that made her tremble with fear.
“She's the enemy!!”
“We should've killed her when we had the chance!”
“How dare you take advantage of us!?”
“She's his kid! Of course she'd stoop so low!!”
“I AM NOT!!!”
The broken cry made everyone's eyes snap towards Leona, whose face burned with rage and tears.
“You can call me a devil, a snake, a hellspawn, or whatever else you may please, Mr. Thunder Soldier, sir… but never ever call me that monster's child.” She asserted, voice trembling. “He's hung that label over my head my whole life just because I made the stupid mistake of calling him ‘dad’ when he showed me an ounce of kindness! We don’t even remotely share blood! I was an orphan!!”
Everyone watched with widened eyes as she held herself tighter and hung her head as the tears broke free. “A vulnerable orphan… injured and all alone. He knew all I wanted was a loving family, so he pretended to accept me into his, just so he could brainwash me into doing whatever he wanted…”
There was a heavy, heavy silence in the air for a moment, then Thunder Soldier spoke again.
“...How am I to trust whatever you say when your whole role is built on infiltration and lies?” He asked. “You could have found out about this operation in the last year, and of all days, you're here to dismantle it from the inside for all I know! How am I to trust your word!?”
“Because…” Leona started. “I haven't been in Dressrosa for almost two years, with minimal communication to the outside… I couldn't have had any idea of your plans! Please, Thunder Soldier, I'm telling the truth…!”
“She is,” Robin confirmed. “The reason she's with us in the first place is that we rescued her from Punk Hazard. In fact, the family completely turned against her.”
Usopp nodded. “Yeah, that's right! She was chained up underground, taking care of a bunch of giant kids!”
“Can confirm,” Franky spoke next. “I saw it all with my own eyes. I even broke her free from those chains myself.”
“Please… believe me,” Leona begged, quietly sobbing. “I don't want to lie anymore… I don't want to hurt anyone anymore! I-I just…” Her voice dropped below a whisper. “I just want to be free…”
The Thunder Soldier was quiet as he took the information in. Eventually, he bowed his head and returned his toy rifle to its usual slope arms position. “...Very well. If it is as you say, I will believe you… But know this: if I find even a single action you take from this point onward to betray your words, I will not hesitate to kill you. We have suffered far too much to allow ourselves to lower our guard for even a moment.”
Leona put her hat and sunglasses back on. “I understand… words cannot express how grateful and undeserving I am of your mercy, Thunder Soldier, sir…”
Purupurupurupuru… purupurupurupuru…
Everyone was alerted to the sudden muffled ringing of a transponder snail. It couldn't have been Leona's or Robin's, since they were released. The two looked at Usopp, who shook his head with a shrug. Apparently, his snail was also rewilded.
“Oop, that's mine,” Franky said, retrieving his snail. He sheepishly turned towards Thunder Soldier. “Uh… sorry to disrupt the meeting, but this could be urgent…”
“No, it is alright.” The toy waved. “Go ahead.”
The humans all gathered together as Franky picked up. “Franky speaking!”
“Finally, someone picked up! I tried to call Penumbra and Robin, but no one answered!” Sanji's voice spoke through the snail. “I hope they're alright…”
“We're here too, Sanji!” Leona said. “I'm so sorry to worry you like that! our snails were, um… released back into the wild…”
“What? How did that happen!?”
“It's a long story, but the bottom line is that we're safe,” Robin reassured him.
“I'm also here,” Usopp spoke.
“N-never mind that, are you all okay!?” Leona pivoted. “I was scanning with my Haki, and I could sense you were all under attack!”
“Yes, we're alright now, thanks to Brook,” Nami said. “Ugh, it was the weirdest thing ever, Penumbra! Some awful, gaudy woman showed up and turned us into these hideous modern art pieces!! She even tried to trap us in a painting!”
Leona sighed. “Ugh… yeah, that sounds like Auntie Giolla… I'm so sorry you had to… experience her. I'm relieved you managed to turn it over on her.”
“Yeah, but it gets worse!” Chopper said. “Law called us and told us to sail the ship to Green Bit so he could drop Caesar off…”
“We got attacked by huge fish!!” Momo cried. “It was terrifying!!”
“Wait, why did he want Caesar back on the ship?” Usopp asked. “I thought the whole point of us going to Green Bit was to give him away!”
“Doflamingo was lying about leaving the Warlords …” Leona told him. “It was all a trap.”
“WHAAAAT!?” Usopp cried.
“I had a feeling…” Franky grumbled. “What happened next?”
There was a quiet noise that sounded like Sanji taking a deep drag from his cigarette. “...Doflamingo attacked the ship.”
Leona felt her heart plummet. “What…?”
“Yeah. And what's worse is he had help from the Marines for some reason… I got to the ship just in time and managed to keep him away from everyone, but then Law showed up next and started fighting him off, too.”
Leona gasped, grabbing the receiver. “Is he okay!? How did he look!? Fuck, I've been going insane worrying about him…!”
“He was pretty banged up, not gonna lie,” Sanji said. “But he's pretty tough. He saved us from certain death and told us to Coup de Burst the hell outta dodge, so we did. We barely outran them, but we're safe. Now we're gonna take Caesar and head to Zou.”
“Wait, ZOU!? H-hang on!!” Usopp interjected. “Are you leaving us here!?”
“I’m sorry.” Sanji apologized. “It was life or death. You're gonna have to find your own way out.”
“Oh come on!” Usopp bemoaned, leaning in close and whispering. “Look, I'm itching to get outta here… things are getting scary! Can't you swing by and pick us up…?”
“Nope.”
“Hey, ignore him!” Franky interrupted. “You can head to Zou or Zoo or wherever without worry! We're gonna take care of the factory, no problem! But say, what are Luffy and Law up to?”
“Yes, what happened to Law?! Is he with you?” Leona cried, tugging at her hair.
“Well, Zoro and Kin'emon are trying to find Luffy and bring him up to speed…” Sanji recounted. “As for Law… he took that woman and went back to Dressrosa. He… didn't say what he was planning to do, so that's all I can really say. I'm sorry.”
“Ngh… fuck it, I can't take this anymore!” Leona declared, shoving the receiver back in Franky's hand and unbuckling the straps on her heels.
“Penumbra? What are you doing?” Robin asked.
“I don't want to break Nami's shoes, so I'm giving them to you.” She said, handing them to Robin and opening her suitcase to find the cubes containing the pieces of her leg armour. “I'm leaving to find him myself!”
“Whoa, wait, on foot!?” Franky asked.
“Yes, on foot!” Leona barked, snapping her fingers and putting the pieces on bit by bit, then threaded her sheathed sword into her belt, earning some enamoured sounds from the dwarves. “It's okay, I can handle it. I know Dressrosa's layout like the back of my hand, and I've been trained to run long distances without breaks.”
“But what about the—” Usopp tried to ask, but Leona slammed the suitcase shut.
“Do it without me! I won't be of much help, anyway!” She picked up the suitcase and made for the stairs. “And don't you dare try to stop me, either! This goes way beyond overthrowing that big pink bastard, and I'll be damned if any of you are the reason I can't help one of the people I care about most when he's in so much danger! If you do, I'll never forgive you, understand?! NEVER!!”
Everyone watched in stunned silence as their friend bolted up the spiral staircase, all worried, but none willing enough to get in her way.
***
It was a surprise to find out that the resistance's headquarters were stationed under Flower Hill, but Leona couldn't afford to think about it right now.
She didn't know how long she'd been running for, nor did she know how much longer she'd be running for. Her lungs burned, her sides ached, and god knows her joints would hurt like fuck later, but she didn't give a shit right now. She was too busy following where Law's—and by extension, Doflamingo's— emotional wavelengths were headed the last time she properly focused, which was Acacia, for some reason.
When she entered the city, she weaved through the streets in her frantic search, but eventually, exhaustion took over, and she needed to take a breath, or else she'd collapse. She hunched over, hands on her knees, as she gasped for air. She attempted to focus on her Observation Haki so she could locate them again, but despite her efforts, she couldn't.
She raised a hand to her desert-dry throat. Her body was screaming for water… Dammit, no! There's no time for water!! Focus! Focus, you STUPID—
“HEYYY! IS THAT YOU, PEPPERONI!?”
“Luffy…?” She gasped, looking over her shoulder.
She hadn't even realized she had stopped near the colosseum, but that was neither here nor there. What really shocked her was the fact that Luffy was behind the gate!!
Against the part of her screaming to ignore him and continue her search, she staggered toward the barred window from which he was shouting, surprised to find Zoro and Kin'emon there as well, standing in front of the same window.
“I almost didn't recognize ya! Cool shades!” Luffy laughed.
“Luffy…” she panted, still catching her breath. “What… haah… what the hell are you doing in the colosseum…?”
“Fightin’.” Luffy said far too nonchalantly for her tastes. “What's up with you? You look like you're gonna pass out.”
“I've been… haah… running nonstop to get here… b-but that's not important. Have you seen Law?” She asked.
“Traffy? Hm… can't say I have.” He said, crossing his arms. “Zoro?”
“Nope.” Zoro shook his head. “I thought he was with you.”
“W-we got separated…” Leona said as her breathing and heart rate evened out.
“Whoa, armour babe, is that you? Man, you’re quick! You like, just left!”
Leona jolted at Franky's voice emanating from a snail in Luffy's hand. How did she not notice that…?
“Oh, are you relaying Sanji's message?” She asked.
“Actually, this is a three-way call.” Sanji's voice spoke. “Are you okay, Penumbra? Your earlier outburst had me worried… I'm surprised you managed to run into Luffy, Kin'emon, and Mosshead so fast.”
“B-believe me, it wasn't intentional…” she shook her head.
“Anyway,” Franky said, “Thanks, brother. We'll see ya later!”
“Be safe, everyone,” Sanji said, disconnecting his line.
All of a sudden, there were nearby explosions that shook the ground, followed by terrified, screaming civilians. Nearby, there were glints of light right before whole buildings were suddenly sliced apart as if they were paper.
“Oh no…” Leona gasped. “He's here!!”
“Who is?” Kin'emon asked.
“Dof—”
SMAASH!!
Leona could hardly get a word out before something fell out of the sky and into the brick in front of them. She shielded her eyes and coughed from the enormous dust cloud it kicked up.
“What just happened!? I can't see!! You guys alright!?” Luffy cried.
There was the ominous sound of footsteps as the dust settled. Leona dared to peek, and she gave a terrified cry at what she saw.
Doflamingo stood there with his pink feather coat blowing in the wind. In his right hand, an obsidian-black, gold-plated pistol, his favourite method of execution. And at his feet… lay a severely injured, barely breathing Law…
“No…” Leona whispered, quickly kneeling to open the suitcase.
He thumbed the hammer down, pointing it at Law's body.
“Dammit… dammit, stop!!” Leona cried, frustrated tears forming at how her trembling fingers struggled to pop the locks.
“What's going on!? Traffy, why are you fighting with Mingo!?” Luffy asked.
And then, just at the second, she managed to open the suitcase…
BANG!
Leona's blood ran cold. She felt sick. Her ears rang so hard she could hardly hear her own screaming.
BANG! BANG!
Two more shots, muffled by the blood rushing in her ears. There was more muffled screaming, but she couldn't tell if it was her own anymore.
Doflamingo was saying something to the townsfolk, but she couldn't hear it. She could only focus on Law lying in a steadily growing pool of his own blood.
Time felt like it had slowed down. Her vision was tunnelled. She couldn't think straight… in that moment, there was only one thing she could feel.
Hate.
“Doflamingo…” She muttered as her shaking hand inched towards her sheathed sword.
Hate.
“Doflamingo…!” she said louder, voice trembling as she drew her blade.
HATE.
“Doflamingo!!!” She shouted, tears pouring from her eyes.
He tilted his head over his shoulder in her direction, and his lips stretched into a wicked grin.
“Theeeere she is… daddy's little girl.”
“DOFLAMINGOOOOO!!!!”
Leona launched herself at the man, taking wide swings with her two-handed moonglass sabre that Doflamingo dodged with ease.
“Stop!! Why are you attacking our king!?” Some of the civilians cried.
“Is that the princess!? How could you attack your father!?” Cried others.
Leona did not hear them. Leona did not care. All she desired was blood.
“I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!!” Leona screamed, jumping and flipping over a set of strings that shot from his fingertips. “You're a fucking MONSTER!! YOU'LL ROT IN HELL!!”
“Now now, my dear,” Doflamingo laughed, avoiding her every move. “You know you're much too old to be having public temper tantrums.”
“Shut up… shut up shut up shut up!!!” She shrieked. “Shut the fuck up and stop running away from me like a pussy!!”
“Oh? You want me to stay still?” He asked, leaping backwards a short distance away. “That's hardly fair for a fight, but you know what? What the hell. Come on, Penumbra,” he goaded with a grin, leaving himself open. “Show me what you got. Make daddy proud.”
Leona growled, sprinting across the road like a raging bull being taunted by the fluttering of a matador's cloak.
From his place behind the bars, Luffy saw a brief glint of light flash in his vision the closer she got, and there was a sense of alarm that bloomed deep in his chest.
“PEPPERONI, STOP!!”
But his warning was far, far too late. Leona had already leapt into the air with the tip of her sword aimed at Doflamingo's exposed chest… and then he lightly flexed his fingers.
There was a sharp tug on Leona's right leg, and she was hoisted into the air upside-down, making her yelp in surprise and drop her sword. Her glasses flew off her face, bouncing and tumbling away on the bricks below.
“No! NO!!” Leona howled. “YOU BASTARD!! FUCK YOU!! FUCK YOU, PUT ME DOWN!!”
Doflamingo chuckled darkly, using more of his invisible strings to grab hold of her limbs, twisting her upright in mid-air with her limbs painfully splayed out.
“Ahh, Penumbra… my sweet, naive daughter…” he crooned, squishing her cheeks with his large hand. “You never fail to disappoint me. I was hoping you'd see this coming, but I guess it's on me for having expectations, isn't it?”
Leona thrashed her head free of his grasp, growling, “I hate you… I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!!! I've spent my whole life bending over backwards for you, risking my life and hurting myself all for you, and this is what you do!? You say you loved me, but it was all lies, weren't they!?”
“UNHAND LADY PENUMBRA THIS INSTANT!” Leona heard Kin'emon's voice shout. In the corner of her eye, she saw Zoro approaching with swords drawn, but then a flash of lilac purple intercepted him. It was one of those new admirals… the blind one.
Zoro was suddenly pressed to the ground by an extreme gravitational force, cracking the ground beneath him. The floor gave way, and he descended into the hole the force had created.
“NO!!!” Leona shrieked. She attempted to manifest hundreds of arrows to rain a hail upon him and anyone else who dared to get in the way. Still, before she could snap her fingers, Doflamingo flexed his fingers again and contorted her arms behind her back, razor-sharp strings cutting into her wrists and drawing blood.
Leona howled with pain, and her lunar energy immediately dissolved away.
Doflamingo wrapped his hand around her throat and recalled his strings, leaving her dangling by her neck in his grip. She clawed at his arm with her bloodied hands, punching and scratching.
“Ggrk… fuck… you…!” She wheezed. “You won't… get away with this!”
“Don't you know when to accept when you've lost, Penumbra? He asked, all humor in his expression long gone. “You knew what was at stake when you made your decision, and yet you made it anyway. When will you understand that your suffering is your own fault?”
Leona's head was beginning to feel fuzzy. She wanted so desperately to scream and cry, but she just… couldn't. She felt weak. So, so weak…
“Well?” He asked. “You've had your little tantrum, but now it's time for your little rebellious phase to come to an end. What do you have to say for yourself, now?”
With the last remaining strength she could muster, she reared back and spat on Doflamingo's face, right between the eyes.
The last thing she could see before she lost consciousness was the veins popping on his forehead.
Len and Vice Admiral Tsuru attend the emergency meeting, while Leona wakes up in a sticky situation after an unexpected event in the forest of Green Bit...
CW: This slow burn fic delves into some distressing topics such as drug addiction, violence, gore, and dark themes. Please check AO3 for all tags.
Character reference || Masterlist
Previous || Next
¤¤¤
Marine HQ conference room, New Marineford
Len sat cross-legged on the conference room tatami mat, scribbling in a pocket-sized sketchbook as the emergency meeting took place. Everyone was completely silent as Commodore Brannew explained the Seven Warlords of the Sea system, listing off each one in order.
Len has heard these types of speeches on the system ad nauseam since he enlisted. He could recite every Warlord throughout the system's history forwards and backwards while half asleep if you asked him to. He was truly bored to death with it all.
No, what he was really here to discuss was Doflamingo's recent actions, as something wasn't quite making sense to him. Unfortunately though, as a mere lieutenant, it was frowned upon for him to interrupt those above him. And so, he silently waited for an opportunity, practicing his portraiture.
Suddenly, the Commodore slapped the morning paper onto the blackboard, pinning it. “Everything changed early this morning!” He explained after reciting that damn same Warlord system speech. “Doflamingo resigned out of the blue, and we may need to expel Law from the Warlords, depending on his intention. Together, they're the Three Great Powers along with the Navy HQ and the Four Emperors. Things shouldn't be so unstable!”
Len quietly raised his hand, seeing his chance.
“...Is there something you wish to add, Lieutenant?” the Commodore asked him, not masking the tone in his voice that indicated he expected this to be important.
“Yes sir, if you'll indulge me for a moment…” Len said, not looking up from his sketchbook. “Before I arrived at this meeting, Vice Admiral Tsuru had requested I contact Big News Morgans regarding Doflamingo's resignation. However, Morgans’ advisor had told me something interesting.”
Len closed the book, looking up at the room full of grizzled soldiers and veterans alike. “...He had said that his office had also received an identical letter to the one the Fleet Admiral had received. It’s why today’s paper had arrived with this news so quickly, you see. Now, I may not have served the Navy half as long as many of us in this room today, but I've done my research. Permission to stand, Fleet Admiral, sir?”
“...Granted, but get to the point, quickly, Lieutenant.” Fleet Admiral Sakazuki grumbled impatiently from his desk, lighting a cigar.
Len nodded, standing. My point is this: the method in which Doflamingo resigned is unusual. The process of resigning itself is an arduous one, involving several in-person meetings regarding the surrender of government protection and privileges, two things of which we know Doflamingo valued quite highly as a warlord… does it not seem sloppy for a man like Donquixote Doflamingo?”
“Do you imply that this ineptitude is a calculated play on his part?” Brannew inquired.
“I do not imply, sir. I infer.” Len told him, pacing down the divide in the room, holding up the letter. “Legally, the Navy cannot honour his letter, as it isn't even formatted as a formal request! This action in and of itself is a distraction from something, and I firmly believe it should be thoroughly investigated.”
Sakazuki blew out the heady smoke from his cigar. “Your passion for supreme justice over these godless pirates is admirable, Lieutenant, but I’ve already sent Fujitora to Dressrosa yesterday after a particularly annoying call from Smoker of the G5…” He paused, humming. “However… the revelation that an identical letter was sent to Morgans before us does bring up some concerns…”
He thought for a moment, ashing his cigar into the ashtray.
“We shall see how things progress for today.” He eventually decided. “Based on his report back, I will decide whether or not to send Vice Admiral Tsuru to Dressrosa for investigation. Now, if you're finished, Lieutenant Len, you may return to your seat.”
Len bowed, doing as told. “Yes, Fleet Admiral, sir. Thank you, Fleet Admiral, sir.”
After the meeting had eventually wrapped up, Len and Tsuru quietly walked alongside each other down the hallways.
“...That was quite the haphazard risk, my dear.” Tsuru finally said. “Were you less careful with your words, Sakazuki likely would've demoted you back to a chore boy for interrupting his meeting.”
“Th-that… may be a bit of a stretch, ma'am,” Len said, nervously rubbing his neck.
Tsuru huffed. “You know his temper, boy. He's done far worse for much less. If anything, it was an understatement.”
Len shivered, not wanting to think of what would've happened had he not been as well researched in Doflamingo's affairs as he had been.
“...Anyway,” the elderly woman changed the subject. “If things progress as you say, I'm going to assume you'll be accompanying me to Dressrosa whether I'd like you to or not?”
“You know me well, ma'am,” Len said, smiling.
Tsuru stared at him for a moment, then sighed. “I've warned you many times about the dangers of letting grudges drive your ambitions, Len, my dear.”
“I understand, ma'am, you know I do,” Len began as he opened his superior’s office doors for her. “But this is important for me. Do you not remember what I told you the day I enlisted?”
“Yes, and many times after, dear,” Tsuru said, settling into her chair. “You won't rest until everyone involved in the death of your sister is brought to justice.”
“Close, I said ‘until I've witnessed everyone, no matter how indirectly involved in the murder of my sister, is behind bars or brought to death’.” Len corrected.
Tsuru shook her head, tutting. “I'm not sure if I quite like how Sakazuki's rubbed off on you, dear… but it would make me no better if I punished you for simply believing in your idea of justice. All I ask is that you're certain that it's the path you want to take… it could be your greatest reward…”
“...Or my greatest disaster… I know.” Len finished with a sigh. “It’s just… the day I lost my sister is the day I lost everything. She was the only good person in my life, and out of all of the soulless bastards involved in that fucking industry… Doflamingo is at the top…”
He removed his glasses, holding a hand to his tearful eyes. “All of our suffering… all of her suffering wouldn't have happened if it weren't for him… that's why I have to be there, ma'am… please understand…”
Tsuru watched sorrowfully as Len opened up his sketchbook to the picture he was drawing in the meeting. It was a sketch of a brightly smiling little girl with missing baby teeth, sweet dark eyes, and long, thick hair in messy pigtails tied up with ribbons.
“...I need to do this so her soul can finally be at peace."
***
Underneath Green Bit
Leona felt groggy, like she was stirring awake from a very long, deep nap that she didn't remember settling down for. Her eyebrows twitched as her senses woke up before her mind, and she tried to make sense of what she was experiencing around her.
First, there were the somewhat muffled voices around her that she could sort of make out. They were higher-pitched, talking about a bag, clothes, glasses, and some other things… but nothing she could really string together to paint a clear picture.
Then she felt something tiny crawling on her heavy body. Bugs, perhaps? She did fall asleep in a forest… wait, why did she fall asleep in the first place? Think…
She remembered scouting the Green Bit forest on Law's behest with Usopp and Robin… then there were some terrified Marines running around in their underwear. After that, she remembered Robin sprouting lots of hands on the forest floor and grabbing something… no, someone!
Yes, it was coming back now. Robin grabbed hold of someone on the forest floor and beckoned Usopp and Leona to come see. It was directly after that moment when Leona remembered being pelted in the face with some kind of pellet, inhaling a sweet scent and—
Leona sharply gasped, eyes snapping open upon the realization that she and her group had been tranquilized. Instinctively, she attempted to sit up from her position on the floor, but cried out in pain at the sharp tug on her hair and on her skin.
“THE HUMANS ARE AWAKE!!” the little voices cried.
“W-wh… what is this!?” Leona cried. “Where's Robin and Usopp!?”
“I'm here!” Robin's voice spoke from somewhere to her right, likely also tethered to the floor in the same way they had Leona in.
Suddenly, little people leapt up onto Leona's body, glaring down at her with their tiny lances and human-sized pistols drawn. Dwarves! The Tontatta tribe had captured them!
“Don't you try to run, now! No funny business!” One of the dwarves spoke. He was likely near Robin, since Leona couldn't see him. “I've sewn your bodies to the ground with my magical Stitch-Stitch power! You big people were up to your usual trouble, weren't you!?”
“P-please understand!” Leona begged the dwarves standing on her chest. “We mean no harm! We never meant to trespass on your land!”
“Yes, we don't even know who you are!” Robin added.
“I am Leo, warrior of the Tontatta tribe!” The unseen dwarf introduced.
“Leo…” Leona whispered, nearly inaudible. The name itself stirred up some feelings deep within her core that she thought she had locked away for good, but for the sake of the situation at hand, she had to swallow them back down. “M-mr. Leo, sir… where are we right now?”
“And where's Usopp—er… the other big person? He's not here?” Robin added.
Leona gasped. “I-is he okay!?”
“Your tall friend with the long nose, you mean?” Another dwarf wearing a yellow beetle costume asked. “We captured him as well, in accordance with our kingdom's rules.”
“So this is a country where only little people like you live?” Robin asks.
“Indeed, this land is known as the Tontatta Kingdom! It lies beneath the great forest we proudly grew with our own hands!” Leo explained.
“Under the forest?” Leona wonders aloud. “So we're underground…”
Leo began to interrogate Robin regarding the topic of her Devil Fruit powers, which another dwarf—likely the one she had caught—had warned the others about. Leona, however, couldn't help her racing thoughts.
The word ‘underground’ floated through her mind over and over and over again. Where under the island were they? Were they directly under where they'd fallen asleep? Why wasn't Usopp in the same area as them?
She began to sweat as the racing thoughts continued to spiral. Was it three o'clock yet? Oh god… how long had they been out!? Was Doflamingo up there? Was Law okay? No… had she made a mistake in listening to Law!?
Leona's heart started to race, and her breathing got more ragged. The Tontatta took notice rather fast.
“What's the matter with the blonde one?” One spectating dwarf asked.
“I-I don't know! She just started… doing it!” Said one of the few standing on top of her.
“She must be panicking now that she knows she and her friends are to be executed for seeing us!” Another spectator suggested.
“H-h-how long has it been!?” Leona cried, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. “It was fifteen until three when we went into the forest! Please, how long have we been down here!?”
“Penumbra, what's wrong?” Robin asked, trying to crane her neck in her direction against the binds in her hair.
“L-L-Law…” Leona hyperventilated as she tugged at her restraints. “Law's in danger! Not again… not again not again not again not again not again! I can't do this again!!”
“I suggest you calm down this instant, big person!” One of the dwarves on her chest demanded, pointing his weapon in her face. “It won't end well for you if you don't!”
“Wait!” Robin interrupted. “No matter what grudge you all hold, we have no part of it! And if you must keep your existence a secret, we swear we won't tell a soul! Please, my friend is in severe distress… let us free so I can help her!”
“You lie!” Leo accused. “We refuse to listen to your excuses!”
“But I mean it!!” Robin sincerely begged.
All of the dwarves in the room fell silent for a moment, and then Leo jumped down from Robin's chest to undo his stitches from her body. “Alrighty then, you're free to go!”
Robin was in absolute shock at just how easy it was to get through to them.
“All done!” Said one dwarf after all of the stitches were removed. “You can get up now!”
Robin got up on her knees, crawling over to Leona as they finished undoing her binds as well. “Penumbra, are you alright? Take some deep breaths, okay? Deep breaths…”
“Robin…” Leona sobbed, sitting up on her knees. “W-w-what if… what if Law…” she hiccuped. “What if Law is…?”
Robin enveloped Leona in a comforting hug. “There, there… It's alright…”
Suddenly, there was a gruff, older voice. “Hey, Leo!”
Leo waved at the new arrival. “Hello, chief!”
“What are you doing, Leo!?” The elderly dwarf admonished. “You can't release them!”
“Oh, don't worry!” Leo said with a big grin. “They said their lips are sealed!”
“And why on earth should you believe them!?”
“Because they said so, so it's true!”
“Huhhh!?” The chief gasped. “...oh, well, alright then.”
Robin and Leona blinked, not quite knowing how to react.
“I hope you'll pardon our staring, ladies, it's just that we don't often get the chance to see a big person close up, you see.” The elderly dwarf said as he hobbled closer.
Leona sniffled. “W-who might you be, sir?”
“I'm known as Gancho.” He introduced. “I'm the Tonta-chief, or in other words, the king. Welcome! You ladies can stay as long as you'd like.”
“Oh, um…” Leona squinted, still without her glasses. “That's very kind of you, your majesty, but… w-we really need to leave…”
Robin nodded, grabbing her belongings. “Yes, we should. Penumbra, here's your sunglasses.”
“Thank you,” Leona said, putting them back on and picking up her suitcase.
Robin paused, noticing something was wrong. “Excuse me, but do you know where our transponder snails went?”
“Oh, right here!” Said a dwarf wearing a hat with two pointy horns. “I released them into the wild!”
“Huh!? Why!?” Leona cried in horror at the now normal snails. “We need to contact Law!”
“This is bad… There isn't much time until three…!” Robin gasped, checking her pocket watch. “Where's the exit down here?”
“Hang on!!” Leo yelled as the two women stood up. “You can't be leaving yet!! I thought you were good people!”
“If you're leaving, then hand over your weapons peacefully! Those are our rules!” Said another dwarf.
“We don't have weapons…” Robin muttered.
“Give us weapons, or we'll take everything you two own!!” Leo declared, not listening.
“We said we don't have any!” Leona reiterated, getting annoyed.
Leo's expression soured. “Then you leave us no choice… we shall bleed you dry!!”
“H-hold on now—!”
“TAKE IT ALL!!!”
Leona and Robin cried out as the dwarves swarmed them, tackling them to the floor with their deceptively powerful strength. But just before things could get any worse…
“WAIT!! STOP, PLEASE!”
The dwarves halted their assault when another dwarf in a pink polka-dotted hat with a matching pink polka-dotted tail appeared.
“Is there an emergency!?” Leo asked.
The dwarf climbed up onto Robin's bag. “You can't be mean to them!” He tearfully declared. “Their partner is the great hero!!”
When every dwarf reacted with shock and awe, Robin and Leona looked at each other in confusion.
“Hero…?” Leona muttered.
“Where did you hear this!?” Leo demanded.
“The big person with the long nose told me!” The polka-dotted dwarf explained. “He said he's telling the truth!! He's the legendary hero, sent here to save us at last…!”
He fell to his knees, sobbing. “Finally… Finally…!! He came when we needed him most!!”
Leona leaned over to Robin, whispering, “What the fuck is going on…?”
“No clue…” Robin whispered back. “Perhaps… Usopp told a white lie of some kind?”
Leona began to sweat. While she was grateful that whatever lie Usopp told the dwarves saved them from their predicament, she couldn't help but worry that it would spiral out of control and bite them in the ass later.
Robin checked her pocket watch again. “It's 2:57…”
Leona felt her earlier panic attack coming back. “Oh no… no no no no…! We're out of time! W-w-what do we do!?”
Robin crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I'll use my power to find Law and talk to him.” She closed her eyes and cleared her throat. “Cuerpo Fleur!”
Leona retrieved the coin she'd hidden in the belt on her dress, anxiously flipping it back and forth as she waited for… anything!
Suddenly, Robin spoke. “No, this is just a clone of my body.”
“Robin?” Leona asked. “D-did you find him!?”
Robin held up her pointer finger, indicating that she needed to focus. “Were you talking to Sanji on the transponder snail just now?”
There was a pause.
“...One issue. We're here on Green Bit, but Penumbra, Usopp, and I are all stuck underground. We fell into a bit of trouble and got tied up, but to make a long story short, we're all safe for now. We can't help you, but if you're going to escape, leave without us. When we get the opportunity, we'll catch up with you at the harbour.”
Leona felt herself die a bit on the inside then. “Robin! What are you doing!?” She squeaked.
Robin suddenly gasped. “...I wish you luck. Penumbra wishes you to be safe, as well.” and then she opened her eyes.
“What happened!?” Leona cried, holding onto Robin's arm. “Did Doflamingo show up? How did Law look? Was he okay?”
“I managed to find him when he was in the middle of talking with Sanji…” Robin explained. “He was unharmed, but there's bad news… Sanji said that Doflamingo never actually formally resigned from the Warlords. It was all a ruse.”
Leona's arms went slack. Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to break free as she began to tremble. “Y-you mean… we walked right into a trap…?” She asked, voice barely above a whisper. “I knew it… fuck, I knew it was too good to be true…!”
“That's not all…” Robin continued, her expression grave. “A Navy admiral showed up, and then so did Doflamingo soon after.”
Leona's legs buckled, feeling like jelly under all of the stress. “No… no!!” she sobbed into her hands. “Oh g-god, I f-feel sick… Not again…!”
“There you guys are!” Usopp's voice suddenly spoke. “Man, I'm glad you're both okay! I was—” he froze then, realizing Leona's state. “W-whoa, what happened??”
“She's worried sick about Law's well-being,” Robin explained for her, as she was crying too hard to properly answer. “I… think she may be reliving a traumatic memory…”
“Oh, jeez, uh…” Usopp muttered, scratching the back of his neck. “H-hey, let's breathe, okay? Let's take some nice, deep breaths…”
Usopp and Robin sat on either side of her in the grass, guiding her breathing. Meanwhile, the dwarves around them were gathering, either preparing something or just watching curiously.
When Leona calmed down enough so that she wasn't hyperventilating and bawling anymore, she curled up shamefully, embarrassed to be so highly emotional at such a crucial time. “Thank you…” She sniffled. “I'm so sorry that I'm always crying… I truly don't mean to, I promise…”
“Don't apologize for being scared,” Robin says.
“Yeah!” Usopp said, leaning in and whispering. “Between you and me, I've been terrified this entire time… you aren't the only one.”
Robin patted Leona's shoulder. “Things look dire now, sure. But we must believe in Law. We're allies for a reason, so we mustn't dwell on what we can't do right now. We have to focus on what we can.”
Leona's lip wobbled, and she nodded. “You're… you're right…” she wiped her tears. “You're right. He'd want me to focus on the present, I know that.”
A couple of the dwarves came up to them, dragging some little wooden crates filled with water with them.
“Here!” One dwarf wearing a striped newsboy cap said, presenting the crates. “We have some water here, if you're thirsty!”
“We hope you don't mind drinking from these,” another said, shrugging. “We don't exactly have any big people-sized drinkware.”
“Oh…” Leona said, gingerly picking up the little wooden box and taking a sip. “How sweet… thank you all.”
“Yes, thank you very much,” Robin said, taking one for herself. She was about to take a drink, but then…
BOOOOM!!!
There was a loud rumbling, followed by violent tremors that knocked bits of rubble loose from the ceiling.
Leona screamed, grabbing onto Usopp in her panic until the tremors died down.
“What the heck is goin’ on up there!?” Leo cried.
Leona looked up, trembling as she still held Usopp's arm. “W-w-what the hell…?”
Another short tremor hit, and Usopp panicked. “Dammit, this sucks!! If the roof caves in, then we're all gonna die!!”
All of the dwarves gasped. “Even the great hero is afraid!?” One asked.
Usopp jolted, realizing he let his mask slip. Leona cautiously let his arm go as he cleared his throat. “Er… I-I was just kidding! Those quakes? That was all me! Or more specifically, my… Haki.”
“Haki!?” A dwarf marvelled. “Isn't that how you beat up all fifty thousand of those bad guys back on Fishman Island!? Amazing!!”
The dwarves were so utterly smitten with Usopp that Leona felt awful taking advantage of their apparent tribal gullibility. It was that or be killed, though, unfortunately.
A sudden, delectable aroma wafted through the air as several dwarves dragged out a large feast they had prepared, served on large leaves.
“Here, great hero! Enjoy our offering! Leo said, presenting a hunk of cooked fish to the humans. “Our most talented chefs have prepared a fighting fish feast!”
“Ooh!” Usopp salivated, digging in with the utensils provided. “Oh, wow… It's delicious!”
“Since we're little, just one fighting fish could feed the entire kingdom for a month, or even more! But you big people have to eat lots of food… That must be a real pain, huh?”
Usopp offered his hand for Leo to climb onto, lifting him to his shoulder once he did. “For Luffyland and the rest of the Usolanders, a sea king like this is but a mere snack!” He declared.
“Actually, despite their size and disposition, fighting fish are normal fish, closely related to goldfish,” Leona explained.
“Sheriously!?” Usopp gawked with full cheeks.
“Mother Ocean is a mysterious lady.” Leona giggled.
“What's an Usoland by the way?” Robin whispered, leaning close.
Usopp gestured with his head at a nearby small statue. “Look there. Is that statue familiar at all?”
When the two looked, Leona raised her eyebrows. The statue was in the image of a familiar character from a children's story famous in the North Blue. “Is that… Noland the liar?” She asked.
Leo gasped, scandalized. “Liar!? Oh no no no, you're mistaken, Pepperoniland! He was a human botanist who visited our humble kingdom four hundred years ago! Our hero!!” He explained with reverence. “Back then, there were awful villains messing with our home, but Noland rushed to the aid of our ancestors and saved the day!! We shall never forget our debt to Noland, no matter how many years pass… the Tontatta will always honour him!”
The polka-dotted dwarf from earlier began to cry. “W-When Usoland mentioned the hero's name, and told us he was one of his descendants… I was speechless!”
“You are shameless…” Robin whispered disdainfully.
“Don't complain, it saved you, too!” Usopp said as he cheerfully kept eating. “Just keep quiet, enjoy the feast, then let's get the hell outta here!”
Leona slowly turned her head towards Usopp, who gulped nervously. “Pepperoniland, huh?”
“Ggrk! O-okay, listen… I was panicking! i-if anything, it could be a good codename…?”
Leona sighed. “Unbelievable.”
“Truly, it must be an act of fate that brought you to us today…” Gancho said, hobbling towards them.
“Yes, indeed! After four hundred long years, a legendary hero comes to our aid once again… on the very day we vowed to revolt against Dofalmingo's tyranny!!”
Usopp and Leona startled at this—albeit, for different reasons—as Leo continued. “Usoland, after you're finished eating, we'll take the underground passage to the Flower Field and prepare!”
“NOW'S THE TIME!” The dwarves rallied.
“The commander and our fellow soldiers of the Riku Royal Army are expecting us in Dressrosa for the final battle that shall be waged!!”
“YEEAHH!!!”
“Please take the lead, brave Usoland! Usher us to a new era of freedom! Together we shall annihilate all within the Donquixote family!” Leo and the dwarves cheered.
Usopp and Leona were sweating now, again, for very different reasons.
Internally, Leona was screaming, hoping to god the dwarves would never learn of her true identity as a spy of—
…well, an ex-spy of the Donquixote family now, technically…
She balled her gloved hands into trembling fists on her lap. What on earth was she still doing here anyway? While she knew Law was incredibly powerful and that he'd want her not to spend her valuable time vomiting over his safety… he was fighting Doflamingo, for god's sake. She had to locate him quickly and come to his aid… and fast.
Deep breath in… and out… in… and out…
Her Haki flared to life, ever expanding in search of Law's wavelengths.
The crew finally land on Dressrosa, splitting up to enact the next steps in Law's plan...
CW: This slow burn fic delves into some distressing topics such as drug addiction, violence, gore, and dark themes. Please check AO3 for all tags.
Character reference || Masterlist
Previous || Next
Armour parts lay scattered all around the Sunny's lawn deck underneath the shade of the tree. Leona sat in the grass, running her energy-infused hands over the last of the damage to smooth it out.
“Beautiful.” She whispered, admiring her repaired helmet. “Some of my finest work.”
“I'm still baffled as to how you made all of that when I had you in a seastone cuff…” Caesar muttered.
“GAH!” Leona gasped, whipping around and clutching her chest. “Ugh… I forgot you were sitting there…”
“Oh, that's the biggest crock of shit I've ever heard!” Caesar yelled. “You have some sort of weird superhuman memory capacity! How are you able to forget anything!?!”
“Okay, listen, asshole…” Leona said, putting down the helmet and laying her moon fabric underlayer out flat. “It's completely impossible for anyone to remember every single thing they've ever experienced at any given time. Even I am able to forget things…” She then looked down sadly. “...which is a painful truth to admit, considering my memory is what's defined my entire worth all this time… but for your information, the things I do forget tend to be beneath me.”
“YOU LITTLE WENCH!! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF MY ACCOMPLISHMENTS!? I STUDIED UNDER VEGAPUNK! VEGAPUNK!! THAT'S MORE THAN YOU CAN SAY, YOU LITTLE…”
She tuned out Caesar's angered shrieking to smooth out the dark moon fabric and feel for any tears or loose threads. Her eyebrows raised when she felt a hard bump inside a pocket, pulling it out to reveal one of her strawberry hard candies. “Huh… how'd that get here?”
“...And another thing!” Caesar continued to babble. “I know the only reason you've been so confident with talking down to me is that you knew daddy dearest would protect you, but who's laughing now, you bitch!? I can't wait to hear your screams and cries for mercy when he executes you by wringing the life from your worthless body!”
Leona's hackles raised, rage swelling in her chest. She was about to pounce on Caesar like a rabid animal, but then she glanced at the wrapped candy, and a flash of inspiration came to her.
“Oh, Caesar…” she started, faced away from him. “Seeing as you were manufacturing thousands of them per week… Do you remember how much NHC10 went into a single one of your medium-sized drug candies?”
“Hrm!? Of course I do! Who do you take me for!? Those medium-sized ones had a bumped-up dose to account for the size and tolerance of the bigger brats, so it was around 5 milligrams! …Why do you ask, anyway?”
Leona giggled darkly, looking over her shoulder and revealing the treat. “Oh, you know… I just figured the children deserved some poetic justice at some point, so I snuck one with me.”
Caesar started sweating. “Huh? W-w-what does that mean?”
Leona stood up, and Caesar began scooting away. “Hey! HEY! You stay the hell away from me with that! The deal is to keep me alive, remember!?”
“Oh, I know,” Leona said, continuing to back him into a corner. “A man of your size won't immediately die from a measly 5 milligrams of NHC10. But, seeing as the lethal dose for a regular-sized human adult is about 1.5, and you’re quite the scrawny bastard, well… you won't be feeling great, let's just say that.”
“Get back, woman!!” He screeched as she approached, unwrapping the candy. He clenched his teeth shut and covered his mouth.
Leona grabbed him by the hair and kicked him in the throat, causing him to choke and gasp for air, which she took as an opportunity to throw the candy into his mouth. As if on instinct, Caesar accidentally swallowed it.
“Penumbra!! What are you doing!?” Chopper cried, watching the scientist scream, cough, and writhe from where he was making Leona's medication. “I just finished treating him!!”
Leona rolled her eyes. “Relax, it's a normal strawberry candy! I had a whole jar back at the lab for myself. Can you blame me for wanting to fuck with him a bit?”
Chopper stared and blinked for a minute, then went back to work. “Oh, okay.”
Suddenly, Robin's voice echoed from the crow's nest window. “I see an island!”
Everyone dropped what they were doing and rushed to the bow to see for themselves. Up ahead was an island bordered by a ring of massive rock formations.
“Wooahh!! Pepperoni, is that it!?” Luffy asks excitedly.
“Yep.” She nodded, adjusting her glasses. “Dressrosa, the land of love and passion.”
“YAAHOOOO!!!” Luffy cheered. “DRESSROSA HERE WE COOOOOME!!!”
“Don't shout, idiot!! Doflamingo will hear you!!” Usopp hissed.
Leona side-eyed him. “Don't be obtuse.”
Franky steered the ship close to some ground-level rocks and deployed the absolutely adorable lion paw anchors. Luffy was the first to disembark.
“DRESSROSA!!! LET'S PARTYYYY!!!” Luffy cheered upon hitting terra firma.
“I told you to keep it down, Luffy! Dammit! We're deep in enemy territory!” Usopp sobbed.
Leona huffed out a sigh, closing her eyes and focusing on her Observation Haki.
Franky disembarked next. “AAOW! This week I'm…” he struck his signature pose. “EXTRA super!! As soon as we find that factory, I'm lettin’ my lasers RRRIP!”
“Usopp, relax,” Leona said, touching his shoulder. “He's inside the palace. There's no way in hell he'd hear us from there.”
“How do you know that!?” Usopp cried.
“Observation Haki,” Leona said simply, tapping her head. “It takes a lot of focus, but I can sense people’s emotional wavelengths across… uh… well, however many kilometres Dressrosa is in diameter.” She shrugged. “I-I've done most of my Haki development here, you see.”
“Wow, Haki can do that? He inquired, eyebrows raised.
“Of course! Observation Haki is super unique, since it's sort of like a fingerprint.” Leona explained excitedly. “For instance, I was born with a very strong ability to read the emotions of living beings by sensing the energy given off by each person when they're in a certain state of mind. If I focus hard enough, I'm able to glean parts of someone's past or see whole silhouettes of people, even through walls! But as I said, it manifests differently for everyone.”
“I… don't really follow…”
Leona withered a little. “Oh… y-yeah, I've found it's kind of something you need to have to understand… otherwise you just sound crazy.”
“I will not fly…! YOU CANNOT MAKE ME!!!”
The sudden shout from below had Leona and Usopp peer down over the rail just in time to see Momo—who was still a little pink dragon—and Luffy brawling, arguing about some matter Leona hadn't been paying attention to.
“L-Luffy, stop!!” Leona cried. “He's an eight-year-old child!!”
The two either were ignoring her or just couldn't hear her over their own shouting.
“CUT DA CRAP!! I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE A SHAMURAI!! I'M GONNA BE KING A’ DA PIRATESH ONE DAY!” Luffy gnashed as Momo stretched his rubber cheek.
“SO WHAT!? I SHALL BE THE SHOGUN OF WANO SOME DAY! YOU WILL BE BUT A WORM BENEATH MY FEET!” Momo shot back.
“ENOUGH, MOMONOSUKE! WE OWE THIS MAN OUR LIVES!”
The two abruptly stopped—though didn't calm down—when Kin'emon shouted. Leona hastily descended the ladder to further separate them in case they went at it again.
“Luffy-dono, please forgive my foolish son. Though he is a proud samurai, he is still a young boy, and lacks restraint… that said, you could use some restraint yourself in dealing with children.”
Luffy pouted. “Hmph! If he's such a crybaby coward, maybe he shouldn't talk so big!” He then proceeded to childishly stick out his tongue at the boy.
“What the HELL is your problem!?” Leona yelled, running up and striking Luffy across the face.
Luffy didn't seem to be affected much by her slap, but seeing him stumble backwards a little in surprise, coupled with the sting on her palm, made the realization of what she had just done hit her like a wave of freezing water.
“Oh my god!!” She gasped, clutching her hands back. “I-I-I'm so sorry, Luffy! I wasn't thinking!! P-please forgive me!”
“No, he deserved it,” Nami spoke up.
“Completely deserved it.” Other members of the crew nodded in agreement.
“B-but I hurt him!” Leona tried to protest.
“I didn't really feel anything.” Luffy shrugged.
Leona blinked. “Ah…” Either she was weak as hell, or Luffy was just weird.
“Yo, Kin'emon!” Franky interrupted. “We should head into town already! How should we perv… uh, convert our outfits so we don't stick out?”
“Ooh, I can answer this!” Leona butted in excitedly. “Dressrosa's society is extremely segregated by class, so if we're to be taken seriously around the richer parts of the country, we either have to look like nobles or like wealthy vacationers. Think elegant dresses, business suits… oh, you may be able to pull off the vacation look too, if the outfit looks expensive enough.”
“Really? Because I heard the men tend to wear collared shirts while the women are nearly completely nude…” Kin'emon hummed, pulling out a drawing with a very Wanoan art style detailing a man in semi-formal wear and a woman wearing nothing but a leaf skirt.
Leona squinted at the drawing. “The fuck? No! Who told you that? Did you draw this? I should kick your goddamn ass.”
“Ignore him, Glasses-ya,” Law said, ripping up a piece of paper as he approached. He handed the torn piece to Nami. “Here, better take this, miss navigator.”
“A vivre card?” She asks.
“It'll take you to that place called Zou I mentioned before.”
“Oh, do you plan on heading there afterwards?" Leona inquired, having not heard this part of the plan.
“Yeah, my crew is waiting there for me.” Law nodded.
For some reason, the mention of Law's mysterious crew had excitement bubble up in Leona's chest. How many members did they have, she wondered? What did their ship look like? Were they like the Strawhats in the way they were all great friends? Or were they like a typical hierarchical pirate crew? Oooh, Leona wanted to meet them all!!
“Glasses-ya, you listening?” Law's voice suddenly snapped her from her thoughts.
“Wuh—huh? Oh, uh… sorry.” She looked down as Law unrolled what looked to be a map… if it were drawn in crayon by a child.
“What's that?” Luffy asked.
“A map one of my crew members made.”
“It's… kinda sloppy,” Nami muttered.
“Aww, it reminds me of Yoshie's drawings…” Leona cooed. “Gosh, I miss the kids so much already…”
“Focus,” Law said. He tapped an area southwest of the blob labelled “Dressrosa”. “We're here right now, on the west coast.” He moved his finger up to the crude white circle in the middle. “The palace is at the center, here.”
“Oh, you know…” Brook spoke. “Since Doflamingo is a king, wouldn't that make you the crown princess, Penumbra?”
Leona groaned and rolled her eyes. “God, please never call me Princess, I beg you. I resent being associated with a usurper's title…”
Brook (somehow) took a sip of his tea. “Understood.”
“Glasses-ya, can you point out where the factory is for me?” Law asked.
Leona knelt down, eyebrows furrowing. “Uhh, well… it's a bit difficult to tell on a map without any detail, but…” she made circles with her finger in the southwestern region. “It's here, in the city of Acacia. We're right next to it, actually.”
She then stood back up and dusted her skirt off. “Mr. Franky, sir, I gave you that slip of paper with the detailed instructions on how to get there, so please don't lose it, okay?”
“Wouldn't dream of it, sister!” Franky said, giving a thumbs up.
“My team will be responsible for handing over Caesar.” Law continued, tracing a route with his finger up to the crude rendition of a bridge to the north of the island. “We'll pass through Dressrosa until we get to the northern shore. There, we'll cross the bridge until we get to the uninhabited island of Green Bit.”
“Why do we have to go through the island to get there? Can't we just take the ship?” Usopp asked.
“If we do, your ship will be torn to shreds. That area's infested with an enormous school of fighting fish.” Leona explained.
Usopp started sweating. “What the hell is a fighting fish?”
Robin giggled. “I, for one, think it sounds like fun.”
“P-please just get me there safely…” Caesar said meekly.
Leona narrowed her eyes at him, mumbling, “God, I hope you get mauled to death by a big one…”
Usopp began pretending to look ill. “Oh no…! I-I think my can't-step-foot-on-Dressrosa-itis is acting up…!” He croaked.
“And as for the rest of you, the Sunny Security Team… be wary of enemy attacks. You may have to be our decoy.” Law informed Nami, Chopper, Brook, Sanji, and Momo.
“What's that mean!?” Nami worried.
“W-we'll be… facing combat?” Momo gulped.
“Whaaat!? B-but I thought guarding the ship would be the safest!” Brook bemoaned.
Chopper sighed. “Well, this is enemy territory… but that’s okay, since we have Sanji on our… side…”
Everyone looked up, astonished at the complete lack of Sanji and Luffy's entire team.
“W-where'd Sanji go!?” Chopper cried.
“Where'd everyone go!?” Nami asked.
“Dammit, Strawhat-ya!” Law groaned loudly. “You were the key to this whole thing!!”
“I-I could use my Haki to search for them…” Leona offered. “They couldn't've gone far…”
Law pinched his nose, grumbling, “No, it's fine… but since that samurai was with them, we have no choice but to make our own disguises now. What a pain in my ass…”
“Ooh!” Nami gasped. “Now this is more my speed! Come on, Penumbra!”
“Huh?” Leona gasped as Nami grabbed her arm and started dragging her to the ship. “W-wait!!”
***
“Now let's see here…” Nami said with wiggling fingers when she—with Leona's permission—opened up Leona's suitcase of clothes.
The blonde awkwardly rubbed her arm as Nami and Robin rifled through her stuff, oohing and ahhing at certain articles of clothing.
“Oh my god, these strawberry-patterned pajama pants are sooo cute!” Nami cooed. “Where'd you get these?”
“Um… here,” Leona said. “Most of my stuff is from Dressrosa…”
“Robin, we have to go on a spree when this is over.” She looked back at Leona. “You have no choice but to come with us, by the way.” She decided, putting the pants aside.
Leona blinked. “Uh… o-okay! I guess???”
“Oh, how about this one?” Robin asks, holding up a strapless, half-black, half-purple party dress with a satin fabric belt. “It definitely gives off a high-class feel, I think.”
“Oh my god, yes!” Nami squealed. “Penumbra, what do you think?”
“W-well, if you think so…” Leona shrugged. “But it's gonna take more than just a dress for a good disguise…”
Nami hummed, thinking. “Let me see what I have…”
The redhead started rifling through her closet, throwing out potential items she felt would match. “Hey, Penumbra, what's your shoe size?”
“8.5, why?”
“Get out, so is mine! That makes this perfect, then!” She came back with a pair of strappy black pumps and a black, wide-brimmed hat decorated with a red rose. “Okay, now put these on!”
“I found some pantyhose and leather gloves that would do nicely,” Robin said.
“Oh, yes! Add them! Add them!” Then Nami gasped. “Ooh! And for the final touch…”
The redhead went over to their vanity, opened a drawer and pulled something out. “A cute leather choker!” She said, holding it up.
“Gosh, you two love playing dress up, don't you?” Leona asked, chuckling as she stripped off her long blue dress and hair ribbon.
“Don't you?” Nami asked, searching through her closet again.
Leona shimmied into the bodycon dress. “Well, I am a spy… costume changes are a big part of the job.”
“Aw, c’mon! Look at all those fancy dresses in your suitcase! You cannot tell me you don't like to doll yourself up.” Nami teased.
Leona snorted, zipping herself up and slipping on the gloves. “Alright, alright. There's a little truth there.”
There was a beat of silence, and then Robin spoke up from where she was changing. “So, a little birdie told us you and Law shared a romantic chat last night.”
Leona's head snapped towards her. “Who's this birdie, and where are they so I can drown them for lying?”
“Brook.” Both women answered.
Leona sighed, slipping the shoes on and fastening them. “Of course…”
“Soooo?” Nami prodded. “If it wasn't romantic, then what was it?”
Leona's face erupted into hues of red. “I-it was just catching up, I swear! Talking about the past and stuff! I just… wanted to make amends…”
“Did you get lost in his eyes?” Nami asked.
“Wh—Nami!” Leona whined, hiding her burning face in her hands. “No! I– ugh… look, just because I think he's kinda hot doesn't mean I'm… into him or anything. Besides, he doesn't like me like that, anyway!” She looked away sadly. “I-I'm… not even sure if he likes me at all… he just tolerates me at most, I’m sure…”
Nami and Robin gave each other a concerned look, then Nami crouched down to Leona's level. “Hey, I didn't mean to make you feel bad… I was just trying to tease you a bit. All in good fun, I promise. I'm really sorry, Penumbra…”
She held out her hand for her to take. “Could I do your hair before you set out?”
The blonde looked up at her, then took her hand and smiled. “Okay.”
Moments later, Leona's disguise was finished, complete with her wild hair tamed into a half-up lace braid.
“Ahh! Sooo cute!!!” Nami squealed. “I wish we were going out on the town instead of this dangerous ass mission we're on… It isn't fair!!”
“Well, hopefully, if all goes well… I'll take you guys. My treat.” Leona said, offering a shy smile.
“Well, aren't you sweet?” Robin giggled.
“I'm holding you to that,” Nami said.
When Leona and Robin finally exited the girls' quarters, they were met with Law and Usopp standing on the deck, clearly bored from waiting.
“Finally!!” Usopp groaned upon seeing them. “What took you so long!?”
“There you are. You sure took your sweet ass time.” Law huffed.
Leona snorted upon seeing Law's disguise, which consisted of an open, long black hooded jacket, spotted skinny jeans, sunglasses, and the silliest fake moustache she thinks she's ever seen. “S-sorry!” she tried to stifle her giggles.
Law gave her a once-over. “Your disguise is alright, but you'll need to swap the glasses out for shades. You're the most likely of us to get recognized since you've been living in Dressrosa for the past decade, and…”
Leona didn't mean to start tuning Law out, but her attention was drawn to his bare torso that was on display, more specifically, the huge tattoo covering his chest that she didn't know he had. She had seen the tattoos on his hands and didn't question them, but now she was curious as to whether more of his body was inked up, as well.
Suddenly, some fingers snapped in her face. “Quit spacing out, Glasses-ya! This is serious! Did you hear a word I said?”
Leona blinked. “Oh! Um… s-sorry… C-could you repeat that…?”
Nami and Robin looked at each other.
“She's absolutely into him,” Nami whispered.
“Undoubtedly,” Robin whispered back.
***
The trek all the way from Acacia to the bridge went surprisingly well, all things considered. Leona did her best to lead the group in the quickest way north and avoided as much trouble as possible, as she had mapped out the entire island in her mind during her time living there.
As expected, though, the sight of the living toys shocked everyone but her. When asked about their nature, she regretfully had to hold her tongue, knowing that it could compromise them. She had never liked the toys. The truth of their origins made her sick with guilt.
Now, they sat outside a small northeastern cafe next to the bridge to rest a little.
“How are the shades coming along, Glasses-ya?” Law asked.
Leona was checking her handiwork, using moonglass to fill the cheap frames she swiped from a random kiosk on the way there with ones matching her prescription.
“Moment of truth…” she said, removing her normal round glasses and slipping on the diy moonglass sunglasses she had just made.
She blinked, looking around at her now blue-tinted surroundings. “I can count the leaves on the trees, and I can read that far-away sign from here… so I believe that means… success!”
“They look adorable,” Robin said.
“Thank you,” Leona smiled.
“Good afternoon, friends.” Said a waiter who had just approached their table. “What can I get for you?”
“I'll have a hibiscus tea, please,” Robin said.
“Make that two.” Said Law.
“Café con leche, please,” Leona said.
“None for me,” Caesar said.
“Uh…” Usopp muttered. “Do you have cola?”
“Yes, sir.” The waiter nodded.
“Yeah, one of those, thanks.”
There was a stretch of silence between the five as they waited, and to Leona, every second felt nerve-wracking. The entire trip here, she'd been looking over her shoulder, not for Doflamingo, but for someone else. Her leg bounced, growing more and more restless.
She cleared her throat. “Um… I have to do a scan of the island real quick, if that's alright… something's been bothering me.”
“By all means,” Law said. “Hurry it up, though.”
Leona nodded. “Of course.”
She folded her hands on the table, taking deep, slow breaths as her Haki activated. In waves, she detected the wavelengths of each person and animal's emotions, steadily growing larger and larger. Happy children, excited spectators, passionate lovers… angered women, fearful men, the seething hatred of the toys… but none quite matching the presence she knew, until she had finally sensed her fiery passion all the way in the city of Primula to the northwest, specifically at Lovers Lane, engaged in one of her usual street performances: Violet, A Donquixote pirate assassin.
“Oh, thank goodness…” Leona sighed with relief as she returned to the present.
“What is it? Something we should be concerned about?” Law asks, which makes Leona blush in embarrassment at the fact that she did that out loud.
“Oh! Um… i-in a way, I suppose?” Leona shrugged. “I was looking for a specific assassin, but i-it's— it's fine, it's fine. She's performing in the next city over.”
“An assassin!?” Usopp worried. “I-is she looking for us right now, do you think?”
“I… I-I don't know for sure, but… I want to avoid her as much as possible…” She said, nervously shrinking. “But for more of a, um… personal reason…”
Thankfully, the waiter saved her any more explanation by returning with their drinks. Leona straightened up, presenting herself with a practiced air of nobility.
“Thank you, sir.” She said as he placed her coffee in front of her. “Oh, I hate to be a bother while you're working, dear shopkeep, but I'm awfully curious about that little island on the other side of that bridge, there… do you know much about it?”
“Oh, that?” He asks, looking in its direction. “That's Green Bit. I wouldn't recommend goin’ there though. Why? You guys uhhh… explorers or scholars or somethin'?”
“Uh… a little of both?” Usopp shrugged.
“Yes dear, we're esteemed historians, you see.” Leona followed along. “And I happen to be a bit of a thrill-seeker, as well…” she tilted her glasses down and winked.
The waiter laughed. “Oh yeah? I'm sorry to tell ya, ma'am, but that bridge goes way beyond a thrill, if you ask me. It's way too dangerous.”
“The bridge looks quite strong, though… what's so dangerous?” Robin asked.
“Oh, don't let the look of that solid-iron bridge fool you,” the man warned. “See how everyone's avoiding it? That's ‘cause of the school of fighting fish surrounding the area. They say that in the last two hundred years, no one who's dared to cross that bridge ever came back, even with the safeguards.”
“Heavens!” Leona gasped. “Fighting fish, you say? Aren't those the beastly fish they use in the colosseum?”
“With the big horns and teeth, yeah!” he said, pantomiming the horns. “Those colosseum ones are specially bred, though. They're itty-bitty compared to the wild ones there. They have to be, otherwise they wouldn't fit in their tanks.”
“I've heard rumors that they can chew through solid iron… that isn't true, is it, sir?”
“That's no rumor, ma'am.” The man shook his head. “That's just a cold, hard truth. Why do you think anyone who's ever crossed the bridge went missing?”
“W-wait a minute! They're fish!” Usopp interjected. “What, do they just… fly out of the water and tear through the gate!?”
“Probably! I ain't brave enough to find out, though… if you're determined to get there, I won't stop you… but don't say I didn't warn ya.”
“Well, I do say your information is much appreciated, my dear man,” Leona said, reaching into her wallet and handing a sizable wad of bills to him. “A tip for a tip, so to speak.” She winked again.
“Holy crap!” He gaped, hesitating to take the money. “A-are you sure, ma'am!?”
“Oh, darling, it's merely a trifle! Go get you and the missus something nice.” Leona crooned.
“I… uh… a-alright! Thanks, lady! Hope you find what you're lookin' for!” The man thanked profusely, going back into his store.
“...the hell was that?” Caesar hissed at her.
“What?”
“I'm not complaining, since we got good intel, but… Couldn't you have just told us all of that yourself?” Usopp asked, finishing off his drink.
Leona sipped her own drink, speaking in a more hushed tone. “Usopp, that was me playing a character to covertly give intel in case someone was listening. I'm trying not to get caught here. Keep up, please.”
Law gave a small, amused huff, and for a split second, Leona swore he was smirking under his moustache.
She sipped her drink again. “Still, Law… why Green Bit of all places? You could've picked a much safer remote location, like Flower Hill, or the ruins of Carta, for instance…”
“Yeah, no kidding!!” Caesar hissed. “Why not those places!?”
Law sipped his tea. “...Live with it. We're already here, so there's no point in complaining.”
He then turned to the scenery. “Anyway, don't you think the people here are way too calm? You'd think there'd be chaos if their king stepped down…”
Suddenly, Robin pulled down her hat and tried making herself look smaller.
“What's up?” Usopp whispered.
Robin shushed him, covertly glancing over.
When Leona caught sight of who she was hiding from, she gasped.
Three people were wearing long white coats, hiding their faces with gaudy masks. In other words…
“CP0…” Law muttered.
“C-CP0?? L-like… like CP9…? Oh, please tell me they aren't that tough…!” Usopp trembled.
“They're worse,” Robin said.
“I wonder if they're here to investigate the resignation thing…” Leona whispered. “Either way… them being here is not a good sign.”
“...I can't disagree there,” Law muttered, checking his watch. “Ah, shit, we have forty-five minutes until three PM. We have to get moving.”
The group scrambled to finish their drinks, and Leona slapped down the payment on the table, shouting. “Thank you for the beverages, sir!” as she picked up her armour suitcase, and they all left.
Now they walked along the bridge to Green Bit. Usopp and Leona had their slingshot and bow at the ready.
Usopp gulped. “So… how do you tell if one of those fighting fish sees you…?”
“You don't. Leona put simply. “That's what makes this bridge so dangerous. They prey on your false sense of security.”
“Shurororororo… well, the iron bars should protect us, shouldn't they?” Caesar asks.
“I wouldn't count on it…” Leona muttered.
Suddenly, she gasped, feeling a tingle alerting her to a fast-moving presence from below. She stopped and manifested an arrow.
Law seemed to feel it too. “One's approaching…”
Leona watched the left side, and Law watched the right, trying to sense the fish's plan of attack. There was a giant, dark shadow under the water for a moment… and then…
SSSPLASHH!!
The gargantuan fish leapt from the water with the force of a high-powered cannon, flying over the bridge and back into the water.
“It saw us.” Law said.
“We need to run!” Leona cried. “They hunt in schools!!”
“Wait, WHAT!?” Usopp screamed. “B-b-but we just—!”
“NOW!!”
The group bolted, not arguing with her.
“Why can't you and Nose-ya just shoot them to death!?” Law panted.
“Are you crazy!?” She snapped back at him. “Our weapons would only temporarily stun them at most! It'd take massive harpoons to do any significant damage!!”
There was an immense crash from mere inches away as one fighting fish rammed itself headfirst into the bars, warping them as if they were made of tinfoil.
Leona pointed behind her. “SEE!? do you think just a few arrows could slay THAT THING!?”
“Incoming!!” Usopp gasped. Up above, there were two of them that leaped out of the water, about to descend upon them from the front.
Robin was quick on the draw, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “MIL FLEUR! GIGANTASCO MANO!!”
Thousands of arms sprouted from the bridge, fusing into one giant arm. She then swiped one arm in the air like she was slapping someone, bellowing “SPANK!!”, making the hand smack the fish back into the sea.
Leona fired multiple shots, three arrows at a time, at the other one, managing to skewer an eye, but not much else. “Shit! Someone cover me!!”
“SKULL BOMBGRASS!” Usopp shouted, firing a pop green into its mouth, which burst into a skull-shaped mushroom cloud explosion, making it fall back into the sea, too.
“Thanks, you two! Amazing work!!” Leona praised. “But we can't fight them all, so keep running!!”
“Believe me, I wasn't planning on fighting anyway!!” Usopp cried.
“Nose-ya!” Law called over his shoulder, suddenly getting an idea. “Unlock Caesar's cuffs! I want him to help get those fish off our backs!”
“YOU'RE INSANE!!” Usopp yelled. “He's just gonna fly away and leave us for dead!!”
“Then he'd better reconsider…” Law said, pulling out a beating object contained in a clear, rubbery cube from his jacket pocket.
Caesar cried out. “Ahh! You bastard!! When did you take out my heart!?”
Leona swooned playfully. “Oh, how I love a man who's well prepared!”
Usopp took the cuffs off, and Caesar skidded to a stop, facing the oncoming fish. “You’ll all burn in HELL for this!! GASTILLE!!”
On his command, Caesar fired fucking high-powered lasers from his mouth at the fighting fish.
“What the fuck!?” Leona gaped. “I didn't know he could do that…”
“Don't get distracted, keep up the pace!” Law yelled.
“Hey, why the hell aren't you fighting too, Law!?” Usopp griped. “You can jump in whenever!!”
“I can't! My power saps away at my stamina bit by bit, and I need to be at full strength on the way back!! If my energy is the least bit depleted, we're screwed, understand!?” Law explained. “This is Doflamingo we're talking about!!”
“Ugh, fine then!! But what about Penumbra!?” Caesar shrieked. “Surely she could do MORE?!”
“I'm in the same boat, I'm afraid!” Leona panted. “I-I’m truly sorry!!”
Unfortunately, there was a sight up ahead that had to make everyone skid to a stop. Right in front of them, there was a gap in the bridge, far too wide to even consider jumping over. To make matters worse, the other side was even shrouded in thick fog.
“Ohh, just perfect!!” Usopp sobbed. “The bridge is out! What now!?”
“How much energy would it take to teleport us over, Law?” Leona asked, frantically scanning for more fighting fish.
“I can't tell, the fog is too thick,” Law said.
“W-well, we need to think of something fast!! There's another one about to jump!!” the blonde cried as the fish broke the water's surface.
Law grit his teeth and raised his hand to summon a Room, cursing the fact that he needed to use it now. But before he could utter the word, the fish reacted like it was in severe pain mid-jump, and something like a net flew over it, making it fall into the water, dead.
The four of them stood mouth agape, trying to process what had just happened, until little squeaky voices shouted from the other side.
“We caught one! We caught one!”
“Hurry and reel it in!”
“Today's the day! Let's fuel up with some fighting fish stew!!”
“Hooray!!!”
“Whose voices are those…?” Robin wondered.
“Th-that'd be the Tontatta tribe…” Leona explained. “They're native to Green Bit, you see.”
“But Traffy said it was uninhabited…” Usopp said.
“Well, he was wrong,” Leona said, taking a deep breath. “EXCUSE ME!! IS THERE ANY WAY YOU COULD PLEASE HELP US CROSS THIS GAP!?” She shouted.
“Eep! I heard a human!!”
“We gotta get outta here! Hurry!!’
And just like that, the slain fighting fish was dragged off into the fog.
“...Shit.” Leona huffed.
“What now?” Robin asked.
“OH, WELL YOU'RE WELCOME, BY THE WAY!!” Caesar shrieked as he returned to the group. “NO NEED TO THANK ME FOR SAVING YOUR UNGRATEFUL LIVES ALL BY MYSELF!!”
“...Hey, Law?” Leona asked, not turning around.
“Hm?”
“May I squeeze his heart just once? Just a tiny bit?”
“No.”
Leona pouted. “Hmph…”
Law looked over his shoulder and pointed. “Caesar. Fly us to the island.”
“WHAT!? AS IF, YOU LITTLE—!”
“You know what, Glasses-ya? I changed my mind. You get one squeeze.” Law said, pulling the heart out again.
Leona squealed, excitedly clapping like a child on her birthday.
“WAITWAITWAITWAIT, HANG ON NOW—!”
***
“Law, you rat bastard!!” Caesar cried, carrying all four of his kidnappers in the air like a hot air balloon. "You'll pay for this... you'll ALL pay for this!!!"
“Quit complaining!” Usopp rolled his eyes. “I mean, look at this beautiful view!”
“It makes me wonder why we didn't just do this from the start.” Robin mused.
“Hey, you're right! We totally should've!” Usopp nodded.
“ARE YOU KIDDING!? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH GAS ENERGY IT TAKES FOR ME TO FLOAT FOUR PEOPLE ALL THAT WAY!? I THOUGHT HOSTAGES WERE SUPPOSED TO BE TREATED HUMANELY!!!”
“Says you.” Leona huffed. “Shut up and fly us over, flight-bitch.”
After all of that arduous nonsense, the group had finally, FINALLY landed on Green Bit.
Leona adjusted her glasses, scanning around for threats. “Huh… I can understand why people would think this place is uninhabited, now. It feels like a graveyard…”
“Doesn't seem like anyone's here,” Robin observed, also scanning. “But I do see lots of shipwrecks from those fighting fish… perhaps you aren't too far off, Penumbra.”
Usopp gulped, peering up at the colossal plant life. “Gotta say… the landscaping leaves a lot to be desired…”
“Well, the Tontatta are nothing if not proud nature-dwellers…” Leona shrugged.
Suddenly, Caesar began shrieking again. “HEEY!! JOKER!! I'M OVER HERE!! COME AND GET ME!!’
Law pointed the hilt of his sword at him. “Save your breath.” Then he pointed it over to the far-right distance. “See that beach on the southeastern side? That's where we're leaving you at three PM. He'll be here shortly.”
Then, Usopp started yelling. “G-g-guys!! Look on this side!”
Everyone turned to see the stern of what looked to be a Naval battleship sticking out of the sand.
“How the hell does that happen?” Leona wondered aloud.
Robin reached into her bag, pulling out a set of binoculars. “Hmm…” she hummed, looking through them. “The damage to those plants is still fresh… it appears that this ship just got here.”
“So that means there are Marines here with us too…” Leona hummed. “Injured at the very least, but still…”
“WHAT!? DO THEY KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE!?” Caesar cried way too loudly. “THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING!”
“Well now they do!” Leona scolded him. “Learn to be a good little hostage and keep your fucking mouth shut!”
“I've had about up to here with your mouth, Penumbra!” He hissed. “If it weren't for these chains, you'd have been dead ages ago!”
“Yeah, dick? Keep in mind that if it were up to me, and not for the circumstances, you'd be fighting fish shit by now!” Leona spat, jabbing him in the stomach with her finger. “It's a good thing that Doflamingo resigned from the Warlords, because that means there's a chance that the Marines here will get to you before he does!”
“Nnrggh! LAW!!” Caesar demanded. “We cannot do this transaction here! Abort this mission at once!!”
“The Marines are my enemy too, you know. What do I have to gain by having the Strawhats and Penumbra-ya with me?” Law told him.
“D-did you set me up!?” Caesar cried.
Law ignored him, turning to the rest of the group. “Listen, we have about fifteen minutes until three o’clock. I need you three to hide out somewhere and cover for me. Be on guard for Marines skulking about in the forest, and let me know if you find anything as soon as you find it, got it?”
Robin and Usopp nodded, but Leona hesitated. “W-wait, Law… you're not seriously thinking about facing Doflamingo outright like this, are you?”
“I won't be alone,” Law stated. “You'll be covering for me.”
“N-no, I mean…” Leona sighed. “Like… taking the brunt of it, if he decides to get violent? I-I just…” she groaned, not knowing how to articulate herself better. “Can you see why I'm antsy, Law?”
“Glasses-ya,” he started. “If I didn't believe I could handle it, I wouldn't have gotten this far. Don't back out on me now.”
Tears pricked at Leona's eyes, and she turned towards the forest with a heavy sigh.
“Alright…” she said, peeking over her shoulder one more time. “I trust you… But please be careful, okay? I don't… I don't think I could handle losing you all over again…”
After word of Doflamingo's resignation spreads through the world, Law contacts him directly to discuss what to do with Caesar...
CW: This slow burn fic delves into some distressing topics such as drug addiction, violence, gore, and dark themes. Please check AO3 for all tags.
Specific CW: emetephobia and emotional abuse
Character reference || Masterlist
Previous || Next
“Vice Admiral Tsuru!! Vice Admiral Tsuru, ma'am!” A naval lieutenant cried as he raced down the hallway, barely missing other officers in his way.
“Hey! Slow the hell down, Lenny boy! You nearly made me spill my coffee!” An older commander yelled as he ran past.
“I'm sorry, sir! I-it's urgent!” Len apologized. “Vice Admiral, ma'am!!”
Len burst through a pair of ornate double doors sporting Vice Admiral Tsuru's name on the doorplates. “Vice Admir—!”
“Calm down, Len, my dear.” The elderly woman sighed. “I could hear your shouting all the way through the building. Now, what's the issue?”
Len panted with his hands on his knees. He raised one that clutched an opened envelope. “A… a letter… haah… f-for you…”
Tsuru got up, making her way to her subordinate. “Breathe, boy, breathe. What is this?”
Her aged hands took the paper from him, unfolding it. “I swear, this better be worth the fuss you're… making…”
Tsuru's eyes widened the farther she read. It was a letter detailing not a request, but a full-blown, sudden resignation from the Seven Warlords, signed by none other than Donquixote Doflamingo.
“When did this get here, Len?” Tsuru asked.
“Just now, ma'am.” He said, fixing his ponytail and cap. “It was delivered to the Fleet Admiral first via Albatross Post. He's preparing for an emergency meeting now regarding the status of the Seven Warlords, but he requested I deliver you this letter before then.”
“I see…” Tsuru muttered, rereading the letter while she paced her office. “Doflamingo is plotting something; he has to be. There's no way he'd just up and quit his position as warlord without an ulterior motive. The question is what?”
“It seems completely out of character for him… but then again, he has a history of being unpredictable. It's just so strange because I can't conceive of a single outcome that isn't a net loss for him in one way or another! I’m stumped, ma'am…”
Suddenly, there was a voice over the intercom. “All personnel report to the conference room for an emergency meeting. I repeat: all personnel report to the conference room for an emergency meeting.”
Tsuru sighed. “Len, my dear, could I request you to contact Big News Morgans regarding this matter? And once you're finished, please join us in the conference room.”
Len saluted. “Aye aye, Vice Admiral Tsuru, ma'am!"
Tsuru smiled. “That's my boy,” she said as she left her office.
Len adjusted his glasses and got to dialling Morgans’ private line.
***
“GOOOOD MOOOORNIIING!!!!” Brook belted, holding a fresh newspaper and shredding a solo on his fish-shaped electric guitar. “Rise and shine for the morning neeewwwsss!”
One by one, everyone awoke from their sleep and freshened up before meeting together on the deck in a circle.
“Ooh…” Leona whispered with wiggling fingers as Luffy unrolled the paper. “Untampered with news… How exciting! Let's see…”
Upon reading the front page headline, Leona could swear her heart stopped for a moment.
“Donquixote Doflamingo withdraws from the Seven Warlords… and abdicates the throne of Dressrosa? What the hell?” Sanji read aloud.
“The throne? He was a king?” Brook asked.
“More of a usurper, really…” Leona mumbled.
“Seriously? Who would that guy rule over?” Luffy wondered. “A kingdom of birds?
“This seems too good to be true…” Leona worried. “I can understand him giving up his warlord position, but the throne, too…? Goodness…”
Law smirked. “Nah, it's a good thing. I mean, since he didn't have a choice in the matter, after all…”
“Huh… oh, hey! Traffy, you and I are here too!” Luffy pointed out on the next page.
Everyone leaned in, and Leona read the article. “Trafalgar Law of the Seven Warlords forms an alliance with the Strawhat Pirates… it remains unseen how the government will choose to punish Trafalgar?”
“Oh dear…” Brook muttered.
“Look, there's more! Nami said, flipping the page. “The Kidd Pirates, On Air Pirates, and the Hawkins Pirates have also allied! This is huge!”
“Why are all these crews deciding to group up too?” Leona wondered, feeling anxiety pool in her stomach. “I have a terrible feeling about this…”
“Forget about them,” Law said, getting up and walking over to Caesar. “They have nothing to do with us, so let's focus on our original plan for now.”
Law grabbed Caesar by his hair, thrusting his head forward to make his point. “Now you know how important yesterday's negotiation was for him. All we did was kidnap Caesar, remember? And yet he gave up not only the throne he's been sitting on for the past ten years, but also the carte blanche the government gave him when he became a warlord practically overnight.”
Law threw Caesar back to the floor and began walking off. “If he did all of that just to get Caesar back… well, that should tell you everything.”
“Where are you going?” Luffy asks.
“Just fetching your snail, I'll be right back," Law said, disappearing into the galley.
Leona gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. “Oh god, Law, please don't tell me…”
When Law returned with the Strawhat's snail, he gently put it down on the foremast bench and began dialling. Leona paced around anxiously, hands not leaving her face.
“Alright… let's see if he picks up,” Law says, pressing the call button.
Purupurupurupuru… purupurupurupuru…
Leona did her best to breathe, praying she didn't vomit when she heard his voice on the other end. Her stomach was already doing flips from the anticipation.
Purupurupurupuru… purupurupur—Gacha.
“It's me. I've resigned. Happy now?”
Leona had to face away from the snail and squeeze her eyes shut at the sound of his voice. She didn't dare remove her shaking hands from her mouth in fear of even the smallest sound coming out.
“HE PICKED UP!!” Usopp yelped.
“Is that him!?” Luffy gasped.
Leona bristled, trying to communicate “quiet!” By putting a finger over the hand covering her lips.
Usopp seemed to share this sentiment, trying desperately to shush him. “Just leave this to Law! Don't let him hear you!!” He hissed.
But of course, in true Luffy fashion, he stormed right up to Law, swiped the receiver from his hand and yelled, “Hello!? This is Monkey D. Luffy, future pirate king speaking!!”
It took all of Leona's strength not to scream.
Usopp punched him in the back of the head and began trying to wrestle him from the receiver. “Dammit, Luffy! You do this every damn time!!”
“Hey!! Mingo!! Are you Caesar's boss!? ‘Cause that guy really sucks ass, you know! Sucks ass!!! He did bad stuff to Brownbeard, Pepperoni, and a bunch of little kids!!! We'll give him back since that's what we promised, but if he does it again, we're kicking his ass twice, and then I'm gonna beat the hell outta you!!”
Leona dropped to her hands and knees in utter shock and dismay, feeling like the wind was knocked out of her lungs. What the FUCK is wrong with this kid!? While it's probably a good thing Luffy apparently still forgot her name, that's not much of a comfort considering ALL OF THE THREATS HE JUST MADE???
“...Strawhat Luffy.” Doflamingo finally spoke. “I have a question for you… After your dear brother Ace died two years ago… you and your crew suddenly disappeared. Just what were you up to?”
“That's a secret! I'm not telling!!” Luffy yelled.
Doflamingo chuckled. “A shame… I've been quite eager to see you. See, I have something that you'd want VERY badly. That I am quite certain.”
“Something I'd want… very badly…?” Luffy repeated.
But it was too late. Luffy began to drool as his imagination ran wild. “I-is it meat? Is it some kind of super amazing tasting meat I've never had before!?”
Leona couldn't take it anymore. This kid was going to be the literal fucking death of her one way or another. She silently curled up in a ball, nearly ripping chunks of hair from her head.
“Cut it out!! He's toying with you, idiot!!’ Law yelled at him, but Luffy was just too deep in his apparent fantasies involving food.
While Usopp tried to shake Luffy out of it (to no avail), Law took the receiver back. “Cut the shit, Joker! We're handing over Caesar as the deal entailed. No more, no less.”
“Well, that's for your own good as much as mine,” Doflamingo replied. “We both know what will happen if you try to run away with him. It won't be a happy ending, I assure you… Now, I have a couple of requests while we're still here. First, I'd like to talk to my business partner for a moment, if you wouldn't mind. I want to confirm he's nice and safe.”
Law rolled his eyes, holding the receiver out in Caesar's direction.
“OHH JOKER, I'M SO VERY SORRY!!” Caesar blubbered, scooting closer. “You resigned from the Warlords all because of me!! How selfless of y—!”
He attempted to grab the receiver from Law, but Law yanked it back. “He's fine, see?”
“Yes, yes, energetic as always.”
“Eight hours from now, on the beach on the southeast side of Green Bit, north of Dressrosa. We'll leave Caesar there at three in the afternoon. Pick him up, and we're done here.” Law instructed.
Doflamingo chuckled darkly. “What's the rush? Why not share a drink and catch up afterwards?”
“Hang up already!!” Luffy yelled, but Doflamingo quickly interjected. “HOLD IT!”
Law groaned. “For fuck's sake… what?!”
“I did say I have two requests, did I not?”
“Hurry up, then. I don't have all day.”
“Would you mind letting me speak with my dear daughter now? I miss her terribly, you see.”
Despite her best efforts not to, Leona let out a fearful squeak behind her hands.
Doflamingo chuckled. “Theeeere she is… come now, Penumbra, don't be shy.”
Leona broke into a cold sweat, wide, terrified eyes staring at the receiver like it was a gun pointed at her head.
“D-d-did he say… daughter!?” Usopp cried.
Leona's eyes flitted up to Law, who stared back at her with uncertainty. She was clearly terrified out of her mind. It didn't feel right for him to just let this happen…
“Tick tock, Penumbra dear… Don't keep dear old dad waiting.”
Leona swallowed, getting up on her shaky legs and reaching for the receiver with her equally shaky hands. She took another glance up at Law, then took it. “...H…H-h-hello…?”
“Ahh, my sweet girl!” Doflamingo cooed. “I'm so happy to know you're alright! You hadn't called in months, I was worried sick!”
“I-I was… um… a-a-a bit… tied up…” Leona said quietly with her trembling hand clutching her skirt.
“Ah, yes, yes, I heard from Monet… Poor thing, locked away down there for so long… You must've been so lonely.”
Leona didn't know how to respond, so she just nodded her head with an “Mmhm…”
“Speaking of Monet,” Doflamingo continued. “Did you hear the sad news? She's dead.”
Leona's eyebrows raised. “Monet… died…?”
“Tragic, isn't it?” He sighed. “I had her on the line the whole time, so thankfully she wasn't alone when she passed. Baby 5 and Buffalo also went over to Punk Hazard, but fortunately, they didn’t suffer the same fate. We took her home and gave her a proper burial. At the very least, I can take solace in knowing you're also unharmed...”
“Are you done ye—” Law tried to say, but Leona raised her palm for him to stop almost mechanically, which surprised him a bit.
“...But I have to say, dear daughter…” Doflamingo continued. “As much as I'm relieved… I'm also greatly disappointed that you weren't also there with Baby 5 and Buffalo. No, instead, you decided to run away with Law on Strawhat's ship, away from your responsibilities. Away from your family.”
Leona's heart raced. “I-I-I… I-I'm…”
“You're what? Sorry? Ahh, Penumbra, Penumbra, Penumbra… always with the sorry's. How many times have I told you now that sorry loses its meaning after a while? Do you honestly think sorry is anywhere near good enough after what you've just done to me?”
Leona choked, tears welling in her eyes. “J-Joker, please, I—”
“Please, nothing, Penumbra. You and I both know your memory is much too strong for you to forget my three very basic rules I drilled into you at an early age.”
Leona's breath hitched, and the Strawhats all looked at each other uncomfortably, worried if they should step in or not. Law grit his teeth and reached for the receiver, but Leona, again, stopped him.
“W-wait, please, just…” she hiccuped. “J-j-just wait a moment…”
“Hmm, but perhaps I'm the one who's forgotten. After all, I'm not the one with the steel trap mind, am I? Do refresh my memory, won't you, my dear? What was number one?”
Leona whimpered. “O-o-one… th-th-the young m-master is… never to be defied… or questioned…”
“Good… two?”
Leona felt her gut begin to stir, and she clutched her sweaty palm to her stomach. “Um… b-b-betrayers of the young m-m-master… and d-deserters get no…” she swallowed. “...Second chances…”
“Good girl… and now, three.”
Leona gagged, panting. “D-desertion… and… ngh… betrayal will be… punished by e-e-ex… hrrgk!”
“Glasses-ya, give me that! You're letting him get in your head! Hang up now!” Law demanded, reaching for the receiver.
“E-execution!” Leona managed to finish with a gasp, dropping it and scrambling over to the side of the ship to vomit.
“...See you this afternoon, dear daughter.” Were his final words before Law slammed the receiver back on the snail.
“Penumbra!” Several crew members (except Luffy, who said Pepperoni, as usual) shouted as Leona emptied her stomach into the sea. Nami, Robin, and Chopper rushed to her aid.
Robin held back her hair, Nami rubbed her back and offered support, and Chopper was preparing to take her to the med bay when she was done.
Eventually, the vomiting devolved into dry heaving and coughing, and Leona crumpled onto the deck in a sobbing heap.
“Penumbra, can you walk? Do you need—” Chopper tried to ask, but Leona's cries cut him off.
“I-I-I'm sorry! I'm s-so… so sorry…! I've been bad!” she hyperventilated for a moment. “I-I'm a bad g-girl… I-I don't wanna b-be bad…! I'm sorry! F-forgive me, please!!”
Leona was utterly inconsolable, like she had regressed into a terrified, abused child.
Chopper swelled up to a huge, muscular version of himself and effortlessly picked her up. “I'll take her to the med bay. Fill me in on the plan later!”
Once inside, Chopper laid Leona down on the cot, grabbed a vomit bucket and a sports drink from a minifridge. He then shrank down to his usual tiny self, knowing his bigger size could be a potential trigger.
“Okay… okay, Penumbra…” he whispered. “You're alright. Doflamingo isn't here. It's just you and me, okay? Penumbra and Chopper. No one else.”
Leona sobbed, curling into the fetal position and hugging herself. “I'm sorry… I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry… god, I'm s-s-so s-sorry…”
“You're okay, Penumbra.” He reassured her. “You don't have to be sorry. No one is mad at you, and no one is gonna hurt you. You're safe here. May I touch your hands?”
Leona's puffy eyes glanced at him, and she slowly reached her shaking hand over. He took it in his little hooves and rubbed gentle circles on the back of it. “That's it. Very good… Would you like to try square breathing with me?”
Leona sniffled, nodding her head with a whimper. “Mhm…”
“Okay. Follow along with me. Breathe in nice and slow for one… two… three… four…” He said as he filled his lungs up. Leona mirrored him.
“Very good, now hold for one… two… three… four… and breathe out slowly for one… two… three… four… and hold again…”
The two breathed in sync for a while until Leona's heart rate and breathing slowed to a normal pace.
“You did great.” Chopper said, patting her hand. “How's your stomach? Do you still feel nauseated?”
Leona shook her head. “N-no… I'm… I should be good…”
“Okay. Here, I have a sports drink.” He said, offering her a bottle. “It's cherry. I did have orange and kiwi ones too, but I think Zoro or Luffy might have drunk them all.”
“Thanks…” Leona sat up, unscrewed the cap and took a few gulps of the sweet liquid.
“...Um, I have a question…” Chopper began, but Leona stopped him.
“I… don't really wanna talk about it right now.”
“O-ok, that's fine! It wasn't about that anyway.”
“Oh, sorry,” Leona muttered, screwing the bottle closed.
“You're okay! Um, I've been a bit concerned since we've met, but are you taking any vitamin supplements?”
“Huh? Um… no.” Leona shook her head.
Chopper nodded. “I see… I'm worried you may be quite deficient in Vitamin D. You spent a lot of time indoors on an island that didn't see much sun to begin with, after all.”
Leona sighed. “Yeah, that sounds about right…”
The little furball scooted off the cot, jumping up into his desk chair. “I'll whip you up some supplements and ask Sanji to cook you up some Vitamin D-rich meals. Hopefully that'll help with the joint pain you’ve been complaining about.”
“Oh, um…” she bit her lip. “That's…”
Before she could say any more, though, there was a knock at the door. “Chopper? It's Sanji. Can I come in?”
Chopper turned to Leona. “Is that okay?”
“Go ahead,” she nodded.
“Come in!”
Sanji entered the room carrying a platter of food and beverages.
“Oh, Penumbra, my sweet moonflower, are you alright? Do you think you can hold down solid food? Or are you still throwing up?” He asked, kneeling at her side with the most worried sick expression she thinks she's ever seen on a man.
“I'm okay, Sanji.” Leona said, “I-it's just an anxiety thing… it goes away fast.”
A wave of relief washed over the blond. “Oh, thank goodness! I was so worried, seeing you like that… Here, I made you some delicious prosciutto, apple, and cream cheese tea sandwiches on white bread with absolutely no cilantro,” he paused to wiggle his one visible swirly eyebrow, which made Leona smile, “and a cold, refreshing glass of white peach iced tea, complete with a peach slice garnish and cocktail umbrella. Bon appétit, ma chère Penumbra.”
“Oh, Sanji… gosh…” Leona whimpered as he pulled up a small folding table and placed the food tray on it. “You're so lovely, thank you…”
“Ah, I believe you're the lovely one here, sweetness.” He said, kissing her knuckles. “I'd want nothing more than to stay, but if I'm gone too long, Luffy will start raiding my pantry. But before I go…”
Sanji backed up, placing a plate of fruit-filled cream sandwiches and a bottle of strawberry milk on Chopper's desk. “There you go, buddy.”
“Wow, yummy! Thanks, Sanji!” Chopper gasped, licking his lips.
Sanji patted the mink on the top of his hat and left. The two dug into their food.
“Oh, wow… so good!” Leona squealed.
“I know, right!? Sanji's the best!!” Chopper gushed, whipped cream all over his mouth.
Soon they finished their food, and Chopper dabbed at his mouth fur with a wet wipe. “Anyway, you were saying?”
“Mm?”
“You were about to say something before Sanji came in.” Chopper reminded her. “About your joint pain?”
“Oh, uh… yeah, the joint pain…” Leona sucked her teeth. “Th-that's not a… um.. That’s not a recent thing… I've been dealing with that since I was young.”
“Oh, really?” Chopper grabbed a pen and a notepad. “Do you know what causes it?”
Leona began to sweat. “Uhh…”
“No? What about medications? Do you take anything for it?”
The mink scribbled something down. “Okay, do you know the type of medication and dosage? Are you still taking it?”
Leona rubbed her arm. “I… I was… I eventually ran out about six months ago, but couldn't do anything about it since I was on Punk Hazard…”
“Oof, that's not good. What was it—” Chopper looked up, concerned. “Penumbra? Is… something the matter?”
Leona couldn't look him in the eyes. “I… mmnh… I-I… really don't like to talk about this…”
“There's no shame here.” Chopper said, scooting his chair closer.
“It's… really complicated…” she whispered, eyes shifting.
“Penumbra…” Chopper said, voice soft. “You can trust me. I took an oath when I became a doctor, and I will never ever break it. No matter what.”
He placed a gentle hoof on her leg. “Anything you tell me in this room stays in this room. It's a place of medicine, not judgment. I'd rather someone shoot me dead than break confidentiality for any reason! So please… trust me.”
Leona stared into his big, sweet brown eyes that were so full of sincerity and kindness, it made her heart ache.
"...Do you promise?" She asked, voice wavering.
"Of course."
"Cross your heart...?"
"And hope to die." Chopper finished.
Leona gave a deep, defeated sigh.
“Alright… I trust you.”
***
When Leona entered the galley with the dirty dishes from her and Chopper's breakfasts, all eyes snapped over to her.
“Penumbra! Are you okay?” Nami spoke first.
“What was that, anyway?” Zoro asked next. “You were sayin’ something about—”
“She doesn't wanna talk about it right now, Zoro!” Chopper chided.
Leona blushed in embarrassment. “Y-yeah, um… it's uh… a bit touchy… I ask you to please just give me a bit of time…”
“That means stop being a nosy asshole and drop it, mosshead!” Sanji barked at him, walking up to Leona and taking the dishes from her hands. “I'll take those, beautiful. Just have a seat and relax.”
Leona smiled. “Thank you, Sanji.”
She walked over to the sofa and sat down next to Brook (albeit with a considerable gap because, well… corpse), and folded her hands in her lap. “So, what'd I miss?”
“We're gonna help Kin save his friend while we're in Dressrosa!” Luffy said, beaming.
“Hm… quite a lot of work to be done, it seems.” Leona hummed. “Between handing off Caesar, destroying the SMILE factory, saving this friend, and the ultimate goal of overthrowing Doflamingo… it might be best to split into groups for each task… oh, and of course someone needs to guard the ship, as well.”
“I can take care of the factory,” Franky said with a smirk. “No facility can survive a super Franky Radical Beam!”
“It should go without saying that I'm delivering Caesar to Green Bit,” Law said. “But I'd like Nose-ya, Nico-ya, and Glasses-ya to come with me for backup.”
“Why ME!?” Usopp cried.
Law side-eyed him. “You're a sniper, aren't you?”
“W-w-well yeah, but—”
“I need someone to keep an eye out for assassins. Don't forget Glasses-ya and I are prime targets.”
“What will I be doing?” Robin piped up.
“You're intel,” Law said, sipping his tea. “Your powers are useful for eavesdropping.”
“Hold on, Law!” Chopper interjected. “You can't put Penumbra in that position! You're leading her right to Doflamingo!”
“It's okay, Chopper,” Leona said. “I understand why Law wants me with his group. Out of all of us, I know Dressrosa the most. I can lead them through the shortest route to Green Bit, and warn of any potential dangers Doflamingo may be hiding around the Island.”
“B-but what about—”
“Chopper,” Leona started, giving him a sincere look. “It's okay. While I am terrified, I…” she sadly glanced at Law for a moment before looking away. “I-I have an obligation… Please trust that I'll be okay.”
Chopper didn't respond, but sadly frowned and looked away.
There was a pause for a moment before Leona spoke again. “Oh, I just remembered… Sanji, could I please borrow your notepad and pen for one moment? I-it'll be quick…”
“Why of course, my moonflower!” Sanji swooned, producing the items from his apron pocket and handing them to her.
“Thank you,” Leona said, scribbling something on the page and tearing it out. She handed the pen and notepad back to Sanji, then walked around the table to hand the paper to Franky.
“What's this?” He asks, taking the paper with a tinier yellow hand he made come out of his normal hand.
“Detailed instructions as to the factory's whereabouts, since I won't be with you to give you directions. I… hope they're clear enough.”
Franky grinned. “Hey, thanks, armour babe! You're the best!”
Leona smiled, but then gasped when she remembered something else. “Armour! Oh, I should repair my armour before we dock!”
“Good idea. We have about five hours until we reach Dressrosa, so it's best to get that out of the way now. Once we dock, I'll go over more of the plan.” Law said, finishing off his tea. “I need to finetune some things, anyhow.”
“I think I'll start working on making some medicine.” Chopper said, scooting off his chair and making for the galley door.
Leona stood up, taking a deep breath in… and out. ‘Alright…’ she thought.
‘Get ready, ‘dad’... It's about time I started thinking for myself.’
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On the way to Dressrosa, Law explains the plan to everyone else, and then some Strawhat-typical hijinks ensue...
CW: This slow burn fic delves into some distressing topics such as drug addiction, violence, gore, and dark themes. Please check AO3 for all tags.
Character reference || Masterlist
Previous || Next
Leona leaned on the Sunny's upper deck railing, taking a deep breath through her nose and sighing contentedly. She had gone so long without the sun on her skin and the salty breeze flowing through her hair that she had almost forgotten how wonderful it felt to sail the ocean. It would take her a little while to regain her sea legs, but hey, it beats the hell out of being chained by her ankle several feet underground!
“Glasses-ya!” Law called from the lawn deck. “C'mere, we need you.”
“Coming!” Leona called back. Her bare feet silently tiptoed down the steps out of habit while she carefully lifted the long skirt of the clean dress she had changed into so she didn't trip. “Yes?” She inquired as she approached.
“How long would you say a trip from Punk Hazard to Dressrosa typically is?” Law asks.
“Uhh…” Leona hums, tapping her lip. “Well, it depends on the ship. Something like an SAD tanker takes less than a day, but a ship like this, considering the sea slopes, would likely take…” She sucked her teeth. ”About a day and a half max?
“I see.” Law nodded.
“Have you been to Dressrosa, Penumbra?” Nami asks.
“Yes, I live there, actually,” Leona says.
“Whoa, you're from Dressrosa!?” Luffy asks, butting in on the conversation. “So, is it cool, or what?”
“Oh, n-no, I'm from the North Blue.” Leona corrected. “I've only lived in Dressrosa for ten or so years… ah, well, minus the near two I spent on Punk Hazard, I suppose…”
“We aren't going there to sightsee, Strawhat-ya.” Law chided.
“You intend to make for Dressrosa as well!?” Kin'emon interrupted.
Luffy grinned. “Yeah, I think so!”
“You have no idea what's going on, do you?” Law deadpanned.
“Nope!”
Law's eyelid twitched, and he sighed.
Leona giggled, but then the ship suddenly rocked rather violently, making her lose balance and slam into the nearest person's chest.
…it just so happened that the nearest person had to be Law of all people.
Law tensed up, and Leona gasped, immediately scrambling back once she could right herself. “Sorry! So sorry!”
Law didn't respond, but thankfully, Nami saved her from any further embarrassment by crying out. “What's wrong with the current!?”
Leona hurried over to the railing to see, while Franky rushed to the helm and Luffy rushed up to sit on the figurehead… for some reason. “Oh, speaking of sea slopes… Mr. Franky, sir! There are reefs in this area, so be careful!”
“What the hell is a SEA SLOPE!?” Usopp cried.
“A sea hill? You know, a stretch of ocean that tilts downward?” Leona explained. “It's not uncommon…”
“YES IT IS???”
“It's best if we don't go against the current,” Law explained, cool as ever. “The middle needle on your Log Pose should be pointing in the exact direction of Dressrosa. But don't try to go straight. I'd like to take a detour.”
“A detour? Why?” Nami inquired.
“It'll work out better for us.”
“Is he always such a know-it-all smartass?” Zoro asks.
Leona sighed. “Yes.”
“Come to think of it,” Robin started. “You were talking to someone on the transponder snail earlier. Mind telling us who it was?”
“Doflamingo,” Law answered curtly.
Leona's blood ran cold. “Do.. Dof…D-Dof…”
“DOFLAMINGO!?!?” Usopp shrieked. “THE WARLORD!? HE'S THE MOST EVIL ONE!! WHAT ARE YOU CALLING HIM FOR!?”
“Y-y-y-you didn't mention m-me, did you…?” Leona whispered, hugging herself in an attempt to self-soothe.
“Relax, I didn't. The plan's in action, so there's no backing out.”
“Mind filling the rest of us in about this plan?” Zoro interrupted.
Luffy squealed in inappropriate excitement. “Yeah, let's tell them about the plan!! Gather around, everyone!!”
With everyone together on the lawn deck, Law got to explaining. “I've made this alliance with you all in order to cause a domino effect that—if it goes right—will end in the death of one of the four emperors.”
There was a deafening silence as that information soaked in… and then…
“WHAAAAT!?!?”
“I thought you just wanted to overthrow Doflamingo! What the hell is this killing-the-emperors crap!?” Leona cried, tugging at her hair.
“Just one of them.” Law reiterated.
“That doesn't make it better!! W-which one are you trying to kill, anyway!?”
“I'm getting there,” Law said with a pointed glare.
“W-wait wait wait wait wait!” Usopp interjected. “I'm completely against this alliance!! Anyone else!?”
“Me!” Chopper raised his hoof.
“Me!” Nami raised her hand.
“Me as well!” Leona raised her hand.
“Does it really make a difference?” Brook muttered.
The four opposers gulped nervously.
“You know what happens when Luffy makes up his mind…” Sanji said, serving Robin a cup of tea before coming up and whispering to Law. “I'll warn you right now… There may be a slight difference in how you and Luffy define the word ‘alliance’. Don't be surprised if he doesn't want to follow every step of your plans to the letter.”
Law's eye twitched again.
Sanji then looked over at Caesar, who had been sitting in a heap in the grass this entire time, ignored by everyone. “At least the whole kidnapping thing makes sense now, considering it's not Luffy's style. If he'd just come to me with this weird sheep thing out of the blue, I'd assume he'd just want me to make him dinner out of it.”
Leona couldn't tell if that was an off-colour joke or complete seriousness on Sanji's part, but she decided not to correct him on the fact that Caesar was human. After all, she didn't want to tell such a blatant lie.
Caesar began to quietly chuckle. “Do you simpleton bastards really believe you'll get away with this…? The biggest names in the world are going to come after you now!” he inhaled, raising his head. “YOU SAVAGES!! YOUR STUPIDITY SHALL BE YOUR DEATHS! THERE'S A SPECIAL PLACE IN HELL FOR—”
In a flash, Sanji zoomed across the deck and landed a side kick square into Caesar's already broken nose, sending him flying.
“Not cool, Sanji!! I'm still treating him!” Chopper admonished, rushing to patch him up again. “...at least wait till I'm done.” He added soon after.
“What, and then it's okay?” Sanji muttered.
“Boooo! I wanted to see him cry his own teeth!” Leona heckled.
Law loudly cleared his throat to steer the conversation back. “You guys executed stage one of my plan when I asked you to kidnap Caesar on Punk Hazard. And while you were doing that, I destroyed the machine manufacturing a chemical substance called SAD.”
Leona watched as various crew members got comfortable around Law as he spoke. Some seemed to be falling asleep, which irked her as a tad disrespectful, while others busied themselves with tasks, like how Usopp tinkered with Nami's strange bo staff weapon.
“Most of the great pirates in the New World often rule their own territories, governed by their subordinates. They lead countless numbers of people and reign like a gigantic underground syndicate. It isn't anything like any of you have dealt with before.” He warned. “Trying to take them down with a single pirate crew won't even let you catch a glimpse of their captain's face.”
Leona pulled out her coin from her skirt pocket, flipping it back and forth across her knuckles as she listened to him, feeling the anxiety slowly form a pit in her chest. “That's true, and yet they still have to operate underground to avoid the Marines… It's a network of trades and treaties being built on mountains of power, influence, and blackmail.”
Law nodded. “Yes, and the one who carries the most trust amongst them, the one with the most power, influence, and blackmail of all… is Doflamingo. As you may know, his black market alias is ‘Joker’, and out of all of Joker's business dealings, he's got one business partner who's more important than the rest. His biggest spender…”
Leona dropped her coin. “Law, don't tell me—”
“Kaido, King of the Beasts,” Law said with far too little hesitation.
Leona felt like her soul had left her body then. She grabbed Law's collar and shook him around a bit. “Kaido? KAIDO?? Do you hear yourself, Law!? That man tries to kill himself every other day and has never ONCE gotten anywhere close to succeeding!!”
“Why? Does he back out every time?” Zoro inquired.
“No! He fully commits, but that huge bastard just can't die!! He always survives no matter what!” Leona turned back to Law. “Which is why I reiterate… What the hell are you thinking!?”
Law grabbed her wrists, tugging them off of his collar. “Get off of me.”
“K-Kaido…!? Your target is Kaido!?” Kin'emon yelled.
Everyone turned to the father and son, who appeared white as sheets.
…Well, Momonosuke was actually more pink, but—
POOF!
In a cloud of orange smoke, Momonosuke transformed into the little pink dragon from before.
…Ah. That's right. Devil Fruit.
“Something wrong?” Zoro asked.
“O-oh! Pay me no heed! By all means, continue!” Kin'emon waved, cheeks glowing in embarrassment.
“Um, M-mr. Kin'emon, sir…?” Leona whispered.
“Hrm?”
Leona pointed towards Momonosuke.
The father and son looked at each other, then Kin'emon cried out in shock. “WHY IS THERE A BABY DRAGON HERE!? WHERE DID MOMONOSUKE GO!?”
“That is Momo,” Luffy said.
“Wh— HUHH!? THIS… THIS CREATURE BEFORE MY EYES!? IT'S TRULY YOU!?”
Momonosuke nodded his little reptilian head sheepishly, making Kin'emon's panic even worse.
Leona bit her lip. “Oh dear… Kaido must've affected their family personally in some way…” It would explain Kin'emon's apparent hatred of dragons.
Law cleared his throat again, but it was much more aggravated than before. “Getting back to the point… if we want to defeat Kaido, we'll have to strike at his alliances before we face him head-on. Here's the deal: he's getting a bunch of Devil Fruits from Joker. A mass-produced Zoan type known as SMILES.”
Usopp accidentally whacked his finger with his mallet during that statement. “THEY CAN MAKE THOSE NOW? So he could just create whole armies of Zoan-type users if he wanted to!?”
“He already has…” Leona muttered, pulling her knees up to her chest. “And it's only getting bigger and bigger with each shipment of SAD… Until now, of course…”
“Yes,” Law agreed. “Even so, it seems SMILE fruits aren't completely stable. But despite the risk involved, Kaido now has over five hundred power holders.”
“Oooh!!” Luffy gasped with far too much wonder.
“Oh, goody! Who among us doesn't want to do this!? Raise your hands!!” Usopp rallied with a raised hand.
“Me!!” Nami and Chopper said in unison, mirroring him.
“Would you shut up already?” Zoro muttered.
“Sorry.”
“At least we stopped them from producing more fruits,” Law said, glancing up at Caesar from across the deck.
“Seriously? He was the one making them?” Sanji muttered.
“Really? You invented the foundation to make Devil Fruits!?” Chopper gasped. “Incredible!”
Caesar had a look of pure glee on his face that frankly pissed Leona off. “Please, he was stealing Dr. Vegapunk’s research on the Lineage Factor.” She spat. “All he is is a plagiarist with half the talent.”
Caesar's face warped into ugly rage. “OH REALLY? LET'S SEE YOU MAKE SAD THEN IF YOU KNOW SO MUCH!!”
“I DID!!” Leona yelled back at him. “WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK I WAS SENT TO PUNK HAZARD TO DO BEFORE YOU FORCED ME TO BECOME A BABYSITTING SLAVE, YOU FILTHY SHIT-BRAINED WORM!?”
“HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT, YOU UNGRATEFUL WHORE OF A WOM—”
Sanji zoomed across the deck again to deliver a roundhouse kick into his face. “Do us all a favour and learn to keep that mouth shut.”
Leona sighed heavily, resting her head on her knees. “So I assume the next step in your plan is to destroy the SMILE factory?” She asked Law.
“Precisely. And since I'm sure Joker keeps its whereabouts closely guarded secret, that leads me to my next question. Do you know where it is, Glasses-ya?”
Leona nodded. “I do. I've had the privilege of visiting it once or twice many years ago.”
It was barely noticeable, but Law's eyebrows raised like he was pleased with this information. “Good. I've never been to Dressrosa, so I'm counting on you to give us clear directions to it, then.”
“Understood.” She hummed. “But I won't be able to do much in terms of destruction. The elegant sunflowers inside render my abilities rather weak.”
“That's fine."
“Hey, Kin’!” Luffy said, leaping up from his seat. “You said you needed to go to Dressrosa too, right?”
“Yes, indeed!” Kin'emon exclaimed, drawing his blade. “One of my people is being held prisoner there by our shared enemy!!”
“There is!?” Leona gasped. “I had no knowledge of this… f-for how long?”
Kin'emon was about to answer, but then something small suddenly fell from the sky, hitting him on the head. “Huh?”
Everyone looked up, witnessing thick black clouds forming above that began to rain sizable chunks of hail.
“Oh my… perhaps we should go inside?” Robin suggests.
“Something feels wrong…” Nami muttered. She ran over to the starboard side net and began hastily climbing.
Luffy's face split into an excited grin. “Looks like the weather's gettin’ crazy!”
“T-that's not a good thing when you're at sea, Luffy…” Leona muttered.
Luffy just giggled. “When you're with us, it means—”
Nami's call cut him off. “Furl the sails! Franky, prepare the Coup De Burst!”
“Anytime, any place, sister!! Someone take the helm for me!!” Franky exclaimed, opening a hidden deck hatch and jumping in.
“Looks like I'm up!” Usopp said, making his way to the wheel.
“W-what's going on? What's a Coup de Burst?” Leona worried as the crew all scrambled across their ship in preparation for whatever the hell they were doing.
“Oh dear… trouble is always around the corner with us, isn't it?” Brook hummed, all too calm for the situation. He then turned towards the crew's guests. “I'd suggest you hold onto a sturdy rail, or press up against a stern-side wall.”
“For what!? You're all scaring me!” Leona cried, yet still heeded his warning, leaning flush against the wall behind the foremast. Robin joined her, possibly for moral support.
“Now, hard to port! Coup de Burst at nine o’clock!! Aim for the spot with no clouds!!” Nami's voice shouted over the intercom. Usopp turned the ship.
Leona was about to demand an answer again, but then an overhead shadow large enough to eclipse the entire Sunny appeared. Leona looked up…
Oh…
Oh fuck no.
It was an absolutely monstrously sized chunk of hail descending right on top of them.
“WHAT THE FUCK!?” Leona shrieked.
“Get ready,” Robin said as a low humming was heard from under the ship, gradually increasing in intensity.
Leona squeezed her eyes shut, shielding her head with her hands, and then…
COUP… DE… BURST!!
There was a huge explosion somewhere at the stern, and a wave of intense g-force pinned Leona flat against the wall. She could hardly scream at all from how heavy the pressure was on her body.
Slowly, though, the pressure lessened more and more to the point where she could finally breathe… and then it lessened more than that. And then even more. In fact, it was so light that her body even began to lift off the deck. At that moment, it was abundantly clear to her…
They were falling.
Leona screamed bloody murder the whole time they plummeted to the sea, her body instinctively curling up to protect her from the impending impact once the vessel hit the water.
When it finally did, Leona was bracing so hard she hadn't realized she wasn't in pain at all from the impact. She cracked one eye open from behind her arms, seeing Robin smiling down at her.
“I got you. You're safe.” She giggled
“Huh?” Leona's eyes fully opened, glancing around to see that she was being securely held by a multitude of disembodied arms sticking up from the grass. “Ah!”
“Haha! Man, I love it when that happens! Hey, Pepperoni! Wasn't that fun!?” Luffy giggles, stretching his way back down after unfurling the sail.
The arms holding Leona in place disappeared into hundreds of tiny pink flower petals. “A-absolutely not! I thought I was gonna die!” She cried, fixing her skewed glasses and hair ribbon.
“Really? ‘Cause you sounded like you were havin’ the time of your life!”
“YOU THOUGHT THOSE WERE SCREAMS OF FUN!?”
Luffy had already walked away. “What about you, Momo? This kinda stuff happens all the time!”
“D-does it really?” Leona asked Robin while adjusting the tubetop bodice of her dress. “How are your insides not paste?”
Robin laughed. “I suppose you just get used to it after a while.”
Leona sighed. “Well, hopefully it doesn't happen for the remainder of my stay on your ship… I very much would never like to experience that ever again.”
“Hey, Penumbra!” Nami's voice called from farther away. “Come join us! I'm giving Momo an inside tour!”
“Oh!” Leona gasped with sparkling eyes, realizing that the most she's seen of the ship's interior was just their shower. “Yes, please! I'd love to see everything you have to offer here!”
The tour began with the aquarium bar, an aptly named bar and lounge with a ginormous aquarium that housed all of the fish the Strawhats catch, both as a decoration and as fresh seafood storage. Leona was absolutely blown away by Franky's ingenuity in both practicality and aesthetics.
Then there was an expansive library stocked to the ceiling with novels and encyclopedias of all kinds of genres and subjects. There was even an absolutely gorgeous drawing table seemingly used for cartography. Maps were hanging from the ceiling, too, likely for drying.
“Goodness me!” Leona gasped. “Who draws your crew's maps? These are beautiful!”
Nami beamed with pride. “Why, that would be me, of course.”
“Aah!” Leona squealed. “I'm so jealous!! I'm more of a sculptor, personally, but I've always had such a deep adoration for cartography! I've always wondered what the process was!” She took Nami's hands in hers. “Would you please teach me your ways one day, Nami? Pretty pretty please?”
“Aw, Penumbra, of course!!” Nami gushed. “In return, would you make me something out of that moonglass stuff you make?”
“Oh, yes, yes!! As many as you want!”
The next stop was the kitchen and galley, where Sanji prepared late afternoon snacks and beverages.
“Penumbra, my darling!” Sanji swooned. “Just the beautiful woman I was looking for! I have a question for you.”
“Oh?”
Sanji produced a notepad and a pen from his apron pocket. “I forgot to ask earlier, but I wanted to ask you about your food sensitivities. Allergies, intolerances, stuff like that. Law, too, if you know them.”
“Oh, how thoughtful!” Leona gasped. “Well, for me, I don't have any food allergies that I'm aware of… oh, but I do hate cilantro. I'm like, weirdly sensitive to the taste, and it's ruined every dish I've ever eaten with it, so I avoid it like the plague.”
“Noted, no cilantro whatsoever.” Sanji wrote down.
“As for Law, I do recall him suffering from mild celiac disease when we were younger, but I'm unaware if that's changed at all since we were apart… He avoided bread like I avoid cilantro, so I guess take that into account?”
“Noted.” Sanji nodded, taking her hand and lightly kissing her knuckles. “Thank you, gorgeous. And might I add that your voice is as beautiful as a songbird's. I could listen to you speak all day long.”
Leona flushed and giggled bashfully while Nami made an exaggerated gagging sound in the background.
Nami then took Momonosuke to the med bay, but something up the stairs caught Leona's eye, so she decided to check it out instead. Up the stairs, surrounding the main mast was a variety of plant life that made for a gorgeous spectacle. On one side, there was a flower bed that could rival the arrangements all over the palace of Dressrosa. On the other side, there were tangerine trees that looked as though they were maintained with all the love in the world. The one that Leona was most curious about, though, was the garden of exotic plants she had never seen before. She crouched and leaned close to a bed of brightly coloured flowers, curiously reaching to touch one—
“Careful! I wouldn't get too close!”
Leona shrieked, flinching back hard at the sudden voice and landing on her ass. Her face immediately burned red when she realized it was only Usopp.
“Whoa, s-sorry! I didn't mean to uh… to startle you like that,” he apologized, helping her stand up.
“N-no, it's alright, it's alright…” she gasped. “I'm sorry for screaming! I just startle easily, that's all…”
“You're okay! But uh… seriously, be careful with those. They're ripe for harvest and might, I dunno… explode in your face or something.”
“You grow exploding flowers?” Leona asks, cautiously stepping away from the plants.
Usopp beamed with pride. “Yep! The seeds they grow are called Pop Greens, and they're native to the Boin Archipelago! These are several breeds and crossbreeds I've cultivated that I use as my special Usopp-brand ammunition!”
Leona's eyes glittered. “Plant ammunition? That's so unique!!” She gasped. “Oh, that's right! You use a big slingshot, don't you? Tell me, is there a reason you use a slingshot over a firearm like most pirates? Or do you use both?”
“Ehh, well… I think it all boils down to recoil. I always felt that it throws off my aim.” He shrugged. “And they're too loud. Slingshots are way quieter, and they let me get creative with my attacks. What can I say, huh?”
“I totally understand!” Leona gushes. “When I was a kid, I had a mishap with a gun that sorta scared me away from them forever, so when I discovered archery, I just fell in love! Totally quiet and easy to control!”
“A mishap?” Usopp inquired.
“Oh, it's silly, really… When I was around nine, I was forced into sharpshooter training by my superiors, but when it was time for me to take my first shot, the recoil made the gun slip out of my hands, and it smashed into my nose really hard. It even broke my wrist, too. I might've been holding the gun a bit wrong in retrospect, but…”
“The recoil did that??” Usopp gawked. “How high a calibre was the gun!?”
“A .40, I believe.”
“Wow.”
“I-In my defense, my bones are a bit less dense than average, though we didn't really know at the time. After a few corrective surgeries, you'd never be able to tell that my nose was broken at all!” Leona laughed. “Since then, I've been designated to be more of a passive combatant, so to speak.”
“I can see why you'd shy away from them since then.” Usopp nodded.
“Penumbra!!” Nami's voice called from below. “Where'd you go? We have something to show you!”
“Oh, I'll be right there!” Leona gasped. “Thank you for telling me about your Pop Greens, Usopp! I'd love to learn more later!” She waved as she hurried down to where Nami was, outside the door to the women's quarters, by the looks of it.
“Sorry for deserting you, I found your garden up there and had to admire it.” Leona giggles.
“You're alright. Check this out!” The ginger said, stepping aside and revealing the large bedroom. It was quite roomy, likely because there were only two women on the crew, with two beds, a side table with two lounge chairs, a fancy makeup vanity, and closets, all complete with a plush pink carpet. Franky and Robin were also there, proudly standing next to a net hammock filled with pillows and blankets that hung from the ceiling.
“Tadahh!” Franky exclaimed. “I set'cha up a comfy place to sleep! We didn't have any spare beds, so I had to get creative.”
Leona gasped. “Really?! Oh, gosh… You didn't have to do this for me…!”
“Nonsense, babe! We're better than making our guests sleep out on the deck! Now get up there and try it out, I wanna make sure it can hold weight.”
“I… o-okay!” Leona nodded excitedly, climbing up into the hammock and settling in.
Oh… oh wow.
Leona damn near melted into the pillows the second she got situated. Who knew hammocks were so comfortable!? The cushions and blankets were so soft, too. Leona wondered just where they'd gotten them. She breathed a deep, contented sigh and felt her eyelids growing heavier.
Franky was turned towards Nami and Robin. “I was trying to set it up somewhere that wouldn't get in the way, but I'm not entirely sure I like where I put it. I might be soundin’ crazy, but I feel like it disrupts the feng shui a little. I dunno, what do you ladies think—”
“Franky,” Robin tapped his arm, then smiled and pointed behind him. “Look there.”
Franky turned around, chuckling when he saw Leona had completely fallen asleep in the hammock so quickly.
“Poor girl must still be super tired.” He said, crossing his arms.
“Let's let her rest,” Nami said. “She deserves it.
As the three left the room, Robin used her powers to sprout arms that gently removed Leona's glasses and put them on the vanity, pulled the blanket over her, and turned out the lights.
***
“Mmmh…” Leona mumbled, stirring awake. She yawned and stretched, opening her blurry eyes to a dark room. “Mm?”
Silvery-blue moonlight poured in through the window, bathing the room in its gentle glow. And while Nami and Robin were deeply asleep in their beds under that glow, Leona was wide awake—an odd side effect of her devil fruit.
“Oh my…” She muttered, getting out of the hammock and locating her glasses.
When she stepped out of the girls' quarters, she sighed blissfully as the unfiltered moonlight emitting from the waning crescent moon soaked into her body. She never quite understood why moonlight made her feel so rejuvenated, even if it was just temporary, but it was always welcome whenever she was feeling unwell.
She bunched up her skirt and tiptoed down the steps, raising her eyebrows at the few Strawhats she spotted dead asleep in the grass, wearing elaborate samurai-esque costumes.
“What on earth happened here…?” She muttered aloud. “How long was I out?”
Law peeked out from under the brim of his cap when she spoke. “About six and a half hours, give or take.”
Leona yelped, whirling around. “Law! God, you startled me!”
“I can tell.”
The blonde huffed, approaching the surgeon and sitting next to him on the foremast bench. “I would've expected you to be sleeping by now.” She said, “Unless you're on night watch?”
Law briefly glanced at her before staring at his shoes again. “I'm an insomniac. Even if I were sleeping, I wouldn't leave this spot.”
Leona cocked an eyebrow. “Sounds uncomfortable.”
“The men's quarters smells like a barn. I refuse to sleep there.” He said simply.
Leona snorted. “Ah, I see.”
A long stretch of silence passed between the two, listening to the lap of the waves and the creak of the hull as the ocean gently rocked the ship. Leona snuck a few glances towards Law then, feeling ever-growing guilt bloom in her belly and gnaw on her. Eventually, she had to say something.
“Um… Law?”
“Mm?”
“I… um… I believe I owe you… several apologies…”
A beat of silence.
“Several?” He asked.
“Yes, um…” she said, reaching for her coin to soothe her nerves. “First… I want to apologize for all the nasty things I said to you on Punk Hazard… I called you insensitive on two occasions, when I… I-I don't think it was really called for…”
“...two occasions?” Law asked. “I recall one.”
Leona's cheeks pinked. “Well, uh… okay, the other one may have been under my breath… b-but I still feel bad about it…”
“Hm.”
“Next, um… I'm so sorry for that argument I started at the med bay door when you were treating the children. I got way too aggressive, and pulling a knife was a million steps too far. I'm trying to… er…” she gestured with her hand as she tried to come up with the right word. “Unlearn that behaviour… if that makes sense.”
Law nodded. “Uh-huh…”
“And finally, I'm especially sorry for… how I was when we were young.”
Law glanced at her again. “...what do you mean?”
“You know… how pushy I was all the time? How much I tried to… I dunno, be in your life? For lack of a better term? I've realized since then that all it ever did was make you hate me. My intention was never to be so annoying or to be clingy… I was just… worried sick for you.”
Law watched the shiny coin flip through Leona's fingers back and forth as she gazed up at the moon and poured her feelings out. “From the moment I met you, I could sense you were in a lot of pain, and I don't just mean from your illness. And while I realize now that it isn't my business if you don't want it to be, back then I was so pushy for you to tell me because… I just really wanted to help ease the pain I always sensed behind those glares.”
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and rested her head against the mast, continuing. “It reminded me a lot of how I felt… I thought that… That if I was the one positive force in your life when we were caught up in the hell that was our lives… maybe that soul-crushing loneliness would be a bit less… lonely...” A single tear rolled down her face. “...for the both of us.”
Her eyes opened again. “I've always wanted to tell you this since you left… but since you never came home, and your presumed date of death passed, I was stuck with this regret that just rotted a part of me for so long. I was heartbroken. I would lie awake sometimes, longing for a future where you were alive and where I could tell you everything… which…” she chuckled, though it sounded empty. “I suppose it ended up coming true, right? Ah, but still… all this is to say that… I don't expect forgiveness. I just wanted to finally let it out.”
Law stared at her, watching her continue to flip her coin. Eventually, he nodded. “I… see.”
A heavy silence fell between the two for a long stretch of time, and neither knew what to say to the other. Anxiety swirled within Leona's chest, threatening to make tears spill from her eyes. She had no idea why she felt like crying right now. She had no reason to. All she did was tell the truth, so why did it hurt so bad?
Suddenly, Law spoke again. “You've gotten better at that.”
Leona stopped playing with the coin. “Huh?”
“The… coin flipping thing. You used to drop it every 3 seconds, but now you're pretty good.”
Leona's eyebrows raised, eyes gleaming with pleasant surprise. “Oh…! Um…” Her cheeks faded pink again. “Yeah. It's sorta become an anxiety fidget thing for me, so I can pretty much do it without thinking now…”
“And by the looks of your fingers, I can tell it replaced the nail-biting habit.”
Leona snorted. “I have you to thank for that. You're the one who told me about pinworms, after all.”
Law looked down with a small smirk on his lips and gave a puff of air from his nose. “Yeah, I remember how freaked out you got.”
Leona erupted into giggles. “I did, I did! I was terrified of touching anyone's hands for years!”
“Heh… Hey, I was wondering…” Law started. “That coin you got… Do you mind if I see it for a sec?”
“Oh, of course.” Leona nodded, handing it to him. “Here.”
Law held up the coin to the moonlight, squinting as he rotated it in his fingers. “Aha… I thought so.”
“What? What is it?” Leona leaned in, curious.
“This coin is an extremely rare Dressrosan ceremonial coin made to celebrate Riku Doldo III's coronation when he became king. Look, the portrait is of him when he was eighteen.”
“Ooh! You know your stuff!” Leona gasped. “But wait, you've never been to Dressrosa, right? How do you know that?”
“I have an interest in these kinds of things.” He said simply, handing it back to her. “Hang onto that. There were only four of those ever made.”
Leona's eyes glittered, staring at the coin, then shifting her eyes up to Law's face as she took it back. Her eyes softened, and she smiled. “I will.”
“Yohoho! My, how romantic!”
Leona screamed, nearly falling over at Brook's sudden appearance. “Don't do that!!”
The Strawhats cook up a giant feast to celebrate their victory, and after some tearful goodbyes, Law and Leona board the Strawhat's ship to make for Dressrosa...
CW: This slow burn fic delves into some distressing topics such as drug addiction, violence, gore, and dark themes. Please check AO3 for all tags.
Character reference || Masterlist
Previous || Next
“The garbage room!?” Leona gasped, just learning from Luffy where Momonosuke had been the entire time. “Dear god… no wonder he was missing for over a week!”
She turned to the boy, who was now clothed and resting in his father's arms after nearly fainting from hunger. “You poor thing… having to eat a devil fruit out of desperation like that, too… oh, Momonosuke, I'm so sorry, sweetheart…”
“It is quite alright, Nursemaid. All that matters now is that Momonosuke is breathing.” Kin'emon said, bowing deeply. “You needn't burden yourself for means outside your control any longer. I am eternally grateful for the benevolence you have shown my son, and am forever in your debt.”
Leona opened her mouth to protest and insist (again) that she hardly deserved any praise, but a distant, squeaky voice from the ship caught her attention.
“LAAAAW! GET OUT HERE NOW!!!”
“Son of a— s-sorry, Kin'emon, I'll be right back…”
Leona manifested a cylindrical moonglass object, held onto it with both hands, then quickly levitated the object to propel herself, much like a winched grappling hook up onto the deck.
“You sick bastard!!” Chopper cried. “How could you do that to those poor kids!? You'll regret doing this, I swear to god—!”
Law emerged from the shadows of the med bay. “There's a reason I told you not to look inside. I had a feeling you wouldn't understand why I had to slice them apart.”
“Way to help him understand, psycho ass.” Leona huffed.
“Would you rather I sugarcoat it, or tell it like it is, fussy britches?”
“Who's calling who ‘fussy britches'?” Leona rolled her eyes. “Come with me, Chopper. I'll explain everything.” She said, offering her hand for his hoof, which he takes.
“Do you have to baby everyone you meet like this?” Law asks her.
Leona flips him off over her shoulder as they enter the med bay.
Inside, the children all looked despondent for a moment before Aoi's eyes lit up at the sight of them. “Ah!! Look, Miss Penumbra is back with the raccoon!!”
The children all cheered, and Chopper's face lit up in glee. “Wait! You're all okay!?”
“See? I was telling the truth.” Leona said with a big smile. “He was cutting out the drugs from their systems with his Devil Fruit.”
“Yeah!! It was really scary at first, but I feel awesome now!!” Doran said.
“We were all chopped up in little pieces, but it didn't hurt at all!” Sind added.
Chopper looked awestruck for a second, then sighed in relief. “Oh, thank goodness…!”
“Miss Penumbra?” A boy asked next to where Mocha lay. “Is Mocha gonna be okay? She hasn't woken up yet…”
Leona walked over, sitting beside the boy and Mocha, ruffling his curly hair. “She's gone through a lot of pain, sweetheart… It's only natural she'd be exhausted.” She looked at the giant girl with a melancholic smile. “Thanks to the combined efforts of Mr. Chopper and Mr. Law, she's gonna be just fine after some rest.”
“So… she's gonna get to go home with us? Please say yes!” Asked Marcy.
“Of course!” Chopper nodded. “You're all safe now! Your suffering is all over!”
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. “Excuse me?”
Leona turned. “Oh, Miss Tashigi, ma'am!”
Tashigi smiled, holding a clipboard. “I'm so glad I found you, Penumbra. I… wanted to ask you something.”
“Sure, what's up?”
Tashigi came closer and sat down on a stool next to Leona. “I wanted to request that… the children be handed off to the Navy to be returned to their homes.”
Leona's eyebrows raised. “To the Navy?”
“Yes.”
As Leona let that request soak in, her eyebrows furrowed. “Tell me, will they really be going home? Or is this a cover-up for something else?”
Tashigi blanked. “I… huh? What do you mean?”
“Don't play dumb, Captain.” Leona seethed. “I'm well aware of what the navy does with whatever forsaken children they can get their hands on. It won't work here, since none of these children are orphans. So don't you dare even consider trying that with me. Unless you're some of those truly despicable marines who—”
“Hold on!” Tashigi interrupted. “Please… just hold on a second, Penumbra. I… I really don't know where you got that idea from, but I assure you, we'd never dream of doing anything so heinous…”
The blonde's eyes narrowed, and Tashigi became flustered. “Honest! Please, look here!”
The naval captain showed Leona her clipboard, showing the names of each child, the names of their parents, home islands and addresses. Some were even grouped if they were siblings.
“This data came from G5 headquarters, detailing the families that are searching for their children. Rest assured, we're doing our part to make sure these children make it home. Not to mention the fact that this tanker is large enough to carry all of them, while the Strawhat's ship isn't nearly big enough for the biggest children, let alone one of them.” Tashigi explained, bowing her head. “So please, I implore you… let me right the wrongs the Navy has caused these children…”
Leona knew Tashigi was referring to Vergo's involvement when she mentioned the Marine's wrongs. Her face softened, and she took a breath.
“Alright… I see you're being sincere, Captain… but know this, these children have been through an absolute living hell on this island for up to three years. They've suffered being injected with hundreds of unproven formulas and fed poison that, without Trafalgar Law's help, would have killed them before they ever reached the age of ten. And that doesn't even come close to the suffering they endured between all of that. Trust me, because I've witnessed all of it.”
Leona firmly grabbed Tashigi's shoulders. “So if I trust all fifty-two kids to you today, and I find out one day that you lied to me and sold all of these poor children to become Cipher Pol agents, noble's slaves, or god forbid Celestial Dragon's slaves, believe me when I tell you that I will hunt you, and all the rest of your unit down, slit you all chin to groin, peeling your skin off your meat in one go until you're all nothing but skin suits. Those children went through hell. Don't make them go through worse. Understood?”
Tashigi swallowed. “L-loud and clear! You have my word, Penumbra!”
Leona smiled. “Good. Don't disappoint me.”
There was a heavy silence in the room until it was interrupted by a child whispering. “...Miss Penumbra is scary when she's serious…”
***
“Newkama Kempo Technique!” Sanji bellowed as he finished up seasoning his giant pot of stew. “Ninety-nine vital recipes: a cold, exhausted body needs a heaping helping of fat and warmth! So here it is! Hormone soup de jour with sea pig pork!”
Leona couldn't help the watering of her mouth as Sanji set bowls of stew and other exquisitely prepared side dishes on a table set up for his crew, Leona, and the Wanoans.
Sanji gave a sweeping bow as he poured Momonosuke a bowl. “It's no trouble at all, my dear.” He set the food down in front of the boy. “I know you've been running on an empty stomach for days now, so start with this and eat it slowly, okay? Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself.”
The chef then made a show of twirling over to Leona, picking up two bottles on the way. “My darling Penumbra, would you like to indulge in a delectable glass of Merlot? Or, if you prefer white wine, I also have a delicious Chardonnay. Both were brewed and aged ten to twenty years in the islands of the Sabaody Archipelago.”
“Oh brother.” Nami rolled her eyes and sighed. “There he goes again.”
“Goodness, are you sure you're a pirate?” Leona giggled. “So hospitable! I'd love some Merlot, please.”
“Excellent choice, my dear lady.” Sanji crooned as he poured her a glass.
“If you ask me, it seems like she's eating it up,” Usopp observed while Sanji and Leona engaged in friendly conversation.
“She's not used to Sanji's incessant flirting. Give it another day at least.” Nami replied.
“Fair point, fair point.” Usopp nodded.
“Nngh! I-I do not want this! You cannot force me to eat your strange food, chef!!” Momonosuke suddenly bellowed, holding the bowl of soup over his head like he was about to throw it.
Sanji's head snapped towards the boy, and in a flash, he grabbed Momonosuke by his scarf. “What was that!? You'd better put that bowl down! I don't care if you're a child; anyone who wastes food around me gets their ass kicked!”
“Wh— Sanji, are you insane!?” Leona cried, getting up to stop him.
“...or he could immediately blow it.” Usopp hummed.
Momonosuke continued to protest eating despite the constant growling of his belly betraying his words. Before it could come to a head, however, Kin'emon clasped his hands together and shouted. “I gladly accept your feast, sir chef!!”
All attention was on the samurai now, who began ravenously devouring a bit of each dish and voicing his approval. “Delicious! I can feel my strength returning to me!”
“B-but… father…!” Momonosuke whimpered.
“This meal is safe to eat, my son,” Kin'emon told the boy through his full cheeks. “Please accept their kindness. In fact, these people saved my life! You can trust them!”
“I… can?” Momonosuke began to tear up.
“The Nursemaid had told me you haven't eaten anything since we last saw each other…” he took more bites. “It must've been terrible!”
Tears poured from the man's eyes as he continued to stuff his face. “My son… You have nothing to worry about anymore… we must have faith that everyone else is alive and well… come, Momonosuke… let us choose to live!”
Sanji gently put Momonosuke down, and through his own tears, he drank the soup from the bowl.
No one had a single clue what was going on with the two of them, but it didn't matter. They were just content to see the young boy eating after so long.
Suddenly, there were marines and children alike lining up at the soup pot, itching to have a taste.
“What happened to your sacred boundary between good and evil, you jerkasses?” Sanji grumbled at the soldiers.
Bashfully, a couple held up their empty bowls. “Temporary truce?”
“A truce, huh?” Zoro smirked. “If that's the case, mind fetching us some booze?”
“Ooh, could you get some juice for the children, too? Pretty please?” Leona added.
Law pulled Luffy aside, “Strawhat-ya, a word?”
Leona watched as the two stepped away to have a private conversation and figured she may as well pour Law a bowl of soup. She was beginning to feel a bit guilty about the whole door argument from earlier.
By the time she was finished, Luffy came back and got everyone's attention. “Listen up, guys! We have trouble headin’ our way, and we're outta time… so let's party as fast as we can!! Dig in!!!”
Everybody cheered, stuffing their faces and drinking merrily.
Leona walked up to Law, who had a look of utter disbelief frozen on his face. “Soup?” She offered.
Law snaps out of it for a minute. “What? No. I don't want any.”
“Come on, it's delicious! I dunno what it is, but something about this stuff makes me feel like I haven't been running off of minimum sleep for the past week.”
“No, Glasses-ya, I said I don't want— Mmgf!”
As Law spoke, Leona rolled her eyes and shoved a spoonful in his mouth, shutting him up.
Law yanked the spoon out of his mouth, ready to argue with her again, but then he swallowed the food with a look of realization on his face.
After a second of contemplation, Law swiped the bowl from her, ears fading into a darker shade of red. “Give me that…”
She smirked as Law stomped off elsewhere away from the banquet, then went to fill up another bowl to give to Chopper, who was still in the med bay, and then made the trek up there herself.
“Knock knock.” Leona vocalized as she entered the room.
Chopper was teary-eyed, kneeling next to Mocha while she continued to sleep. “Penumbra?” He meekly asked.
Leona smiled warmly. “Are you hungry? I brought you a bowl.”
“Oh! W-wow, thanks…” the mink sniffled and dried his eyes, taking the bowl from her as she knelt beside him.
“So, you eat this kind of food every day?” She asked as he ate. “Gosh, I'm jealous… your chef is incredibly talented.”
Chopper smiled. “He is!”
A bit of silence went by, and Leona stroked the back of Mocha's hand. “Law said we'll need to ship off soon… Do you think Mocha will be able to wake up before then? I think it'd be a shame if she didn't get to have any of Sanji's cooking, too.”
“I think she's almost there.” Chopper said, face saddening a bit.
“...You're thinking about what happened to her, aren't you?” Leona asked.
Tears welled in Chopper's eyes again, and he nodded. “I… I feel so guilty!” He confessed. “I keep thinking about when I told her what that candy really was… i-if I hadn't… m-m-maybe she wouldn't have… eaten them all…”
Leona frowned, rubbing his back. “I understand… to go through something that traumatic…” she sighed. “Even though she was a selfless trooper through it all, she's still only nine years old… the poor baby's gonna be having night terrors for years.”
“I-I just wish…” Chopper hiccuped. “I wish that… I could've done more for her! For all of the children! I wish I could've prevented this altogether!”
Leona gently took the now-empty bowl from Chopper's hooves, and she pulled him into a hug. “You and me both, little guy… You and me both.”
As Chopper sobbed into Leona's chest, Mocha stirred. “Mmh… Chopper…? Miss Penumbra?”
“Mocha!” Chopper gasped, leaping out of Leona's arms and on top of Mocha to give her as good a hug as he could manage. Leona shuffled over and played with the girl's hair. “How do you feel, sweetheart?”
“I feel… normal!” Mocha smiled brightly. “It feels like I never ate the candy at all!”
“Th-that's… that's wonderful!” Chopper sobbed. “I'm so happy for you, Mocha!! You were so brave!!”
Leona wiped her eyes of tears that were starting to form. “You woke up just in time, Mocha. Are you hungry? Mr. Sanji made some yummy food for us all.”
Mocha's eyes lit up. “Really? What'd he make?”
The blonde gave her a toothy grin. “It's called Hormone sea pig pork stew.”
***
Finally, it was about time for the Marines and Pirates to go their separate ways. The children all loaded up onto the tanker with the Navy, and the pirates cleaned up their supplies as fast as possible so they could ship out.
Next to the ramp leading on board, Leona spoke with Brownbeard, who was in chains.
“Are you sure, Brownbeard?” Leona asked, concern on her face. “You're really okay with this?”
“It's quite alright, lass. Them kids ain't the only ones Caesar's been experimentin’ on. The Navy cut me a deal that my crew and I will be gettin’ free medical treatment if we surrender ourselves. I much prefer gettin’ well to sufferin’ from somethin’ I don't understand while out at sea. That and I honestly feel content with me piratin’ days bein’ over.”
“Mm… alright, but...” Leona sighed. “I still feel horrible about my part in all of this… It's my fault that you're suffering from everything that happened…”
“Lassie, I was sufferin’ long before I got here. Don't forget that Hawkins was the one who took my legs!” He laughed. “I ain't mad at ye one bit for sendin’ in the call that led me here. If anything, ye helped me and my crew move on despite everythin’.”
“But—!” Leona tried to protest.
“No buts, missy! No more worryin’ about my ugly mug. Just worry about yerself for now on, y'hear? Focus on what ye need to do now, instead of what'cha think ye should've done then. I'll be fine! I survived a cannon to the face after all, didn't I!? UOOHOHOHO!!!”
Leona sniffled, slamming into his giant belly with as big a hug as she could give. “I'll miss you, big guy! Be good, okay? Get better!!”
Brownbeard reciprocated her hug with a gentle press of his much larger finger to her back. “Raise some hell, girly!!”
The foghorn blared, signalling the last call before departure. So Leona and Brownbeard separated with a wave.
“Hey! Knight girl! Get behind the barrier!!” A soldier ordered her. “When'd you cross the line!?”
“Oh, go fuck a goat! I was just giving my goodbyes! That's not a damn crime!” Leona barked as she ducked under the cloth barrier they were holding up and rejoined her fellow pirates. “Marines, I swear…”
The blonde crossed her arms irritably as the Marines ordered the children to ignore the pirates despite their tearful pleas. “We are men of justice!” She mocked in a stupid voice. “Fucking whatever. Hypocrites, the lot of ‘em…”
“Are you mad because they won't let you say goodbye to the kids?” Brook inquired.
“Of course!!” Leona cried. “I spent nearly a year breaking my back taking care of these little ones, and they won't even allow me to send each one of them off with a hug!? It's complete bullshit!”
Suddenly, a gunshot went off, and a Marine yelled. “If any of you wanna say goodbye to the pirates, you're just rotten kids!! And if you wanna thank ‘em, we'll drag you off the tanker and leave you here!”
It didn't take using Observation Haki for everyone to feel the bloodlust radiating off of Leona in that moment. Before she could pounce on the offending Marine, Usopp, Chopper, and Nami all restrained her as she thrashed and foamed at the mouth. “LET ME GO! LET ME GO!! I'M GONNA FILLET HIM!! THAT MAN IS FUCKING DEAD!!!”
“Calm down, Penumbra! You'll just make things worse!!” Usopp cried.
“Don't give them an excuse to hurt people, Penumbra!” Chopper added.
“THEY'RE CRYING! THOSE BASTARDS ARE MAKING THEM CRY!! LET ME GO!!!” Leona continued to struggle until a woman's voice echoed above the screaming and chanting.
“STOP IT THIS INSTANT!! SHAME ON YOU ALL!!”
Leona's fury screeched to a halt. It was Tashigi, admonishing her subordinates.
The soldiers lowered the cloth barrier, tears spilling from their eyes. “You don't understand, Tashigi!!” One sobbed. “We have to keep saying bad things about them!! If we don't… w-we might do the unforgivable! We might end up loving theeeemm!!!”
“I swear to god, these fuckers are gonna send me into a stroke with how high my blood pressure is getting.” Leona seethed.
“Then we should probably go before that happens.” Nami chuckled.
After more tearful goodbyes and well wishes shouted between the pirates and children, everyone headed to the Strawhat's ship, ready to at long last leave this hell island for good.
***
If there were one word Leona could use to describe the Strawhat's vessel, The Thousand Sunny… it'd be a theme park. Everything about the ship was so bright, fun, and colourful that without the giant jolly roger painted on the flags and sail, Leona would believe she was on a luxury cruise liner. From the lawn deck to the slides, to the most adorable lion-shaped figurehead, Leona was purely in love with just how fun the Strawhats were to their core.
“...I think I love it here.” She sighed dreamily with her hands resting on her cheeks, admiring the architecture. “Sooo cute!”
“Don't get too attached. We're making for Dressrosa, remember?” Law reminded her.
Leona deflated. “Yes, yes, I know… can't a girl enjoy herself for at least a little while?”
Law rolled his eyes. “Strawhat-ya! Where do you keep your snails? I have a call to make.”
Franky pointed him in the right direction. “In the galley next to the dining table.”
Law nodded, making his way there. “I'll be back in a moment.”
There was a passing moment of silence before Nami stretched. “After all of that, you know what I could use, Robin? A nice hot shower.”
“You read my mind.” Robin giggled.
“Ohhh yeah…” Leona sighed, now feeling fully aware of the ache in her joints beginning to return. “A nice hot soak would be absolute heaven, now that you mention it… I'd love to get out of these sticky clothes, too…”
“Would you like to join us? We have an onsen-style bath if you're feeling sore.” Robin offered.
Leona's eyebrows raised. “M-me? Join? Are you sure?”
Nami cocked her head. “Yeah, you. Why not? Unless you'd rather bathe alone.”
“Oh, w-well, I'm not opposed…” Leona muttered shyly. “I just… I wouldn't want to be a bother—”
Nami rolled her eyes and grabbed her wrist, tugging her along. “Come on, girl, let's do some self-care!”
“Oh! Um… O-okay!” Leona gasped, barely grabbing her suitcase of clothes in time to take with her.
The wonders didn't cease beyond the Strawhats’ communal bath, as it was designed like a spa with a changing room outside to put aside your dirty laundry, and the inside set up like a gorgeous stone-laid floor onsen with shower stools.
“Which noble did you guys kill to procure this ship!?” Leona gasped in the changing room as they stripped down. “Everything is so… nice!”
Nami giggled. “Actually, Franky gave us this ship as a sort of thank you. It's a bit of a long story, but we helped each other out during a really rough and scary time after our first ship couldn’t go on any longer. He built it with his own hands… with some help, of course.”
Leona's eyes glittered as she folded up her dress to put aside. “That's… goodness… I still can't believe you people are real…”
Robin giggled, grabbing some towels and soap from the cabinet. “I'll get the water heated up,” she said, and went into the bath.
Leona was about to remove her underwear when she felt something in the pocket of her dress. Curiously, she removed it, gasping when she retrieved a crinkly, folded-up crayon drawing. Yoshie's crayon drawing.
The paper was quite damaged, like someone wadded it up without a care to throw away, but forgot they had it still. It was likely Vergo's work, seeing as how he was there when Leona shed her armour and surrendered. The question remained, though. When did this get here?
“Penumbra?” Nami asks. “You coming?”
Leona startled. “Uh— yes! So sorry! I'll be right there.”
“You're okay! You just seemed lost in thought.”
“I-I'm okay, thanks.” Leona waved.
Nami slipped back into the bath, and Leona took another glance at the drawing before stripping her underwear and following.
Man, Leona was underestimating how incredible it'd feel to get some heat on her aching joints. She was damn near melting under the shower as she shampooed her wild golden locks. She couldn't wait to sit in the bath and soak the rest of her weary body.
“So, Penumbra… I'm curious,” Robin started, catching the blonde's attention. “You've mentioned before that you and Law weren't exactly close, but you were raised together, yes?”
“Oh, yeah. Not very long, mind you. I was about nine years old when I met him, and then three years later, he was dragged off by one of our superiors, and I didn't see him for the next thirteen years. I'm sure you remember me mentioning he was terminally sick, right?”
“Oh yeah, you did! What'd he have? Do you know?” Nami asks.
“It's called ‘Amber Lead Syndrome’, or ‘White Lead Disease’, in some circles,” Leona explained. “Basically, from what I understand, is that through exposure to a very toxic material, Law's body was pretty much attacking itself. His immune system was like a honeycomb with how holey it was. I remember days when he could barely move with how much pain he was in…”
“I can see why seeing him now was such a shock,” Robin said.
“Oh, you're telling me!” Leona gasped. "I barely recognized him! Like, forget the fact he's healthy now, I didn't even know he was alive! Imagine thinking a kid you knew was dead for years and then suddenly seeing them grown up when you never thought they'd get there! Gosh, I'm still reeling…”
Leona rinsed her hair, continuing. “Hell, the only reason I recognized him at all was his hat. It's a dead ringer for the one he used to have, but it looks slightly different… I wanna ask him if it's the same one, but…”
“...But? Go on!” Nami prodded.
Leona clicked her tongue. “I dunno, I guess I still feel intimidated by him? Don't get me wrong, I'm incredibly happy to know he's okay, but… it kinda feels like my whole world is flipping upside down.”
Leona squeezed some conditioner into her palm, massaging it into her hair. “He's not easy to talk to whatsoever, so it makes talking to him kind of… really frustrating. I want to get to know him, you know? I've always wanted to be his friend. For some reason, I've just always… I dunno…” she waved her hand as she tried to come up with the right word. “Gravitated? To him? I've always detected this wavelength coming off of him with my Observation Haki that had such a strange and comforting sense of familiarity. Am I making sense?”
“I'm not entirely sure what you mean at the end there, but I think I get the gist?” Nami hums. “He has a sort of... aura about him. Right?”
Leona sucked her teeth. “It's very difficult to explain if you don't really get Observation Haki… I realize it sounds so alien to others, but I struggle to explain it any other way.” She giggled bashfully. “But… yeah. That, and uh…”
She looked over her shoulder at the two women. “Is this a safe space? Can I be completely honest and trust you two not to make fun of me?”
Nami and Robin nodded. “Go ahead.”
Leona's cheeks flushed. “He's kind of… hot now? Like… I never really thought of him that way as a kid, but seeing him as an adult, I honest to god catch myself getting lost in his eyes a bit. Is that weird? Maybe I've been isolated for a bit too long…”
Nami and Robin looked at each other, bursting into laughter and making Leona curl in on herself in embarrassment. “Um… n-nevermind… I shouldn't've said anything…”
“I feel like it means that you still care just as much about him now as you did then.” Robin smiled. “I think that's a good thing.”
Leona perked back up a bit. “Yeah…? Mm… I suppose I can see that.”
Leona rinsed her hair, and Robin caught her attention again. “Penumbra, what fragrance would you like in the bath?”
“What do you have?” Leona inquired.
“Let's see…” she hummed, sorting through packets of bath salts. “There's Lavender, orange blossom, peach blossom, vanilla jasmine…”
“Vanilla jasmine sounds lovely,” Leona said, standing up and shutting off the shower.
“Ooh, that one's so nice!” Nami said as Robin poured in the salts and stirred the tub. As Leona stepped over, she noticed Nami's eyes briefly flitting toward her belly, and she instinctively tensed, folding her hands in front of herself.
She decided to push those thoughts away for the time being, inhaling the scent of the salts and sighing blissfully. “Wooww… gosh, I can't thank you enough for everything… I don't think anyone's ever shown me so much kindness before…”
Robin smiled. "It's no problem, really. You're our friend now.”
“Friend…” Leona muttered as if trying out the word on her lips. She had never really given it much thought, but… has she… ever truly had friends before? If she had, she doesn't think they've ever felt so… safe. She felt so relaxed, like she could fully drop her shoulders and be herself. Is this what friends were supposed to be like?
If so, she never wanted to go back.
“You're so sweet to me…” Leona sniffled, turning to them, wiping her eyes. “Thank you…”
“Aww, Penumbraaa! You're gonna make me cry!!” Nami whines.
Robin just giggled. “You should get in the bath before the water cools.”
“Oh, y-yeah.” Leona giggled, stepping into the tub and sitting, fully melting into the sweet-smelling bathwater.
After getting Mocha somewhere safe enough she can be treated, Leona passes out and wakes up to a banquet celebrating their victory, where Law gives her an ultimatum...
Note: I wanna preface something at the start here, up until this point, I've been dividing time cuts with a *** each chapter, but I decided I'll also be using them to cut between both Leo and Law's POV's now that he's more involved. Any beginning and time cut starting with a +++ from this point on will be from Law's POV, and will return to Leo's with the usual ***. I may also be thinking of another symbol for a character we've seen but haven't really gotten to know yet, so look forward to it 🤭
CW: This slow burn fic delves into some distressing topics such as drug addiction, violence, gore, and dark themes. Please check AO3 for all tags.
Specific CW for emetophobia
Character reference || Masterlist
Previous || Next
Leona was sobbing, kneeling at the girl's side and holding her much larger hand while she gargled blood and trembled. “Oh god… oh my god oh my god oh my fucking god… w-w-w-what do I do..!? Mocha, sweetie, I-I-I’m…” A broken sob escaped her lips. “Goddammit, I'm so sorry!!”
“What happened?” some of the kids were muttering.
“Is she hurt?”
“Did she just… puke blood?”
“But all she did was eat the candy…”
“That’s what happens when you’re greedy, Mocha!”
“MOCHAA!!!” Chopper sobbed as Robin carried him down the steps with a syringe in his hoof. He wriggled free from her grasp and fell onto the floor, opting to drag his limp body over to her himself. “I’m here! Stay with me!!”
The children were speechless, staring in shock as both Leona and Chopper tried desperately to console Mocha. One kid felt brave enough to speak.
“What’s wrong…?”
Chopper whipped his head around. “What's wrong? WHAT’S WRONG!? DON’T YOU SEE IT NOW!? THIS IS WHAT THE CANDY DOES TO YOU! NOW MOCHA IS DYING BECAUSE YOU ALL WOULDN’T LISTEN! SHE SACRIFICED HERSELF TO SAVE ALL OF YOU!”
Leona reached her hand out, stopping the young mink’s tirade. “Please, Chopper… don’t be angry at them...”
“Why not!? You saw how they all attacked her! They wouldn’t even listen to you!”
Leona removed her helmet, meeting Chopper’s enraged gaze with soft, tearful eyes. “They… they don’t know any better, Chopper. They can’t think rationally right now…”
The doctor watched as she did her best to hold Mocha and offer her whatever little comfort she could. “It isn’t their fault… s-so please… I beg you not to blame them… please never ever blame them…” She rested her head on the girl’s arm, softly weeping.
“Chopper…” Nami spoke. “If you want to sedate the children, then now’s your best chance…”
“M-Mocha comes first! I have to treat her!” Chopper yelled.
“There’s no time!” Robin cried, but Chopper didn’t listen. He turned back to the girl anyway.
“THE CHILDREN ARE STANDING STILL!! EVERYONE GO!”
In that moment, dozens of G5 soldiers stampeded down the stairs, using the children’s stunned silence as an advantage to pin them all down.
Everyone gaped, eyes wide when they saw that Sanji was leading the charge.
“No violence, men!! Fight numbers with numbers and get these children sedated!!”
“YES SIR!!!”
As the Marines ran around the room and gave each child their shots, a few ran up to Mocha.
“Holy shit!!” one yelped. “What happened to this one!?”
“Is she okay!?” asked another.
“No, she isn’t!” Leona cried. “She’s in critical condition and needs emergency treatment!”
“This area isn’t safe for emergency treatment, knight lady! There isn’t much time left!”
“We are NOT letting Mocha die here!” Leona snapped. She grabbed two fistfuls of a soldier’s uniform and tugged him down to her level. “If you need a safe place to do it, then I’ll lead you to one! There are examination rooms downstairs with heavy blast doors! I’ll even reinforce them if you need me to, please just save her!!”
The soldiers were a bit stunned until Sanji spoke up next. “Well? You heard the lady! Stop standing around with your thumbs up your asses and get that little girl to that room!”
“Yes!” The men saluted, combining their strength to hoist Mocha up on their shoulders. Leona and Chopper were on top of her belly to monitor her. “Straight down this hall, then take a left!” Leona directed as they raced down the hall.
“YES, MA’AM!”
“N-nmgh…” Mocha whimpered, erupting in a weak coughing fit.
Chopper began to sob, scrubbing his eyes with his hooves. Leona rubbed his fuzzy back. “You did well, Chopper...”
“B-but…!” he hiccuped. “But I—! I—!”
“Chopper…” Mocha’s weak little voice interrupted, reaching her hand up to touch him.
“Mocha!” The two gasped. Leona gently grasped one of her giant fingers in both hands.
“Are you okay, Mocha? Are you in pain?” Chopper asked her.
“Chopper, I…” she coughed. “I did it… I didn’t… give them the candies…”
The mink was taken aback, but then broke into sobs again. “Y-you did! You tried to save your friends, didn’t you? Thank you… Thank you so much…!”
“Was I… a brave girl, Miss Penumbra…?”
Leona removed her glasses, wiping her eyes. “Yes! Yes, you’re so, so brave!” she hiccuped. “The bravest! Everyone will get to go home because of you…!”
Then, Mocha gave a soft smile. “Mhm…!”
When they had arrived at the examination room, Leona jumped off of Mocha’s body and rushed to lock the door behind them. As she entered the commands on the keypad, she suddenly felt her lightheadedness and nausea return like a freight train.
“Hey, you okay, knight girl?” one of the Marines asked her. “You’re looking pretty green around the gills, there.”
“I… I think I’m gonna—hrgh! …th-throw up…”
“Whoa!” The Marine rushed to her side when her knees buckled. “Hey… hey, I got ya. You’re okay, knight girl…”
Leona wanted to respond, but she was interrupted by the vomit spewing from her throat and onto the wall. The Marine held back her hair through it, even when she tried to catch her breath through the rounds of painful dry-heaving and hacking fits. “Uh… hey, raccoon guy? I think your friend here is about to faint…”
“She must be giving in to her exhaustion.” Chopper said. “Lay her down on that cot there! On her side!”
“You got it!” The medic confirmed, helping Leona walk over to the medical cot. Chopper continued to give orders while he set up an IV for Mocha. “If she still isn’t awake by the time we're done, I’m counting on y…arry her ou…o the gate…”
Leona’s ears rang, and black spots took up her tunnelled vision as she felt herself being handled like a boneless puppet. She could barely tell which direction she was facing, but all she knew was she was so… so tired…
Her eyes fluttered closed, and everything went dark.
+++
“It’s over… Mr. Vergo.” Law told the double agent after placing the hat knocked off during their fight, back on his head. With his heart wrestled from Vergo’s grasp and finally back where it belonged—all thanks to Smoker—Vergo had lost his biggest advantage over Law. The scales were tipping back in his favour.
“Now you decide to remember your place?” Vergo questioned him.
“Tell yourself whatever lies you want to hear… But I don’t believe you’ll be sitting atop that throne of power much longer.” Law then glanced up from under the brim of his hat. “Either of you.”
Vergo didn’t respond, but there was a slight twitch in his brow.
“I know you’re listening in, Joker.” Law continued. “You should know that Vergo is as good as dead. You’re about to lose your right-hand man, and Strawhat is taking care of Caesar as we speak. Not to mention, with the way things are going, that so-called ‘daughter’ of yours seems like she’s ready to defect as well. You got too confident. I’m sure you’re starting to sweat, now that your most trusted secret holder and your supply of SAD are slipping away from you. So just keep laughing on that gilded throne and think about your next move… it won't matter anyway.” He smirked. “We're about to do the unthinkable.”
Vergo abruptly stripped his quilted trenchcoat, throwing it on the floor along with the transponder snail that had Doflamingo on the line.
Doflamingo cackled like he didn’t care in the slightest. “You do a decent tough-guy act, kid… but I think you’re the one being overconfident here. Take a good look at Vergo.”
Law’s glare hardened at the sight of Vergo’s entire body coated head to toe with Armament Haki. Including his staff, there wasn’t a single spot untouched.
“You know what happens when you piss him off, right? Think hard about what happened last time… how’d it turn out for you? You crossed Vergo, and what did he do then? You remember, don't you?”
Law calmly readied his blade despite the pounding of his heart in his chest, his eyes never leaving Vergo.
Doflamingo continued. “Was it traumatic? Surely it had to have been… you’re afraid of him, aren’t you? Just like that daughter of mine. At least she knows her place… but now that she knows you’re alive, well…” he chuckled darkly. “I hope you’re proud of yourself, Law. Her blood will soon be on those stained hands of yours, too.”
Vergo readied his staff. “Let’s begin.”
Law summoned his Room, and Vergo charged at him with the speed and force of a missile. Law’s gaze never wavered, and his hands remained steady. With a deep inhale, he waited for the exact moment to draw his blade…
SSSLASH!
And with one powerful horizontal swing, Vergo, along with the entire laboratory… had been bisected.
The second that everything came crashing back down to earth, Law wordlessly sheathed his blade and stepped towards Smoker, who lay injured on the floor next to his jitte.
“It’s been two years now since the war in Marineford. Had anyone actually accomplished anything? All you did was maintain the status quo. All Whitebeard did was end the era. The Navy regrouped and bolstered their strength… and none of the big shots have taken action. It’s as if everyone’s been holding their breath… preparing for something. The war was just a prologue to this new era you’ve always told me about. The age of the daring ones… and I’ve opened the gate, Joker. The gears are broken, and there’s no turning back… for anyone. Not even you,”
Just then, a small crumpled ball of paper near Smoker caught his eye. Not because paper was particularly out of place in a laboratory, but because it appeared to have been drawn on with… crayon?
Law was suddenly alerted by a noise dragging across the floor, followed by Vergo shouting, “I’LL TEACH YOU YOUR PLACE, BRAT!!”
Vergo wasn’t finished just because he was missing his legs. He had vaulted himself into the air with his staff, intending to kill Law once and for all.
And yet, Law had already predicted this outcome. He quickly summoned his Room again, slicing Vergo to pieces before he could land a hit. To add insult to injury, Law picked up his scattered pieces, sticking them across the railing like a strange art display and walked back to where he was.
“Well damn… how will I have breakfast tomorrow now? What a terrible turn of events.”
Law ignored Vergo, picking up the scrap of paper he had his eyes on before. Before he could unfold it, though, Vergo kept talking.
“You weren’t supposed to win this round, Law. I bet you’re proud of this upset you’ve pulled off. But mark my words, you will regret this.”
Law didn’t respond. At this, Vergo began to get irritated.
“You don’t know as much about Joker’s past as you think you should. You’ll pay for that ignorance. Upstarts like you get a taste of fame and suddenly believe they can take on the world, but they couldn’t be more wrong. There’ll always be someone stronger. Right, Smoker?”
Smoker didn’t respond either, opting to retrieve two cigars from his coat and light them, then entertain his drivel.
“The only thing you rookies have is energy. The real world won’t—”
Law quickly silenced him by slicing his head in half from the chin up. “Don’t worry about me, just worry about yourself,” he told him, resheathing his blade.
Finally, as he was leaving the room with Smoker, he unravelled the paper. It appeared to be a crude children’s drawing of a little girl with pigtails holding the hand of a blonde adult labelled ‘Miss Panumbra’ with what looked like a chain attached to her ankle leading off the page.
Law stared for a second before folding up the paper and placing it in his pocket for whenever he saw Glasses-ya again.
***
“Mmnh… nnh…?” Leona mumbled, eyes fluttering open. Where… was she? Last she remembers, she passed out in the examination room they’d brought Mocha to after locking the doors… but now she was… on a pile of blankets?
“You’re awake!! Oh, thank goodness!!”
Leona yelped at the sudden squeaky voice, bolting up from the blankets she was lying on.
“Oops! S-sorry, Penumbra! I didn’t mean to scare you!”
Leona blinked, squinting her bad eyes at the little blue and yellow smudge peeking in reverse from outside, recognizing who it was. “O-oh, Chopper! I-it’s okay, I'm just a bit… on edge.” She then took in her surroundings. “What happened? Where's—”
She gasped, abruptly remembering their situation. “Mocha! Is Mocha okay?! I need to—!”
When Leona tried to stand up, she was jolted by the intense overexertion pain the adrenaline had been ignoring the entire day, crying out. “ACK!”
Chopper gasped, scrambling to her aid. “H-hey! Take it easy! You didn't have any debilitating injuries when I examined you, but that doesn't mean you're just good to start running around!”
Leona flinched, arms instinctively wrapping around her stomach. “You examined me?”
“Well, of course I did. It’s my duty.” Chopper answered matter-of-factly. “What if you were seriously hurt?”
Leona’s cheeks pinked at her own knee-jerk reaction. “Oh, um… r-right. Sorry, that was dumb…”
Chopper began looking through his little blue knapsack for something. “Anyway, to answer your question, Mocha and the rest of the kids are all safe! The gas is all gone, and we even managed to capture Caesar, too! Now Sanji's cooking us up a big meal to celebrate!!”
“Oh my goodness…” Leona marvelled. It was so much information to take in all at once, but ultimately it was… unbelievable! Overwhelmingly joyful tears welled in Leona's eyes, and she cried into her hands. “Thank god… oh, thank you, god… where are the kids? You said all of them are safe? All fifty—”
“All fifty-two of them,” he nodded happily. “Law is treating them inside the med bay on the ship, but he said that he wanted complete and utter solitude. The Marine guys set up a medical tent for me so I could treat you.”
“Well, wasn’t that sweet of them?” She smiled. Then, something came to her. “Oh, I-I should go and—”
She tried to stand up, but sharply gasped when the pain hit her again. “Ooh, ow ow ow ow…”
“I told you not to run around!” Chopper scolded.
“B-but I want to check on the kids!” the blonde pleaded. “Sure, Law’s treating them, but he’s about as delicate as a bag of hammers!” Her eyes shifted awkwardly for a second. “…E-emotionally, I mean.”
Chopper gave her a chiding glare for a moment, but ultimately sighed in defeat when she crossed her arms and glared back. “Alright, fine… I can give you something to ease the pain a bit… but you still gotta take it easy!”
“Of course.”
“On a scale of one to ten, how’s your pain?” he asks, sorting through his knapsack again. “One is barely noticeable, ten is about to pass out.”
“Ummm… seven?”
“Gotcha.”
A stretch of silence passed in the tent before Leona spoke again. “So, um… I can’t help but notice you left my greaves on… where’s the rest of my armour?”
“Oh! I knew I was forgetting something! We have it with the rest of our supplies in that white trunk you had. It’s kind of… busted, though…”
“Busted?” Leona inquired.
“As soon as you went unconscious, a big crack went down the middle of the whole suit. I dunno if that’s easy to fix…” Chopper explained. “B-b-but I did my best to keep them intact! I couldn’t figure the boots out, though, so I left them on.” He handed her two capsules and her glasses.
“Oh, that’s not bad at all. I can fix things like that in my sleep.” Leona put her glasses back on and swallowed the pills dry. “Thank you.”
“Oh, and Nami left you this coat and gloves, too!” he said, pointing his hoof at a long, grey and black striped winter coat topped with said gloves next to the blanket pile.
Leona’s heart swelled. “Oh gosh…! You Strawhats really go above and beyond, don’t you? I-I’m not sure I deserve this…”
“What are you talking about!?” Chopper gasped. “You were amazing!!”
“I-I really didn’t do much…” Leona insisted.
“But you did! Without you, the children would’ve been in way more danger! We wouldn’t have known where to take Mocha to save her life. You gave us information on Caesar, you helped me go through Caesar's notes so I could fix up some sedatives… Ooh! Ooh! And then there was that super cool move you used to get rid of that dragon, too!!”
Leona snorted. “How did you know about that? You weren’t there.”
“Usopp told me all about it!! How you and him bravely shot the dragon out of the air with a super duper double sniper attack!! So cool!!!” Chopper recounted with big glittering eyes.
Leona stared blankly for a moment before erupting into laughter. “Yeah? H-he said that?” How silly!
“Yeah!! I wish I could've seen it!”
While Leona was a bit uncomfortable receiving praise for, in her opinion, bare minimum effort, the way Chopper's whimsical view of it all made her feel very… touched.
“Alright… if you say so.” Leona giggled.
Eventually, the painkillers were beginning to work, so Leona donned the winter clothes she was given and stepped out onto the dock next to a broken Donquixote SAD tanker that was being repaired.
It seems the Navy were in a bit of a skirmish with the pirates, having painted a line across the dock to divide “good and evil,” or so they say. It didn't matter much to Leona anyway. Her eye was more so drawn to whatever Sanji and Brook were up to, stacking bricks in a circle.
The chef's visible eye lit up at the sight of her. “Penumbra, my darling! You're awake! I was so worried!”
“Aww, Sanji… you're too sweet.” Leona blushed, bashfully waving her hand. “What's all this?”
“I’ve been wondering that myself,” Brook said.
Sanji blew a cloud of smoke. “It’s a fire pit.”
“It’s rather massive for a fire pit, no?” Brook inquired.
“Well, there’s a massive number of hungry people here,” Sanji gestured. “I have to use a big pot, so I need a big fire pit.”
Come to think of it, now that she had some time to breathe… Leona was starving! All she had to eat today was breakfast! “What are we having?”
Sanji grinned. “It’s a very nutritious Newkama Kempo recipe I picked up. Hormone sea pig pork stew!”
A bit of drool escaped the corner of her mouth. “Ohh, that sounds absolutely amazing right now…” she moaned. “I can’t wait!”
Brook chortled. “Indeed! Ah, but…” He turned to the side. “What a shame that Kin’emon won’t get to enjoy any…”
“Why, what’s wrong with—” Leona began, but when her eyes followed, she yelped. “OH MY GOD!!”
It was Kin’emon, completely crystallized by the effects of the poison gas in a running pose, mouth agape in a terrified scream.
“Kin’emon!!” Leona cried, rushing towards his remains. She wanted to reach out her hand to touch him, but couldn’t muster the courage to do so, terrified of accidentally breaking him. “No… god, no… why!?”
“I know… It’s too painful to see him in such an awful state…!” Brook (somehow) sniffled. He sobbed onto his sleeve. “I have to avert my eyes… even though I don’t have eyes to avert!!”
“Fuck…” Leona wiped her eyes, feeling anger boiling in her gut. “This isn’t fair… You never deserved this! Y-you hadn’t even found your son yet…!”
The blonde turned to Sanji. “You guys captured Caesar, right? Where is he? I’m gonna break all of his fingers backwards!”
“Luffy might’ve beaten you to the punch already, but he’s over there,” Sanji said, pointing her to an icy rock across the Marine’s painted line.
“Thank you.” She huffed. She stomped her way over, ready to unleash nearly two years' worth of pent-up rage and hatred on the mad scientist. But when she got closer, a sight froze her mid-step.
Next to Caesar were the beaten-up, frozen, unconscious bodies of Buffalo and Baby 5, wrapped in emergency blankets.
“W-w-w-why… why are they here…!?” she whispered, terrified of the possibility of them waking up.
“HEYYYY, PEPPERONI’S AWAKE!!” Luffy shouted from nearby. “Boy, you missed a lot while you were out!!”
Leona choked. “Q-quiet! I can’t let them see me!” she whisper-yelled at him, grabbing his shoulders. “How long have they been here!?”
“Oh yeah, Traffy said they were old buddies of his! Are they yours, too, Pepperoni?”
“No! And stop calling me that! They—ugh…” she pinched her nose. “We were raised together, but that’s not the point! When did they get here?”
“Uhh… a few hours ago, I think.” Luffy hums. “They showed up outta the sky to attack us and take Caesar, but we kicked their asses, and they fell in the ocean. That’s why they're all frozen!” he giggled.
Leona withered. “N-never mind… but just to reiterate, they didn’t see me, did they?”
“I don’t think so.” He said, picking his nose. (gross). “I don’t really remember. Why?”
“Th… I… you…” Leona tried to find her words, but she just shook her head and sighed. “Don’t… don’t worry about it. I’m just gonna go see the kids.”
‘And hide from Buffalo and Baby 5 until I know they’re gone.’ She thought.
“Okay! They’re up there, behind a big steel door,” he pointed to the tanker. “Uhh… was it starboard or port side?”
“I-it’s okay, I know the layout of the tankers. Thanks, Luffy.” Leona nodded.
With that, she silently tiptoed as fast as her body would allow away from her fellow “family” members and aboard the ship.
Using her stealth prowess, she managed to slip past everyone who was fixing up whatever harm had been done to the ship and into the storage room in front of the med bay, because she really wasn’t in the mood for any more unwelcome surprises.
Now, all that was left in front of her was the steel door. For some reason, despite the fact that she knows who’s behind it, she couldn’t help the racing of her heart as she quietly approached the door.
Babump, babump, babump, babump…
Nervously, she knocked. “Law? It’s Penumbra. I’d like to check on the kids, please.”
No answer.
She knocked again, but a bit louder. “Law? Hello? I understand you said you wanted solitude, but I worry about your bedside manner.”
Silence.
Leona’s brow furrowed. He was ignoring her on purpose, wasn’t he?
Leona knocked much harder. “Law! Would it KILL you to give even just a short answer!?”
Nothing.
Leona groaned, rolling her eyes. This time, she pounded on the door. “TRAFALGAR D. WATER LAW, OPEN THIS GODDAMN DOOR, OR I WILL BUST IT THE HELL DOWN, YOU HEAR ME!?”
There was muffled stomping, and then the door opened just enough to poke his head through. “Was the full government name really necessary?”
“It got you to give me a fucking answer, didn’t it?” Leona shot back. “I’m worried for the kids and would like to check on their well-being. Now let me in.”
“No.”
“Law—”
“Outsiders aren’t allowed in the operating room for a good reason, now go.”
“That’s rich coming from the man not wearing scrubs, gloves, a hair and beard net or a mask.” Leona shot back. “I can handle whatever is in here, now please, if you would—”
“Leave,” he said, about to slam the door.
CLANG!
At a sudden loud noise, Law looked down and groaned at the fact that Leona had thrust her moonglass-clad foot through the door to keep it from shutting all the way.
“For fuck’s sake, Glasses-ya!” he hissed through the gap. “What part of ‘no’ do you not get!?”
A hand shot out, grabbing the collar of Law's coat and tugging him forward. A second hand followed, pointing a small moonglass knife at his face. “I've seen what your devil fruit does, Law, and I mean it when I say I can handle it. And while I am here to see the children that I've been taking care of for so long to make sure they're okay after everything they’ve been through, I believe I am long overdue for some proper answers.” She said, poking the tip of the knife into his face, just enough to draw a mere drop of blood. “Now let me in, or else a broken door will be the least of your worries.”
The two shared a very tense staring contest. “Well?” Leona whispered, digging the knife eeeever so slightly deeper, “What's it gonna be?”
Law’s eye twitched. He knew fully well he could absolve this issue quite easily by teleporting her somewhere else or cutting her into pieces. And yet… despite how annoying she was being, he did have some inquiries of his own that he’d rather settle in private.
Reluctantly, he moved the door. “...Fine. But if you want those drugs out of these kids’ systems, you’re not to touch anything or interrupt my work in any capacity. We can talk, but that’s it. Otherwise, I’ll warp you outside, cut into bite-sized cubes. Understand?”
“Acceptable terms,” Leona replied, drawing her hands back and evaporating the knife away.
Upon entering the room and closing the door, Leona viscerally yelped and averted her eyes at what she saw. The children were scattered around the expansive infirmary in pieces, some with various organs removed and in the same rubbery-gelatinous cube thing Law's own heart was stored in not too long ago.
“‘I can handle it,’ she says…” Law mutters under his breath, returning to where he was.
“S-shut up!” Leona fumed. “I know they aren't being harmed, but it doesn't make the sight any less shocking!”
“Uh huh.” Law rolled his eyes, summoning a Room and getting back to work, physically removing the NHC10-affected cells from the most affected internal organs.
Leona sat on a wheeled stool, awkwardly crossing her legs and pulling out her coin to fiddle with while she looked around. “...is it necessary to have them scattered all over in pieces like this?”
“Everyone has a system, and this is mine,” Law said, not looking up. “If you can’t ‘handle it’, then—”
“Ugh—okay, okay! Fuck…”
There was a pregnant pause as Leona thought about how to approach her questions. She knew that if she were too intrusive, he wouldn't want to answer, but if she were too vague, he'd get pissed off.
“So… how long have you been on the seas, if I may ask?”
“Around eleven or twelve years.”
“That young!? Good lord… What on earth happened in those six months when you left Spider Miles?”
“No comment.”
Leona sighed. “Yeah, I figured…”
Another pause.
“So… why are you here alone?” Leona decided to ask. “Do you have a crew?”
“I do.”
“Do you mind me asking… um… where they are?”
Leona internally winced at her phrasing, sincerely hoping her tone wasn't coming off as demanding.
Law didn't seem phased. “Again, no comment… but they're alive.”
The blonde kept fiddling with her coin. God, he was so fucking dry! How the hell was she supposed to get anywhere with him!?
Another pregnant pause went by, but it was Law who spoke this time. “So what will you do now?”
Leona blinked. “Pardon?”
“Now that everything's said and done here, what do you plan to do?” He repeated.
“Um… well…” she floundered. “I think… I was just gonna go back home…”
“Why?”
“Huh? Um…” Leona was beginning to sweat, not quite knowing how to respond. “W-w-well… I'm… I guess I'm done with my mission… It's… it's what I usually do…”
Law's eyes curiously flitted up from his work before returning to it. “Do you think Doflamingo is gonna be happy with the outcome of your mission, considering the events of today?”
Leona flinched, dropping her coin from her shaking fingers. “Shit.” She gasped, scrambling to grab it. “I-I-I mean… he probably won't, but… m-m-maybe If I explained what happened—”
“Like how you blatantly were going against your orders?” Law interrupted.
Leona tried to ignore that. “...I-if I explained and maybe bent the truth a bit… m-maybe it won't be so bad?”
“Glasses-ya—”
“L-like, if I just told him where I've been all this time and just sort of… left out a lot of what happened here?”
“Glasses-ya, you—”
“He still might be a bit angry, sure, but… I know he's understanding enough! Any other time I've messed up, I've gotten away with just one punishment… e-e-even if it's a beating this time, I'd gladly take it over being—”
There was a slam on the table that made Leona scream and shield her face, followed by Law yelling, “PENUMBRA-YA!”
“Don't do that!” Leona cried, fully trembling. “What!?”
“Look at yourself!” Law said. “You're scared shitless at the idea of going back because you know what he'll do!”
“B-but he might not—” Leona tried, but Law interrupted her again.
“You just said you'd even take him beating you if it meant you got away with this.”
Leona flinched. “Yes, but…”
“There are no buts here, Glasses-ya,” Law told her. “Vergo said it himself. You've been labelled a traitor. You know fully well you can't come back from that. Not in the family.”
Big fat tears welled up and streamed down Leona's face. She wanted to fight Law kicking and screaming about this. To prove to him that he was wrong and knew nothing at all since he didn't know Doflamingo even half as well as she did…
…but who was she kidding?
She was well aware of how depraved and cruel Doflamingo was. No man with even an ounce of care for human life would have his reputation even within his innermost circle. Leona's always pushed it away because she wanted and tried so hard for her to be the exception… but it was true. It was always true. To Doflamingo, she was disposable. Even if she called him ‘Dad’… at one point.
“What am I supposed to do…?” Leona choked.
“Well, if you want my opinion…” Law starts. “You could either go back anyway and face whatever it is Doflamingo decides will be your fate… You could spend the rest of your life on the run, living in fear… or you could leave this island with me and Strawhat ya's crew to aid us in overthrowing Doflamingo. None of them are easy choices, but I can't force you to make a decision.”
Leona didn't respond. She just stared at the floor, silently sobbing and hiccuping as the three choices rotated in her mind over and over like some fucked up carousel.
“AGH!”
Leona's head shot up at Law's sudden yelp, surprised to find that he was clutching his hand away from the disembodied head of Yoshie on the table, who had apparently just bitten him.
“That's what you get fo’ making Miss Panumbwa sad!” She bellowed.
“YEAH!! HOW DARE YOU MAKE HER CRY!!” the children booed.
Leona couldn't help the snort that left her. She should be scolding this behaviour, buuut…. It was kind of funny…
“You brats! How would you like to stay in pieces!?” Law yelled at them, making the children scream.
Leona was about to settle everyone down when the door suddenly slammed open, followed by a shout. “What are you doing to them!?”
“Chopper?” Leona gasped.
Abject horror spread over Chopper’s face at what he saw, and he ran away shrieking. “LUFFYYY!!!”
“Chopper, wait!!” Leona shouted.
“Great, another massive pain in my ass…” Law grumbled.
Leona got up, sighing. “I’ll go after him…”
She stepped out onto the deck, following the sound of Chopper’s cries. “YOU HAVE TO STOP HIM!! HURRYYY!”
“CHOPPER!” Leona called. “Please, you’ve got it all wrong!”
“How could I POSSIBLY be wrong about what I saw!? Law’s killing them!!!”
“The heck is he talking about, Pepperoni?” Luffy asked.
“It’s okay!” Leona said. “Law is removing the toxins from their bodies with his Devil Fruit. He said it's his ‘system’ or something. They’re all alive!”
Another set of shrieking sobs caught everyone’s attention. It was Brook this time.
“M-Mr. Soul King, sir? What’s the matter?” Leona asked.
“I-I murdered someone, too!!” the skeleton confessed. “I mean, Kin’emon was already dead, but… I SHATTERED HIS BODYYYY!!!”
“WHAAAAAAT!?!?”
Sanji, Luffy and Leona began panicking at Kin’emon’s now desecrated remains.
“HE’S DEAD, AND YOU SHATTERED HIM!?”
“YOU KILLED HIM AGAIN!?”
“WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO, MR. SOUL KING, SIR!?”
“HOW DO I FIX HIMM!?” Brook sobbed.
“What do you MEAN fix him!? He’s already dead! Sanji barked.
“W-w-w-what if we glued him back together!?” Luffy asked.
Leona leapt over the rail and onto the dock. “Glue isn’t going to bring him back to life, Luffy! Be serious!!”
But then, a true miracle happened. Kin’emon actually did revive, breaking free of his shell like an egg. This, of course, scared everyone absolutely shitless, so much so that Sanji nailed him in the face with a roundhouse kick.
“You’re supposed to be dead!!” he yelled as the samurai was knocked backwards.
“W-wait, Sanji! Don’t hurt him! What if you ended up killing him for real!?” Leona cried.
“...Oops, sorry. It was a reflex, I promise.”
“F-Father…!?” a young voice cried.
When everyone turned, there was a pink dragon—a very small one— standing on its back legs with tears in its eyes.
“Another dragon…?” Leona wondered aloud.
The ‘dragon’ didn’t stay one for long, though, as it suddenly burst into a cloud of orange smoke. When it cleared, what remained… was a crying, naked little boy with his hair done up in a samurai-style haircut.
“Muh… Momonosuke…!?” Kin’emon gasped.
“Y-you’re… you’re alive…!” the boy sobbed.
Finally reunited after so long, the father and son ran into each other’s arms, bawling their eyes out.
“Huh? That kid’s Momo?” Luffy wondered aloud. “Oh yeah, he did say somethin’ about bein’ human once…”
Brook raised his finger into the air. “Ah, so the tiny dragon was Kin’emon’s son! How wonderful that they’re reuni—”
“UWAAHHHH!!!”
Leona’s own sudden blubbering cut off Brook. “Th-thank… thank goodneeessss!!! Oh, Momonosukeee!! I was so worriiiieeed!!!”
The strawhats looked at her, then at each other, a smile creeping on their faces.
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As time ticks down, Leona and the Strawhats race to save the children. However, things quickly go from bad to terrible...
CW: This slow burn fic delves into some distressing topics such as drug addiction, violence, gore, and dark themes. Please check AO3 for all tags.
Specific CW for children being harmed and mild emetophobia
Character reference || Masterlist
Previous || Next
Well, the plan was to go help the children, but unfortunately, the G5 seemed to ignore Smoker's orders in favour of arresting pirates. With guns and swords drawn, they threatened Leona, the Strawhats, and the other few miscellaneous lawbreakers of her group.
One of them spoke. “I have no idea what Trafalgar meant when he said we only have two hours, but we aren't letting you get away, Strawhats! You have nowhere to run!”
Leona's hackles raised. “Can you do this later!? There are kids in danger downstairs!”
“Save it, knight girl!” Another barked. “We're Marines! It's our job to catch high-profile pirates. If we don't do this now, we’ll never get another chance!”
“Stand down!” Zoro demanded, grabbing the hilts of two of his blades, but the G5 Marines did not waver.
Soul King and the samurai also stepped forward, readying their blades. This made the G5 get noticeably antsy, which the three took as their time to strike. They and the Marines entered battle as Usopp, Nami, Sanji, and Leona all climbed up onto Brownbeard.
“That's our boys!” Usopp cheered. “Way to go!”
Leona perched on top of Brownbeard's shoulder, forming another moonglass bow and arrow. “Let's charge! I'll cover the rear in case they start coming after us.”
“Much obliged, little nur— uh… little miss!” Brownbeard thanked, remembering what Leona had told him prior.
Leona smiled. “We should be thanking you for carrying us.”
“Yeah! It's a huge help!” Sanji exclaimed.
“Don't mention it! But uh… I am curious as to why you brought that dragon along.”
“Oh, uh…” Sanji muttered, staring back at the drowsy-looking green dragon Leona somehow hadn't noticed earlier. “Well, the original plan was to make it fly us away from the gas, but… he didn't even make it off the ground.”
“That's because he's pumped full of sedatives, lad,” Brownbeard explains. “That monster would be rainin’ hell in here if he hadn't been. Once they wear off, we might be in a bit o’ trouble. Y'shoulda just left it outside!”
“...I missed a lot more while I was down in the nursery than I thought.” Leona thought aloud, firing a warning shot at some Marines who began to chase Brownbeard's tail.
“G5! This is no time to fight! Head to the back passage immediately!” Everyone heard Tashigi yell.
The G5 stopped to listen to their Captain. “There's only one safe corridor out of the building, and the door's already closing! Caesar plans to trap us all here, and if we don't get through that gate, he'll get his wish! Hurry and get through that gate!”
Leona breathed a sigh of relief. “At least there are some Marines that actually have a brain…”
“Indeed.” Robin agreed.
…
Wait, what the fuck?
“Robin!” Leona gasps.
Usopp slid down Brownbeard's back. “Hey! Where'd you run off to?”
Robin smiled. “Luffy just had me do him a little favour, that's all.”
Nami decided to steer the conversation to what was actually important. “You heard that Navy Captain, right, Brownie? Run faster! The gate's closing!”
“I-I'm… I'm sorry, lass… I can't go any faster…” Brownbeard panted.
“I'm sick to death of all this running!” The samurai complained.
“Getting tired on us, now?” Zoro needled.
“ABSOLUTELY NOT!”
Soul King spoke up. “Well, seeing as I'm not a samurai, I can feel justified in saying it… I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!”
BOOOOOM!!!
There was a sudden, deafening explosion, followed by a horrific sight that made Leona cry out—the gas. Someone had breached a wall to the outside and allowed the gas in!
“Hurry it up, Brownie!!!” Usopp and Nami screamed as the poor man did his damn best.
Leona watched in terror as more and more G5 soldiers got swallowed up by the gas, their screams of fear and agony bouncing off the walls. She wanted to run back and help, but she knew she couldn't. Not when she had her kids to save. She screwed her eyes tight with trembling fists. “I'm sorry… dammit… I'm so sorry…”
“Hang on tight, everyone!!!” Brownbeard bellowed. Leona yelped when the massive man suddenly leapt off the ground, slamming his tail onto the floor to spring himself sideways through the quickly closing gap in the gate.
When Brownbeard hit the ground, Leona was flung off his shoulder into the air with a scream. She quickly used her abilities to float her armour in midair.
“EEEEEEKK!!”
The relief was short-lived, though, when Tashigi suddenly flew through the gap like she had been thrown.
“Tashigi!” Leona managed to catch her by the waist in midair as she flew toward her. “I got you! Are you okay?”
Tashigi gasped. “My men! Put me down!”
Leona gently lowered herself to the floor, and Tashigi didn't even wait for her boots to touch the ground to start rushing back. Unfortunately, the men who had made it over got in her way.
“Move! There are still Marines back there! I have to help them!”
“You can't, Captain! It's way too dangerous!” One protested.
As Tashigi struggled against her subordinates, Leona gazed at the soldiers with haunted eyes through the rapidly shrinking gap in the doors. One by one, she could sense the wavelengths of each man's terrified emotions being suppressed and weakened. Pain, helplessness, and anguish… hitting her all at once like the waves of a deadly storm eroding a cliff. Even if she were to reach out her hand or pry the doors open for just a second longer, it'd be far too late for them all. They were all infected and crystallizing fast.
And yet, she realized, among it all, she could sense another emotion just as strong, if not stronger… Devotion. Selfless devotion to their team and to their Captain. The devotion to sacrifice their lives so that the others may live.
Leona decided that if she couldn't save a single one, then the very best she could do for them was offer them a piece of solace in their last moments. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath…
“YOUR CAPTAIN AND FELLOW MEN HAVE MADE IT THROUGH UNHARMED! WE PROMISE THAT YOUR SACRIFICES WILL NOT GO IN VAIN! THANK YOU, BRAVE G5!!!”
Tashigi froze at this, eyes wide when she caught a final glimpse at the remains of her men before the doors shut for good. Their final poses did not show frozen agony or fear. Instead, each one showed a prideful thumbs-up.
While the wavelengths of their emotions grew dull, a slight shift had emerged amid the cacophony of agony before they faded completely. There was a small glimmer… of peace.
Leona opened her eyes and walked up to Tashigi, gently touching her shoulder. “My condolences, Miss Tashigi, ma’am.”
“Dammit…!” Tashigi sobbed. “I couldn’t save any of them…!”
“We have to focus on the mission at hand. We can’t afford to grieve… not while Caesar is still free to do whatever he wants.”
“But…!”
“Look at me, Captain,” Leona said, getting in front of her and firmly gripping her shoulders. “Right now, your men need you. It's fucking terrible, but if we waste any time grieving, who knows how many more will end up the same? Your men saved your life to lead the rest, and I know you care for them, so don't throw that away!”
Tashigi's eyes widened, flitting up to meet Leona's intense gaze from within her darkened helmet. “You—”
“Penumbra! Hurry!” Nami yelled from Brownbeard's back as he was taking off.
“C-coming!” Leona replied. She turned back to Tashigi. “I have to go, but please, Captain, stay strong.”
Tashigi watched as Leona sprinted to catch up to her group and leapt back up onto Brownbeard's shoulder. As they ran off down the hall, she scrubbed her eyes dry and fixed her glasses.
“...Thank you.”
***
“I can't believe he compromised his own lab. He must really want us dead.” Robin remarked, staring down the hallway toward the opposite end where they had come from.
“I get the feeling this Caesar fellow might not be entirely right in the head…” Soul King muttered.
“What gave it away?” Leona huffed, crossing her legs.
Usopp removed his coat, looking around for a moment before hanging it on one of the osteoderms on Brownbeard's new reptilian back, as if it were a coat rack. “Well, no matter the case, it's good we managed to escape. But that doesn't mean we're safe by any stretch.”
“That's right… We have to find those kids ASAP and then get our asses over to Gate 66. Penumbra! Do you know where the Biscuits Room is from here?”
Leona looked around. “We're close to room B… I'm sure Caesar must've cut the power to the elevators, so we'll need to take the stairs down to the 3rd floor once we're in the next room.”
“The sooner we get off this island, the better.” Sanji huffed, blowing a cloud of smoke and ashing his cigarette. “I’m fed up.”
“Hey!” Zoro called over to Brownbeard. “Can’t you run any faster?”
Brownbeard whipped his head back, nearly knocking Leona off balance. “Are you KIDDING me!?” he roared. “When the hell did so many of ye get on my back!? It’s getting heavy!!”
“You’ll have to forgive us, Brownbeard, but you’ll need to tough it out. We have no other choice.” Zoro said.
“There is? It better be a damn good reason!” Brownbeard shot back.
“We’ve been running all day, and now we don’t want to.”
“Ugh, now that you mention it… I’m gonna be so sore after this...” Leona grimaced while subconsciously rubbing at the dreaded future knee pains. She was absolutely not looking forward to being unable to walk or sit properly for possible weeks.
“THAT'S A TERRIBLE REASON! GET OFF OF ME!” Brownbeard howled.
“You know, it's kind of stuffy in here,” Zoro says, ignoring Brownbeard and stripping his winter coat.
“Just hang it up here with mine.” Usopp offered.
“You're right, I'm taking mine off too,” Nami said, stripping her own coat. Though, since the samurai made it, it dissolved into a puff of pink smoke. “Penumbra, aren't you warm in all of that? Why not shed some to keep it breathable?”
“I'd prefer not to leave any openings for weapons to slip through,” Leona explained. “Thank you for your concern, though.”
“Hey! My back isn't a lounge!” Brownbeard griped. “If you aren't hurt, get down and run for yourselves!”
“I'm a bit peckish.” Soul King hummed. “Brownbeard, you wouldn't happen to have some snacks back here, would you?”
Leona turned to Nami. “I-isn't he…?” she gestured vaguely at his skeletal self.
“Yeah, we have no idea how it works either.” She shook her head.
“Shut up!! As soon as I get to the post where my men are all stationed, I'm bucking you all off and going my own way!”
“Thank you for putting up with us, Brownbeard,” Leona said to him. “Your help really means the world.
“I HAD NO CHOICE!!!”
“Oh Nursemaid, I had just thought of something!” the samurai said.
“Hm?”
“When that woman got thrown through the door, you were flying with magic and caught her in the air, right? How fast can you fly?”
“If you're asking me to somehow carry you on my back and fly down the hallway, I'll have to decline. Not only am I much too small to carry all of you, but my powers take energy. I'd collapse very quickly.”
“Ah, I see. A shame.” He nodded.
“You have to remember that Penumbra is running on fumes at this point,” Sanji said, taking a drag. “You shouldn't ask her to exert herself so much.”
Sanji's cheeks became rosy. “I'm just looking out for you, my sweet Penum—”
Sanji suddenly went rigid, as if he were detecting something.
“...Sanji? Are you okay?” Soul King asks.
“Something happened, I have to leave.”
“Leave? Why? What happened?” Usopp asks.
Sanji didn't respond. Instead, he leapt off of Brownbeard and took off in the opposite direction like a bat out of hell.
“SANJI!! WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?” Nami cried. “GET BACK HERE!”
A stretch of silence passed before Usopp spoke again. “...Why do you think he took off like that?”
“I think I felt a dangerous presence creeping up. He might've gone after it.” Zoro guessed.
“Dangerous presence?” Leona muttered. She tapped into her Observation Haki to try to discern what it was, but gasped when she sensed an instant, overwhelming flood of murderous intent. However, it wasn't human murderous intent. No, this wavelength felt much more simple. Territorial, animalistic even. The fact it's so strong could only mean…!
“It's here!” Leona shouted, readying her bow.
“Oh, what now!?” Usopp groaned.
Flying overhead was the dragon that had been brought from the outside, yet now he seemed far more aggressive.
“Oh, the dragon we didn't ride on.” Soul King remarked.
“Why does he look different?” Nami questioned.
“Huh? Ah, hell. The sedatives must've worn off.” Brownbeard grumbled.
“Pick up the pace, Brownbeard!” Leona commanded, firing arrows at the beast.
The dragon was much more agile than she had anticipated; however, weaving between shots before diving forward with bared fangs, as if he was about to snatch the group in his jaws.
“We're gonna die!!!” Usopp screeched.
“That flame breath could instantly turn us to char.” Robin calmly mused.
“No one asked for your academic analysis!”
Nami jumped down from Brownbeard's shoulder. “Get up and do something, Brook!” She cried.
“Huh?”
“Yeah! It's all up to you now!’
“WHAT!?” the skeleton shrieked as Usopp and Nami shoved him forward bit by bit. “Why are you putting this on me!? I'm scared of it too, you know!!”
“You're the only one who can do this! You're the oldest!” Nami insisted.
“You shouldn't sacrifice your elders!!!”
Leona lowered her bow, interested to see what a living skeleton was capable of in a fight, especially against a dragon.
…and yet, instead of actually doing anything, Soul King (Brook?) just… screamed. Surprisingly, though, once the dragon got close, he sniffed the man before seeming completely disinterested and going back to terrorizing from above.
“Huh? Huh!? HEY!!!” Brook cried.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake…” Leona bemoaned, going back to firing arrows as best she could at a moving target on unstable footing. “Fucking— ugh! Brownbeard! Quit moving your shoulders so much!”
“Can't ye just do that from my back!?” He argued.
“Oh, I'd love to, truly! But I don't trust these guys enough to not panic their way into my line of fire!”
“...Aye, fair enough, that.”
The dragon, now somehow angrier, spewed streams of flame all over the area.
“He's causing a lot more damage than the big one did. Pretty damn cool, actually.” Zoro observed from a reclined position.
“Would ye get the hell off my back and fight it!? It's settin’ the whole damn buildin’ on fire!!” Brownbeard barked.
“This is bad, isn't it? What happens if one of these tanks gets too hot and explodes?” Usopp pondered.
“Then we either all die in the blast, or it'll rupture a wall and let in the gas! What the hell do you think!?” Leona snapped. The fact that she was the only one doing anything at the moment while simultaneously doing nothing to the dragon was beginning to immensely piss her off.
“Oh! Well, okay then, does anyone want to slay the dragon!?”
“Look no further, my long-nosed friend!” The samurai declared, striking a pose reminiscent of Wanoan Kabuki Theatre. “I happen to have a score to settle with dragonkind, so my fury shall be unbridled! By the might of his blade, I do swear, the beast shall be destro—”
“Not so fast!” Brook interrupted, shoving the samurai aside, blade drawn. “That loathsome beast has done me a great wrong, and I shall reclaim my honour in blood!”
“You just met it today.” Usopp reminded him.
Brook suddenly (somehow) looked saddened. “While that is true, did you not notice its cruelty before!? He charged to consume me, and then turned me away as if I were just some bag of bones! Which I mean is true, but I'm sensitive about that!!”
“Dragons need real nutrition, I guess.” Usopp shrugged.
“I'll have you know that bones are plenty nutritious!!!” Brook shrieked.
“I COULD USE SOME HELP, PLEASE!” Leona yelled at them.
“Er… yes! Kin'emon, I insist you allow me to vanquish this dragon!”
“I shall take your revenge, so stand back!”
“I'll do it myself!!”
“You shall not!”
“I shall too!”
“You shall no—”
“AAAAGH QUIT FUCKING MOVING AREADY!!” Leona screamed. Out of sheer overwhelming frustration, she shattered her bow and gathered energy above her head in a wide range, which solidified into hundreds of moonglass arrows.
“Waning Crescent: Lunaris Volley!!!”
With a snap of her fingers, Leona fired a hail of arrows that the dragon couldn't weave through. They tore through his leathery wings and skewered his body until he resembled a pincushion. With an agonized howl, the beast plummeted to the floor in a bleeding heap.
“Ah…” the samurai and Brook muttered. They then suddenly realized the dragon was vulnerable and rushed to be the first to finish the beast by themself, all while bickering.
Leona panted heavily before releasing the rest of her frustration with a furious scream of “GODDAMMIT!!!” that startled everyone.
She then sat back down, rubbing her temples and continuing to catch her breath. “Sorry, I… it was just…” she gasped. “Way too much all at once…“
“Are you okay, little miss?” Brownbeard asks.
“Yeah, I just… d-don't worry about it, I'm… I'm fine.” She then quickly muttered under her breath, “Fuck, that took a lot out of me. Why'd I do that…?”
When Leona looked back up, Kin'emon—if Leona had heard correctly— and Brook were kicking and insulting the dragon's corpse, which was now smouldering for some reason. Perhaps one of them had an attack involving fire that Leona hadn't seen? It didn't matter either way. At one point, Brook had ceased his assault and looked rather concerned as Kin'emon's just grew angrier and seemed more personal.
“They've been at that for a while,” Robin muttered as Brownbeard continued to carry everyone further away.
Nami rolled her eyes and yelled. “BROOK! GET YOUR BONY ASS BACK ON BROWNIE'S TAIL, OR ELSE WE'RE LEAVING YOU BEHIND!!”
“EEEK! PLEASE WAIT!!!” Brook's shrill cry echoed off the walls as he and Kin'emon sprinted to catch up.
A sudden rumbling caught Nami and Leona's attention, and they looked up towards the overhead bridge to witness the now awake children, still very deep in their withdrawals, stampeding with weapons in hand. The most shocking part, however, was that they charged at Chopper, who was in his monster point form.
“That doesn't sound good!” Robin gasped.
“CHOPPER, STOP!! PUT THEM DOWN! YOU'LL HURT THEM!!!” Leona cried out when Chopper let out a terrifying roar, snatching up children in his massive hands while tanking beatings from others.
Leona grabbed Nami's shoulders in her panic. “I know he went berserk last time because it was Franky inside his body, but how good is HE at controlling that monster form!?”
“He's trained for two years to be able to control it, so he should be completely sapient…”
“Should?! You mean you don’t know for sure?!”
“EEAGGH! LET GO! YOU'RE HURTING ME!!” A distant boy's voice echoed from above.
“Oh, fuck my life…!” Leona gasped, jumping off Brownbeard's shoulder and bolting up the stairs.
“Penumbra!” Usopp called after her.
“We need to help her! Hurry!” Nami cried, jumping off Brownbeard. Everyone else followed suit.
By the time Leona got up to the bridge, the children had forced their way into the Biscuits Room, and Chopper was now back to normal, battered, and sobbing on the floor.
“CHOPPER!” Leona cried, rushing forward and scooping him up.
“Ah! Penumbra!!” Chopper gasped. Tears began to pour from his eyes. “You're okay!!”
“I could say the same to you!” Leona panted as she ran.
“Thank god you're alright!” Nami said as everyone caught up.
Brook chortled. “It looks like we’re just in time!”
“I-I’m so… I’m so glad you’re all here...! I can’t handle them alone!” Chopper wailed.
“What happened after Caesar brought them back?” Leona asked.
“When I was escaping Caesar’s lab, I managed to run into Mocha being harassed by a bunch of guards into coming with them, but she was hallucinating and in hysterics! I took out the guards and injected her with a sedative, so she’s the only one in her right mind… she was helping me guard the door and keep the candy away from the others, but I… I was too weak to hold them back!” The poor thing sniffled. “Now she’s all alone in the Biscuits Room with the candy! She’s in danger!!”
Leona felt her heart plummet into her stomach. “Shit! We’re coming, Mocha!!”
When they finally reached the Biscuits Room, the kids were already pretty far across the floor. “EVERYONE, PLEASE STOP!!” Leona called out to them as loudly as she could. “LEAVE MOCHA ALONE RIGHT THIS INSTANT! PLEASE, LISTEN TO YOUR TEACHER!!!” But of course, it wasn’t enough to stop them.
Leona handed Chopper off to Nami and retrieved her whistle, trying her best to get the crowd of kids to at least stop. But when that didn’t work, Robin crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“MIL FLEUR - GIGANTASCO MANO!”
On her command, thousands of human arms sprouted from the floor in front of the children, fusing together to form a giant pair of hands that blocked the way. “I’ll hold them off while you go find the girl!”
“Th-thank you so much, Robin!” Leona gasped, sprinting ahead.
It wasn’t long before the children started finding creative ways to bypass the giant hands. Still, thankfully, through the stampede, Leona had spotted Mocha bravely guarding a giant wrapper full of candies close to her chest and begging the others to see reason.
“MOCHA!!” she cried. “It’s no use, sweetheart, they won’t listen! Hurry and run!”
“B-but, Miss Penumbra—!”
“Just do it! I’ll help you get away, so please, for the love of god, RUN!!!”
Mocha yelped, making a mad dash for the exit. Leona followed close behind, weaving through and sliding under the legs of several angered kids to get there. However… there was yet another obstacle.
Leona had felt it before it happened. The telltale icy chill shooting up her spine, signalling the dreaded reappearance of one of the two people she prayed wouldn’t show up at this moment.
A frigid wind blasted through the broken doorway, making everyone shield their faces. When it had subsided, the door was completely sealed with packed snow.
“Goddammit, not now! Where are you hiding!?” Leona cried.
“Did you forget how to look up, Penumbra dear?”
Perched atop the second-level railing… was her.
“Ah! Miss Monet!” Mocha gasped joyfully.
“Who the hell is she?” Leona heard Zoro mutter from farther away.
Usopp shrieked, apparently recognizing Monet. “That’s her! The crazy bird woman I told you guys about!!”
“Miss Monet, please help me! Please!” Mocha cried.
“Mocha no!” Leona gasped. “She’s not—”
“Oh Mocha dear, you shouldn’t hog all of that candy for yourself. Be a good little girl and share with everyone else, okay? Monet crooned.
“...huh?”
Monet licked her lips and used her abilities to create a blizzard within the confined space, then flapped down from her perch. “I won’t say it again, Mocha, my dear. Please share the candies with your friends. Stop being greedy and do as you’re—”
THHWUNK!
Monet was unable to finish her sentence when an arrow suddenly flew and lodged itself in her forehead. The harpy’s golden eyes flitted upwards at the projectile before zeroing in on Leona, who held a newly conjured moonglass bow. “My my. Was that necessary, Penumbra?”
“I’m not letting you hurt these kids anymore, Monet…” Leona panted. “I refuse… to kneel to your torment! These children will be going home, and if we have to… haah… have to kill you… then so be it!!”
Monet stared for a moment before her face warped into a sly grin. “You say that, and yet you look moments from falling over! Oh, poor Penumbra, are you tired? Did running around all day take a toll on you? That must be why you’ve teamed up with the Strawhat Pirates, isn’t it? You’re too weak to fight by yourself!”
Leona didn’t want to admit it… But Monet was right. She’s been ignoring the burning in her legs and using her abilities this entire time for the sake of the children, and she didn’t know how much longer she had before she’d faint from the exhaustion.
Suddenly, Monet disappeared, and Leona drew her bow in a panic.
“You two!” Robin’s voice called toward Usopp and Brook. “We don’t have much time! Find seastone handcuffs! I’ll do my best to handle the children!”
“Luffy asked me to go find some! Now go!” She then turned to Leona. “Hey, Penumbra!”
“Huh?”
“You don’t have to do this alone! Let us take care of the heavy stuff! Just focus on your duty as a caretaker!”
“But—!”
“Trust us, Penumbra!” Nami spoke up.
Leona was speechless for a moment, but realized she couldn’t argue. She swallowed her pride, nodded, then turned back to Mocha. “Mocha! I need you to carry me. Could you do that?”
“Huh? Um… okay, Miss Penumbra…” Mocha obeyed, picking Leona up and letting her climb up on her shoulder.
“I know it’s scary, but I need you to run as fast as possible and smash through that snow wall. I’ll guide you to somewhere safe, so don’t worry. You need to be a brave girl, Mocha. Are you ready?”
Mocha gulped, clearly terrified, but nodded anyway.
“Good girl. Alright… GO!”
Mocha began sprinting for the exit while Robin prepared to hold the children back. There was a scream, and Mocha wanted to turn back and look, but Leona pushed her face back forward. “Don’t look back, Mocha! You need to run!”
Tears spilled from the young girl’s eyes, but she nodded, using her shoulder to break through the packed snow and into the hallway.
“Right, Mocha! Go right!” Leona instructed.
Mocha turned, gripping the candy for dear life as Leona led her through the winding halls.
“W-where are we going, Miss Penumbra?” Mocha panted.
“Downstairs, there are holding rooms we can lock ourselves in! The doors are very sturdy, so we should be safe!”
“O-okay!”
“You can’t take the candy for yourself, Mocha!! You better share!!” the voices of the angry children following close behind cried out.
“You can’t have them!! They’re bad for you!!” Mocha wailed.
“Listen to Mocha!” Leona attempted to reason.
“Cien Fleur!”
A hundred arms sprouted from the floors and walls, tripping up a number of kids and pinning them to the floor.
“We’re giving them some sedatives!” Nami shouted. “Just keep running!!”
“Thank you!!” Leona cried.
“Miss Penumbra… I-I’m tired…!” Mocha sobbed.
“I know, I know, sweetie… please hold on, okay? We’re almost there, I promise…” Leona whispered, stroking her hair. “Take a right and go down the stairs at this fork!”
Despite her efforts, Mocha couldn’t help but slow down and stop while descending the stairs. “I-I can’t… I need.. To rest…” she wheezed.
“Shit, okay,” Leona whispered, heart beating out of her chest. “Just take a second. I think Miss Nami and Miss Robin managed to hold the rest back. Are you okay, Mocha?”
“I’m so scared, Miss Penumbra!” she sobbed, tears pouring down her face. “I-I wanna go home! I want my mama!!”
Leona hugged the side of her giant head and stroked her messy hair. “Shh, I know, my love, I know… and we’ll get you there, I promise. But we need to get through the scary part. You’ll be alright. You’ll all be alright, and no one will die.”
“D-do you promise…?”
The blonde’s eyes welled with tears. She tried to suck in a breath and keep herself together, though her voice trembled. “Yes, sweetheart, I promise. Now, do you think you can keep going?”
Mocha nodded. “Y-yeah, I should…”
“CAAAANDYYY!!!”
“Oh shit!” Leona cried. “We stayed here too long! Hurry, Moch—”
Mocha could hardly take a step before the kids descended upon her, tugging on her hair and clothes to try to pry the candy from her death grip. The force of it knocked Leona from her shoulder and tumbling all the way down the stairs.
“MISS PENUMBRAAA!!!” Mocha screamed. “STOP IT!! STOP!! YOU HURT MISS PENUMBRA! HOW COULD YOU?!”
“Nngh! Leona grunted, struggling to pick herself up. “I’m okay, Mocha! Hold on, I’m coming!!”
Leona tried to get up the stairs as fast as she could, despite her shaking limbs and blurring vision. The stress of everything made her stomach churn, and she could barely hear the arrival of Nami, Robin, and Chopper through her ringing ears.
At a point, her knee buckled, and she felt the telltale burning in her throat. She gagged and slapped a hand over her mouth. ‘Fuck, not now! Hold it down!’
The crowd of kids pinned Mocha down while she screamed at them to stop. Leona took a few breaths, raising her head to yell some more… but when she did… Mocha ripped open the wrapper… and began shoving handfuls and handfuls of the red candies… into her mouth…
For a moment, it felt like time slowed to a complete stop.
“Mocha…” Leona whimpered, frozen in place. “What… what did you just…?”
It took until the candy gas puffed out of her lips and nose for Leona to snap out of her stupor.
“MOCHAA!!!” Leona and Chopper screamed, scrambling towards her and pushing past any child in their way. “MOCHA! SPIT THOSE OUT RIGHT NOW!!”
“I’m shorry…” Mocha tried to speak through her full cheeks. Gas spewed out with every word. “Vey’re all… my fremns…!”
She reared her head back, and Leona climbed up her dress. “DON’T MOCHA! DON’T YOU DARE—”
GULP!
But it was too late… Mocha had swallowed… every single candy.
The ringing in Leona’s ears deafened the screams of everyone around her, even her own, when Mocha started coughing uncontrollably and tumbled down the rest of the stairs to the bottom. There, she spat a frightening amount of blood from her mouth, sobbing and wheezing in agony.
Thinking about when i went to get a deep tissue massage in november cause i was having terrible back pain issues and the lady i saw revealed that my back wasn't the issue, my ENTIRE BODY was the issue.
