The Marionette

Chapter 9: Farewell, Dressrosa

You blinked as you looked down at the ground outside of your bedroom door, a small note taped to a box sat at your feet with Viola's name written in cursive. You kneeled down and sat your duffel bag beside you while carefully unfolding the note, surprised that she would even bother to leave anything for you. You held the note up and read the small paragraph written in neat lettering:

"I won't be seeing you off today, but I wish you luck. You'll need this out there as you don't have my eyesight anymore to help.
-V"

You sighed while setting the note aside, of course she'd still worry about you even after all the cold things you said to her. You gently picked the light blue box up and slid the cardboard lid off while peeking inside, a pair of black binoculars sitting in it. You smirked while holding them up and looking through the lenses, watching as everything around zoomed in. After making sure they worked, you placed them inside of your duffle bag and folded up the note while stowing it away in your pocket.

You stood up and slung the duffle bag strap around your shoulder and made your way down beneath the city of Dressrosa where hidden ports were located. As you walked through the streets, everyone became a blur around you, almost as if you were walking through shadows. Your eyes were glued to the ground, tuning out conversations and giggles from small children as you disassociated from your surroundings. It wasn't until you descended down into the harbor that you snapped back to reality and gazed up at Diamante and Doflamingo who both were positioned by a small ship. Toys were bustling around carrying boxes onto some other cargo ships that were positioned around, some human workers directing the toys where to go. You could tell they were on edge by how stiff and robotic the workers were being... and for good reason as Doflamingo didn't always come down.

"I was beginning to worry you weren't going to show," Doflamingo greeted you while shoving his hands into his pants pockets. "But anyways, we have some few things to discuss with you," he grinned, "Diamante here has hand picked out this ship for you." He turned to look at the smaller ship that was docked beside you three.

"I call it Crow," Diamante chimed in, "I think it matches you, no?" You could tell he was proud of himself, his chest puffed out and his smile ever growing wider. "So, what do you think? She's small enough that you can easily man her by yourself and small enough to conceal!"

You stepped closer and walked around so you were facing the giant crows head which served as the figurehead. The ship itself was painted a darker blue with gold trimmings, the wood having carvings of feathers as decorations. The Jolly Roger itself was that of Doflamingo's, which you weren't too pleased with as overall you quite liked the aesthetic. "I like it Diamante, you did good," you thanked him with a short nod.

"Oh, no, stop," Diamante responded while waving his hand in front of his face, "it was nothing." He then stopped, almost as if remembering something, "I have a gift for you, I know swordsmanship was never your strong suit, but you're going to need this." With that said, Diamante grabbed a sword which was sheathed to his waist band and handed it over to you. "You didn't know this, but I also trained Trafalgar Law," he grimly said as he watched you take the sword from his hands.

You immediately unsheathed the sword and rotated it to inspect the blade along with the hilt. The grip itself was encased in black wrappings and the blade being a  darker grey color accentuated by silver. You could tell by holding it how much personality it had, even with it appearing new. "I'll try to make good use of it," you said in a satisfying tone, "even if my swordsmanship is lacking."

"I'm assuming your father taught you how to read maps?" Doflamingo interrupted your admiration of the sword as he handed you something.