•Black Hat•

•33•

Luffy had Pearl's name on his lips, ready to shout it but she shook her head negatively and mouthed:

No.

"Took you long enough!" Doflamingo said sarcastically.

At that moment a beaten up man walked in. His name was Bellamy, pearl knew him. He was a good for nothing pirate that admired Doffy like a god, but his god seemed to have betrayed him since he had ordered someone to kill him. Luffy appeared to know the man as well and took his humiliation to heart.

"MINGO!" The black haired boy shouted as he attacked him.

Doflamingo was quite taken aback but acted swiftly by using Bellamy as a shield. Doflamingo then attacked Law with a string clone while he took control of Bellamy and forced him to attack Luffy.

"No! I'm not going to fight with you!" He said refusing to attack Bellamy, and to his opponents' confusion, he charged toward Law instead. Law then used Shambles to switch places with Doflamingo, causing Luffy to hit Doflamingo with Red Hawk while Law cut Trebol into pieces.

"Mugiwara-ya are you out of your mind?" Law shouted at him but Luffy replied to him with a wide smile.

But Doflamingo was still standing on his feet.

"I don't have time for this". He hissed and moved his fingers giving orders to his string clone. The clone then sent Luffy and Bellamy inside the palace, leaving Doflamingo alone with Law.

Law's eyes were burning and Pearl finally understood why.

"I've done so much for you Law. I forgave you when you ate the ope ope no mi. I made you my Corazon! And despite everything I gave you you've turned against me!" He hissed angrily and this time his smile had disappeared from his lips.

"No. It was Corazon who made me into the man I am today!" Law replied.

Doflamingo charged against him in fury but Law seemed to be having the upper hand in this fight. He managed to pierce through Doffy's stomach with his sword but that didn't last long.

Doflamingo seemed to regain the lead as he stopped all of Laws upcoming attacks.

"It was foolish of you to come alone, Law!" Doflamingo hissed and to Pearl's and Law's terror he sliced of his arm.

Pearl cry was overtaken by Law's scream as he rolled around the floor bawling. Doflamingo then, took a gun out of his belt and prepared to shout him when Pearl jumped in front of him.

"No!" She cried not even realizing herself the moment her feet had moved. Doflamingo glared at her in a questioning manner. "Doffy" She began, her voice shaking. "Don't shoot him, please. He's of more use to you alive than dead right?" She asked trying to steady her voice. "You said it yourself you need his power if you want to become immortal!"

"When did I ever say that to you?" He said and looked at Law to made sure that he was still lying behind her.

"You talk quite a bit sometimes!" She said jokingly and tried to crack a smile.

"And why exactly do you protect him?"

"Because I know it would be foolish to shoot him, you'd have to go searching the fruit again, and apart from that I owe this man my life! So please Doffy, will you keep him alive for me?" She asked and Doffy grinned.

Pearl breathed out relaxing, and let her hands fall to her sides. She gave Doffy a forced smile and took a step closer to him when suddenly Doflamingo fired his gun three times.

"NO!" She shrieked and ran to Law's body.

Doflamingo broke down in laughter. "I didn't have you for the sentimental type!" He managed in between his laughter.

"Why? Why?" She shouted not knowing what to do with his body in front of her. She couldn't find the courage to touch it, she could only look at it in shock while tears came up to her eyes.

Suddenly a shadow covered her face and she lifted her head to look at the person standing in front of her.

"Move away Pearl" Luffy ordered her in a low voice and she did as he instructed, crawling to the side still not being able to voice any of her thoughts. Luffy turned to her once more. "Leave" He said "please" he added.

Pearl reached the edge of the roof and looked down. Without giving it a second thought she jumped off but suddenly she felt her self landing on the cold marble gently.

"Would you grieve for me the way you grieved for Ace?" She heard a familiar voice next to her.

Lifting her head to see was speaking to her she swallowed a cry of joy.

"You're alive!" She said seeing Law lying beside her leaning on his left elbow and immediately she gave him a loud slap across his cheek. "You scared me!" She muttered afterwards

"Hi kiddo" Law managed to crack a half smile. The sight of her tear stained cheeks seemed to amuse him.

"How-?" She got ready to ask him but he interrupted her.

"I've made a big room all around the palace!" He explained. "Look! I have a plan, I just have to tell Luffy!"

She nodded but then she heard a girls shriek coming from the flower field beneath them. Pearl knew that voice it was Rebecca's! Without even speaking a word to Law she jumped off the cliff and gallantly landed between the flowers.

Rebecca had fallen down between the sunflowers and Diamante was standing over her with a gun pointed at her chests. In a second she found herself digging her blades on the mans back and kicking him on the head.

Diamante shook her off and peered at her furious.

"There's an easy way to deal with you!" He hissed and moved two of his fingers. Pearl suddenly felt the bandages around waist tightening and digging into her flash. "You see dove you forgot that my cape is made of iron, and the only reason it feels like a fabric is because I allow it to do so with my power". He smirked and turned back to finish off Rebecca when out of nowhere an one legged man appeared and attacked her.

He resembled so much the statue in the colosseum of the man that was rumored to have won 3000 matches in a row, but Pearl didn't notice him. She could barely see anything, her eyes had become foggy from the tears of pain that flooded her eyes.

Her knees bent and she found herself lying on the ground desperately trying to take of the iron straps that suffocated her and dug deeper and deeper in her flesh every time she moved.