Naghi-Tan: Hopefully not! XD Yep, this fic is almost done – finally! It's the longest I've done, I think. Just full of nonsense because I was so involved in it – but it should wrap up nicely!

: : Thirty Nine

Reappearing near the medical ward, Law shoved the overexcited fennec fox into his vest, facing off with startled Marines. The situation he left behind gave him some idea of what to do – if Corazon and Sengokou were posted in the outskirts of the base for safety, then he'd do what it took to find them there. The others were more than capable of destroying the base – he'd sort through the wreckage later to find more information on the labs. But he was also reeling from the decision he made to avert from his original plan –feeling as if he'd stepped down onto what was sure surface and finding no ground there.

A few swipes of his sword displaced limbs and bodies, clearing his path as he hastily took that hall. He could feel the effects of the seastone in that ward, his limbs weakening as he took that direction towards one of the exit doors in the distance. Once out there, he'd get his bearings back and reset his thoughts and everything would be well again –

He barely had enough time to leap backwards once the other Law appeared in front of him. He immediately wilted, Law shoving Sanji's furry head deep beneath his vest as the fox cried out. Both Laws stared at each other, struggling to keep their energy up as the seastone affected them. The other Law was clutching his wound and breathing heavily, but he was determined to fight through that to complete his task. Law was sure his clone was just as mighty as he was in strength of will – the other Law would fight until either his body gave up, or he chose to step back to allow time to give him other options.

"You idiot," the other Law snapped at him, blood staining his uniform in a rather gruesome pattern. "This could be our only chance to get rid of them!"

"There are other options," Law replied calmly. He paused before saying, "I just haven't thought of them just yet."

"None are as effective! Chasing them to the ends of this Earth will only prove wasteful! By then, they should have more clones made of their own making and – each of us replaced until we're to their liking," the other Law panted out. "Imagine yourself turning more and more into their favor!"

"They need to be stopped," Law agreed, unsheathing Kikoku slightly to perform a Scan of his opponent. He hadn't hit any vital organs but the heavy bleeding was attributed to the other Law's physical actions. Blood loss effects wouldn't drop him for at least fifteen minutes. He sheathed his sword. "Today, tonight – there's another way, and you're interrupting me."

"Your actions doesn't make any sense," the other Law snarled at him, forming a Room.

Law didn't feel the need to explain himself. It would be too clumsy, too time consuming. It had taken himself all this time to admit his own feelings, so he knew trying to explain something as foreign as this wouldn't work on the clone before him. He gripped his sword tightly.

"Get out of the way," he said firmly. "If you trust yourself to carry out a successful mission, then you'll have to rely on my actions."

The other Law eyed him with a heavy frown. "I don't trust you," he said slowly. "Because your decision to backtrack and evade makes no sense to me."

"Then I won't hesitate to kill you. Easy." Law swallowed hard, seeing his own face glare back at him. His breathing quickened a little – it felt strongly of suicide more than murder. Looking at himself from another body, similar to a dream.

The other Law's face tightened as he took a wider step, releasing his wound so that his other hand was free. The walls immediately ripped and closed in on Law and he quickly teleported out of the impact. Concrete, seastone and wiring from the above lighting crashed and tumbled together as he alit onto the tile. He pushed the collected debris forward, feeling the hard catch as the other Law pushed it back. Feeling the strain in his abilities, Law grunted, pushing forward. He could imagine himself doing the same – anticipated the next movement just as he'd thought of it himself. The floor underneath him shot upward – he teleported behind it, then kept jumping back until the other Law's Room ended. His fingers spread wide, he "grabbed" the debris collected early and pulled it to himself, breaking down the small stalagmites that the other Law had formed. Then he pushed it to the side so the other Law was revealed as the dust and smoke began to settle.

The other Law was in his face before his arms could lower, boot connecting against the side of his head. It rocked him off balance but he anticipated the follow up combination of punches and short kicks. Both Rooms dissipated so they could focus on the physical aspect of the fight.

Law noticed that his clone realized he was doing everything he could to protect his front – before he could do anything, the other Law formed a Room and switched the fox with a piece of debris from the floor. Law mimicked the movement and once he had the surprised fox back in his vest he teleported back to the lab. He'd just moved into a run when the other Law appeared right against them, so both of them tripped over each other as they began to give chase. Sanji scrambled out of his vest as the other Law fell over him, both of them rolling over each other, trying to snatch limbs or clothing to catch the other.

Huddling underneath a nearby table, Sanji could only watch as they physically fought each other. It was hard for him to act, mind a mess as he tried to think of an appropriate plan to subdue the clone without contributing to his death. It was something he'd have to dwell on later. He raced to his clothes, transformed, and dressed quickly as the men fought each other. Sanji had just pulled on his pants with his shirt clinging to only one arm when the other Law leapt to his feet, snatching the sword from its sheath. Law blocked the blade as it came down ono him, kicking the clone's shin with the heel of his boot and having him stumble. He was on his feet, tackling the clone into the nearby lockers – the other Law was clumsy with the weapon, dropping it as he settled on hand to hand combat.

Abandoning his boots, Sanji hurried forward and grabbed the sheath, replacing the blade as both of them struggled against each other. They disappeared briefly but reappeared moments later on the other side of the room. Both of them switched each other with one of the bodies lumbering around, so seeing them staggering about without their heads was momentarily startling.

Sanji tossed the sword and lunged towards the clone's original body. The Marine occupying it was too disoriented to understand what was happening to him, crying out hoarsely as Sanji tripped and slammed him onto the floor, yanking his arms behind him. He yanked his shirt off and tied his hands together, knee on back.

"Here! Here!" he shouted at Law.

Law managed to return, the other returning to his and finding he was restrained. "Fuck!" he shouted in alarm, looking to Sanji before disappearing, replaced with a guard's body from the hallway.

Sanji grabbed his things, boots gripped under one arm. "Take us into the medical ward!"

"Then I'll be weakened!" Law snapped at him, looking at him in outrage.

"He can't follow us there, an' he won't expect it," Sanji insisted. "Both of ya already know where ya gonna wind up and you know he can't handle that area cuz he much weaker than you, so do it!"

Law followed the order despite his own instinct warning him not to. Once inside the ward, he almost hit his knees as his body nearly gave out. Sanji finished dressing, pulling a t-shirt from his backpack and yanking on his boots. He then grabbed Law by his arm and pulled him along.

The ward was empty, the sound of voices in the distance assuring them that this area was unguarded. Pulling him towards the exit, they popped out into the morning air just in time to see tanks fly over each other, crashing noisily into the dirt. Once Law had his strength back, both of them quickly left the base grounds, reappearing minutes later back into the wooded area they'd hastily abandoned earlier.

Law caught his breath, hands on his knees. Every part of him felt sore and weak after so much physical exertion, but his thoughts were just as scattered. Sanji watched him, on guard for any more funny business. He understood that something significant had happened for the older man to change his mind, but he couldn't delve into it, now. He glanced around to determine where they were and realized that he didn't recognize the area at all.

"Pretty sure I ain't been here, so you wander off while I was makin' dinner?" Sanji asked curiously, noting the lack of any game trails and sniffing for dangerous predators.

He looked at Law for an answer when he realized he was really looking at the wrong one. The Marine had a Room formed and in that space of time, Sanji quickly took to his fox form with a startled cry. The clone picked up a rock and switched them, Sanji crying out furiously as he struggled to bite and claw at him.

Exhaling heavily, the clone wearily gathered his bearings, the fox's inane screeching ringing off the trees around them. He dragged his feet towards the camp where Corazon and Sengokou were stationed, holding Sanji firmly by the scruff of his neck to avoid any more damage. As he walked he continued to plot, sure this would lead him to his eventual freedom. No matter what, he would be free.

In the end, this justice is meaningful, he thought to himself. Getting rid of them means my freedom, and no more of their interference.

He shook the struggling fox to get his attention. "I won't kill you – I'll feed you to Luffy. He likes fluffy things."

The fox settled, ears flicking. The other Law frowned at him, uncertain if this animal was even intelligent enough to understand his intention. The fox looked at him, large brown eyes assessing his expression. It was eerie for Law to see because it felt like the animal understood him. He paused in mid-step, sure he was seeing things.

The fox's eyes narrowed suddenly, panting slightly before closing his mouth again. He twisted suddenly out of Law's grasp, hitting the ground before looking up at the clone with some defiance. Law moved to grab him, succeeding with surprisingly easy success as the fox allowed him to pick him up.

Mind briefly stumbling, Law stared at the animal. The fox barked at him, tail curled upward as he allowed himself to be held.

"Are you of reasonable intelligence?" Law asked incredulously.

The fox managed a nod.

"You understand what I am saying?"

The fox gave him a rather irritated nod, one back leg kicking out impatiently. Mind blown, Law stared at him for several moments, then set him down on the ground. "Jump."

With irritated features, the fox jumped.

The Marine wasn't sure how to process how an animal understood human intelligence. He wondered if this was partly the reason why the last Vinsmoke was valuable. He wasn't up to date on bestial beings - only of Zoro – but the Marines hadn't informed him of this fact. He only knew the last Vinsmoke was carrying valuable DNA that the Marines wanted to use to perfect the cloning techniques, and that he was a failed biology project. There was nothing in the records about Sanji having the full capabilities of a human while in animal form. Something in his memories jiggled, trying to show him pictures but they stopped before he could actually process them to understand what he was trying to remember.

The other Law considered this for a few moments, then crouched down in front of him, the animal mimicking by sitting on his back haunches. Seemingly glaring at him. At that moment, he realized he'd seen this before. Vague memories of being inside the bunker with the animal glaring at him while wearing some of Perona's accessories came back to him. The clone began to process that memory, and found a slightly corrupted path from it – he recalled Luffy taking a large bite out of a squirming animal, the horrified shrieks of Perona ringing off the walls and Marines reaction of shock.

Understanding that his memories weren't in place because he had been created recently, the other Law sat slowly onto the ground, wearing a confused expression. The fox's ears perked a little, watching him with a tilted head.

"I've seen you before, but I don't remember you being human," the clone said slowly.

The fox's head tilted in the other direction, ears flicking. Its animal features seemed to hold something close near human sympathy. Sanji uttered noises that could only be described as screeching, but seemingly with attempted conversation.

The clone focused a glare upon him. "I'm a fucking human, too, right? How does rendering me into something expendable like a lab rat give them any sort of power over me?"

The fox screeched out a reply, giving his furred feet a quick lick before looking at him, ears flickering. The other Law realized that the last Vinsmoke had heard similar enough rantings to be understanding of his situation. But it made him feel disoriented to think that there was another one of him already out there, speaking of similar problems with similar solutions. It was eerie to think he wasn't the only one in existence – there was someone with his thoughts, breath and DNA already living with him.

When he was stabbed, what hurt the most was seeing his own face looking at him with no emotion other than selfish reasoning behind it. What felt sickening about the situation was that his predecessor had lived long enough to develop a different way of thinking – it felt like someone had occupied his body and denied him experience. It made him feel angry all over again.

The fox whined noisily, skirting in one direction to the other with a sort of guilty expression before sitting once more, tail thumping against the dirt. The clone looked away from him, furrowing his brow with concentration. If the pair wanted this fox-person so badly, how many more of himself would they make? How many of them would continue to think the way he did – or the original did? – and would he be aware of the changes all through the process? How much of himself would he lose along the way?

He didn't like the thought of being a human expendable. He glanced around himself, taking in the nerve wrecking sound of birds chirping noisily in the tree, of some far off braying that sounded like something from a horror movie, of the unknown that lay in all directions. He thought of how his predecessor was that eager to tear down the entire Marine formation just to be "free" – how he viewed his own freedom. His predecessor was very different from him – mindful of feelings he'd hurt and relying on the comfort of another man's lap to rest his head.

He looked at Sanji again, finding the fox just watching him, ears back and tail moving again once he realized the clone was looking at him.

In the distance, something boomed with such force that it echoed in the wilderness around them. Birds took flight, using wings that were much longer than what he'd seen on tv. Their screams hurt his ears. Sanji quickly took cover underneath some shrubbery, whining noisily. The clone picked up a rock to exchange it for the animal, and held onto the furry warm body tightly. Now he was treated to the memory of holding gingerly onto its light weight while tending to its injuries, and the other Law hesitated with his next step. The fox looked up at him with inquiry, legs and tail folded and curled in a submissive gesture.

"What you got there?"

Corazon's voice startled both of them, the fox barking out and intending on running when Corazon snatched him from the clone's hand. The Marine was standing right behind the clone, towering over him like a tree himself. The other Law looked at him with a startled expression, expecting some sort of angry effort when he realized Corazon was much too relaxed to attack.

"I know it's you," the man assured the clone, examining the snarling fox for himself. Knowing this caused the clone some trepidation. "I couldn't help but overhear you communicating with this furry little dog-thing. He's much smaller than I remember him being. But you succeeded, Law, good job!"

The clone glared up at him, then looked at the squirming fox with some consideration. Corazon's long fingered hands closed around the animal with threatening force, causing frenzied squeals from the fox.

"You need it to be human," the clone reminded Corazon heavily.

"There are ways to force the issue," Corazon assured him. He gave the clone a disgusted look. "You look like something that has been dragged from the bushes. Clearly this one is defective. The wilderness wasn't kind to him. Be assured, this is the sight of your future, Law, should you chose to…wander off."

The clone frowned sullenly, already aware of the physical differences in this form compared to his. This world was quite intimidating compared to the one that he knew.

"Let's take him to Sengokou, then," Corazon said, fingers curling around the fox's head, careful to avoid the sharp teeth. He carried the squirming animal like it was a toy, stumbling over exposed roots from a nearby tree. The clone watched him for some moments, heart racing.

"You kill me again, and I will be quite angry," Corazon then said lightly over one shoulder.

"There are methods to replace you," the other Law said airily, walking after him.

Corazon paused short, squealing fox clawing at his hand. While he wasn't looking at the clone directly, the man felt like the older Marine was sizing him up with a pensive sort of air. He reached into his pocket, withdrawing a cigarette case and a lighter. After managing to pluck one out and light it with one hand, Corazon tucked those two away. A second later Sanji was in naked human form, launching a kick straight at the man's head and knocking him off balance. The other Law saw the gun bounce from Corazon's hand to the dirt, startling him. Sanji changed back into a fox and darted off into the surrounding shrubbery.

Momentarily stumbled by the action, the clone could only gape at Corazon as he clumsily reached for his gun. Before the older man could touch it, the other Law formed a Room and pulled the gun from his reach. Once it was firmly in hand, the clone frowned down at the Marine, who looked at him crossly.

"Give me the gun, Law," Corazon ordered, hand out as he slowly stood.

"You were going to shoot me?"

"Not you," Corazon said soothingly, smoke drifting into his eyes and forcing him to flutter a hand over his face. "The fox. To turn him human. Now that he's escaped, go retrieve him."

The clone didn't want to act impulsively. He wanted the pair together so that they could be destroyed together as one – doing so separately would allow Sengokou to create another one of Corazon. At the same time, he knew Corazon had intended on shooting him with the intention of using his body to clone with the use of Sanji's. Every instinct of his was screaming that this had been the anticipated task.

But he flipped the gun around, holding it by the barrel while looking at Corazon's stiff expression. The fox erupted into noisy shrieks and barks from somewhere within the shrubbery, causing such a ruckus that something answered faraway with a ferocious howl. It was too big to be something natural, and both men froze in reaction. The shrubbery rustled as the fox quickly made its way out, still barking.

Corazon snatched the gun from the clone and fired repeatedly into the brush that rattled the most, the fox silencing quickly. He stalked over to investigate as the clone watched warily, hands at his side. The barking in the distance seemed to move in their direction, Corazon reloading his weapon.

"Here comes the slave," he muttered. "I guess that aspect between them didn't change that much. Once he comes, Law, prepare yourself – it isn't human, nor is it an animal. It's a beast, like from the movies. Created to take on grave injuries and weaponry like a damn battle tank. Your job is to help me find that fox, get rid of the wolf. Then we'll return to Sengokou."

It took the clone a few moments to remember that Zoro was a beast of some sort. He remembered Sanji telling him that there was some sort of bond between him and Kid. Kid had romantic notions that the clone remembered hearing about in the bunker – he felt that if the beast did show up suddenly, Kid wouldn't be that far behind. He'd abandon the others if he wasn't already occupied by –

His thoughts slammed to a stop, as if a wall suddenly popped up. He remembered seeing Kid throw a fit that destroyed most of their living areas. It was frustrating how he couldn't complete most of his memories or thoughts in a manner he was used to.

Before either of them could react, something large and dark shot out from the rocks behind them. A wolf slammed into Corazon's legs, knocking the man down while biting into his coat from the shoulders and yanking savagely in order to cover the man's head. Law thought this was the beast that he'd been speaking of until two more launched themselves from the shrubbery behind him. His first thought was that they were mutated – the things were much larger here than he'd seen on TV! He quickly teleported out of their reach, watching as they separated – one retreated into some trees, the other targeted Corazon. Corazon lifted his gun to fire when another launched itself from one of the trees nearby, snatching the metal object from his fingers and running off. Once he was disarmed, all animals disappeared, leaving the shrubbery to rustle noisily.

Corazon quickly climbed to his feet and hurried off towards their camp. Three more wolves shot into view, snarling with sharp teeth and forcing him to a stop.

"Shit," he muttered pensively as the bushes rustled once more, one of the wolves emerging to saunter behind him with a low growl. The clone realized that these animals were actively thinking to hunt their prey, using near human intelligence to do so. He was astounded, wondering if they were of similar power to the fox.

His instinct rang, causing him to notice that while he was so involved staring at the animals surrounding Corazon, there were three more taking towards his back, spreading into a semi- circle to prevent him from escaping.

The animals bared their teeth as they began to close their distance.

Sanji shot out from the shrubbery, causing a few furry heads to whip about to look at him. The fox launched himself at the clone, clawing up and into his vest. The wolves attacked, and the clone quickly teleported out of their reach, hearing Corazon yell aloud with alarm. It gave the other Law a chance to get out of the area and think about his next options, all the while processing that these mutated animals were nothing like they were depicted on nature shows he occasionally caught with Luffy.

The fox was breathing heavily as the clone settled into an opening away from the area, hearing Corazon's frustrated shouts and curses as the remaining animals snarled and barked. The vicious howling and barking of an approaching creature became louder as it grew closer.

The fox leapt out from Law's vest, whirling about to take in his surroundings before focusing on the clone with an impatient bark. Seconds later he was human, crouching with a modest air and a determined look. "Get back to the base," he advised the clone. "Cuz it obvious they wanted ta murder you to replace you."

The clone frowned at him. "I return," he started slowly, "and I'll miss out on this opportunity to take them out together."

"Then you gonna rely on them to keep ya alive?" Sanji snorted, resettling restlessly as Zoro grew closer. He was surprised that the wolf had heard him, considering the commotion growing from the base. Surprised after their talk yesterday that Zoro could still respond to him.

The clone wore a pensive expression, glancing around cautiously in case the wolves or the beast showed up. The fox appeared once more, turning and racing hastily for the treeline. The other Law quickly exchanged a branch he grabbed for the animal, then held it as delicately as possible as it began to squirm and squeal. Still hearing Corazon's shouts, he began moving around that area to that he could at least reach the camp – perhaps there, unintentionally leading the superhumans back to where Sengokou and the others were would give him that advantage.

He allowed Sanji to continue calling out for his companion, the answering barks and howls growing closer. To speed up his escape, the clone teleported hastily until he touched down to where Sengokou and his troops were waiting, already weaponized and preparing for a hasty departure.

Sengokou looked over to address him, clearly understanding the switch until he saw the squirming fox in the clone's hands. He held a hand out as armed troops began to maneuver around a couple of heavily armored trucks, whose engines were rumbling noisily. "Give me the animal," he ordered.

The clone frowned at him, glancing about. "Where's Cora?"

"Give me the animal, Trafalgar." Sengokou's eyes narrowed as the fox continued calling out, the clone looking up at the man with some defiance. "Give it to me now, or shut it up before it draws in that creature."

"We're not afraid of some 'creature', are we? How bad can it be?" the clone responded slowly, fingers tightening a little and causing the fox to quiet, panting lightly. "Of course it'd make more sense to stay here, dispose of them now before moving onto bigger and better things."

"You are not knowledgeable just yet of what feats this group is capable of, and what might happen if we should challenge that effort with what we have now," Sengokou snapped at him, striding over to close the distance. "It's important to drop back and have better preparations in the event that our numbers drop in the effort."

"We are prepared," the clone said confidently, pushing the fox into his vest. "I am here. I know what I'm capable of compared to them and to that mutt."

"Trafalgar," Sengokou said slowly, voice dripping with warning, "that confidence is misplaced. Give me the animal, and you're more than welcome to stay behind to test your abilities. But in the meantime - !"

"What are you so afraid of, Sengokou?" the clone asked. He drew back with a light smirk. In moments, the wolves from earlier were suddenly shooting through the surprised group, knocking aside startled people as they made to draw on them. The animals ignored them, hastily taking escape to higher ground. Seeing this, the clone quickly turned and headed towards the right, much to Sengokou's surprise.

"Trafalgar!"

Seconds later, the beast arrived. Men screamed with surprise as massive teeth chomped down on those intending on firing at him, taking on gunfire with a lack of reaction. Sanji continued to squeal as the clone took to a safe distance, turning to watch with awe upon seeing the creature. As a few men to the side escaped the beast's wrath, they lowered their weapons to fire. Not even a moment later, their guns were ripped right out of their hands, along with other metal objects in the area. The clone had the pleasure of seeing Sengokou's enraged expression as he turned to escape within one of the awaiting vehicles.

Before he could reach it, long arms sprouted out from the ground and held them in place as panicked feet hit the gas pedals.

"Take them all down!" the clone heard Kid shout breathlessly, wheezing for breath as he made his appearance. He looked quite tired from the dash, heaving with his hands on his knees as the beast continued mowing down the armed clusters around them. His face was bright red with effort, clashing with his hair. "And find me oxygen! For fuck's sake I can't breathe!"

The clone glanced around for his predecessor, taking cover near the tree line. He saw that Sengokou abandoned the vehicles, turning to look around him for an escape route. Arms sprouted up and around him, but before they could clutch him he shifted shape. Manicured fingers scratched uselessly around the hardening gold of his skin, nearly shredding his jacket and pants. Bigger arms began to unleash from the ground, but he reached out with thick hands to break them, hearing a startled cry in the distance as the arms broke noisily.

The other Law started to move in on him when he was instead looking at the scene from the distance – in the air, as a matter of fact, as Luffy swung in by using tree branches to do so. The blinding pain of his earlier wound caused him to scream, the teen looking at him with impatience.

"Stop screaming so much! You act like you're dying!" Luffy scolded.

"Do it," Perona encouraged with a crazed look to her eye, clinging to Luffy's back. "Do it so I can see for myself whether or not I can control you!"

The clone switched himself out from Luffy's grasp with a piece of debris from the ground, hitting hard. The pair continued on ahead, whooping and hollering, disappointed that Zoro had taken up more of the action than they wanted. Knowing that he was useless for now, the clone clutched his bandaged wound, then decided to go make sure Corazon wasn't forgotten in the mess.

: :

Law understood what his clone was attempting to accomplish as the chaos continued through the camp. He watched with a sort of puzzled expression, wondering if he should be impressed with himself or for his clone as an individual. It was a difficult conundrum.

"Shush," he admonished the fox attempting to escape his vest. "Calling for help like a damsel in distress. Aren't you embarrassed?"

The fox stared up at him for several seconds as Law assessed the scene once more, seeing that Sengokou had Zoro's mouth shut, the beast twisting mightily in order to be released while the bigger man struggled to retain his hold on him. Law narrowed his eyes with satisfaction as he saw that Kid was demolishing the armored vehicles that Robin clung to. He wondered where they were, scanning the tree line and mountain sides for any sight of them.

"Only Cora is missing," he hissed with disappointment. "To be expected."

The fox bit him underneath his chin, causing him to yell out with surprise, Kid whipping his head to look at him. He pointed at him, several metal clusters slamming into the trees that Law barely had time to hide behind.

"I'll kill you, you flashy bastard!"

"Are you the real one? Or the fake?"

"I'll tell everyone how you pissed in the rain bucket at home and that they drank it - !"

Law ducked once more as an armored truck hit, causing debris to rain around them, a couple of men flying from the windshield with screams.

"Trafalgar got his body back!" Kid roared at the others, Luffy flying overhead to slam into Sengokou with a shout. Perona daintily dropped from his back, catching herself to fall at Kid's side. "Where's the other one, Luffy?"

"Oh, he dropped himself off back there!" Luffy said, pointing in a general direction before Sengokou punched him hard enough to send him flying into the mountainside. Perona shrieked at the sight of this, mouth dropping open.

"He's in that mode! Can we beat him?"

"We're going to do it today!" Kid said with determination. "After all the shit he did to us, it's payback time!"

Perona nodded with a similar expression, getting up to touch all the bodies Zoro left behind. One by one they climbed to their feet, chittering or groaning as they colored the dirt with their blood or fluids.

"Cora's missing!" Law announced, watching her work with disdain. He dropped Sanji onto the dirt, the fox whirling around with a sense of confusion. "Change. Use their clothes."

Sanji took on his human form, crouching low with knee bent in front of him for some modesty. "How do I know it's you I'm talkin' to? I couldn't tell ya apart for anything!"

Law furrowed his brow with consideration, then said gravely, "You're right. What is happening now is something I would do. Considering that all actions taken recently are sneaky, wrought with selfishness and entirely of my own agenda – "

"Never mind, that be good enough," Sanji decided with a roll of his eyes while Law frowned at him for even asking in the first place. The human then shook his head, not making the move for the clothes. "Corazon still out there – don't think it ain't smart to change at this point."

"Then I'll find him."

"I'll lead you where we left 'im." Once in fox form Sanji took off, deftly avoiding the ghosts that were staggering to join the fight against Sengokou. Law hurried after him, Kid catching sight of him.

"Where ya going?" he demanded.

"Find Cora."

"Okay, cool. You let him get away again, and I'll finish this entire thing by myself!"

Law didn't bother to give him a reaction, allowing Kid the satisfaction of having put some fear in him to finish the job. He turned to see Sengokou throw Zoro aside before being pummeled by Luffy once the rubberboy returned. Perona pushed her ghosts forward as Pedro appeared, huffing around his cigarette.

"The others have been taken down, but Violet and Rebecca are reporting that more Marines from the base are coming this way," Pedro warned Kid, crouching low as Luffy's battle cries and Perona's commands flooded the air.

Kid scoffed at this, watching as Zoro caught himself, then turned wildly to attack Sengokou from below while Luffy wrapped himself around the man's head. The massive titan stumbled before catching himself, nearly tripping over the dead that clawed and bit at his legs. Studying Sengokou, Kid had no idea how he was going to bring the man down and to force him back to human form. All they could do was pin him. As for Corazon, if he didn't want to be found, then he was going to slip away for safety – allowing him time and position to release a newer version of Sengokou if that happened.

Kid waved Pedro away, the beast looking at this action with disdain.

"Zoro! Find Corazon!" Kid bellowed, voice booming out over the chaotic noises ahead of him. Once the beast heard him, one of his ears flicked with irritation before ignoring him to attempt to tear into Sengokou's leg. The titan stumbled again, Luffy dropping down onto the ground with his arms outstretched to throw him off balance. Using that opportunity, Kid pulled onto the armored trucks nearby, slamming them one by one off the titan without regards to where anyone was at the time.

One of them slammed off Zoro's head, causing the beast to stumble before turning and looking at him with a snarl. Kid and Pedro froze, then raced to safety as the beast charged after them, distracted from the battle.

"Not very bright, are you?" Pedro complained from one tree while Kid climbed another, huffing.

"We're still working things out," Kid explained, having to kick sharp teeth away from him as he scrambled up higher into the tree. A fox's barking caught the beast's attention, Zoro pausing in mid-attack to listening with alert ears. He then hopped down into the dirt and hauled away from the scene, causing Kid some shock. He then looked to Sengokou with a frown. "Now, to figure out how to get this guy down…any ideas?"

"What to do once we get there?" Pedro asked as large hands and arms sprouted from the dirt, rising above Sengokou to grab and pin him onto the ground. Smaller ones burst forward to wrap around his legs and torso, clearly struggling to hold as Kid hopped out from the tree. He lifted the battered vehicles from the ground, kicking Perona aside to get a better look at the situation. In the distance, he heard Ussop's rifle going off – sporadic shots that suggested he was already attempting to cull the Marines coming their way. More assured him that the Violet and Rebecca had joined him with their efforts to assist.

Kid slammed the vehicles into alternating action against Sengokou's head while the arms kept the titan pinned. Car fluids splattered over the man, coating him in various colors of black, red and leaving behind a splotchy stain that reeked strongly of gas. Perona, once she was able to pick herself up, pushed her ghosts over the man, their limbs clumsily attaching to Sengokou in an effort to subdue him. Luffy's arms continued to coil around the man's neck – with no real damage caused – and stretched his legs out to capture two of the trees behind him. Sengokou struggled against the weight, roaring with displeasure. Once he was able to break free of the massive arms holding him down, movement was easier for him. He rose up, nimbly kicking free of the ghosts that were powerless to stop him. Kid flung one car at Sengokou's feet, the other poised overhead when Luffy arched backward, using the trees' support to steady him.

The titan teetered for a moment before Luffy released his hold on the trees and shot outward, loosening his grip from around Sengokou's neck but not releasing it. Flung out in the opposite direction, Luffy came back with feet together and landed a hard drive over the man's face. This sent both of them into the dirt, playing debris all about. Ripping about the vehicle he held, Kid sent pieces flying around Sengokou's legs, wrapping them tightly together. Metal coiled and roped around each other, tightening once Luffy leapt away with a shout.

"We need a volcano," Kid decided, looking around for one conveniently in the area. Pedro looked at him with scorn. "Something hot and melty – anyone got matches?"

Pedro knew they weren't going to win this way, but he flicked his cigarette anyway. Flame alit Sengokou's leg, rising up in rivets around him – the man impatiently brushed himself off as he steadily rose once more, stumbling a little in the improvisational leg shackles around his ankles. He broke through them with short kicks, Luffy and Perona groaning in disappointment.

"Foolish children," Sengokou murmured with a shake of his head, continuously wiping himself off. "There was a reason I was assigned to this unit."

"If our powers don't work on each other," Kid mumbled to himself thoughtfully, "and we're the 'perfect unit', their powers shouldn't have that much of an effect on us. We were their perfected weapons – and their clones throughout the years were made with corruptions and improvements only available upon research. So either he can't hold that form for long, or he can react to shit that we're just not hitting yet. So what can melt gold?"

"Aqua Regia," Pedro answered, skeptically.

Kid thought about it for a few moments, brow furrowed. "Well, great, got some on ya?"

"Yeah, right in my purse. Let me get it real quick."

Kid looked at him to see if he were serious and saw the beast rolling his eyes. He decided Pedro wasn't going to be helpful at all and gave an impatient shout. "Guys! Keep hounding him!" he then shouted, pulling all available metal to him, forming a gigantic wall. "Bet ya he can't keep this up for very long! Luffy, keep hitting him with all you got, don't get all shy! Perona, keep those things on his feet, make him fall! Get those arm things in here, hold him still so I can keep hitting him! Yo, kitty cat! Find some gas – get a lot of it, we're going to need it! Sooner or later, he's gonna break down – we don't need Trafalgar's help on this one! He comes back here and starts doing something real easy, that's gonna hurt my goddamn ego!"

"He'd rub it in for weeks," Perona muttered bitterly, clinging to one of Sengokou's legs.

Pedro didn't think it was that smart to have plans laid out right in front of their opponent, but it was their show for now – he'd let them have it.