•Black Hat•

•31•

It had been about a quarter of an hour that they had been fighting with Diamante, when all of the sudden chaos erupted in the audience. The toys had started to transform back to humans.

Sabo took that chance and completely shattered the arena. He then leaped up to the fish carrying the Mera Mera no Mi and opened the chest by breaking his lock. Carefully be took the fruit in his right hand. Everyone's eyes were fixed on him as he ate the fruit. Pearl froze in the middle of her fight with Diamante and Rebecca barely managed to grab her and help her escape his gravely swing. But she didn't feel anything, her eyes were fixed on Sabo. He swiftly jumped off the fish and grabbed Rebecca. For a moment he hesitated looking at Pearl, she nodded.

"Go there's something I have to do!" She reassured him and he shook his head. Then, using Hiken to punch through the bottom of the Colosseum, he disappeared.

Pearl felt the ground crumbling underneath her and momentarily didn't do anything apart from looking at the flames. Immediately after though she rushed to jump away trying to find a stable rock to step onto. But everything seemed to crumble to the ground. That's when he spotted Diamante standing on the very top of the audience seats and she rushed to get there. It was easy for her. She had been trained as an acrobat those past couple of years, so it only took her a few seconds to land beside him. The fight was over so they had no reason to continue charging against each other.

"Hey dove, do these cuts hurt?" He grinned and leaned a bit downwards, since he was extremely tall. Pearl looked at her body. Her arms were extremely bloody from the milliards of light cuts he had managed at her and filled with purple bruises, but nothing too serious, just everyday business. Her stomach though had two big and semi deep cuts that would not stop bleeding. She hadn't paid them any attention and only now that she had relaxed they had started to pain her.

She glared at the man. "Do your scratches itch?" She hissed "I think I used my poisonous blades on you!" She added.

Diamanté's face remained expressionless.

"Give me your cape and I'll give you the antidote!" Pearl proposed.

"I can steal it from you" The man smirked but Pearl didn't take his words into account.

"Why do that when I can just hand it to you in exchange for your cape?" She asked and got out her hand.

Diamante untied it from his neck and gave her his long beautiful red cape. Swiftly she grabbed it, tore it in stripes and wrapped it around her wounded abs. And then used what was left of it, apart from one single stripe that she tied to hair now black hair, to wipe away the blood from her arms.

"The antidote?" The man asked.

"I would give it to you if I had it. The blades weren't poisonous, here!" She said and used the tip of one to make her finger bleed. "Thanks for the cape though!" She smirked and sat down.

The man broke down in laughter and sat beside her. "If only you were as good with your blades as you are at bluffing!" He muttered but she didn't pay him any attention.

"Can you take me to Doffy?" She asked him.

"What business do you have with him?"

"He fucking killed his Corazon!" She hissed and glared at him.

The man returned the glare but a quickly his expression changed into that of sarcasm.

"He was the one who betrayed him." He replied and leaned closer to her face. "Doffy doesn't like traitors dove, never forget that!" He warned her, his disgusting face only a few centimeters away from hers.

"Will you take me to him or what?" She hissed twisting a blade between her fingers and sticking it against his throat.

"I don't see why not!" He said and grabbing her from her waist he started running.

With these huge legs that he hadn't only took them about five minutes. But every step that man took it resulted in pain for Pearl since his hand was wrapped around her wounded waist and he was holding her like a sack of potatoes. So when they finally arrived at the palace she slid off his hold and pressed her hands on the bandages she had created.

"So I guess they do trouble you!" He smirked but before Pearl was able to reply a ruckus rose beyond the closed door in front of them, the door that led to the throne room. The both ran inside and Pearl barely manage to catch a glimpse of Luffy, Law, Viola, And two men she didn't recognize being thrown out of the window by Pica.

Pearl turn to Doffy but to her surprise he erupted in a pile of strings that flew upwards, piercing the ceiling and completely tying the roof over them. She couldn't make any sense of it until she heard a familiar and hated voice to her left.

"Hello Sweetheart!" It was Doflamingo's voice and he really was there. Standing beside her.

"How-?" She muttered confused.

"You forget that I'm made out of strings sweetie!" Doflamingo said and pulled her closer by attaching a string under her chin. "Did you by any chance win the fruit?" He asked.

"As if you don't know!" Pearl replied and cut the string with Ace.

Doflamingo grinned. "Always so cold!" He noticed.

"Did you kill him?" Pearl asked ignoring his comment.

"Since when do you care about anyone but yourself?" He asked sarcastically. Pearl glared at him and he placed a hand on her cheek cupping it with his palm. "Not yet. And remember, no one glares at me!" He said in a gravely voice and Pearl felt her insides twitching in fear but her face remained blank.

"Yes Doffy!" She replied and lowered her eyes.