•Black Hat•

•32•

"What is this?" Pearl asked pointing at the strings that had surrounded the island in a cage like shape.

"I call it the Birdcage." Doffy explained. "And if you excuse me I have a game to propose to these low lives!" He said and walked to the edge of the... room, if that could be called a room. All the walls had been brought down along with the roof, it almost resembled and open terrace.

"CITIZENS OF DRESSROSA!" Doflamingo called our and suddenly a deathly silence overruled everything. "Since you cant leave this island, I have a "game" for all of you. You can either kill me, something you all know is not really wise, or bring in my enemies for a monetary reward!" He continued by naming the wanted people and put bounties on the Straw Hats, Law, Kin'emon, Kyros, Doldo, Viola, Rebecca, and Sabo, with Usopp's being the highest at 500,000,000 beries. When he finished he turned to Diamante. "Call every member of the Donquixote family here!" and then turned to look at Pearl.

"Alright I'll be off." She muttered and turned around to leave.

"No no!" He said quietly. "You'll stay here by my side!" Doflamingo smiled and pearl obeyed by literally sitting in the ground next to him.
Doflamingo stood above her, with that twisted smile of his, written on his lips. "I like how you have no manners whatsoever!" He laughed.

It wasn't long before every single member of this... "family" had arrived as well as the lower ranks.

Pica, Diamante, Trebol, Baby 5, senior Pink.
Everyone was there. Only his Corazon was missing, Pearl thought. She wasn't quite part of the family, she was more like a girl protected by Doffy in exchange for her skills in the Colosseum. Diamante had been her teacher from time to time and when she was allowed to exit the Colosseum she and Baby 5 had gotten along pretty well, meaning that each admired the other for her skill in guns/knives. And then it was Doflamingo who had taken a like to her the moment she stepped into the throne room. With her black hair over flowing over her shoulders and these piercing sapphire eyes that she used to glare at everyone and everybody not taking in account their status.

But that was it. She didn't communicate with anyone else apart from these three, and perhaps Viola, the princess gal, and she did t like any of them. She was just using them, she thought. She had made a good deal and the price she paid was tolerable... even if sometimes she questioned that.

"Hey! Snap out of it!" Doffy hissed and she jumped up to her feet.

"What? Sorry!" She rushed to say.

"Won't you go after them? Let me remind you that every one of them has a reasonable bounty on their head". Doffy smirked. "And if I remember correctly you know four of them pretty well, that's an advantage!"

"Well, I'm neither part of your crew nor a citizen of Dressrosa. I'm just someone you do business with, and this business has brought me enough money that I don't need to chase weaklings around to get their bounties!" She declared. "So no. I won't go after them" she finished her sentence.

"Then why did you come here?" He asked.

"The colosseum was destroyed, I couldn't stay in my cage. Perhaps these means my alliance with you is over?"

"Does it though?"

"You would tell me. Our deal was to fight in your arena, win and then you would protect me."

"From what, you never told me!" Doflamingo noticed.

"From anything dangerous if I remember correctly."

"Oh I see. Remind me then, did you win this match?" He asked referring to the Mera Mera no mi tournament.

"No" she replied calmly.

"So if you don't keep to the deal why should I?"

"You shouldn't. So I'm free to leave?"

Her face was completely blank but that was solely an act. She feared losing his protection as any sane man fears losing his shield. There was nowhere for her to go and the island had been isolated from the rest of the world with this birdcage of his.

"No I have other uses for you apart from fighting." He concluded after a brief pause.

Pearl nodded trying her best to hide her relief as she silently thanked the gods for being born a woman.

"Say Trebol" Doffy turned to that misshapen man with the light blue robe. "Remember when we first met Law?"

"Ne ne ne Doffy!" The man muttered.

"He said that he wanted to join my crew as a child because he wanted to destroy everything before he died. Oh well... things have changed." Doflamingo said, mostly to himself.

"Why was he going to die?" Pearl asked confused. "And how come he didn't die?" She added.

Doflamingo let out a sigh and stared at the sky for a moment before a huge grin covered his mouth.

"Oh you don't know? Let me tell you, since I don't see anyone coming to attack me any time soon. When Law came to me he had the Amber Lead syndrome. That thing had infected a whole down, Flevance, that brat's hometown and the government had ordered it to get burned to the ground. You want to know how he escaped?"

Pearl nodded.

"You see, he hid in a pile of corpses! And how old was he back then... six? Something like that!" He said and his smile wouldn't go away. "The thing is that after a year he and my late brother ran away. Never really understood that, I had never noticed them talking to each other, especially if we take to account that my brother acted to be mute! Long story short he was trying to find a cure for Law and as it turned out my brother was also a marine so I tracked them down, surrounded the place with birdcage and-"

"And killed him!" Law said. He had unlocked his sea stone shackles and had teleported Luffy and himself on the top of the palace.