After the Coliseum organization had set up an arena to accommodate the next fights, the fighters from block D, the last one, finally entered the arena. Lucia stretched her back, cracking her vertebrae, then redirected her gaze to the ring. So, are there any more familiar faces here? A unanimous movement of the crowd drew her attention. The moment a young woman entered the arena, everyone began to shout, boo and insult her, threatening her. Lucia managed to catch the words of the spectators who were shouting at her to die. By dint of listening, Lucia put together the pieces of the puzzle and understood that the young girl was in fact the princess of the kingdom of Dressrosa, visibly repudiated by her people. But wait a minute, Doflamingo is the king of this kingdom... and all those around him proudly wear his emblem and he is adored by the population... so if she is a princess... Lucia frowned even more, stumbling on a situation she did not understand. For her, the tyrant in this whole story could only be Doflamingo, having seen him in Marineford, she knew that this man was not a good person. She was even still amazed that he was able to make himself appreciated here. Who are you really... Rebecca?
As the onlookers continued to boo her, Lucia finally realized that the little girl was certainly part of the old dynasty that ruled Dressrosa before the Don Quixote family, and obviously their reign had ended pretty badly. A whinny drew her out of her reflection and a new fighter entered the arena with a spectacular display.
"Enough!" a voice shouted. "You're all just rude jerks, it's intolerable! You should be ashamed of yourselves."
A blond man dressed in a long white coat and black hat entered the ring, riding a magnificent white stallion and drawing his sword in a conquering stance. His blue eyes were sharp and piercing, showing a real rage and determination. Lucia had a small smile. The commentator finally announced the identity of this famous newcomer: the pirate Cavendish of the White Horse. Cavendish... Cavendish... yes, that sounds vaguely familiar, but he's been famous for several years now... what is he doing here? All the women in the stands suddenly started to squeal and giggle nervously, spellbound, swooning over the pirate's famous beauty. Yes, well, he has a fine face and a certain charm, but let's not make a big deal of it either...
"SILENCE YOU PEOPLE" he shouted.
At once the clamors died out and the laughter also, all looked at the pirate, astonished.
"I don't know what you have against her," he began. "But this girl you're booing is willing to risk her life in the ring, while you... you're safe in the stands! You have no right to boo her like that! Since you all want her dead so badly, why don't you grab a sword and get in the ring!"
A smile stretched Lucia's lips, she was surprised to say the least and in a good way. This pirate had a speech which pleased her enormously.
"I have my reasons to be here but know that I have this tournament in horror... to see a warrior die should not be a spectacle!"
The silence that followed her statements was heavy and thick, suffocating all the spectators suddenly called to order. Calmly, Lucia stood up and, without really knowing why or thinking about her act, began to applaud. Warriors and civilians alike turned to her. Her eyes were fixed on the pirate, looking grim and dignified, and she continued to clap her hands, saluting his courage and his stand. Then she made a simple bow, without saying a word, bowing. The gesture was simple but meaningful. The spectators then began to shout, cheering their favorite personality, complimenting him and encouraging him to win. The pirate remained fixed on Lucia, whom he could see despite the height at which she was. When she straightened up, her eyes met Cavendish's. The space of one second, he saw the two blue ocean irises which were hidden behind the smoked glasses of his sunglasses. It was love at first sight for the pirate. He was taken of a shiver of the head to the foot, his heart was packed and the red went up to his cheeks. A sharp heat took possession of his body, he could not detach his glance of the young woman who overhung him since his promontory. He coughed to regain composure and sent his horse backstage before greeting his audience, delighted with the reaction he had triggered and the passion of the crowd that was now turning entirely in his favor. Then he turned one last time towards Lucia, offering her a kiss that he deposited on the end of his fingers before sending it to her with a charming smile. The young woman had a movement of retreat, surprised and disconcerted. Wait... what? But he ended up quickly turning away from her, looking for journalists and enjoying his current glory. Lucia blinked several times... But what did he do to me there... oh my god what kind of trouble am I in again? I shouldn't have been noticed like that, it's going to fall on me... well done Luce, once again you act before thinking...
Intrigued, Lucia decided nevertheless to watch closely the fight of the little Rebecca. Women were rare in this tournament and she was far from having the physique of a gladiator, the Elementalist was curious to see how she would fare. The men in the arena had no mercy and no ethics, they would go four on four against her without hesitation. They were throwing blows at her, which she avoided without attacking back. Then there was a dodge that sent one of her opponents into the water. Then a second one. And it was two more bodies that fell into the water surrounding the platform. Is she seriously counting on... winning without a single sword stroke? Lucia was blown away, the girl was as agile as a feline, supple and lively, not taking a single blow, knowing where to position her feet to keep her balance, where to place her blade to simply destabilize her opponent. She moved, as graceful as a dancer, and all those who confronted her ended up in the water. Lucia was impressed, not only the show was magnificent but she had more and more empathy for this little girl. She uses Observation Haki, is she even aware of it? You are a great person Rebecca, no matter what your story is, you are a great person.
Loud crying then drew her attention. Intrigued, she walked outside the coliseum to look at the source of the noise. She leaned forward and squinted to see what was going on and was stunned to recognize two figures she knew all too well. Zoro and Kin'emon were standing at the entrance to the Coliseum. She took one last look around the arena, watching the fights that continued to rage in Block D. Cavendish, the famous pirate she had noticed earlier, wielded a sword with great dexterity. He managed to defeat a last opponent without the slightest effort with a loving look towards the arena, turning once again to Lucia with a wink, his rose in his hands. Lucia had a grimace. Yeah come on, the choice is quickly made. She passed her legs over the top of the Colosseum and, in a supple movement, let herself slide towards the ground. She made a silent and discreet fall by making herself intangible, using the water to move calmly. Eventually she materialized not far from the two men she knew and walked towards them. Zoro was the first to notice her;
"Lucia?! What are you doing here? You also take part in this tournament it is that?"
"No", she calmed him down, and lowered a tone, "do not shout my name like that moron!"
"Who are you calling a moron?!" screamed Zoro.
"Tell me Lady Lucia," interrupted Kin'emon, "is Sir Luffy in this arena right now?"
"But you didn't understand my word, stop talking so loud and pronouncing my name like that! No Luffy is not fighting anymore, he must be in the part reserved for the fighters of the Coliseum. And I was just a spectator of these fights until now."
"Do you know how we can find him?" asked Zoro.
"No, no one is allowed to enter the Colosseum except the gladiators once the fights have started. I don't even think I've seen anyone come out of there... "
She slowly approached the bars that blocked the main door and put her hand on the cold metal.
"Seastone..." she muttered. "Considering the space between the bars, I could maybe try to sneak in and hope not to touch the stone... but if it doesn't work we won't be very far..."
"It's kind of our only option, isn't it?" said Zoro.
A new voice attracted Lucia's attention and she raised her head towards a window a little higher on the facade. She was surprised to recognize Bartholomew, whom she had seen fighting less than an hour before, in tears.
"Not only do I have the opportunity to meet Mr. Zoro, but I also have the honor to admire the beauty of miss Lucia, the legendary childhood friend of Mr. Luffy. It is said that she is even the equivalent of his sister, having grown up with Ace and him."
"Uh... okaaaay", Lucia began. "Listen, if you ever unpack my complete biography, I might not know how to react between being impressed or terrified."
For any answer, the pirate turned away and disappeared from their field of vision, not without shedding some more tears.
"Hey you up there! We'd like to ask you a little question if you don't mind", Zoro hailed him. "Eh you hear me? I speak to you who is on the second floor!"
He continued to scream desperately while Bartholomew still didn't answer but was talking to himself, continuing to cry loudly. Zoro asked him if he knew a way into the Colosseum. The pirate continued to cry more and more while raving about Luffy's fight. What the hell is happening to him...
"But wait, I think I heard him say Luffy's name as well, could it be someone you know?"
"That's strange..." Zoro muttered.
"You... you... you're the first mate!" Bartholomew finally shouted. "You are indeed Mr. Zoro, Luffy's right-hand man in the Straw Hat crew!"
Catastrophized, Zoro tried to keep his cover but it was clear that they were both uncovered, as well as Luffy. Lucia did not say a word, completely lost. Finally, Bartholomew offered to go and get Luffy inside to bring him back to them. Continuing to cry his eyes out, he finally ran and disappeared from the window.
"I.... I don't know what to think now..." Lucia mumbled.
"There are two of us, don't worry," Zoro reassured her.
"But why the hell is he still screaming so much?" said Kin'emon.
"Do you have news of the others?" asked Lucia while turning towards the swordsman of the crew.
The pirate just nodded:
"Mmh, but I'm waiting for Luffy to be here to explain everything."
Lucia crossed her arms and started to tap her foot on the ground, making the dry sound of her heel hitting the paving stone. She had a very bad feeling.
"Is everything all right, Lady Lucia?" worried Kin'emon.
"Yeah... no," mumbled Lucia. "I don't know, there's something strange in the air... a strange feeling..."
She was interrupted in her thoughts by the shout of Luffy who was coming towards them from inside the Coliseum.
"Ahoy Zoro ! Kin'emon ! Oh, you're here too Lucia, it's great ! Did you see I won !"
"I'm not sure that "great" is the most appropriate adjective", said the young woman. "Eh, what are you doing Kin'emon?"
The samurai had taken out a snail phone from his pocket and turned it on, waiting for a communication:
"Sir Sanji asked that we contact him once we find Sir Luffy."
"Ah, right," nodded Zoro. "By the way Luffy, you should know that the Colosseum is surrounded by the Navy."
Lucia almost choked on the news:
"What? And you couldn't say it before?" she spat while looking around with a suspicious air.
For his part, the Straw hat pirate merely picked his nose, looking vaguely interested.
"This is serious!" shouted Kin'emon.
On the other end of the line, they heard Sanji's voice, and then a new communication was established with Usopp. They were all on the line, except for Law. Lucia frowned. In reality, Usopp, Franky and Robin were at the headquarters of a dwarf army that was plotting against Doflamingo, in favor of the former king of Dressrosa. The cyborg then explained that the toy soldier they had met earlier was actually the leader of this rebellion, a rebellion that had decided to rise up against Doflamingo today.
"Oh, talking about timing," Lucia whined.
"The toy-soldier... but yes, it's him that Rebecca wanted to stop, Franky you have to stop them!" ordered Luffy.
"No, you didn't understand", the carpenter said, "we have to help them, these little guys on the contrary. By the way, did you meet this Rebecca ?"
"Yeah, she's really nice but she was booed by the crowd when she entered the arena, it's not fair!"
"Yeah it's not fair," confirmed Franky. "Listen Luffy, Tra-guy's plan doesn't ring a bell... to summarize what he wanted is this: that we reduce the SMILE factory to pieces and that we keep Doflamingo alive so that he's another weapon against Kaido. But if we do that, what will happen to this army of little guys who want to overthrow this tyrant Doflamingo, can you tell me? They've been waiting for this for so long, we can't stop them... there's big trouble in this country and these little guys are willing to give up their skin to show this darkness. They won't back down. I can't give up on them. Luffy... even if you formally ordered me to give it up... I'd still go!"
Luffy grabbed the snail phone:
"Franky... don't hold back, go for it! We'll join you as soon as we can !"
"OK ! THANKS !"
On the Sunny, Sanji decided to turn back. Lucia sighed:
"Well, we're off again to go crunch the face of a Warlord. Anyway I agree with Franky on one point, Law's plan leaves a bitter taste in my mouth and that for a long time."
"What do you mean?" asked Usopp.
"I don't know exactly," answered Lucia. "But there's something I don't get, why Law is struggling so much against Doflamingo, I mean, we could do things a lot simpler right? I have the feeling that from the beginning his goal is to get Doflamingo... while he insists that his main target is Kaido."
"Are you implying that he lied to us? That would be serious," said Brook.
"No," said Lucia, "what I'm saying is that he's making it personal. Really."
"Yes, I thought I saw that too", confirmed Sanji. "For him, this confrontation goes beyond a simple strategy to bring Kaido down. There is something else."
Lucia was about to follow up when a blast resounded and a violent tremor made the ground tremble. Lucia staggered but finally recovered her balance. What's going on there...
"What was that? There is a noise on your side!" shouted Usopp.
Lucia turned her head in all directions without knowing where to look:
"Oh Lucia, why are you acting like a weathervane?"
"I don't know where it's coming from..." the Elementalist breathed, "but the water... the water is cut in the atmosphere... clear, precise... it's scary...."
"Cut?" Kin'emon asked.
"It's more precise than a sword blade, believe me," shivered Lucia. "And it comes from a moving point, I can't go back up the chain to find the origin..."
Clouds of dust rose in the air and they felt the danger approaching. Then a projectile struck with force the place which was in front of them, breaking the paving stones, raising an umpteenth gust of earth which made Lucia cough. The sleeve in front of her face to filter the air a minimum she removed her sunglasses to try to discern what it happened under their nose. When the cloud finally dissipated, she was stunned by the vision which was offered to them.
Doflamingo was there and on the ground, exhausted, bleeding... Law was breathing heavily. Luffy started to scream without understanding:
"Hey Tra-guy, what is Doflamingo doing here... you were not supposed to-"
He was interrupted by the sharp sound of a bullet as the Warlord pointed his gun at Law and fired. Lucia's heart missed a beat. The sounds. The smells. The light. Everything began to fade.
A bullet. Then another. Doflamingo fired two more shots into Law's lifeless body, which recoiled with each impact. The air filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder. Doflamingo licked the blood that had splattered on his face with a toothy grin. The young woman shook, a drop of cold sweat ran down her spine as her brain painfully registered the information.
"LAAAAAAAAAAAW!" shouted Luffy, revolted.
This scream brought Lucia back to reality, everything hit her full force. She closed her mouth, tightening her jaw while her lips stretched in an enraged pout. Tears beaded at the corner of her eyelids, fiery tears. She looked up at Doflamingo who met her gaze and his smile disappeared. He knew that look. It was the one she had given to Akainu two years earlier. The one in which shone this murderous madness, this uncontrollable rage. The rage of the Elementalist Lucia.