Chapter 93: Where the sun doesn’t shine.

With Sugar out for the count, the citizens of Dressrosa remembered the people who were turned into toys. The truth of Doflamingo’s deeds was exposed and everyone was not happy about it. The former celestial dragon had locked down the country with his birdcage ability for one purpose only: not let out the news out into the world. He had made a game, where people who kill members of the crew and key leader would receive millions of berries depending on the rank of the target. It didn’t matter in the end as he planned to kill everyone but infighting between people would allow him and his forces to keep their strength. The one most affected was Usopp since Doflamingo thought he was the one responsible for knocking Sugar out and starting everything.

“Perhaps I should have taken the credit instead of letting Usopp get it.” said Rick.
“What’s done is done.” replied Robin.
“Yes, but now he’s the most wanted man on the island.”

As he said that many of the former toys turned their back on their ‘God’, lured by the prospect of millions of berries. They were stopped by a lone pirate that blocked their way, using some kind of barrier. Rick didn’t care though and flatten to the ground all the backstabber while infusing armament haki into his gravity. He took Robin in his arms and made everyone on their side float towards the hole in the ceiling, including the dwarves friends Usopp and Robin made. Turned out the name of their race was Tontata.

They landed on a field of flowers where they met with the previous king of Dressrosa and Viola.

“Rick!” she called out.

Robin turned her head to her husband with a meaningful look.

“She’s my apology present to you.” making Robin look again at Viola with scrutiny in her eyes.
“You really have good taste.
“Of course I do, I married you.”
“Good answer.” she said, rewarding him with a peck on his lips.

When viola reached Rick she saw Robin and instantly blushed, remembering the different state of dress she had seen her previously while probing Rick’s mind.

“Viola, I think you recognized her but this is my wife Robin.”
“H-hello.”
“Recognized me?” asked the archeologist curious.
“She ate the Giro Giro no mi. She can see through anything, like walls, clothes or through one’s mind. Basically she’s a voyeur and got a good eyeful of you when she probed my mind.”
“I’m not a voyeur!” said Viola but got ignored by the couple.
“A good eyeful?”
“You’re always in my mind Ro, in many, many states of dress.” grinned Rick.
“That’s an understatement.” whispered Viola but not low enough for Robin to not have heard her.
“I like her.” stated Robin, looking at Viola up and down.
“I knew you would! Wait to have her legs right in front of your face…”
“ENOUGH!” yelled the princess.
“We have better things to do!”
“She’s also sexually frustrated because, no good men are around. Her ex is Dofus, probably really bad in bed.” said Rick to Robin barely whispering the last part.
“I said ENOUGH! We don’t have time for that!”
“It’s alright, Luffy is on his way to beat Dofus and from what I’m seeing from here Zoro is handling Pika.” replied Rick pointing at the several stories high stone man not far from where they were.
“You don’t understand, the Birdcage will get smaller and smaller! It will destroy and cut in pieces everything on its way!”
“Well, shit.”

He began to think for a moment, something needed to be done about that, but he didn’t know what. Sure, the fastest way was to defeat Doflamingo but he wasn’t sure he could do it with the mastery of haki he currently had. Perhaps it was time to try his new technique he thought about.

“If I use it on the appropriate spot, I might be able to destroy the cage. It’s far from everyone so there won’t be any danger for the people. Now for me it’s a whole other matter.”

He sighed in acceptance and looked up at the sky.

“What’s your stupid idea?” asked Robin.
“Stupid idea?” replied Rick feigning ignorance.
“I know you. I know that sigh, I know that look. You are going to try something very very stupid that could save everyone at the price of your well being.” she said in an accusatory tone.
“Am I that predictable?”
“No, but I’m obsessed with you so…”
“Keep that up and I might believe that.” he smiled and kissed her.
“Please don’t die…”
“...”
“Oh, who am I kidding, even death can’t hold you.” she joked.
“There isn’t a seed of me in some flower pot Robin.”
“Maybe. But you’ll just find a way to get back to me, now go do your thing.”
“... Marry me again?” he said  trying to convey how much he loved her at that moment.
“As many times as you wished.”

She kissed him and pushed him away, signaling him it was time for him to go do his thing. As he departed Robin laid her eyes on Koala and Viola who had different facial expressions from each other. The former had stars in her eyes, loving the lovey-dovey moment the married couple shared. Viola was shocked to see Rick’s attitude with Robin. He definitely was in love with her, anyone could see. She felt something inside of herself that she didn’t quite recognize but looking at Robin, for the first time in her life felt inferior towards another woman.


~~~~~

Rick was making its way to the top of the cage, where every thread started from and were all connected. He had thought of using a meteor shower instead of what he was about to do, but flying up he saw the bars of the cage cutting through into stone like it was butter, so decided against it. Meteors were after all giant molten rocks falling from space. Back to plan A it was. A for Absolutely stupid.

Reaching the convergence spot, he could see the thread moving bit by bit. At the speed they were moving, they had one hour at best and Rick wondered if he had enough time to succeed.
He put his hand in front of him, opposing his palms to each other. He began channeling his gravity in a single point. He needed to go beyond any gravity he ever made and used, as what he wanted to do required an insane amount of it.

A dark purple orb began to form between his hands, he brought it up to the point of connection of the strings but nothing happened.

“Figures, I need to do more channeling.”

He put more and more and more but nothing changed.

“I can’t… put much more into it. “

Thinking quickly to find a solution he analyzed the way he used his gravity. The push, the attraction, the confronting two opposite gravity… None of that helped. It was when He thought about the way he used Ryusei that he got the answer he was looking for.

“I just need to compress it.”

Focusing on the orb, Rick began to compress it, making it smaller and smaller into one single point. Channeling so much gravity into one small orb was already taxing for him but changing the orb into the size of a marble was even more of a challenge for his stamina. His idea was the right one apparently as the space around the marble began to distort.

“Okay, the ripples around the gravity show that what I'm thinking is possible. I just need one little push of power.”

Putting his hands as close as possible he began to infuse armament haki into the marble. He didn’t succeed at first but tried again. After a dozen tries  the distortion got worse from a fraction of a second. It was a small success that he needed to repeat and maintain. He tried again, and noticed during one of his tries that infusing slowly and in small constant quantities his armament Haki was his best success so far.

“So small first, and bit by bit increase the amount I’m sending.”

That’s what he did and the space distorted more and more until he believe that he had the hang of it and put the highest power of Haki he could muster into the marble of gravity between his hands.
It worked! The space broke and the marble expanded.

He had just created a black hole.

He didn’t have the time to rejoice as its newly made creation devoured everything in reach, and the first thing in reach was his hands.

He screamed loudly. The pain was nothing like he had ever felt before. His bones were crushed to dust, his muscles and skin torned apart absorbed.
That was his saving grace as between the pain and his hands gone the gravity dispelled making the black hole disappear.

He lost consciousness, as the pain and the exhaustion were too much, and began free falling to the ground.

~~~~~


“May I ask you a question?” asked Viola to Robin.
“Yes?”
“How… How did he… get you  to marry him?”
“He didn’t.”
“But you’re married!”
“We are. But he didn’t ask me, I did. Well to be honest, I asked him and he asked back.”
“I don’t understand how you could marry this..”
“Lunatic, exasperating, maddening and perverted man?”
“Yes. He’s always changing his attitude, so…”
“Carefree. That’s the word you’re looking for. His mood swings as much as kids do.”
“How do you deal with that?”
“I don’t. He’s doing his own things and I know that by the end of the day everything will be well. I know that when it’s needed he’s the most serious and dedicated one. It’s all about the situation. He adapts because he’s ever changing. I haven’t known a single boring moment since I got to meet him as he always makes things interesting.”
“... He’s still a pervert.”
“And I’m glad he is. As I say he always makes things interesting.” replied Robin with a smile.
“The only thing in his mind is you! I only probed the surface of his deepest secrets and all I saw was you in a different risqué outfit. Had I probed further…
“You would probably have found every single fantasy of his about me. I would have loved to see that.”
“Doesn’t that bother you?”
“What? That he fantasizes about me?”
“That he thinks of you as a piece of meat?”

That made Robin laugh. Nothing was further from the truth.

“No. I think the same about him too and it’s more than that.”
“What do you mean?”
“He… borderline worships me. Every ounce of what I am; my mind, my heart, my body. And he should because everything is his. Just like everything he is, is mine. When we have sex it’s… It’s the most perfect way for him to show it to me and I answered him in kind.”
“...”

Viola was a bit lost at the answer she got. She never saw someone talking about their relationship with their significant other like that. So opened, so blunt, so passionate and accepting. The feeling she had felt earlier watching the both of them together came back but she knew what it was now. It was jealousy. Plain old jealousy. Doflamingo has been a very selfish lover, not treating her well. Perhaps because she was the former princess and thought she would just betray him, perhaps not. But despite all the love words he had told her, they seemed so fake compared to what Robin had just described. They hadn’t pronounced the word love to each other, but they radiated it for one other. She wanted the same thing. Someone she could give her everything to while they would give their everything to her.

Unknowingly she began to list the good parts about him. He’s handsome, strong and kisses very well. He counter trapped her, proof that he was smart. And Robin was right, he’s ever changing. She hadn’t felt such a range of emotions in such a short time when they were together. She felt jealous of Robin to have such a man. To have him. She may not have been in love but she was definitely infatuated.

“You’re interested in him.”
“I’m not!” Viola denied vehemently.
“It’s alright, you’re not the only one who fell for his particular charm. I fell for it too, among other things, so there’s no need to be ashamed.”
“I…”
“Go ahead, try him if you want.”
“W-what?!”
“Go ahead, spend the night with him.”
“Aren’t you married to him?”
“It may shock you but I’m aware, I was there when it happened.” joked Robin.
“And you have no problem with that? Him sleeping with me?”
“You wouldn’t be the first.”
“What?!” Viola had an incredulous face.
“Rick and I have a deal. I like both men and women and Rick is a woman magnet, so we sort of decided that he would share with me his… mistresses?”

Viola’s brain turned to mush.

“S-so… So when he said that he was seducing me for you, he was telling the truth?” the princess asked with eyes as big as saucers out of shock.
“He’s always telling the truth. Except to people he doesn’t like, in that case Rick is a very good liar.”
“Would I.. Would I have too…”
“Be with me? Hmmm, good question. I wouldn’t mind, quite the contrary” replied Robin with a predatory glare before taking Viola’s chin in one hand and lifting up her head.
“Don’t worry, no woman has ever left my bed not satisfied.”

Viola gulped loudly. Every fiber of her body screamed at her to get away or she would be doomed. But she didn’t have to as Usopp, sprawled on his back on the ground, called out to Robin.

“Robin! Something is falling from the sky! I think it’s Rick!”

She looked up and saw a figure falling down. Not even wondering who that was, she bloomed a giant hand and caught her husband in his fall. Putting him down in front of her she was panicking inside because of what she saw. Most of both hands and half his forearm were gone and he was bleeding a lot.

“Oh my god!” screamed Viola.
“Robin?! What’s wrong with him?!” asked Usopp, unable to move because of his exhaustion.

The brunette thought fast, at the speed her husband was losing blood he would die in a few minutes. That wasn’t going to happen, not on her watch. She pulled her hand back and smacked him in the face.

“What are you doing?!” yelled Viola.

Robin ignored him and smacked him a second time and a third. That did the trick as Rick woke up.

“I’m awake! No need to slap me anymore!”
“Fix yourself, you didiot!” pointing to his wound.

Rick followed the direction her finger was pointing out and was horrified at how mangke his arms were. Quickly he sprouted new arms making the bleeding stop.

“There, better.”

Robin tackled him to the ground and hugged him tightly.

“Stop scaring me like that.”
“Can’t promise that but I can promise you to do my best to avoid things like that happening.”
“Good enough for me.”

“Okay, WHAT THE HELL?!” screamed Viola not understanding what just happened.
“How did you… regrow your arms?!”
“Oh that?”
“YES! THAT!”
“I’m a seed man.”
“A seed man?”

Rick did a demonstration and sprouted an arm in front of her.

“I make seeds appear and they sprout into whatever body parts I want. It’s basic though. I can’t make a copy of myself or just my head.”
“I’m guessing that what you tried to do failed?” asked Usopp from his lofty place.
“Yes and no. What I did worked, but since it was my first time doing it I didn’t think of all the precautions necessary and it backfired greatly.”
“It’s up to Luffy then.” replied Usopp.
“Yes. Anything happened while I was up there?”
“The people had banded together. Citizens, pirates, adventurers, bandits, the marines. They all around the city trying to push back the birdcage advance. Or at least stop it.” answered Viola. She has been looking through everything that was happening.
“Doflamingo?”
“He’s fighting Luffy here and there. They kept moving around. As for the Donquixote family some officers are still in… Ghyaaa!”

Viola cut her sentence short as a massive headache hit her.

“What’s wrong?!”
“Mansherry, she’s…”
“Who’s mansherry?” asked Rick.
“The Tontatas princess. Doflamingo is holding her hostage and using the Tontatas’ naivety to have free labor to the production of his smiles.” replied Robin.
“Okay, Dofus, just checked the number one box on my no-no list!”
““Oh Oh.”” said both Robin and Usopp.
“Oh oh ?” said Viola, still holding her head in her hands.

Rick took to the sky again and sprouted eyes all over himself. With his 360° angle view he sprouted thousands of arms. On people, on building. Anything close to the birdcage’s bars. Every single one of them began to be covered in armament haki and emitted a dark purple light,trying to push away the threatening threads closing down on everyone.

“I’m sooo going to feel it tomorrow.” he thought.

Looking down he sprouted an eye, a mouth and an ear between Robin’s throat and her cleavage.

“Viola, where is Mansherry?”
“She’s on the 9th floor of the palace.”

Without an instant to lose Rick rushed to the place and began searching. He didn’t have to do it for long as he just followed the fighting sounds. Some Tontatas soldiers were fighting Donquixote family members while an ugly hag was holding in one hand a very cute Tontata’s princess and slapping her with the other. The princess’ tears seemed to have a healing effect as the hag’s subordinates got up and went back to fight the littles soldiers.

Rick was enraged! He took a page from Robin’s fighting book and sprouted arms covered in armament Haki over the bodies of his opponents and disabeled them all the while attracting the Tontata’s princess to him, catching her delicately in her hands.

“You’re safe now,” he said, smiling at her.

“Princess!” yelled the leader of the soldiers climbing on the hand Mansherry was.

As Rick looked happily at the reunion all his strength left him and he fell onto the ground. Fortunately neither the princess nor the leader, who’s name was apparently Leo, were hurt in the fall.

“““Rickland!””” called out some of the Tontatas coming to his head.

“Rickland?”

“Are you hurt?” asked Leo.
“I’m just… exhausted. I lost a lot of blood… earlier and I’m currently having… thousands of my… arms trying to stop… the advance of the… birdcage. I’ll be… fine.” said Rick with a short breath. His eyes were closing which was bad as while his harms would still be there, the Haki infusion and the gravity would disappear, stopping his help.

The fiasco / success with the blackhole took a lot out of him and when he had acted to stop the birdcage he had used the last of his stamina. This last fight, he was working on pure willpower.

The situation was dire.

~~~~~

“Rick, Leo and the others just saved princess Mansherry.” announced Viola, to the joy of the Tontatas that stayed with her and Usopp.
“Rick is exhausted though. I don’t think he can fight anymore.” she added, making Usopp laugh.
“Did I say something funny?”
“Yes. Rick not able to fight while the fight is still going on? I only saw this happen once and it was because he was more or less dead. Luffy and Rick, as long as they have some asses to kick, they won’t stop, they won’t give up. They always find a way to get back up and win the fight.”

Viola wished she could have Usopp’s faith in his crewmates but she saw what she was. Their only hope was Luffy. Looking up to Flower Hill she prayed that Robin would be in time to save Rebecca who was fighting Diamante, the last one of the elite officers of the Donquixote family.
~~~~~

“This is not good.” said Robin looking up, seeing countless of spike metal balls falling.

She bloomed hands and cut as much sunflower and as fast as she could, making a giant bouquet. Blooming two giant hands she held it just above her and Rebecca’s head. It worked at first but the sheer number of balls falling and the accumulating damage they did, began to tear through the made up flower shield. One of them made it through and hurt her back and she held back a scream of paint, instead she covered Rebecca with her own body. She waited for the pain inflicted by other spike balls but nothing ever came. Looking up she saw one single arm making the weapons float and sending them away.

Robin didn’t say anything and just smiled.

~~~~~

“Thank you for healing me princess.” said Rick to Mansherry, holding her and Leo in his hands.
“Leo told me you were a fwriend of the Tontatas, I couldn’t leave you like that, besides it’s just healing it’s not much.” she replied, making the ex-marine laugh.
“Rickland?!” asked Leo.
“You did more than just heal me princess. You just saved everyone.”
“I did?!” she exclaimed, surprised.
“Yes. Let me show you.”

Rick made every Tontatas float and attracted every single one of them.

“Hold on to me” he said and all of them did.

He flew through a window, exiting the Royal Palace and once again went up high in the sky. Just like he had done earlier he sprouted thousands of arms, coated them in Haki and used his Gravity. The number of arms were far greater now that Mansherry completely healed his wound and restored his stamina fully. Rick was in peak condition and everyone will know about it as the birdcage stopped moving. Some people stopped pushing and took a rest while they could, not knowing when they would have to push again. Some took the opportunity to help the wounded and lead them towards the center of the city which was a safer place.

The remnants of the Donquixote family were all defeated by either the former royal army or by the pirates and adventurers who fought in the coliseum tournament.

“Now Luffy just needs to…”

His thought was interrupted by threads coming out of his stomach.
“Rickland!” screamed the Tontatas.
“Did you really think I would let you stop my plan?” said Doflamingo flying behind him.
“Oh!... You’re still alive?!”
“Of course! Like that strawhat captain of you and Trafalgar had any chance against me to begin with.”
“Eh!” smirked Rick, spitting blood from his mouth.
“What?” asked Doflamingo, annoyed at his smug face.
“Is your dick as thin as those threads of yours, Dofus? No wonder Viola dumped your ass. Sex must have been awful! God my ass.” joked Rick.

That was so out of the blue that Doflamingo blanked for a moment, before he pulled himself together and sent a razor edged thread towards Rick who pushed himself away and successfully dodged.

“You’re crazy if you think you can best me in an aerial Battle.”
“I don’t think, I know. I’m not the one who will beat your ass though.”
“MINGO!!!”

Luffy came from the ground in his Gear 4 form and sent Doflamingo away with a punch. He looked at his vice-captain who just winked at him, and pursued the shichibukai. The fight was not over.

Despite his new wound Rick kept the birdcage to a stop not with a bit of struggle. Mansherry was there, but he wasn’t going to ask her to heal him, she had already cried enough tears for the day.


A few minutes later a big crashing sound resonated in all the city and two huge parts of the ground were seen rising up. As if she was never there, the birdcage vanished, the pressure against his gravity stopping. Making his arm go away, Rick took a deep breath, feeling the recoil of constant stamina use.

“So Luffy finally defeated Dofus. Damn! To level the ground like that, what did he hit him with?”

He flew towards Flower Hill and landed next to Robin where he dropped off the Tontatas he had with him.

“Are you hurt?” asked Rick to his wife.
“No, at least not as much as you.” she replied, lifting his bloodied shirt to look at his wound.
“I don’t think he damaged anything important.”
“Can’t you patch yourself up?”
“Not those kinds of wounds. They are too unfamiliar and small. I’m not regrowing parts any way I want. If half an organ is gone, I won’t be able to regrow the missing part, as I can only regrow the entirety of it.”
“But you regrow your arms ?”
“I regrew the entirety of my forearms and hands. They are separated units making the whole arm.”
“I see.” replied, understanding what he was talking about.

Viola came closer to the couple.

“Thank you for saving princess Mansherry.”
“Let’s say it was to make up for my failure to kill Dofus.”
“It’s alright, he’s gone now. That’s all that matters.” Viola replied with a tiny smile before leaving to join her family.
“She’s mine tonight.” announced Robin, her eyes fixed on Viola’s ass.
“I’ll wrap her in a big purple ribbon.” joked Rick, making the brunette roll her eyes.
“Sometimes… I just want to smash your head.”
“As long as it is with your perfect bubble butt, I’m fine with it.” he grinned.
“Don’t tempt me.”
“Is that a challenge that I’m hearing?”
“Perhaps…” Robin said as she left to join Usopp and the Riku family while swinging her hips sensually.
“Oh, it’s on!”.