One Less Loose End

Before any of the combatants-to-be could even breathe, with a swift Quicksilver Dante was directly in front of the opposing group, and eager for the big reveal of who he was fighting, Dante grabbed under the hood of the closest person to him, intending to pull them in and slam one of the Cerberus on them.

He came to a slight roadblock in that plan however, because instead of having his hand around someone's face, it was blocked by something stiff. Something long. He recognised it instantly, how could he not? That nose certainly leaves a memory.

Disgusted and confused, but piecing a picture together somewhat, Dante made up his mind. Shifting back onto his left foot, Dante kicks out, against the back of the (who he thinks is Kaku's) knee, and unleashes a quick jab to the nose he previously held, holding back significantly so as to not accidentally have his fist go through the mans skull, instead shattering the bones in each location he struck.

Hopping back, bouncing on his feet and recognising a distinctly familiar figure and a hint of blonde hair as he looked over, Dante was slowly beginning to realise that this conflict was a much deeper one than he initially thought.

Iceburg's suspicions were correct, it would seem. He smiled. Having done his job so far of keeping the man safe, and already feeling bored and slightly creeped out by having gotten hands on with Kaku's nose, Dante decided to kick back and make sure Iceburg didn't get caught in the crossfire.

Laying on the bed with his hands behind his head, legs crossed, Dante disengaged his Quicksilver and watched as chaos ensued, with Kaku dropping down like a puppet with no strings, collapsing in on himself. Iceburg jumped at seeing Dante appear next to him.

The collective heads of CP9 follow to their fallen ally, then take notice of the vibrant red coat Dante loved so dearly. They did not seek vengeance, though, instead prioritising their mission and the capture or killing of Iceburg.

"Woah! How'd you do that, Damien!?"

Luffy's voice echoed out just after he realised Dante had seemingly disappeared and reappeared. It seemed as though his crew thought he was disrespecting Dante, because upon Dante looking over to respond to Luffy, he saw Nami shaking her head while pointing at Luffy, and Zoro clutching his swords tighter. Chopper, being the creature of utter devastation that he is simply waves.

"Well, Lucian, it's actually quite simple. I'm just that good. Maybe someday you'll be just as good as well, but I doubt it."

Proud of himself and his response, and distinctly aware that Luffy had not heard his response due to CP9 directing their assault against him and his crew, Dante simply crossed his arms and raised his chin, proud of himself for once again educating the youth.

His best guess is that CP9, as mission focused as they are, decided that his presence in the room meant it was impossible for them to harm Iceburg, nor capture Nico Robin, and went for the tertiary objective instead. Eliminate Straw Hat Luffy, by any means necessary.

Beyond several instances of 'Robin, come back!' and 'Daniel, do something!', nothing much else interesting happened in the fight, until suddenly Nico Robin once again tried to sneak over and dispose of the still relatively shocked Iceburg, who had been shaking slightly the entire time.

Her attempt was interrupted handily after Dante took a note from Vergil's book and surrounded her with an array of his summoned swords, waving at her with a bright smile when she glared over in his direction, frustrated that she failed so spectacularly and still has to watch CP9 harm her friends.

Each hand that she tried to send his way, wrap around a bone or joint, and every foot she tried to kick him with was thwarted quite easily with a simple shift of the swords ever so closer. He quite liked the little game they were playing, though to her it absolutely was not a game.

All he has to do is simply wait for this to be over. Maybe he'll step in if it starts looking bad. After all, he does care for them, somewhat. He isn't too sure why, and it's probably because they're the only ones he recognises and gives him something familiar at the very least, but he didn't care. They seem nice, and that was more than enough in this world. Everyone seemed hostile here, friendly faces were few and far between.

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Seeing that Rob Lucci had now revealed himself, that same top hat on his head, and was currently beating down Luffy into a bloody mess, Dante decided that perhaps now was a good time to intervene. Nami was on the floor, Chopper was exhausted to the bone and Zoro was... well he wasn't quite sure considering he couldn't find the man somehow but the point still stands.

Getting up off of his currently cross legged position, having switched several times to get the best view of the fight, Dante stretched his arms and crackled his knuckles, laughing to himself at how the extensively trained deadly group of assassins flinched slightly at the action. He walked forward, and the battle stopped. The panic had manifested now, as the members of CP9 gave eachother multiple signals through nodding.

While he didn't recognise one of them, being the man with devil horns for hair, a stylistic choice Dante wasn't quite endorsing, he knew that these people were threatening his chances of his own boat, and of some friends in this new world. All he had in that category was Jilky Two Toes, and that was already precarious enough as it is. Maybe Vergil counted too, if you squinted.

"Alright. I reckon I've waited long enough. Time for me to tag in."

Each member of CP9 still standing instantly planned to use that 'Soru' move of theirs to get out of dodge and exit the building through the open hole in the wall, however that was in vain, as the moment they turned their bodies to flee Dante was sat there, looking down at the clock in the room, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Listen, I got a place to be real soon. Can we make this quick?"

Looking among themselves, it seems as though the various members of CP9 came to the mutual conclusion that the plan was out the window, and readied themselves to engage Dante. He smiled once more in response, only to frown as Lucci suddenly took a snail out of his hand.

Would he tell his superiors to send reinforcements? That the mission failed? Dante wouldn't allow that, instead quickdrawing Ivory and unloading 3 rounds into Lucci's hand, Tricking over and grabbing the snail.

Seeing that there was no connection, Dante pocketed the snail and put the pistol back in the holster, shortly after Tricking between Khalifa and Devil Hair, grabbing them by the back of the head and slamming their faces into to ground, incapacitating them. He heard them say something like 'Tekkai' but to be honest he stopped paying attention to what they said quite a while ago.

Standing up and stretching his arms against his chest, Dante looked over and saw that the Straw Hats were all recuperating in the entrance of the room, still without Robin. He couldn't quite understand why she wouldn't go back with the crew, and Chopper's words were ringing in his head.

"Well, I'd say we're just about done here. Say, Robin, you done with this whole 'leaving the Straw Hats' thing?"

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Robin was conflicted. The options from before had become clear the instant the battle started, Dante was so far above CP9 that they served no challenge. But these weren't the only members. If they didn't report in, headquarters would raise questions. Their leader would raise questions. And questions could lead to a Buster Call on the island.

The answer was clear. Her friends were safe, that much was obvious. She had no reason to stay. All she wanted was her friends back, her family back. Without hesitation, she dropped the gun and ran over to her crew, the swords surrounding her having been dropped the second the gun left her hands.

Dante took this as confirmation that he had done something right, because he was pretty sure she is a main character in the crew for the rest of the series and now she'd abandoned her whole 'hatred' phase. Proud of himself for keeping the story intact, Dante casually meandered over to Lucci who had been stoic ever since his squad was taken down.

"So, before we finish this, where'd that pigeon go Bird Boy?"

Lucci did not dignify Dante with a response, instead glaring down at the man, grim acceptance on his face as he reminded himself that the mission was derailed, and that he failed the World Government. These were the consequences of his mistakes.

"Damn, that's a shame. Really hoped to see that little guy. Oh well."

Figuring that he has enough leverage already, Dante decided that one less loose end was better for him. Characters in series like these tend to come back if you let them, and Dante didn't want his own one sided rivalry. Summoning the Yamato, he cleaved Lucci's head from his shoulders, not allowing the man a chance at resurrection as a zombie if things go apocalyptic in the series.

Yawning slightly at the lack of excitement in the battle, partly due to the utter stomping of the Straw Hats and sticking to his mission of keeping Iceburg safe, Dante went over to Iceburg's bed, slicing it to ribbons and using them to tie the incapacitated CP9 members up, possibly fracturing bones to make sure they're tight.

"Hey, Robin, did these guys say where their boss might be? I figure I've got enough leverage here for them to get me on the snail with someone important, and I'm in the mood for some negotiations."

What Dante wanted was quite simple. To see how far he could push the World Government or the Marines. He would happily admit that screwing over major authority figures has a distinct charm to it, though he was also hoping to negotiate some resources to upgrade the Deadweight.

Try as she might, Robin couldn't help but feel slightly vindictive towards the World Government after the last 24 hours. It had been exhausting, and utterly gutwrenching for her. She looked over to Dante and told him exactly where he would find them.

"Enies Lobby. It's the pathway the World Government use to imprison criminals, or anyone they deem as such."

"Huh... Odd name, but I suppose that's normal for this place. Say, you seem to have some woes with these folks. You wanna tag along and burn it to the ground?"

He grinned in her direction, a mischievous one no less and even though Robin should have been afraid of him after what he did to Cipher Pol, instead she felt safe. Comfortable.

She looked over to Nami and Luffy for confirmation, fearing they would no longer be trusting of her. Instead they were all too happy to end Robin's troubles, and the smile she then gave Dante after their response brightened the room, no matter how small it was.

"Happy to hear it, Robin. Before we go, though, mind telling me what you wanted with old Iceburg over here? Hey, Iceburg? Oi!"

The man had fled the room the second Dante had finished the battle, already feeling a fragmented trust towards everyone around him after Khalifa's betrayal. Sure, he had seen it coming but it wasn't exactly something he wanted to be true. He needed to see Franky, tell him of Cipher Pol, and of Dante.

Grabbing hold of his new hostages and waltzing over to an exit, entirely ignorant of the Foremen watching him in utter incredulity and the public masses having seen the fight through the open hole in the wall, Dante didn't miss a beat with the knowledge that Iceburg ran.

Looks like he'll have to take the train instead of getting the Deadweight running now. Come to think of it, he'd be spending quite a while on the island waiting for his Deadweight to be finished, maybe too long. 'Thoughts for later', he told himself.

"Oh well. Guess we're going now. Hold on, ain't there supposed to be another member of your crew?"

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The biting winds bore lashes against his skin. The flames of his cigarette was all he had to warm himself in the freezing night, as alarm bells rung over the tide rising to frightening heights, and evacuations of the lower levels were beginning.

Hours he had spent at this sea train station, waiting for Robin, the men who took her, or damn near anything to show up. He would wait as long as it took, though. He loved Robin-chwan, with all of his heart, and he would see to it that he be her Knight in shining armour no matter the cost.

Hopefully they'd come soon though. People kept giving him weird looks after the first few hours. This was his last cigarette, too. Hearing footsteps approaching, Sanji hastily turned on his foot, only to groan upon seeing who it was that greeted.

"Ero-cook? The hell're you doing here? Oi, you seen Luffy anywhere? Nami, Chopper?"

'Where the fuck did the Mosshead come from? Wasn't he supposed to be with the crew?' Sanji truly had no clue. All he knew was that he was now stuck with that piece of shit Mosshead, and he certainly did not enjoy that fact.