The sun dipped low over the shattered skyline over the scorched remains of Little East Blue. The buildings lay in ruin. There were some reduced to charred husks. There were craters on the ground. There was smoke rising from the scattered fires.
Near the remains of a battered fountain, Emeraude knelt beside Boss. She carefully wrapped a bandage around the beetle's dented shell. "You should be okay now," she murmured gently.
Boss gave a slow, grateful nod.
Yoko stood close by. She smiled and said, "Thank you, Miss Emeraude."
Emeraude glanced over. She looked at Yoko. "Call me big sis," she replied with a grin.
"See? We're not all bad," Cherry chuckled. "Captain saved them as well," she added.
Yoko hesitated a second longer, then nodded with a tiny smile. She thought maybe Cherry was right. She wondered what kind of person their Captain was.
Rubis walked towards them. She was carrying a box in her arms. "Emeraude, I've distributed water and medicine to the townsfolk," she said.
"It doesn't feel like pirating," NT muttered as she flew towards them. She was carrying a stack of boxes.
Emeraude glanced up at her. "Ben would agree," she responded.
NT smiled faintly. "My Emperor would," he responded.
Mitsuboshi approached.His left arm was in a makeshift cast. There was a bandage wrapped around his shoulder. He paused in front of Emeraude. "Thank you… for helping me," he said.
Emeraude looked up, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "It was nothing," she replied.
"Sis, you should charge him at least a little," Rubis remarked.
Mitsuboshi paled. "W-Wait, what?!" he said.
Emeraude gave a light laugh. "No, Rubis. We don't need payment," she responded.
Mitsuboshi let out a visible sigh of relief. "Still, thank you again. None of us knew that Bell-mère was with you," he responded. He turned and looked toward BM.
BM and Fabre stood a short distance away.
"I'm not Bell-mère," BM said plainly. "I'm BM," she added.
Fabre tilted his head. "But… you have her face, and the same hair," he responded.
BM crossed her arms. "Like I said, I am BM," she responded.
Fabre gave a slow nod. "I had never met her, however I heard she was a terror when she was a child and then grew up to protect everyone," he said.
"That sounds like her," BM said.
At that moment, a group of young teens ran up. "Do you Nami and Nojiko?" one asked eagerly.
BM blinked, then gave a proud, almost teasing smile. "Oh, I know them. They're my daughters," she responded.
The kids gasped. "They're your daughters?! That's so cool," they all responded.
"We're huge fans," said another, practically bouncing with excitement. "We adore them," they said with hearts in their eyes.
"I wish I could marry Nami," one said.
"Nojko is the best girl," another added.
"They both have a boyfriend," BM responded.
There was a beat of silence before the entire group gasped. "What?!" they cried in unison, clutching at their hearts.
Meanwhile, Ivy approached the others. She stood before Emeraude and Rubis. "Thank you both... for coming when you did," she said.
"We're sisters. That's what we do," Emeraude said with a large smile.
"We will fight together," Rubis added. "Though..." she tilted her head, "you will have to tell our Captain about all this," she added. "I wonder how he'll react," she added with a quiet laugh, her smile curving just slightly sinister.
Ivy looked a little nervous.
"Sis your boyfriend won't mind," Cherry teased.
"Cherry," Ivy shouted.
Meanwhile, back on Mecha Island. Vivi and Alvida walked towards a towering metal castle. There was a large iron gate.
As they neared the gate, they both spotted Gonzo. He was carrying bags in his arms.
"Hello, Gonzo," Vivi called with a wave.
Gonzo turned around. He saw Alvida and Vivi "Vivi-madam! Alvida-madam!" he greeted them. He bowed down as best he could while juggling the heavy bags. "Please allow me to express my deepest gratitude for your efforts in saving Mecha Island from those external and internal threats," he said.
"No, thank you," Vivi said with a warm smile. "You've kept your people safe too," she added.
Alvida thought that was not true however Vivi was kind.
"You are as humble as ever, my lady," Gonzo replied with a respectful nod.
Alvida stepped forward. "We're here to see Queen Roba, and to make sure the deal is being honored," she stated.
"Certainly," Gonzo said without hesitation. He shifted his weight and shoved the heavy gate. The gate slowly opened. "You have our word and we are following your conditions to the letter," he added.
They moved through the grand courtyard toward the castle's entrance, where Roba stood waiting alongside Dorothy.
"Queen Roba," Vivi said, offering a modest bow.
Alvida, however, remained upright. She folded her arms.
"Please don't bow," Roba replied immediately, stepping forward. "I should be the one bowing to you. What you've done for this island… we are forever in your debt," she added.
"We only did what was right," Vivi said quietly. She looked in the distance and saw Shimagame, the massive sea turtle who cruised along the waves.
"Where is Ratchet?" Alvida asked. She wanted to hit him in the head.
"Sir Ratchet and his friends have been confined to their quarters," Gonzo confirmed.
"My son has not come out of his room," Roba added. "He… he looks like he's seen a demon," she added.
"You're lucky he's alive after threatening us," Alvida said coldly. "My love was merciful," she added.
Roba bowed her head. "Thank you for that mercy," she responded.
"Roba," Vivi said. "You are a Queen. And you were only trying to protect your people. I know what that means," she added. She thought back to Crocodile and how she joined the Baroque Works. She thought it was horrible however she thought she ended up meeting Ben, her love.
"He's not worthy of becoming King," Alvida said. She hated him.
Roba sighed, weariness lining her face. "But who will? I'm aging. If only I could be young again…"
Alvida's eyes narrowed slightly. She thought she read in the Devil Fruit book a certain devil fruit. She smiled.
"Well," Alvida said. "We're only here to remind you, we'll be taking the Golden Crown," she added.
"It's all yours," Roba replied without hesitation.
"Thank you," Vivi said softly.
Just then, Dorothy stepped forward. "Please… may I join your crew?" she asked earnestly. She bowed down and her head popped clean off. It landed with a clunk. Dorothy picked it up and reattached it.
"My love would approve," Alvida said with a smirk.
"He would," Vivi agreed. They both looked at each other and nodded.
Roba and Gonzo looked at each other and also nodded
"We'll take our leave," Vivi said as she turned back and headed down the path.
"We'll stay here until Shimagame reaches where she needs to be," Alvida said. She added, "Once that's done, the prize will be ours."
With that, Alvida, Vivi and Dorothy departed.
Roba turned to Gonzo. "The Dorothy units were built to be mindless, obedient machines," she said.
Gonzo nodded slowly. "Lately, all of them have started exhibiting peculiar behaviors, especially that one. She was the closest to him," he added.
Roba smiled. "He was… an unusual man, no doubt," she said. "I wonder how he will be as a King," she said.
"Madam?" Gonzo said.