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“How are you holding up?”
Shamrock didn’t respond, instead continuing to stare out at the sea. Not that Shanks was surprised by that—he hadn’t really interacted with his twin much given their paths in life, but unlike most Celestial Dragons, Shamrock was quite stoic. Although with the knowledge of what had happened barely twenty-four hours ago (and what was technically still happening), he was undoubtedly quite rattled.
Everything had started out normally the previous day, but a little after 11 o’clock, Marines all over the world had received a message informing them that something called Supreme Command Omega had gone into effect. The majority of them had promptly stopped whatever they were doing and either turned on whatever Celestial Dragons were nearby or actively went looking for them, citing that “with the exception of the Five Elder Stars and the God Knights, the Celestial Dragons have served their purpose, and are to be terminated immediately.” Mass panic had broken out among the Dragons as they were systematically slaughtered, with their slaves and others who were suffering at their whim taking the opportunity to escape, some aided by the few Marines who were apparently unaffected (all of whom were among the more moral Marines).
“Your fellow God Knights and the Elder Stars aside, I can’t imagine there are many Celestial Dragons left at this point,” remarked Mihawk as he took a sip from his wine glass.
“No,” Shamrock agreed, finally turning away. “There is nowhere safe for them anymore.”
“Feels like what I’ve been told about what happened at God Valley,” Shanks said with a nod. “Only in reverse.”
“Tell me something.” Mihawk set down his glass as he turned to look at Shamrock. “Why do you think the God Knights are excluded from this ‘Supreme Command Omega’?”
“My guess is because they’re still needed,” Shamrock replied. “Unlike the Celestial Dragons, they actually have an important role—they have been the top enforcers of the Elder Stars for a long time, while the Dragons did nothing but consume resources and deliver retribution on anyone who offended them in even the smallest way. And most of them didn’t really have any physical power—they relied on others who do.”
“Which is undoubtedly why they didn’t expect the Marines to turn on them like that, even if brainwashing was involved,” remarked Shanks. “And it wouldn’t surprise me if whoever had those commands put in also had some way to get rid of the God Knights if they outlive their usefulness.”
“I had the same thought,” Shamrock admitted. “Which is why I came here—I don’t know if there is anywhere else I could go. And after a lot of thinking, I’m not sure I want to keep my status as a Celestial Dragon, never mind a God Knight. Like I said, they didn’t do anything productive. So why did they exist in the first place? What purpose did the Dragons really have?”
———————————————
“I honestly don’t know what to tell you,” Garp said with a shrug. “Never liked the fact that the Marines have acted as their attack dogs far more than they should have.”
“To be honest, neither do I,” Sengoku admitted. “And from what the Elder Stars told me when I called them earlier, they’ve realized that the Dragons were a liability. However, they do want us to find out who activated that command, stating that whoever did it is probably not someone who should have that kind of power.”
“Yeah, if somebody can use that brainwashing to make them kill the Dragons, then who knows what else they could do?” agreed Coby. “Though...I’m wondering why it didn’t affect either of you, me, or Helmeppo.”
“Not just us,” said Sengoku as he took a seat and retrieved a pen and paper from his desk. “A handful of other Marines weren’t affected either. I’m not sure how that happened, but I noticed that all the ones for whom these Supreme Command protocols didn’t take are those with a greater sense of morality. Smoker and his young apprentice, Jonathan, Hina, Tsuru...and apparently Kuzan too.”
Garp took out a packet of rice crackers and after offering to Coby and Helmeppo (both declined), started munching on them. “By the way, Senny, did you tell them that the execution’s not gonna happen?”
“Yes,” the Fleet Admiral replied. “Luckily for you, Garp, the Elder Stars feel that finding out who’s responsible for this mess is a higher priority than your adopted grandson, despite the fact that we’ll never have another opportunity like the one we had again.”
———————————————
“How did you escape, anyway?”
Ace grinned at Marco. “The ship that was taking me to Impel Down got a call telling them that ’Supreme Command Omega’ had gone into effect, and they promptly made a detour to carry it out. Isuka offered to stay behind and guard the ship while they were away, but that was just so she could help me escape. We eventually found our way to Sabaody, met up with Luffy and his pals at that auction house, and helped them escape, only for Kuma and that Sentomaru guy to track us down.”
Luffy nodded. “He said we weren’t strong enough for the New World, but that he had a way to fix that. Then he sent everyone off to different places. Ace and I landed on Amazon Lily, and met Hammock—I mean Hancock—soon after.”
“Speaking of which, I notice she seems to be in a particularly good mood. Not that she’s the only one—a lot of people are celebrating the downfall of the Celestial Dragons.”
“You got that right,” commented Isuka, approaching with her Marine outfit in her arms (Whitey Bay had lent her some of her old clothes). “It turns out she and her sisters were once slaves to the Dragons—they kept it a secret for a long time, but after the news broke, they decided to stop hiding. A lot of the Amazons have been showing sympathy for them.”
“Plus, I’ve been sleeping far more easy since then,” Hancock chimed in as she joined them.
“Your talk with Pops go okay?” asked Ace.
Hancock nodded. “Yes, he’s agreed to bring Amazon Lily under his protection. So I no longer have to maintain my Warlord status.”
“Bet you’re glad to be out of that gilded cage,” Isuka remarked as she dropped her Marine outfit into a ring of stones. “There’s no way I’m going back to the Marines—between learning what really happened to my village and this whole Supreme Command Omega mess...”
Giving her a comforting pat on the shoulder, Ace conjured a flame with a snap of his fingers and set the outfit alight.
“You gonna join Whitebeard?” Luffy asked.
“Maybe I will.” Isuka gazed at the flames burning the symbol of her old life to ashes. “Don’t think I have that many other options.”
“Say, what do you think Teach is up to? I bet he’s mad that you got away.”
“His plans for becoming a Warlord did get derailed with my escape,” Ace said. “But he hated the Dragons as much as the rest of us, so I have no idea how he’s feeling right now.”
———————————————
“Zehahahaha!” Teach laughed as he dropped the paper onto the table. “Can’t say I saw this coming!”
“I doubt anyone did,” agreed Doc Q, looking up from where he was brushing Stronger’s mane. “The Celestial Dragons had the Marines’ collective leash for so long, the idea must have seemed unthinkable, even with all the horrible things those bubble-headed monsters did.”
“Between the slavery, the ‘Heavenly Tributes’, and all the rest of it,” said Burgess. “Only reason nobody did anything was because of that BS about them being above the law because they’re supposedly gods.”
“If they were gods, then where were their divine powers?” Van Augur put in. “No, they were nothing but spoiled brats who wouldn’t accept that no means no, thinking they could treat others like animals.”
“Even hunting them,” Teach growled before perking up. “Not anymore, though. This time, they’re the ones being hunted like animals!”
All of them laughed, with the exception of Van Augur, who blinked as he realized something.
“Wasn’t there something about the ship escorting Portgas to Impel Down getting sidetracked?”
“Not a big deal,” Doc Q said dismissively. “I’d say killing those bastards is more than enough reason to deviate from that.”
“That means the captain’s not getting Warlord privileges, though,” said Lafitte. “And that means we can’t get recruits from Impel Down as easily.”
“Oh don’t get me wrong, I’m not thrilled about losing my shot at becoming a Warlord,” Teach replied. “But I never intended to be one for long. ‘Sides, it’s a lot more satisfying if there’s a challenge.”
Burgess nodded. “There’s gotta be some tough cookies among the guards—people and monsters who can actually give me a good fight.”
“Impel Down can wait, though,” said Teach. “People everywhere are celebrating, and I don’t see a reason why we shouldn’t too.”
———————————————
“Ding dong the bastards are dead!” Ulti whooped before taking another swig from her glass.
“Or at least, most of them are,” Who’s Who chimed in, downing another shot. “The ones who didn’t are probably wishing they were.”
“Yeah, they lost everything that matters to ‘em,” agreed Page One. “No more fancy parties, no more slaves waiting on ‘em hand and foot, no more protection from the Marines, no none of that!”
They and the rest of the Flying Six all laughed.
“Is there anywhere in the world where people ain’t celebrating?” asked Sheepshead.
“Nah,” Ginrummy chuckled. “I would say Mariejois, but with all the slaves they had there...”
“Speaking of Mariejois,” Sasaki piped up. “I hear Morgans orchestrated a set of 21 News Coo salutes on the rooftop of every Celestial Dragon house there.”
A short distance away, Kaido gave a dark grin as he looked over at King. “If I didn’t know you, I’d be surprised you weren’t having a celebratory drink.”
“The thought did cross my mind,” King admitted. “And I wouldn’t be the only one doing something out of the ordinary to celebrate—it seems Linlin has ordered several massive cakes and other treats to be shared by everyone in Totland, reserving only one for herself.”
“Hey, wonder what Joker makes of the whole thing,” Queen remarked. “Didn’t he try to get his status back by killing his dad or something?”
“When I called him this morning, he just laughed and said that karma’s a bitch,” snickered Jack.
As Kaido and the other Lead Performers returned to the festivities, a thoughtful look crossed King’s face. The World Government had been all too happy to enable those spoiled brats with delusions of godhood, not caring who suffered and died to fulfill their whims. It was why he’d had reservations about allowing a former Celestial Dragon to work for them, no matter what resources he provided. Of course, he still didn’t like Doflamingo, but it seemed like the man had realized that he was never going to be a Celestial Dragon again. Admittedly, that meant the man was exempt from Supreme Command Omega. Hell, for all King knew, Doflamingo had been the one to activate it—he’d heard that the man had obtained a Warlord position via blackmailing the World Government, so it wasn’t the first time he’d found out something that he shouldn’t have (though why the World Government had caved in rather than having him killed was beyond the Lunarian—surely it wouldn’t have been hard to make it look like an accident or to frame someone else for doing it).
Regardless, the Celestial Dragons were now suffering the same way that the Lunarians—and doubtlessly others—had been made to suffer. Now, they were the ones dying because someone felt they were unworthy of life, that they had no rights, that horrible things could be done to them and they could do nothing about it.
“You’re right about one thing, Doflamingo,” King said quietly. “Karma is, indeed, a bitch.”