"Put the chains on, fish!" Saint Charlos barked like the ugliest pug you've ever seen.
He brandished his pistol at Shirahoshi. "Now, or you can be food for my dogs!"
King Neptune had gone red with rage, the only thing stopping him from turning the celestial dragon into a red smear on the castle wall being his three sons who steadfastly held him back and the cracking knuckles of Rob Lucci, whose eyes had not left him for an instant.
Vivi and Rebecca had to be held back by Sai, who was trying to tell them to leave this matter to him. Sai was a pirate and a member of the new Straw Hat fleet, so he did not fear the consequences of going against the celestial dragons.
Shirahoshi herself felt oddly calm, which was a very mew experience to her. The last time that a pistol was leveled at herself by a celestial dragon her heart had threatened to beat out of her chest, but now it was steady and strong.
If she thought that it would solve anything she would just surrender herself here. However, she was quite certain that doing that would not only make her mother's dream of bringing their people to the surface impossible, but would also drive her people to go to war to get her back.
That simply wasn't acceptable, so she would try something else.
"Those chains look so heavy, celestial dragon-sama! My weak girl arms could not possibly lift them!" Shirahoshi said, fake tears brimming in her eyes.
Saint Charlos paused. "That's true; you do look pathetically weak…"
"How does she look weak?!" the surrounding royals wanted to shout, but they kept their tongues locked tightly behind their teeth.
"I'll give you an extra minute to put them on, hurry up!" Saint Charlos declared. Unfortunately no matter how stupid he was, he was even more obstinate than that.
When Shirahoshi still made no moves to do as he demanded, Saint Charlos grew increasingly enraged.
Without another word of warning, he took aim and fired. Vivi and Rebecca yelped in panic and Neptune strained against his sons' arms.
Human sized guns weren't big enough to do all that much damage to a mermaid of Shirahoshi's size; although a lucky shot could still kill her. The crowd was positively shocked by the outcome that actually occurred.
The bullet struck Shirahoshi on the forehead, then ricocheted.
*smash*
A window high up on Panagaea castle shattered as it was struck by the deflected bullet.
Even Neptune and his sons were surprised. Shirahoshi hadn't been taught haki yet, so such a thing shouldn't be possible.
"Did I miss? Oh well, try this one!" Saint Charlos said, failing to grasp reality once again.
*BONK*
Saint Charlos slumped helplessly to the ground as another person in celestial dragon garb stood over him.
"Stop it, Charlos!" the newcomer shouted in admonishment.
Most of the royals panicked at first, before realizing the attacker was also a celestial dragon.
As for the Ryugu kingdom royals, they were immediately reminded of the day that Queen Otohime died. This was the very same celestial dragon who came to fishman island a decade before, chasing his escaped slaves and inciting the incident that led to the queen's death. Although, it was Hody Jones who had actually done that foul deed.
The newcomer, Saint Donquixote Mjosgard, opened his mouth to say something before freezing as something from above caught his eye.
"Rob Lucci," a cold voice spoke from high above. Everyone's eyes shot up to the broken window.
Standing there, behind the jagged hole in the glass, was one of the Five Elders; Saint Topman Warcury, the Warrior God of Justice.
Whilst the general public was ignorant of the existence of the Five Elders, anyone who came to the Reverie would be privy to that information. Even the most arrogant of the kings in attendance didn't dare to breathe.
"Who fired that shot?" the Elder asked.
Lucci swallowed. "Saint Charlos did, Elder-sama."
"Take him to a holding cell," Elder Warcury said. "And Mjosgard?"
Saint Mjosgard flinched.
"Don't take matters into your own hands," Elder Warcury stepped away from the window and could no longer be seen.
Unlike Charlos, Warcury's confidence in his command being followed without his direct oversight was well founded. Rob Lucci didn't hesitate to grab Charlos by the collar and vanished from sight.
Mjosgard was somewhat dumbfounded. He knew before he acted to protect Princess Shirahoshi that he would likely die for doing so, so this turn of events was quite fortuitous for him.
"Ahem," Mjosgard coughed, setting his club aside. He sauntered over to the Ryugu royal family, who watched him with suspicion and resentment in their eyes. "Greetings Neptune. I suspect that you remember the last time we met. I owe the Ryugu Kingdom a tremendous debt."
"You are…" Shirahoshi muttered.
"I am the great fool who washed into your realm ten years ago. The late Queen Otohime's speech that day was the spark that ignited my humanity," Mjosgard spoke, resisting the urge to kneel before them. "In return for this gift, I wish to offer whatever power and protection I may afford to you during the Reverie."
All of this was spoken in low tones, so as not to be overheard. He had initially intended to speak loud enough for all to hear him, but he had unexpectedly dodged the blame for attacking Charlos this time so there was no need to rock the boat just yet.
"I must admit, you have helped us out of a difficult ultimatum. I was about to… do something rash…" King Neptune admitted.
Although Neptune was still wary of the celestial dragon, the idea that his wife's words had reached the heart of that despicable excuse for a human being had struck a chord with him. If even a celestial dragon could have a change of heart and see his people as people, then surely the average human could accept them as well.
Neptune would even ally himself with a devil to see his beloved Otohime's dream of a better world come true, let alone a remorseful sinner like Mjosgard.
"That was nothing much," Mjosgard waved away the unspoken thanks. "We were lucky this time that the situation was largely resolved without my intervention."
"If you hadn't stepped in at the end, that other fellow would have had a chance to explain himself, though," Prince Fukaboshi stated, his perpetual frown not quite as pronounced as usual. "So I must thank you for saving my sister."
"The Reverie lasts for seven days, however. Charlos is not unique in his… desires," Mjosgard spoke darkly. "I will not leave Princess Shirahoshi's side during the summit nor let any harm come to her whilst I still draw breath, I swear it! This is the least that I can do to make up for my past sins!"
Neptune and his sons could only let out sighs. The man was so different from how they remembered him, and it wasn't like a celestial dragon would have any need to deceive them. They could only accept that, with the sincerity that Mjosgard was showing, that he had truly changed and meant every word he said.