[heavenlyhenchmanx]

I completely forgot I crafted my OP canon multimuse for canons, and so, I am moving Doff over there @wcrldswcrstx to make room here for his henchman, Edi.

[heavenlyhenchmanx]

I completely forgot I crafted my OP canon multimuse for canons, and so, I am moving Doff over there @wcrldswcrstx to make room here for his henchman, Edi.

[heavenlyhenchmanx]

In the time that Doflamingo started gaining more people under him, there was one person that was always in the background biding his time...

To get close to him... To be useful to him. To mold him, even, if it was possible, but if the first two were achievable, then the third one was not needed really.

When all of the distractions were severed, it was then that he could act, and his name was... Edi Wells, a Master Thief who also dabbles in assassination and espionage with a smile on occasion.

[sircrocodillian]

Though Crocodile's initial response was silence, the irritation could practically be felt as it was radiating past the den-den mushi receiver and straight into the ear of the overdramatic bird of a man who sat on the other end. How had he not known that Doflamingo had been released from Impel Down? Had he been released? Had he escaped? There was very little that Crocodile did not know about what was happening out there in the world. He had connections everywhere, from informants on his payroll inside the Marines all the way to the two-faced agents who told him the juicy information from inside the Revolutionary Army.

His hook was digging a slight scratch along the leather placemat that rested atop his dark wood desk. He would notice it later and curse himself for it then, but for now, it was an unconscious tick that was keeping him from strangling the earpiece from the snail.

"Yeah, yeah," chuffed the response from the ex-Warlord. "Things came up, and there were better offers. Definitely better for my time and energies than wasting it on unreliable actors."

"Thing is, if you're calling me, that means you want something. I really doubt this is just a call to reminisce about how I dumped you back at Marineford. We both know some lone ex-Warlord still with a massive bounty on his head and no backup wandering in to threaten a Yonko is a suicide mission, and we both know ol' Hawkeyes could wipe the floor with you if you tried. You don't have any cards in this hand, Donquixote."

[heavenlyhenchmanx]

When silence met him as soon as he finished speaking, Doflamingo couldn't say that he was surprised. Crocodile wasn't terribly fond of his company... In fact, he probably wished him dead, and while that was truly unfortunate, there was nothing to do about that. Just another person on the pile rejecting him, it seemed.

The ex-Warlord had a brief thought to taking a moment to speak on something else when Crocodile spoke up again, and so, he stowed the thought away to listen intently to what he had to say. It had been a while since he'd heard his voice though--of course, it hadn't changed, couldn't, in such a short period of time.

"We've never officially allied and suddenly, I'm unreliable? I've never been given a chance--always with the rejection before anything could even be proven to you, Crocodile..."

Why put himself through this though ... ? It was clear how Crocodile felt the moment he rejected his proposal at Marineford and yet, he still called him up, anyway.

"Yes, you aren't wrong about that. I did want something. Thing is, I have it now, but when it concerns that Clown, he's not worth thinking about--not even an obstacle. You have your foot on his back and Hawk Eyes, his sword at his throat to make sure he behaves and while Hawk Eyes is an issue for me, Hawk Eyes is also an issue for you which is why you reached out in the first place. It was a smart move--worked out for you, but you know all this."

Doflamingo sighed just a little, eyeing the snail. The Clown must be absolutely terrified with Crocodile and Hawk Eyes breathing down his neck all the time...

"I'm not interesting in tangling with Hawk Eyes because there are things I want to accomplish before I die, and he personally hasn't done me anything though I would like the thrill of pressing him just once. I always knew where I stood with him in terms of power and that doesn't bother me at all. Anyway, my time's up... Is there anything you want to ask me? I'll indulge you."

There were so many other things he could have spoken up on though, wasn't there? Or maybe it was simply better to leave it all unsaid...

[heavenlyhenchmanx]

continue'd🩷 with @sircrocodillian!

"Silly question don't you think?" was Doflamingo's response to that particular question.

Crocodile should know as a former inmate of the Eternal Hell of Impel Down himself that information didn't simply stop just because he had been imprisoned to "quiet time in the dark". It would be rather silly if it had, and so, he moved on.

"Very interesting of you to reach out a hand to Hawk Eyes as well, but you've always been a man with a plan, haven't you, Crocodile? And then another and another, always thinking head, always making sure you can bounce back from things. Perhaps I'll stop by--have a chat with your precious Yonko. I'd like to say hi to Hawk Eyes as well."

What a farce of a situation that was, but Buggy was a lucky clown, certainly, to get so far.

On that final note, a small laugh resulted, but none of this was outright lies. There was an opportunity there.