Hybrids
Title: Hybrids
Rating: T
Fandom: One Piece
Summary: Rocinante and Law may have been rescued, but the scientist who had caused all of their pain and suffering was still loose and intends on getting his test subjects back.
Rocinante's eyes flew open and he sat up, panting heavily. He looked around frantically, confused as to where he was. 'Where…I!?' He then grew worried. "L…aw!"
"Mrow?" The snow leopard cub human hybrid had rolled a bit away from Rocinante in his sleep. He sleepily rubbed his eye with a paw and yawned as he hugged his polar bear plush.
"L…aw!" Rocinante nuzzled him, bringing him closer. He sniffed the polar bear plush, not remembering how his son had gotten ahold of it. 'Scent…fam…il…iar…' He smelled Law's scent and someone else's. 'Who…scent?'
He then grabbed Law by the collar of his shirt and jumped down from the bed, intending on leaving the unknown room. Placing Law on the floor, he began to tackle the door, causing the wall to shake a bit.
A teen feet tall blonde man opened the door. "Rocinante, what's wrong?"
But Rocinante couldn't recognize him and pounced, knocking him to the ground. His fangs were inches away from the man's throat. The scent of the man was familiar; it was the other scent on the polar bear plush toy Law had. "Who…you!?"
The man remained calm. "Rocinante I'm your brother, remember?"
Rocinante paused and looked around once more. This time he was less panicked. 'Not…lab…' He then looked at his wrists and ankles. 'No…ch…ai…n…s…' Looking towards Law, he noticed that his cub wasn't in chains either. Both were in better condition than at the lab.
They had been rescued from the lab, cleaned, bandaged, clothed, and fed.
Rocinante got off of the man. 'Savior…'
"I'm your brother, remember?"
'Savior…bro…ther…' Rocinante realized. He took a step back, feeling guilty about almost trying to attack his brother again.
"It's alright, Roci," Doflamingo said, sitting up. "It's your first night in this room. Of course you'd be confused," He brought his brother into a hug. "You're not in the lab anymore. We won't ever let them take you and Law back if they do come after you and Law,"
"Mrow," Law curled up around Bepo on the floor, wanting to go back to sleep.
"How about I stay here with you both?" Doflamingo offered. "That way when you see me, you know that you're free from the lab," Rocinante nodded, picking Law up and jumping onto the bed. Doflamingo laid down on the other half of the bed, running a hand through his brother's hair. "It's alright now. You're both free,"
XXX
A man with wavy black hair had arrived at the island. "It's been months since I checked on this lab," He took out a notepad and wrote down some info as he passed by each corpse. "It seems like they broke out of their cages. Interesting," He noticed the chunks of flesh missing on each corpse. "They seemed to have started cannibalizing each other once they realized they had ran out of food,"
Slowly, he went through each room and marked down each subject that he passed by. It took a few hours but he had logged all of the ones present down. He was frowning. "Two hundred ninety eight corpses are here, but I had three hundred test subjects stored in this specific lab. Did I miscount—no, I went by every single room, including the hidden ones. There are no skeletons so they aren't on the island. There wasn't a single corpse outside of the lab so it is unlikely that they drowned in the sea,"
He noticed a spot where blood had dried up. There was an obvious square shape missing. "They couldn't have eaten the cage," He entered his private office which was also a mess. His papers had been either shredded or soaked with crimson. Taking a seat in his mostly torn up chair, he turned on his computer. Surprisingly, it still had power. It was a bit static-y and the screen was cracked, but it still worked.
Watching the security camera footage, his lips curved into a smirk. "Subject 01746 and Subject 01747 were rescued. But how does the pirate Donquixote Doflamingo know Subject 01746?" Turning off his computer, he sighed and returned to his ship. "It'd be a shame if all these corpses were to be gone to waste," He looked to the figures on his ship who were obediently awaiting orders. "Have a feast,"
The figures jumped from the man's ship and rushed into the lab.
XXX
They were hung above a blazing inferno, blindfolded. The father pleaded all the weapons to be aimed towards him and not his son. The younger son didn't want to live anymore, not wanting to handle the pain. The elder son declared that he would get vengeance and kill them all. An arrow was aimed straight at the older son.
Doflamingo awakened and sat up, panting. Sweat coated his forehead and palms. He instinctually reached for his sunglasses that he kept on his nightstand but found it empty. After a few seconds, he realized that he wasn't in his bedroom. He was in his brother's room.
Rocinante had also woken up and stared at Doflamingo. "Doff…y?"
"Sorry Roci, did I wake you?" Doflamingo asked.
Rocinante shook his head. "Y…ou…scar…ed?"
"It was just a nightmare, Roci," Doflamingo ran a hand through his brother's hair. Noticing that the fur was extending to Rocinante's neck, he frowned. 'Is his physical form changing? Will he eventually turn into more wolf than man?' He looked to the cub and also noticed the same changes. 'We need to find someone to help reverse the experiments,'
"Doff…y?"
"Ah, don't worry about it," Doflamingo assured. It'd be best if his brother didn't remember the torture they experienced as kids. "There are still a few hours before we have to get up. Well, before I have to get up. You should just focus on getting more rest,"
Rocinante shook his head again. When he slept, he felt like he was back at the lab.
The cages.
The scalpels.
The needles.
The screams.
The pain.
The blood.
But the most haunting memory of all was the scientist's laughter that was heard throughout the lab. Even if you were in the room farthest away from him, you could hear it echo in the hallways.
Rocinante shuddered at the memory. He tucked Law closer to him, as if he wanted to protect the cub from an invisible force. Rocinante understood that they weren't at the lab anymore, but he felt like this freedom wouldn't last forever.
XXX
They were now in East Blue, the safest of all the Blues due to the weak level pirates in the area. If trouble were to arise, any of the Donquixote Pirates could easily defeat them without causing damage to the ship or putting Rocinante or Law at risk.
"We're going to stop at the Conomi Islands," Doflamingo told his brother and nephew.
"Mrow?" Law tilted his head, not really understanding what Doflamingo was talking about.
"Co…co…ya…si…" Corazon mumbled. When he heard 'Conomi Islands' he thought of a place called Cocoyasi. 'Co…co…ya…si…fa…mi…liar…' He tried to recall where he had heard of that place. A woman's face flashed through his head. 'Who?' He caught the faint scent of tangerines through his opened window. 'Scent…who…scent?'
Doflamingo observed his brother's behavior. "Cocoyasi as in Cocoyasi Village?" 'Have Rocinante and Law been there before? If they had, was it a good memory or a bad one? I'll find out more in the village to avoid triggering bad memories,'
XXX
Doflamingo stopped by a bar. It was practically empty at the time except for the bartender and a maroon-haired woman. Taking a seat beside the woman, he ordered a glass of rum. "Bellemere, it's been two years," The bartender said to the woman as he passed the ordered alcohol to Doflamingo. "They're gone,"
"Shut up!" Bellemere snapped. "I don't believe that they're dead!" She took large gulps of her bottle of alcohol. "He wouldn't die like that…they both wouldn't…" Tears were welling up.
"Rocinante wouldn't want you to be sad," The bartender told her.
His brother's name caught Doflamingo's attention. "Rocinante as in Donquixote Rocinante?"
Bellemere looked towards Doflamingo, anger in her eyes. "You're his older brother! Where were you when he and Law were kidnapped!? What kind of brother are you!?"
"Bellemere he's a pirate!" The bartender tried to calm her down. "I apologize. Bellemere's a little drunk—"
"Older brothers are supposed to be there for the younger ones!" Bellemere ignored the bartender. "Ten years ago…ten years ago you abandoned Rocinante! You left him to fend for himself! And now you only show up when Rocinante and our son are gone!"
"By son, do you mean Law?" Doflamingo asked.
"How do you know his name?" Bellemere demanded.
"First tell me your relationship to my brother," Doflamingo said.
"He's Bellemere's boyfriend," The bartender informed. "Law is the boy they adopted together,"
"Tell me…" Bellemere's bit her lower lip. "Are Rocinante and Law alive?"
Before Doflamingo could answer, his Den-Den Mushi began to ring. Doflamingo placed the snail on the counter and answered it. "What's wrong?"
"Y-Young Master! Your brother's going crazy! He's…he's attacking anyone he sees!"
"What!?" Doflamingo cursed. "I'm on my way!" He pocketed his snail and rushed out of the bar.
"Brother?" Bellemere ran after Doflamingo. 'Roci…Law…'
The bartender sighed in the empty bar. "Both of them didn't pay,"
XXX
When Doflamingo arrived back at the El Flamenco, Rocinante had destroyed parts of the ship. He was on deck, his sclera pure black. His poise was more wolf-like than before and his claws had grown larger along with his fangs. The same thing was happening to Law except that he was unable to do much damage. Law was more like a playful puppy when it came to breaking things.
"Rocinante, stop!" Doflamingo shouted.
The wolf-human hybrid's attention turned to him and he roared. Doflamingo attempted to restrain him with his strings, but Rocinante dodged his attempts and jumped towards his brother. His claws created three gashes along Doflamingo's chest. Doflamingo winced but held a hand up to prevent his crew from attacking Rocinante.
Bellemere had caught up to Doflamingo and her eyes widened at the sight. "What the hell!?" Her eyes focused on the two animal-human hybrids. "Rocinante? Law?"
Rocinante sniffed the air and got off of Doflamingo, walking towards Bellemere while snarling. Law followed his father. Bellemere's scent was like tangerines. Rocinante brought his face close to hers and took a deeper inhale of her scent. "M…ate…." The word was less comprehensible than the words spoken before.
Law jumped into Bellemere's arms, the latter catching him and bringing him into a hug. "Law…" Rocinante laid his head on her shoulder. Bellemere wrapped one of her arms around him. "Roci…" She was crying now. "You're both alive…"
"M…ate…" Rocinante repeated. He glanced down at Law. "Cub…"
Bellemere's scent had a calming effect on the two hybrids. "Rocinante…Law…it's alright…You're home now…" Their sclera slowly faded from black to grey and then finally white. Their claws and fangs all became shorter. The two hybrids lost conscious.
XXX
The two were placed in the med bay of the El Flamenco. Bellemere had gotten Dr. Nako to check on them. "Poor Rocinante and Law," He said. "Whoever made them like this deserves to rot in Impel Down!"
"No, they'll be tortured and given the slowest death possible," Doflamingo claimed.
"How are they?" Bellemere asked.
"I managed to patch up their cuts and scrapes but I can't do anything about the animal DNA," Dr. Nako answered. "Doflamingo, don't move around too much or you'll reopen the stitches," He then left.
Bellemere sat beside Rocinante and Law. Doflamingo took a seat next to her. "What happened to them?" Bellemere looked to the older Donquixote.
"I'm not sure," Doflamingo answered. "We found him in a destroyed lab. There were others like them, but they were dead. There were also cages and chains. I don't know who's responsible,"
Law was the first one to wake up a few minutes later. He weakly crawled to Bellemere. Bellemere scooped him up and hugged him gently. "Law,"
"Ma…" Law had a harder time speaking than his father. He whimpered in pain.
"You don't have to speak, okay Law?" Bellemere told the three year old. "If it hurts, don't speak,"
Law nodded, laying his head on his forepaws. "Mrow,"
"B…elle…m…ere…" Rocinante's eyelids were half-open and he stared at the woman holding his cub.
"Da," Law meowed. "Ma,"
Rocinante's eyes flickered to his brother. "Doff…y…" His eyes focused on the trio of gashes. 'I…I hurt…bro…ther…I…hurt…savior…'
Doflamingo noticed where Rocinante's eyes were looking and put a hand to the wound. "Don't worry about it, Rocinante,"
"I…hurt…y…ou…" Rocinante's wolf ears laid flat against his head, his tail tucked between his legs. "I…h…urt…pack…"
A whip struck him across his back. The man clicked his tongue while shaking his head. "You just tried to attack me. You should know better than that, Subject 01746. Now I'll have to punish you," He raised the whip and cracked it against the flesh.
Rocinante bit his lip, drawing blood. He didn't want to give the man the satisfaction of hearing his screams.
The man frowned. "Hmm, you being silent isn't my goal. I want to hear screams and begs. Maybe I should punish Subject 01747 then?"
Rocinante jumped in front of his one year old son. "Stay away from him!"
"Nah, ah, ah," The man wagged a finger and yanked on the chain connected to Rocinante's metal collar, pulling the blonde man towards him. "I never said you could move from that spot,"
"Leave my son alone!" Rocinante snapped.
The man kicked Rocinante in the stomach, causing him to slump forward, gripping his torso. "You are in no position to order me around, Subject 01746,"
Rocinante feared punishment. No, he didn't fear of himself getting punished. He walked between Law and Doflamingo. He feared that his cub was get punished instead. 'If…I…sub…mit,' He thought. 'Maybe…no…punish…ment…' He stayed in his submissive stance to show that Doflamingo was stronger and in charge.
Doflamingo saw the fear in his brother's eyes. "Rocinante, I won't hurt you, your son, or your girlfriend. You are my family and if they are your family, they are mine too,"
XXX
Bellemere stayed on the El Flamenco, sleeping beside her boyfriend and son. Her arm was wrapped securely around the both of them. Bellemere and Law slept peacefully but Rocinante was wide awake. 'I…hurt…pack…' He kept thinking back to the wounds he had inflicted on his own brother. 'What if…hurt mate…or cub?'
He knew he had didn't have complete control over himself and neither did his cub. However, his cub wouldn't cause too serious injuries. Rocinante might have killed his older brother if he hadn't regained control when Bellemere arrived. He was a danger to them all and they would all be better off without him.
Carefully sliding out from under his mate's arm, he quietly padded over to the door and exited through the doggy door that Doflamingo had installed. Rocinante and Law didn't have any fingers and couldn't turn a doorknob easily with their paws. Quietly, he walked down the hallway and to the deck. He jumped off of the ship and landed on the sandy shore. Rocinante didn't look back as he ran towards the forest.
Doflamingo watched Rocinante run from his windows. He wanted to chase after his brother, but he decided that his brother needed some time alone to gather his thoughts.
XXX
The man had turned on his tracker to locate his two missing subjects. After a few seconds, the tracker showed the location. "East Blue. Conomi Islands. Cocoyasi Village. Forest."
The man smirked and looked towards his other hybrids with him. "You guys are going to meet your brother and nephew,"
XXX
When Law woke up, he was confused. "Da?" But his father didn't answer. The snow leopard boy stood up and shook his fur out, sniffing the bed. "Da?" He yelped as he fell off the side of the bed and landed on the floor. Whimpering, he cried out. "Ma! Da!"
Bellemere immediately woke up to her son's cries. "Law!?" She reached over and picked him off the ground.
"Ma!" Law pointed at the empty half of the bed. "No Da!"
Bellemere patted her son's back as she exited the room. "Maybe he's already eating breakfast?"
"Rocinante and Law eat in their room because it's more comfortable for them," Doflamingo said.
"Where's Roci?" Bellemere asked.
"Last night he ran off to the woods," Doflamingo answered. "He needs some time to cool off and release stress,"
"I'm taking Law back home with me," Bellemere said.
"No," Doflamingo denied.
"Huh?" Bellemere narrowed her eyes. "Law is my son. As his mother, I have more rights to him than you, his uncle,"
"You're weak, you can't protect him," Doflamingo claimed.
"I am not weak!" Bellemere rebuked. "Roci and I were Marines before leaving to raise Law. We were trained by Garp the Fist himself!"
Doflamingo always got his way. If he didn't, he would use force. However, he didn't want to harm Bellemere because it would upset Law and Rocinante. So he had to compromise. "I'll go with the both of you,"
XXX
Tigerish Eyez, my sharpened instinct is attracted by the very strong "Life"
Rocinante inhaled the scents of the forest. The forest wasn't too big but it would do. It was still home to several animals such as deer, rabbits, birds, and squirrels. His sclera turned light grey.
I want to life as myself, howling and eating my prey
Rocinante locked onto one single scent. He needed to hunt. He hadn't eaten since dinner last night. He broke into a run. Once his target, a small doe, was in sight, he increased his speed to a sprint. He quickly caught up, his wolf DNA allowing him to run faster than average humans. He sunk his fangs and claws into the doe's back.
As if it give me support, the wind's blow is following my way
He tore a chunk of the doe and began to eat. At first, he gagged, having grown accustomed to the meals on his brother's ship. But being forced to eat worse things for two years quickly allowed him to adapt to the taste of animal flesh.
A strong breeze blew past him and he sniffed the air. 'Tan…ger…ines…' He recognized the scent. 'Or…chard…Mate…Cub…Bro…ther…'
If I give up, then everything will be ended, right?
He wanted to run in that direction, towards his pack. But he resisted. He would lose control again. He would harm a pack member again. Or maybe it would be worse, maybe he might kill a pack member.
XXX
They had walked around the village to avoid people from staring at Law. At her house, Bellemere allowed Law to run around in the tangerine grove. Law enjoyed the open space but didn't run around too much. He mostly stayed near his mother, having not seen her for two whole years. His snow leopard side wanted to run free but Law was too saddened by his father's departure.
"Law, I'm sure your dad's okay," Bellemere picked her son up and brought him into a hug.
"Ge Da…buh…no Ma," Law sniffled. "Ge Ma…buh…no Da,"
"How about a pie to cheer you up?" Bellemere asked. "I know an animal-safe recipe,"
"Mrow," Law mumbled.
"Oh right, you don't really like bread and pie crust is similar to bread," Bellemere recalled. "How about tangerine glazed fish?"
At the word fish, Law's ears perked up. "Yesh!"
XXX
The man's ship had docked at Cocoyasi Village, a bit farther away from the El Flamenco. He held out a piece of torn cloth to his hybrids beside him. "Sniff this and capture at least Subject 01747. Subject 01746 will immediately follow,"
The hybrids barked in affirmation. They then jumped onto the sand before running off. The scent trail led them around the village and towards Bellemere's house.
Jora had caught sight of the hybrids as they disappeared into the greenery. "We need to contact Young Master-zamasu!"
"What's wrong Jora?" Diamante asked.
"There were people like Rocinante and Law running towards where Young Master, Bellemere, and Law's location!" Jora shouted.
The man on the ship quickly dispatched another group of hybrids to deal with the Donquixote Pirates.
XXX
Doflamingo's Den-Den Mushi began to ring loudly. Picking up the transceiver, he answered the call. "What's wrong?"
"Doffy, there's a bunch of hybrids heading your way!"
"Hybrids?" Doflamingo asked. "What do you mean? Rocinante and Law are the only hybrids,"
"There's another ship docked with other hybrids like them!"
Law stopped eating, his ears flickering. Sniffing the air, he began to whimper and rushed to his mother's arms. "Sca…wy…"
Sensing a nearing presence with his Observation Haki, Doflamingo ended the call. "Bellemere, you stay here with Law," He walked outside, ready to use his strings.
Five hybrids stood in front of them. There was a male snake-hybrid, resembling a naga. The second one was a male eagle harpy. The third one and fourth one were twin fox girl hybrids. The fifth one was a male gorilla hybrid.
"Hand…over…01747…" The naga demanded.
Doflamingo didn't answer and attempted to use his strings to cut them. The hybrids were faster and dodged, surrounding Doflamingo.
XXX
Rocinante had finished his deer meal when he smelled five additional scents at his cub's location. They were different from a human's but not exactly an animal's. It was a mixture of the two, like his and Law's scents. 'O…ther…s!' He took off in that direction.
'Must…pro…tect…' Rocinante thought. 'Must…pro…tect…pack!'
When he arrived at the tangerine grove, Doflamingo was being overwhelmed. The five hybrids were quick, agile, and powerful. The harpy swooped down towards Doflamingo. Doflamingo blocked with his Five Colored Strings. As he did this, the naga got behind him and the twins were of either sides of him. Doflamingo spun while surrounding himself with strings to protect himself as they struck. This left an opening for the gorilla to storm into the house towards Bellemere and Law.
Rocinante was pissed. The whites of his eyes became darker, turning black. His fangs and claws grew longer and sharper. He charged towards the hybrids, letting out a loud roar. The four hybrids outside turned their attention towards him.
"Subject…01746…" The naga identified. "Foxes…deal with…Donquixote Doflamingo…Eagle…we deal…with 01746…"
The harpy squawked in agreement. He dove towards Rocinante who jumped up and scratched at the harpy's wing. The harpy winced and flew out of range from the claws. The naga wrapped his tail around one of Rocinante's leg and pulled, causing Rocinante to lose his balance. Rocinante sunk his fangs into the tail before the naga could full retreat.
Meanwhile, inside the house Bellemere was using her gun to fend off the gorilla hybrid. "Stay away from my son you damn dirty ape!"
"Hand…over…01747!" The gorilla demanded, dodging the bullets.
Bellemere swung the shotgun at the gorilla's head but it broke without doing much damage. Switching to close combat, she imbued her leg with Armament Haki and swung towards the gorilla. The hybrid grabbed her leg and threw her to the side, sending her crashing into her table.
"Mom…my!" Law cried out, drawing the hybrid's attention to him.
The gorilla started to make his way towards the boy when he felt a grip on his ankle. Looking down, he saw Bellemere's hand. "I…won't let you bastards…take him again!"
The gorilla raised his free foot and slammed it down on Bellemere's back, causing her to cry out in pain. He repeated the attack multiple times, Law witnessing the whole thing. "Mom…my…" His breathing increased, becoming short and rapid. 'Mom…my…hurt…' His sclera darkened, becoming black. His fangs and claws extended and he jumped onto the gorilla's back, sinking his fangs into the ape hybrid's shoulder.
The gorilla roared in pain, flailing to get the cub off of him. He slammed his back into the wall, attempting the force would knock Law off of him. But Law clung on, digging his claws into the flesh beside the bitten spot.
The gorilla picked Bellemere up by her arm and slammed her against his back and Law. This was effective in removing the cub from his back. Bellemere and her son both landed on the floor. Law attempted to get back up but the gorilla hybrid placed his foot on the cub's side, pinning him to the floor. Law snarled and squirmed beneath the foot. The gorilla stomped on Law's left hind leg. A loud crack was heard and Law screamed loudly in pain. The gorilla hybrid had broken the cub's leg.
Bellemere pulled herself closer to Law and tried to push the foot off of Law's injured leg, but that only prompted the gorilla to push down even more, causing a louder scream.
Outside, Doflamingo and Rocinante were still dealing with the other four hybrids. Rocinante had an easier time with the naga but the harpy kept dodging and flying above the hybrid's reach. The fox hybrids were moving too fast for Doflamingo to land a direct hit.
Hearing his cub's scream caused Rocinante to become even wilder. He turned to rush into the house but the naga and the harpy took the distraction as a chance to strike. The harpy created deep talon marks across Rocinante's back. The naga wrapped his snake half around Rocinante and began to constrict him.
"Roci!" Doflamingo fired a bunch of bullet strings at the naga, cause the snake hybrid to hiss in pain and let go. While he did this, the fox hybrids scratch at Doflamingo.
The gorilla exited the house, holding Law. "Retrieved…01747…"
The naga grinned and injected both of the Donquixote brothers with his venom before slithering away. "Let's go,"
The two brothers tried to go after them, but the poison had paralyzed them. Rocinante screamed and roared, wanting to rescue his cub. But they were both unable to go after the five hybrids.
I'll start working on Hybrids Chapter 3.
The five hybrids don't all use one animal DNA. Some may have multiple animal DNA.