A/N: This is a horror, so be please warned, there is a lot of disturbing content.
I do not know where I am. There's a kaleidoscope of colors. First is a deep sea green, then a mist of clay reds, black seeding through. Then slivers of a bleached yellow and bright peachy pink appear. There is a slight rustle, a hand is on my shoulder. Then there is a screeching sound, it awakens me.
Everything is clear now.
I see him in front of me. He's wearing white jeans...no, bleached patches of blue are showing. They're faded blue jeans, then. There's a rusty brown ten gallon hat on his head, I assume that was what I thought was the "black". His yellowish-blonde hair, which apparently was the bleached yellow I saw. He's wearing a red shirt...no, that's clay. I look away from him. Clay is everywhere. I look back at clay drizzles off of him, forming an auburn liquid, a mixture of his sweat, I presume. His face is a combination of confusion, terror, and a pinch of relief.
"Shit, you alright? Oh, what am I kidding, of course you're not. Look at you, you're pale. Almost dead." he drawls, his thick accent coating his words like the clay over his body.
I stare at him, not finished examining the concerned man. I attempt to move my lips, but fail immediately. I let out sharp, raspy coughs, light mists of red.
"I'm..." he pauses, staring at me, waiting for a reply "I'm going to take you to a doctor. I'll get you fixed up."
I stare at him.
"Do you hear me?" he asks
I need to speak, but I can't. A rumbling sensation fills my stomach, I feel sharp pulls and tiny pebbles of clay take the place of my words. But I need to speak to this man. I cannot go back to town. I cannot go to Dressrosa. I still don't know where I am, but I know any trustworthy person would take me to Dressrosa. There is no such thing as a safe town outside of Dressrosa, that's where the ruffians and cowboys live. No place is safe for me, however. I don't know where to go. Honestly, I'd rather just die.
There's a parade of black.
There's a deep tobacco stench. Then there's a slam. I awake, no childish illusion of dancing colors slowly awakening me, comforting my fear of the unknown. Just a stench, slam, and the pounding of my heart. I'm in town, an infirmary, apparently, on an old battered cot. He didn't take me to Dressrosa, or else I would've been killed in my slumber. I'm surrounded by a cast of flamboyant characters, examining my body, and checking my vitals. They're grinning. I grit my teeth. I've learned to hate smiles.
The man who took me to this place has the widest grin. He's ruffling my hair, his hands no longer caked in clay.
"You look amazing now! You almost died, y'know?" he says sweetly.
"Thanks for reminding me.." I groan, putting my hands up my skirt, clutching my knife in case anyone tried anything suspicious. I didn't believe in first chances, second chances, or anything.
He sees me reaching for it. He nervously laughs it off, setting his hat down.
"I'm not going to hurt you. And I'm not letting any of these bastards, either." he looks over at a green haired man and glares. "The name's Sanji."
"Where am I?" I ask him, slowly lifting my self off of the cot.
He took took a drag of his cigarette, letting out a poisonous aroma. I don't know why I'm so sensitive to cigarette smoke.
"You're in Sabaody," he continues, looking as my face flushes straight back into a stale white "I know, I know. Don't screa-"
I let out a loud screech, which causes me to be surrounded. Sanji tries to comfort me, grabbing my hand. There's no use. A half-naked redhead woman, a thick moss-headed oaf, and a familiar face surrounds me.
"What're you screaming for? We saved your life," the woman growls at me, her hands resting on her hips.
"You didn't save her life. I did, unfortunately." the familiar face chimes in "But I can take it away." He sadistically grins, gripping his sword in anticipation.
"Not with love-eyes around," the moss-headed man yawns
I now know what I'm dealing with. I'm in Sabaody, a fabled town known for dangerous, deadly outlaws who'd even apparently kept the king of Dressrosa himself shaking in his boots. I have no choice. Whoever these outlaws were, they were not on my side.
"Stop it, it's not funny," the woman snaps at the men "And you, what's-your-name..."
"Bee," I respond, lying to the woman
"Bee? That's a beautiful name," Sanji says in a sing-song tone, which causes his companions to unanimously gag in disgust.
"You're safe in here," she continues, her light accent dressing her words in a smooth drawl "You're in the Animal Room. As long as you're in the Animal Room you're safe."
I look around. There's animals everywhere, bright pink flaming...I look away from the bright creatures, the hot pink triggering a rush to my heart. There's the wide, fat snakes, slithering across the ground. There's the fluffy, gray dust balls...no, they're rats. No, no rabbits. I don't know what they are.
I look above. There are long v-shaped flocks above me, but of all different sorts of birds. They're too far for to distinguish the difference between the types, mixing into a messy kaleidoscope. Above them is dark blue, some light patches through. I look over to the side of me, there are long stretches of frosted mountains. Once the stretch finally ends, there is a shallow area of a luscious green forest, abruptly ended by an ocean. An ocean that travels...up the wall. There are tightly packed kaleidoscope of fish, from the small golden specks, to massive, intimidating whales and sharks. There's the seahorses, the hammerheads, and long dish-shaped creatures in which I can't identify. The walls are water. I'm...in a room. And everything is so silent.
She's looking at me. She sees my eyes fill up in horror, amazement, whatever she interprets my amazement as.
"This is the Animal Room. You're safe here. The Kaleidoscope can't get you," she smiles
I don't know what the Kaleidoscope is. I don't know what the Animal Room is. All I know is that I am in Sabaody, and that I am supposed to be dead.
"What's the Kaleidoscope?" I say, my words coming out like an ignorant child.
"You...you don't know what the Kaleidoscope is?" the woman looks at the ground, her face turning pale. "It's a legend. The colors you see before you die..." she trails off, either choked in horror or simply forgetting what the colors are.
"Is it important?" Sanji groans, his face contorting in irritation "She almost died. We need to comfort her, let her know about this place. Not trigger her."
"I don't know why you always get sensitive when it comes to the Kaleidoscope, Sanji," the familiar face interrupts, stuffing his hands into his jeans. "You're always fawning over Miss Nami, and she just-so-happens to bring up the Kaleidoscope thingy and.."
"Shut up!" The blonde man roars, haphazardly kicking his feet into the air. "Fuck.." his eyes widen in realization of his childish outburst "I'm sorry. I'll go make her something to eat, she's probably starving..."
I don't care about the Kaleidoscope. I want to know where I am, how did I get here, and why is everything so silent.
"I'm...sor...sorry for telling you about such depressing things. I should have been more considerate. The Kaleidoscope is just a phrase, built on old childhood tales.." she murmurs off, staring into the sky. Something tells me there's more to the Kaleidoscope, looking at her face as it riddles in pain.
I...don't care.
"I want to know everything about Sabaody," I muffle out, finally appreciating the fact that I'm able to speak.
"Oh, Sabaody?" Nami perks up, snapping out of deep thought "It's everything you think and more. It's horrible, that's why we're in the Animal Room,"
"Sabaody is only terrible for weaklings." the familiar face comments, walking over to me as he speaks.
"Then why are you here?" Nami lashes out.
"Nami, stop this." The oaf commands, letting a lanky hand rest on her shoulder. "He needs to focus on making sure the love cook's special princess stays in tip-top shape."
"She's okay," he says, examining me, looking as if he wants to say something else "...you. You look like somebody I know. What's your name again?"
"Babe," I tell the truth, hoping everyone had forgotten my previous introduction "You look familiar as-"
"You said it was Bee." Nami says harshly, locking her eyes on me. "You're a liar, then."
I am.
She pulls out a small pistol from a bag, and points it towards me.
"Listen here. Tell me your real goddamn name. Tell me why you're here," she says coldly, veins building in anger.
"I don't why I'm here-"
Click-clack. Pow!
The bullet grazes past me, an obvious warning shot. She is going to kill me if I don't start giving answers. Answers to questions I'm asking in the first place.
"I'm Babe, like I said," I say, breathing heavily "I did lie to you, I thought you were outlaws. And I'm so very sorry for that. Why I'm here? I don't know. Your friend, Sanji, found me passed out. I don't know how I got here."
She doesn't lower her weapon.
"A liar is a liar..."she trails off, crying "A liar is a..."
The oaf steps in.
"Nami, calm down." he says softly "Put the gun down."
She obeys him, surprisingly.
"Babe...?" the familiar faces hums, ignoring our confrontation. "I swear to god I know that name.."
Sanji returns, carrying a wide dish of delicate fruits, vegetables, and desserts. He grins.
"Sorry about that outburst, my precious queens. Bon appetite," he sings as he sets the plates for us. There are no tables. We eat our feast on fine china plates, right on a bed of brown grass.
"So..." I ask, thinking carefully before I proceed "Why is everything so silent in the Animal Room?"
"We don't know," Sanji replies, looking over as his companions nod in agreement. "Those animals, they move as if they're alive, but act as if they're dead, if you know what I mean."
"And that doesn't frighten you?" I ask sharply.
"Frightens me to death, to be honest," he coughs, twitching at my question. "Frightens me to death. I miss Dressrosa. You're from there, I assume. Or you from another rough town?"
"No, you're correct. I have no plan to go back there, though," I reply.
"Mmm.. Dressrosa." the mossheaded man hums. "What's it like, recently? Shitcook tells us all about it, says all the rag-tag towns get ran over by Dressrosan forces. Wouldn't happen in Sabaody."
"Oh, it's beautiful alright. Absolutely," I say ripe with confidence "It's at it's peak now. The king's good at.."
Shit. Shouldn't have mentioned the king.
"Oh yeah, the king's a real jackass, so I've heard." the oaf butts in. I cringe, reminding myself that those similar words landed me in this situation.
"Didn't you use to work for the king, Law?" the oaf asks, looking over at the familiar face.
Law.
Trafalgar Law, that's it, that's who he is.
I knew this man, and he was supposed to be dead. Or not, he was sitting right across from me, breathing. Maybe that's more of the King's lies.
"Correct," he chuckles, setting down a rice ball. "Worst years if my life, I was treated like a tool by that bastard."
"I.." I say faintly, not sure if I was ready to retell my story, "I worked for the king too. Until I defied him."
"And you survived? Look like Mingo's losing his touch," Law cackles.
"He said you were dead, Trafalgar." I say flatly
"Are you kidding me?" he explodes in laughter.
"No, he didn't just say you were dead..." images float in my head. There's a kaleidoscope of colors. Dark, dark rich velvety reds. Then a sharp splatter of pink. Thin strings of white. It's trying to tell me something.
"Oh what, did you see my body, too?" he laughs.
There's a parade of black.
I awake, everything becomes clear immediately, no fuzzy kaleidoscope slowly drifting me into consciousness. Medical supplies attached to me, the group staring at me with worried faces, minus Sanji.
I look at Trafalgar. I know what the colors are trying to tell me...no, I don't believe in such stupid things. Yes I do. I drift over towards Nami, seeing her face wince in fear, confusion, and doubt. I decide that I must do something slightly sadistic.
"Tell me about the Kaleidoscope."
She looks at me in horror. "W-why would..."she trails off, choking a bit "Why you want to know such a thing? Do you, d-do you think you're going to die?"
"Maybe."
"Do you see colors right now?"
"I've already seen them," I admit, closing my eyes. " A deep sea green, mist of clay reds, black seeding through. Slivers of a bleached yellow and a bright peachy pink. A parade of black. Dark, dark, rich velvety reds. A sharp splatter of hot pink. Thin strings of white."
"S-So...you've seen them too." Nami stutters.
"As have I, yet I'm not dead." Trafalgar nervously chuckles.
"But you are," I chime in. It's clear, what the Kaleidoscope is telling me. " You have been killed. Imagine this, you're being pulled in by his strings. Slowly. It slithers around your throat like a snake, thin strings of white. You're cackling, choking, foam rushing out of your mouth like a mudslide, He brings you into him, closer, dragging you by his noose, smiling the whole time. You get a clear view of his hot pink fluffy coat, as he takes his cleats, and smashes his feet it into your skull repeatedly. He's letting out a wide, howling laugh, in front of me, and the fellow maids, as our faces turn white in horror. You splatter everywhere, leaking out dark, dark rich velvety reds on the marble floor. And before you know it, there's a parade of black. A kaleidoscope of colors. And now you're here."
His face grows white. "I-I don't know what the hell's wrong with you.."
I smile. "This Animal Room, this is Mingo's final torture, don't you see? We're learning the true horror of his power. Maybe if we accept the fact that we are dead he'll let us..."
He snatches the pistol from Nami.
"I'd advise you not to say another word," he says with murderous intent.
"Shoot me." I say coldly. "I won't die. Nothing here is alive."
Nami speaks with labored breathing. "She's right..Sabaody.." Nami's glistening with sweat, her glowing, red hair looks pale, frizzled and unkempt. Her skin looks as if it's melting off her. She gags on her own saliva, as it painfully drizzles out her mouth, coated with light foam. The green haired man catches her as she passes out.
Her eyes flip open, like light switch. The cold, glassy eyes stare at the lanky man, before she lifelessly pulls herself up, a gigantic smile across her face.
"I'm glad I know that my theory was right. The Kaleidoscope, it's not just some old tale. I know how I died.." she said mechanically, "I killed myself. Sabaody, it's too much for a person like me. Think about it. Do you know what it's like to not trust anyone, your mother or your father, because they'll sell you in an instant? Do you know what it it's like to murder for a piece of bread? Do you know what it's like to be born in hell? I'd rather go to heaven than live in hell. Funny, seeing how now that I've died I've been transported straight back to hell."
I smile to myself, as much as hate smiling."There's hope, though. We just need Sanji and..."
It realize that I do not know the mossheaded man's name.
"Zoro," he says, himself realizing his lack of introduction. "All..of this crap..." he's interrupted by loud screech.
"The hell is wrong with you guys!?" Sanji howls, his face drowned in angry reds "Look at Nami! And..you..you're all so very pale. Ghostly white."
"We know the truth, Sanji..." Nami says mechanically. "The..kaleidoscope, it's real, we..we've all died. Have you ever..have you ever seen an array of colors?"
"I haven't." he says flatly.
"You're a liar." Nami looks over to Law, her face not changing expressions. "Law, if he doesn't start telling the truth, shoot him." Law nods, and points the gun at Sanji.
"Nami.." Sanji drawls out "I...haven't seen it. I would never l.."
Click-clack
"Nami don't let him do this!" Sanji and Zoro call out in unison.
Pow!
You ever heard the light, pitchy cries of an infant? I hear that, intensified by hundreds, only for a second, before one my ear drums pop.
Then a thud. Sanji is convulsing, writhing, eyes a cool milky white, with bright red veins invading. Gushing saliva. And he's so white, cloud white. He gags on his saliva, until his body grows deathly still, and he slowly closes his eyelids.
His eyelids immediately flip back open. His pupils are visible now, and his skin slowly turns back to it's original peachy pink. He gags one more time, and begins to form words.
"Exactly what I thought," Nami says "You can't be killed, because you're already dead."
"I-I am," Sanji says mechanically "I knew all about this all along, this kaleidoscope, the fact that Doflamingo's been torturing us..but I-I couldn't tell you guys.."
"So you let us suffer?" Zoro snaps "You let us suffer and..."
"You'd think I lost it!" Sanji yells back "You don't know what it's like to live without family, finally having family here, and having to convince them to believe this sort of crap! The silence here, it scares me. We're all ghosts just floating we're.."
"That's enough," I say. "We've all accepted the truth. We all died here, and we all somehow have a connection to Doflamingo. He's torturing us, he's not just a king. He's like a god. When he decides to release us from this torture, and finally let us die, well I don't know when."
Then it hit me. I'd been deluding myself from the very start, thinking accepting our deaths would free us from the Animal Room. We are in hell, and we are ghosts. We'll never get out of here. Perhaps learning the truth was bad idea from the start.
A white, cloud white lion, and a robin shifts over to us. The robin rests on my shoulders, it sings.
"Welcome to hell."
I look away from the robin. Millions of flamingos hurdle over from the mountains, silently making their way over to us, superhumanly fast. They trample us, scratching my face, clawing my maid's dress. I hear multiple screeches, and see nothing but hot pink.
There's a parade of black.
"Is it true, Robin?" Perona asks the older woman, face brimmed with excitement as she enters the Dressrosan Zoo. "That this place is haunted? I've heard so many stories, about this place being filled with ghosts from Sabaody!"
The older woman laughs at the child's naïvety, "Well, if ghosts are real, I'd doubt they live here. It's so nice here. Look at the aquarium, the rainforest, the flamingo cove, and lion pit. They all mesh together, it's just too happy to be haunted. C'mon, stop trying to scare me." she chuckles "Let's talk about something else over a scoop of ice cream." She smiles, pointing over to the snack booth "My treat."
"Heck yeah!" Perona chants, sprinting over the the booth, face engulfed with a wide smile.
I've learned to hate smiles.