AN: Every sea has their demons, the South has Eustass Kid and the North has Trafalgar Law. News spreads fast of their monstrous ways, but behind dark acts lies a darker past. How did they grow up to become the "Captain" and "Surgeon of Death"?

As you can see, this story will be centering on the history around Eustass Kid and Trafalgar Law. Expect to see bits of their childhood leading up to their adventures in piracy. We don't know their official age so I'm going with the idea that they're the same age as Ace, so both Kid and Law are 20 years old. There will of course be OCs in this story, but look out for some familiar faces in the future. This can be considered a prequel to my other fic "The Piece in the East," so if you're curious to see what happens next to Kid and Law, I strongly suggest you check it out. Don't worry, this story will not spoil what happens in that fic…I think. Bahohoho!

I have to warn you, there will be some graphic violence in this story! If you do not like reading that kind of stuff, I suggest just skipping it…but there will probably be a fair amount of it from time to time.

A quick thanks to those encouraging me to write this story, rather than half-ass it within flashback in my other fic :3

Enough of this "AN" nonsense and enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda (not me sadly)…which technically makes him Pirate King. All hail Oda!

South: A Birth within Death

The taste of iron lingered over her tongue. Blood was spilling between her dark lips, dripping down her neck and onto the chains restraining her against a large tree trunk. Cold and heavy, the chains were wrapped all around her, yet her very pregnant stomach was poking out freely. She was due any moment now. It was dark, but she could see her capturers clearly in the moonlight. There were two of them: one man, one woman. Both of them had clean-shaven heads and were wrapped in black ceremonial robes.

"Now, Sage," said the woman walking closer to the tree trunk. "We had an agreement."

"Fuck the agreement," coughed out the prisoner struggling under her chains.

Sage had been under the close supervision of these two individuals for the past nine months. The only reason she had complied with the agreement for this long was to keep herself alive, but now none of that mattered. Her pride eventually caught up with her. After all that was done, there was no way in hell she was going to give them what they wanted. Weeks passed by and she finally found the opportune moment to escape. Despite all her careful planning, it didn't take long for the two to find her and capture her once again.

"Sage, stop talking nonsense," advised the woman, narrowing her eyes at her. "You know that once we get what we want from you, you'll be set free. The time is coming soon. Why are you risking it all now?"

The woman in the robe shook her head in disappointment. She knew it was a difficult task to reason with Sage, she came from a very irate breed of people. Those dark lips were the trademark of the Phobos, a race known for their strength and aggressive behavior. This particular group of people was also known for being really difficult to rationalize with. It was hard to get a Phobos to do anything, unless he or she wanted to do the thing in the first place. And Sage was probably the most stubborn of all. Being the strongest woman in her class, she was to wed the man next in line to the throne. But after what had happen to her that last year, the opportunity was stripped from away her. She no longer had the privilege and honor to be crowned queen. It was eating her up inside. Her short blonde hair flipped side to side in anger.

"You know that I know the government is looking for me," spat out Sage, rattling her chains once more.

The woman in the black robes clenched her teeth tightly as she socked Sage across the face. The Phobos woman just smiled as more blood ran down her chin.

"Mary," yelled the man behind her, pulling her away from the prisoner.

"You know that I'm not going to allow that to happen," screamed Mary, fighting her partner's grasp. "We had an agreement!"

"The government wants this child," bellowed the blonde spitfire. "And they want this child dead! Believe me, I am more than willing to give them what they desire."

"How dare you!"

It was not a good time to be born in South Blue. Babies were being slaughtered left and right due to the information that the "Pirate King" Gol D Roger had his heir hidden somewhere in the South. However, they were not looking for Roger's unborn child alone, they were also looking for another terror hiding in the womb of some other woman; and that terror was living and growing within Sage. Right after the Pirate King's execution, there was a ravenous beast threatening the people of South Blue. A mad man claiming to be the "Devil" himself and his crew massacred hundreds, if not thousands of people all over this vast sea. Even one island faced complete extermination, leaving not even one living soul to report the horrors their people faced. After two years of his bloody reign, the Marines backed this Devil and his crew on top of a mountain and eliminated them once and for all. The name of this man was never revealed, he was merely known to all as the "Red Death". Following intense research, the government finally found out who this man was and where he came from. His surname was Eustass. However the government choose to keep this man's identity a secret from the public. The Marines planned to execute the entire Eustass family and did not want anyone interfere with their plans. One by one, each Eustass member was found and killed. The "Red Death" had a fair amount of children, but out of the twelve children, only two remain…and one was yet to be born.

Sage's island was where the "Red Death" horror was put to rest. She was kidnapped and raped by the Devil due to her tremendous power and beauty. He planned to make her one of his wives and even offered to spare the lives of some of her people if she willingly joined him and his crew. Her hands were tied, she knew there was little she could do other than obey his commands. That's how she became under the care and supervision of these two demons. Once she learned that the Devil was killed and the government was looking for one of his last remaining offspring, she knew what she had to do. This unborn child would never experience a birth, only a death. She had no remorse in wanting to kill her baby, even from the very beginning she rejected it. To her, it wasn't her child, but some loathsome monster developing inside her. It needed to die, by the hands government or by her very own.

"You're giving me the child, Sage!"

Sage let out a howling laugh as she watched the veins pop all over the bald woman's forehead. Never had she'd seen Mary so livid! It was a delicious scene to intake.

"Mary, you need to calm down," ordered the hooded man holding her back, but she couldn't help it. This foolish woman was threatening the one thing she was risking everything to keep alive.

"Over my dead body," hissed Sage, spitting out the last of the blood swishing between her teeth.

Mary stopped struggling and looked up to her partner. He looked down at her and then carefully moved his eyes onto Sage. He was observing her body thoroughly before giving Mary a confident nod. Mary shoved her hands into her pockets as the man approached the chained up prisoner. Sage was a little confused by their sudden changed in behavior. They seemed too calm for her liking. Suddenly the man was ripping the clothing from around her stomach. She was about to scream and bite down on the man's head, but Mary quickly covered her mouth. A beaded necklace was wrapped around Mary's hand like a glove, preventing Sage from sinking her teeth into her flesh. She could feel a burning sensation spread over her. The man was cutting into her stomach! Mary pressed Sage's head hard against the tree trunk. She could feel something cold and sharp against her neck. She couldn't believe what was happening, they were removing the child from her body! She could feel her insides spilling out all over her legs. Her blood-shot eyes were fixated on Mary's relaxed gaze. That demon woman was quietly waiting for something and that thing finally came. As soon as the baby's loud cry was heard, Mary slit the neck of its dying mother. Blood spilled upon the baby's forehead like a baptism, shinning bright against its pale white skin. Mary ripped off her robe and gently wrapped it around the naked and trembling newborn.

"It looks a like a healthy boy," whispered the man, wiping the blood off the blade against his robe. "Are you planning to name him?"

Mary couldn't believe the little one she was holding. In her arms was the very last remaining member of her flesh and blood; her little brother. Different mothers, but they came from the same father, and to her, that's all that mattered. Although she couldn't save her other siblings, she would never allow herself to lose him.

"Eustass Kid," she answered back, caressing the cheek of the crying child. "For now, let's call him Kid."

I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter :3 I will probably alternate on each character every other chapter. The chapters will be labeled "North" and "South" to indicate which character I plan to focus on. I'm not sure how often I will be updating this story, but I do consider it a priority along side "The Piece in the East". "North and South" will not be nearly as long (I hope), so there's a better chance it will be completed quicker than the other. Till then, thanks for reading and reviewing!