Hello and welcome to my newest One Piece fanfiction! Who knew I still even liked this anime, am I right? But regardless, grab a drink, maybe a snack and I hope you enjoy what my brain refused to shut up about for several days straight.
Obligatory disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.
"You there! Stop!"
My heart leapt into my chest.
"It's no good, RUN!" the blonde man cried, pulling me along by the arm. The special chains around my wrists jangled as we gave up all pretense of stealth and made a break for the exit, my bare feet slapping on the cold metal floor matching pace with my pounding heart.
I dared not look back as the sound of approaching footsteps was only increasing until my heartbeat wasn't the only thing pounding in my ears. Tears began to stream from my eyes, I wouldn't, couldn't go back. Not now, not that I've had a chance for freedom. I couldn't bear the thought of going back into that windowless room and putting on the white restraint jacket once more.
The blond haired blue eyed boy tugged me along urging me to go faster, but my breath was already beginning to get ragged and strained. I was running as fast as I could, but the restraints on my thin wrists sapped my strength.
A tug on the thin, ragged cloak I was wearing momentarily choked me before it was followed by, "I've got it!"
I cried out in fear and distress as the blonde's hold on me was momentarily broken. His bowl cut swirled around his face as he turned back to face my captor. "Duck!" he yelled and before I could do much more than blindly follow instruction, he was levelling a pistol at the one holding me.
My ears rang loudly as the gun fired and I felt my cloak come free before I was once again being pulled along. Before I could stop, I turned to see what had happened to see the horrifying sight of a man lying unmoving in a growing puddle of his own blood. The ones continuing to pursue us barely gave him a downwards glance as they stepped over his body and continued behind us.
Tripping over my own feet, I turned back to face forward as my hope turned to ash, "Kensei, there's no way we're going to make it! Look! The door!"
Sure enough the heavy main doors had begun to shut and the white light at the end of the tunnel began to slowly disappear. Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out several round objects and with his teeth pulled the tabs on them causing them to start sparking. "Oh yes we are!" he cried before throwing them as far as he could. There was a brief moment where they bounced off the doors with an innocent 'ting' before there was a huge flash of light and a wave of scalding heat before the bang.
Throwing his free arm around me, the young man used his body to shield me from the blast of the bomb. The screams of the soldiers around us followed almost immediately before I was once again being pulled roughly by the arm. Rubble and stone continued to fall all around us. The light continued to dim as rubble piled up in front of the door, until only a single ray of light shone down through the dust that hung in the air.
The smoke cleared in a great sweep of a staff to reveal the guard Captain between us and freedom. His coat, worn off his shoulders like a cape, billowed in the breeze he'd created. The strong jawline eerily backlit by the light created a sharp outline of his face. The hollows of his deep set eyes and cheeks gave him a skull like appearance and I felt a deep seated cold fear take hold of me. I had nothing but horrible memories of this man.
"You have made a valiant effort, Kensei, but it was all for nothing. This is as far as you go. You will pay for your betrayal with your life." The large man spoke in a deep commanding voice exuding an intimidating air like none I'd ever felt before. "Return Zero-Five to us right now and I will ensure your death is a painless one." the butt of the stave was levelled towards Kensei's face and the last of the smoke cleared to show that we were surrounded by more men in white outfits armed with rifles and swords alike.
I clung fearfully to the blue eyed boy beside me. I didn't want to go back into the hands of these monsters but the thought of Kensei suffering more because of helping me cut deep. Slowly I began to release my grip, if it would save the one person who had shown me any kindness, I should give myself up.
Putting his hands over mine, Kensei gently pulled my hands away from his arm and pushed me slightly away from his body. Confused I stared at him as he grinned comfortingly at me, "Don't worry, I won't be dying here." turning towards the guard captain, Kensei addressed him, "You can't stop what I've done here! This will all end one way or another!" he once more pulled more bombs from his pockets and in one fluid motion lit them all, "Run, Ardyn!" he cried before throwing the explosives behind us.
"I won't let you!" the captain cried before lunging towards us, arm extended to grab me and staff raised to hit my blonde savior. For a moment I was stunned in fear until I heard the gunshot and watched the captain fall to the side.
Kensei's voice rang out true in the aftermath "RUN!" and I didn't question it any further before my legs propelled me forwards, adrenaline pumping through my system, fueling me forwards. The chaos all around seemed to happen in slow motion as men screamed and began to panic from the explosions. Only a few of them seemed to be focused on me as they all began to flee for their lives in all directions, trampling and hindering their still focused colleagues in the process.
"Keep running! Don't look back!" the young man called as I reached the rubble that was all that remained of the front door. Unfortunately, his command caused me to do exactly the opposite and just as i climbed to the top of the pile I glanced over my shoulder to see Kensei lighting more bombs as he pinned the Captain to the ground.
"KENSEI!" I screamed in fear. He couldn't let those go off! He would die!
The young boy looked up at me and smiled genuinely, "Don't worry, Ardyn I won't be dying here."
I opened my mouth to protest, only to be blinded by a flash of light and an explosion that rocked the entire building. The heat seared my face as the blast blew me out into the courtyard. My ears were ringing once again with the intensity of the blast as I tumbled ass over teakettle into the dry grass. Rocks and bits of stone peppered the grounds as well as my unprotected body. Instinctively I curled into a tight ball to try and protect myself.
A moment passed with my face buried in my arms and when I wasn't crushed by any falling debris I allowed myself a careful glance up. My eyes widened in shock when I saw only a bare skeleton of the building that had once caused me so much agony. The once imposing stone fortress was ablaze with flames running all the way up to the very top of the tallest tower.
Guards and white lab coats alike scrambled for their lives and desperately searched for a way to quench the hungry flames. I sat in shock and awe at the awesome sight before me and I felt my eyes begin to burn. How on earth could Kensei have survived that blast? There's no possible way, he was right in the middle of it.
My stomach dropped into my ankles as I leapt to my feet- a mistake that left me feeling dizzy and unable to see clearly for a moment- and desperately searched the courtyard for any sign of him.
There was none. He had given his life for me in that last moment so that I could escape.
A sob wracked its way out of my chest a moment before a skinny man with overly large glasses spotted me, "Do not let Zero-Five escape! Our research needs to be continued!" he screeched in his reedy almost pre-pubescent voice which clashed heavily with his wildly untamed white hair and bent posture that only comes with old age.
Glaring hatefully at him, I turned and without a second thought ran as fast as my legs would carry me out the front gate that was open according to Kensei's plan. I couldn't afford to let myself get caught now and let my friend's sacrifice go to waste.
My heart beat harder than ever before as my lungs pumped air in and out of my body as best they could. The road down the hill was uneven and full of gravel with tiny sharp rocks that I could feel digging into the soft soles of my feet. I could not afford to stop, however as I could hear the clamor of armed guards close on my heels.
The chains sapping my strength were starting to take a heavy toll on my body as my legs began to give way beneath my weight. A particularly bad stumble sent me staggering dangerously close to the edge of the road which was bordered by a steep cliff. I desperately attempted to steer myself away from its unforgiving edge but my legs once again gave out beneath me and with a scream of terror i tumbled over the edge.
Curling into a tight ball I tried to avoid injury as much as I possibly could but the sharp rocks dug into every bit of my body. I landed heavily, the wind knocked from my lungs. Frozen with shock I couldn't do anything more than desperately attempt to draw air into my lungs with very minimal success.
A distance voice cursed, "Shit! It fell down! We'll go down and trap it against the cliff come on!"
"It's a miracle, it's still alive!" called another as they ran off.
A ragged breath finally entered my lungs before I started coughing violently and winced when it pulled on several tender muscles and bones. Rolling over, I clawed my way up onto all fours before I laboriously pushed myself up. I couldn't afford to wait here for them to corner me like they said they would. I needed to escape.
Glancing up I saw my salvation.
A town.
Stumbling into a shuffling, limping run I made my way over to where I knew other people were. Ones that weren't employed under the so called "scientists" who worked up in the newly destroyed lab.
People were milling all about the edge of the houses and shops, watching with horror as the large building atop the mountain burned to ash. A few women noticed me and covered their mouths in shock.
"Help! Please help me." I begged approaching the closest woman, my voice ragged and weak. Her hair was tied in a bun and she had a homely air to her.
Her brown eyes stared at me in horror, "My poor dear, what on earth has happened to you?" she asked me, terrified.
"The Lab blew up and I was finally able to escape, please help me. Don't let those men get me." i pointed to the guards who had finally reached the bottom of the road and were sprinting towards us at full speed. It would only be another moment or two before they reached me.
"Young lady what were you doing up there? And why are you-?"
"She's got a demon in her! Look! She's wearing those special chains!" a man cried from my left and roughly grabbed me by the wrist and held my arms above my head to show the other villagers. I screamed in pain as it stretched my wounded body.
"Please," I choked, "please don't let me be taken back, I promise I won't hurt anybody!" hope was dying in my chest. Would these people really not help me?
"Demon! Go back to hell!" another man from the crowd cried as the guards approached en masse.
Panicked, I began to struggle from the one holding me, desperate to escape. "Let me go!" I cried, tears streaming down my face. I glanced to the woman I'd approached and my heart broke completely to see her glaring at me with the same hatred that the man had spoken with in his voice.
Without warning, the man holding me threw me down at the feet of the guards who were waiting patiently to see what would happen. "Here," the man spat, "keep this under better watch, it put us all in danger. Just look what it did to your base!"
I lay on the ground where I'd been thrown, curled up in a ball trying to hide from the word and hoping against hope that if I curled up small enough that I would just disappear into the ground. The pain from my injuries began to make itself known and I no longer had the strength to attempt to flee, my feet were no doubt bleeding from the treatment I'd put them through just now.
"Yes, it is very dangerous, your assistance in catching it is greatly appreciated. We'll make sure it's locked up nice and tight." rough hands grabbed my arms and shoulders and without a care for my well being, hauled me up onto my feet. "It won't be seeing the daylight again for a very long time after what it pulled today."
I looked up in time to see the one speaking grin cruelly. I recognized him as the guard lieutenant, he was a cruel man who drew great satisfaction from my suffering. More than once he had personally make sure to make every bit of my existence as hellish as possible. No, I would not go quietly. I would not go back. I would rather die than spend one more minute in that hell.
"That wasn't m-!" I was cut off in my defense when he backhanded me across the side of my face.
"You can't afford to let it speak, it talks of nothing but lies." he lied, as the crowd hummed in agreement.
A coppery taste drifted into my mouth and I could tell that the inside of my cheek was bleeding. The last of my resolve melted away after that last hit and I let my weight rest entirely on the two men supporting me. I was caught. That was that. I was going back whether I liked it or not.
Thick silent tears fell down my cheeks and a cut began to sting on my face. So this was it then was it… this is how I would spend the rest of my life. A caged animal.
"I can't sit by and watch this anymore." the click of a pistol cocking caught my attention as my head snapped up, "Let the girl go, now."
This person sounded like a man but with the traditional geisha hairstyle and pink kimono, I was confused. Maybe someone else had spoken? But… whoever this was… was helping me?
"This demon isn't a girl, it just takes the form of one. You've been fooled by its lies." the Lieutenant answered shakily, clearly intimated by the person holding a gun to his head. I stared in awe, I had never seen him scared before.
"People like you disgust me." the mysterious man, pushed the gun against his skin. "Let her go, i won't ask again." the rage was clear in his voice and i felt myself becoming scared and intimidated.
"I would listen to him, boys. Izo isn't one to make idle threats." another male voice spoke up and the ones holding me turned to see another figure in a white suit and a very tall pompadour. He was holding twin blades and stood with a lazy confidence.
A fragile hope began to once again take hold in my heart. I renewed my struggle to get away, planting my feet and thrusting upwards as hard as my weakened limbs would push. For a moment their combined grip weakened and i nearly broke free, but before I could take a step forward, one of them grabbed the collar of my ragged cloak and pulled me back. This time he wrapped his arm around my neck and began to choke me.
"Filthy demon, hold still."
The Lieutenant grit his teeth until a vein popped on his forehead, "How dare you interfere in our business? Don't you know who we're funded by?"
"I think you got bigger problems if you don't know who we are, yoi." a third man called from a rooftop, he wore a purple shirt and had a shock of blonde hair atop his head. Across his chest was emblazoned a blue cross with a half moon curving upwards through the center. I watched in awe as blue flames sprout up around his form.
One moment, I was being choked, the next I had collapsed to the ground as the guards around me forgot about their job in their fear. "W-Whitebeard Pirates!" they cried in terror. At their exclamation, the townspeople similarly scattered in panic. They rushed to homes and any place of refuge they could find. Some screamed mostly indecipherable phrases including more calls of "demons" and "pirates".
I covered my eyes to protect them from the dust and debris being thrown up in their wake. Instinctively I curled into a ball to avoid being stepped on. With the soldiers having retreated several steps behind me, I was now in open area and in definite danger of being trampled.
"I think you boys understand the predicament you're in now, yeah?" the one in the white stated rhetorically.
I think he may have tapped his swords on something, but I was too enamored with the man wreathed in blue flames to pay much attention elsewhere. He was unlike anyone I'd ever seen, whatever let him stay unsinged within those flames was beyond my comprehension.
"So we'll give you a choice, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. But either way the girl will be coming with us." the pink robed (wo)man stated without any room left for argument.
"L-lieutenant, what do we do?" one of the grunts asked, fear clearly evident in his voice.
There was a beat of tense silence as the newly appointed leader weighed his very limited options. I glanced up to see the lieutenant was still on the dangerous end of the pistol pointed to his head, sweat bulleted down his temples. The sound of his teeth grinding was clearly audible even from my position on the ground.
"It's not worthwhile to fight here and die for that… thing, boys."
"But sir-!" cried one of the others.
"DO NOT QUESTION ME, PRIVATE! Our employers wouldn't want to cross Whitebeard. Plus, this isn't a fight we will win. Not against three Commanders." he ground out.
The man in the kimono pulled his gun away with a small, triumphant smirk but he did not step away, nor did he disarm the weapon. I watched with only minimal relief as the troupe of soldiers retreated back up to the ruined lab. Once they were gone, I was left alone with these so called Whitebeard pirates.
The closest one in the pink kimono turned towards me and upon making eye contact my body flew back into a panic. My heart raced and my breath came quick. Scrambling to get on my feet, I turned to crawl away only for my arms to give out beneath me. I desperately kicked my legs to futilely attempt to get to my feet but they were no longer strong enough to support me either. The dirt beneath them started to change to a rusty red as I lacerated my already injured soles.
"It's okay, you're safe now. We won't hurt you, are you alright?" the pick robed one knelt down and extended his hand to me a genuinely kind smile stretching his painted lips.
"I don't want to go back." I whimpered and whipped my head around frantically as the one with the tall hair and white outfit approached me from behind. Once again i struggled to get to my feet but found my limbs were even weaker than before and my arms gave out completely.
"Woah there, careful now." strong hands caught my shoulders just before I hit the unforgiving ground and i glanced up into the widely grinning face of the man in white. Now that he was closer I could see he had a scar tracing the outside of his left eye.
"My name is Izo, what's yours?" the one in pink introduced himself as the man who had been wreathed in the blue flames landed behind him.
Everything in my body had shut down in absolute panic. Speaking was no longer something I was capable of, it was all I could do to not pass out completely. I was completely paralyzed unable to move a muscle while also shaking uncontrollably. My breathing was hard and fast while my heart raced faster than ever before in my ears.
"It's okay, we're not going to hurt you. You're never going to see those men ever again. We're going to take you far away from here alright?" Izo stated gently before glancing at the one behind me and giving him a knowing nod.
"Alright, up we go." the hands under my shoulders slowly pulled me up until i was standing on my own two feet again. Like lightning the sting of my injuries lanced through my body and shocked me out of my panic state.
"Where am i going? Who are you? Why are you…?" I couldn't finish my sentence as my throat closed up with emotion. These people were showing me more kindness in the first few minutes they'd met me than the whole of my time in the lab. Well… with the exception of Kensei… my heart twisted hard at the memory of him.
The arms holding me up disappeared and as my full weight was placed onto my feet. My knees immediately gave way and I started to fall forwards. Adrenaline suddenly spiking, I braced for impact only for the same arms from before to wrap around my middle and once again keep me from collapsing.
Alarm bells were echoing my head but I no longer had the energy to resist. My body had run out of adrenaline to produce for my body and combined with the cuffs around my wrists, I was quickly losing the ability of movement. In a daze of exhaustion I didn't have the ability to resist or help the one currently lifting me up so one of his arms supported my back while the other rested under my knees.
As the group began to walk, my eyes came to rest on the one in the purple shirt, more specifically his tattoo. It must have represented something, probably the symbol of the Whitebeard pirates they claimed to be a part of. Clearly he was very proud of this affiliation if he bore the mark so openly and with such pride. It was such a simple but easily recognizable design. My mind happily wandered as my eyes glazed over and began to drift shut.
"My dear, you're staring…" Izo leaned down and whispered to me and I snapped out of my wandering thoughts with a jolt. I'd been staring? But it was only at the tattoo, was that bad? Maybe I wasn't supposed to look?
"Do you like what you see, girlie?" The one in the purple shirt quipped a grin sliding over his face.
I stared back in horror as I glanced between his face and his tattoo until I realized his tattoo was on his chest. His bare chest. His bare, very chiselled chest.
I felt my face heat up all the way to my ears as I stuttered trying my best to apologise, fearful of what he would do. Had I offended him? Tears began to trail down my cheeks.
Izo 'tsk-ed' in displeasure and smacked Marco across the chest, "Ow, what? She was staring at me."
"She's been obviously treated poorly here Marco, don't be rude. Plus she was probably staring at your tattoo instead, she's likely never seen one before." he hissed between gritted teeth.
"I can give you some pointers on how to talk to women if you're having trouble, bird brain." the one carrying me joked, the mirth clear in his voice. I watched as Marco frowned and rose to the taunt.
"I don't need help talking to women, Thatch!"
The two others burst into laughter at his outburst only moments before flames sprouted around his form once more. Once again I was staring in awe, up close I could even see purples and greens mixed in with the azure tendrils. Most interestingly, they didn't produce any discernible heat and even though they touched Izo's kimono, it did not catch on fire.
"I'm going ahead to warn Pops. Don't want him to be surprised about this." Marco stated, still seemingly irritated with the other two before he jumped into the air and the once formless flames transformed into wings and I watched in absolute rapture as he flew away.
The next little while passed in a blur as I began to relax and start to trust the ones that had come to my rescue. My head became heavy and eventually I had trouble keeping my eyes open. The steady rocking motion of Thatch carrying me, combined with his body heat- I couldn't remember the last time I'd been so warm- was absolute heaven.
At some point we boarded a ship, there was bustling activity and people seemed to be talking in my general direction, but the specifics of their words escaped me. The low rumble in my ear tipped me off to Thatch speaking but I just continued to fall deeper into sleep. Metal clinking together roused me slightly but it didn't keep my attention for long as I drifted back off to dozing…
...until the cuffs dropped from my wrists.
Immediately I was awake and panicking, "NO!" I screamed as I dropped to the hard wood of the deck.
Thatch and Izo staring at me in shock was the last thing I remember before my vision exploded in white.
Terrible, heart-wrenching cliff hangers give me life. There will very likely be more :D
Thanks for reading! Leave a review if you'd like! I'd love to hear your thoughts!