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Daz Bones
Daz Bones was in trouble. BIG trouble. He had been defeated. Sliced through by the infamous Roronoa Zoro. And now, to pay for his defeat, he was being sent to Impel Down, the government's publicly funded equivalent of hell. He could almost hear himself screaming. He shuddered. He wished they would just push him into the ocean.
He was led into a marine vessel, separate from Mr. 0, Mr. 2, and Mr.3. He sighed. He wished he had taken the trouble to learn their names while he had been held in prison, so he wouldn't have to always call them by their numbers. Well, it was too late for that now.
He really had always known that joining Baroque Works was one of the worst decisions he could have made in his life. Deep down, he knew that one day it would fall apart, and he'd be left up a creek without a paddle. Still, the pay had been good, and the partner he had been given, well, she certainly had helped him forget his troubles from time to time. Enough said.
As he sat in the holding cell of the marine ship, his mind yet again turned to Roronoa Zoro. He cursed the name. He was being sent to Impel Down, while that metal-cutting whelp was roaming the seas pursuing his dreams.
Dwelling on his defeat, he was struck by a stroke of inspiration. "That kid cut through metal using metal." He thought, his hopes for escape suddenly rising. He tried to turn his body into metal, in an attempt to cut through his handcuffs, but instantly felt his power drained. He cursed silently. The handcuffs must have been made with Divinity, the metal that cancelled out the powers of the Devil Fruit.
Daz Bones quickly searched his surroundings. There had to be something he could do. He searched frantically, searching for any sort of metal object he could use. He almost gave up twice, but thoughts of his screaming at Impel down pushed him onward.
Then, in the corner of the cell, he saw a glint of steel. He worked his way over to it quickly. He dusted the object off. It was a small pocketknife. Daz Bones praised his luck. He was one step closer to freedom.
He used his feet to stand the pocketknife so that its point faced straight up. He held his handcuffed hands up, and then bashed the handcuffs against the edge of the knife with all the force he could muster. Sparks flew, but the handcuffs remained intact. Not even a scratch had been made. Daz cursed. This was harder than he had thought. Relentlessly, he smashed the handcuffs onto the point of the knife over and over again. More sparks. The knife finally flew loose from his feet; flying across the room it clattered against the wall. Daz looked at his handcuffs. Still not even a scratch. He cursed again.
Daz thought back to his encounter with Zoro. What had that kid muttered about before he had cut through him like paper? Something about a sword that could cut through nothing? Something about metal breathing? Breathing... what did that mean? Was it possible that all objects...had some kind of life in them? That would explain while even though he was made of metal, he never had trouble moving. Never had trouble...breathing.
He concentrated. He searched through himself, through the handcuffs, through the knife, looking for some kind of breathing. Some kind of life force. He needed the force to be with him. Hardy-har. Hardly a time for jokes.
Only desperation drove him onwards. He did not eat, did not sleep. He meditated for days without end as the ship slowly sailed towards Impel Down and his imminent doom.
Then, when a week had passed, he heard it. A slow, rhythmic pulse coming from his body. From the handcuffs. From the pocketknife. From everywhere. A slow, pulsing sound, almost like breath. So this is what Zoro had heard before he had sliced through his metal body like it was tissue paper. Daz smiled, hardly an action common from a man on his way to Impel Down, but for good reason. He was about to make the greatest escape of any pirate in history. Except, perhaps, of the escape of Nico Robin from Enies Lobby. The Straw Hats and been involved in that too. He wondered if Zoro had survived the incident. Most likely he thought to himself. He does have a bounty of 120,000,000 berries now. They wouldn't give that kind of money for the retrieval of a dead body.
Daz Bones placed the pocketknife upright between his feet again. He felt its breath. Felt the breath of his handcuffs. Then, he placed the cuff over his right hand on the tip of the knife blade. He imagined the knife's rhythm cutting the breath of his cuff short. He pushed slightly. The knife sliced through the cuff as if it were butter. He concentrated, quickly cutting lose his right arm. Then, turning his body into metal, he cut through the metal bars holding him in his cell. He was free.
He quickly downed the guards in the room, slashing through them with two quick strokes. He burst the door down. He ran out onto the deck, slashing marines left and right. Bullets reflected off his metal body. Swords broke. He was unstoppable. He ran to the captain's office, cutting the major in charge almost in half. The marines charged into the room, swords out, and guns blazing. Daz turned and smiled menacingly. He was going to enjoy this.
It was sunset. And it was over. Not a single marine was left standing. Daz cleaned the decks of the ship, dumping the crippled marines into the holding cell. He was the last ship in the line of ships heading towards Impel Down. Another stroke of luck.
He slowed down, until the other ships were out of sight. Then he turned the ship around and headed back, away from Impel Down.
Daz searched the ship until he found the Navigation quarters. He consulted the map. The Straw Hat pirates had just left Water 7 a few days ago, so that would mean that they would be at...Ontaria. A.K.A. Disco Ball City. He searched through the drawers, finally finding an eternal post to Ontaria. He smiled a menacing smile.
"We will meet again Roronoa Zoro." he said out loud. "We'll see who cuts who this time." He steered the ship towards Ontaria, revenge filling every thought in his mind.
Chapter Nine End. Now that was different, wasn't it?