I have a lot of test coming, so I may not be able to update once a week as usual.

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So, hope you guys enjoy! Flames and reviews are strongly welcomed!

Chap. 9

"I've changed my mind, dear. The world government offered us a very high price." The man on the other side stopped for a while. The woman in the white robe spoke.

"Have you asked Doflamingo, sir?"

"No. But that pink flamingo isn't as generous as you think; and trading with the world government is much safer. Doflamingo is a ruthless pirate; who knows what he will do if we sold XS3356II to him? Perhaps he would kill us all. Or perhaps that's just my terrible imagination. But you know I don't like taking risks, dear."

The woman sighed silently in her own heart. "Do you have any instructions for me, boss?"

"Yes. Keep her ability to regenerate; that's what the world government wants. Totally wipe out her memory. We don't need runaways and we don't need to risk having one. A few days later, the world government is going to provide us a devil fruit. Feed her that, and a few days after she would no longer be a trouble of ours. Let the world government worry about the consequences."

"May I ask for a specific time, boss?" The woman looked to her calendar.

"About a week later. You can manage to reach my expectations by then, right, my dear?"

"I'll try my best."

"Good."

The woman sighed softly as she hung up. He was always pushing her so hard. True, she would not be afraid to say that she was very intelligent, but XS3356II wasn't that simple to handle. The girl won't give in easily like the other guinea pigs. There was always a struggle when it came to her.

It had been about 2 years since she had been recaptured. She was 18 by now, meaning that her brain and other organs reached the age where they would stop developing. That should have made the memory wiping problem easier. Was her boss thinking of that when he told her to sell the girl to the world government? Whether yes or not, she thanked him for it.

The world government. Just thinking of that organization made her want to laugh. It was supposed to serve for justice. But take a look at it closer. What kind of "justice" would allow human body experiments? But this so-called government not only defaulted its existence, but also trades for human body weapons. Just this was enough to see the corruption of the organization. The woman stood up and left her office, heading towards the laboratory rooms. She had to work as hard as she could to find out how to erase the girl's memory. In one week. She knew that taking out one of the two hippocampuses in a person's brain can cause them to lose the ability to form new long-term memories. But erasing old ones? She had never heard of anything like that before, nor had she studied anything similar when she was still an apprentice. The woman sighed and sat down beside a computer. It seemed she would get no good sleep these days.

It wasn't uncommon for Selby to wake up in nutrient solutions. She hated the feeling she had when she was soaked in it; the slimy liquid-like thing always surrounded her, supporting her dying body whenever they came close to kill her. Why didn't they just kill her? That way she wouldn't need to suffer in this cold cruel lab anymore.

Selby watched quietly as the researchers walked in and out. The thick glass container had blocked out all sounds, so she couldn't hear a single word they were speaking. She pressed herself onto the clear glass, trying to steal a few words from their conversation.

"… She hasn't found…yet. There is…on mice. We don't know…will work….human body."

"…fruit is coming… What should we do?"

"…leave it to her…take care of… We also…time after…"

"Such a hurry… finish it?"

"…trust her."

Nothing made sense to her at all. They seemed to be running an experiment—but then, aren't they running all kinds of experiments all the time? They were planning something, obliviously, but did it by any chance have anything to do with her? And what was the fruit they were talking about? A devil fruit? Selby didn't understand. She closed her eyes and let her mind rest for a while.

It had been a long time since she left the Heart Pirates. She didn't know how long; there was nothing for her to keep track of time. A year or two perhaps? Her memories started to blur and mix. It was a thing that often happened when she was young, before she had seen the world outside.

The woman had not bothered her for days. Selby was grateful to whatever that was keeping her busy and moving her attention on her away. She didn't care what it was anymore; as long as it didn't bother her it was OK, even if it meant another human or living creature suffering. It wasn't like she was cold hearted. It was just that sometimes when people do horrible things to you, you just wish from the bottom of your heart that they did it to someone else, no matter whom, as long as it gave you a break from suffering.

Selby leaned onto the glass of the container and sighed. A few bubbles floated up to the surface of the nutrient solution. It was a very long time since the woman had mentioned the captain of the Heart Pirates. Selby guessed that it was a good thing, since she hadn't heard of the death or defeat of Trafalgar Law. Where was he now? How was he doing? Had he entered the New World? She let her mind slip loose and her imagination run wild.

Bepo raised his head as a seagull flew past their ship. It glided towards to horizon, and after a few minutes it disappeared from his field of vision. The calm waves lapped against the ship, creating a soothing rhythm. His captain sat back to back with him on the deck. Bepo sniffed a bit. The air was too warm for his liking.

"Captain?"

"Yes, Bepo?" He could feel Law turn his head slightly.

"Do you remember Selby?"

"Yes." Bepo felt Law's head turn back as his captain leaned on him. "What's the matter?"

"…I miss her." After a while, Bepo replied. His captain let out a short laugh.

"You've said that hundreds of times since she left, Bepo."

"I know… I wonder if she's OK. She's a fugitive, right?"

"That's what she said. I don't think she'll be that safe though. She's too naïve to be on her own. At least, when she left us."

Bepo twitched a bit. "Then why did you make her leave?"

"It would have been more dangerous if she was with us back then. And there was no reason for her to travel with us any longer, since I gave her those pills."

"I thought you cared for her."

"I did. That's why I told her to leave."

There was a long moment of silence between their conversation. Bepo didn't know what to reply; it seemed right for Law to make her leave under that situation two years ago. But now they were long rid of Doflamingo, and Law showed no sign of finding her. There was nothing for Bepo to blame; after all, there was no reason to find her anyway. Selby got what she want, just as his captain said. His thoughts were disturbed when his captain spoke again.

"Let's not talk about this anymore, OK, Bepo?"

"Yes, captain." Bepo replied as another seagull flew before him. How he'd love to have some frozen seal right now as he used to do in the colder regions.