Author's note: Sorry, for being gone all this time! It has been quite a few months and I was gone due to working on a separate story (not a fanfic 😛) I have finished that story though and won't have anything to worry about for the foreseeable future. Recently got hooked again on OP so I will continue this series at least until Buggy makes it to the grand line. To make up for all the missed time I will make this one extra long. Also, will try to stay away from some of the awkwardness of the early chapters (mostly because I like to think my humor has changed over the past few months) would also like to enlist the help of a beta reader so message me if you would be interested in doing that. Oh, and lastly, I have decided to make Buggy weak but so lucky that he is OP if that makes sense. You should understand during this episode.
Chapter 11: Interrogation room!
It was a small cube-like room. The ceiling had only one light bulb which dangled from a loose wire and moved by the slightest vibrations. The light-bulb blasted gloomy yellow lights at all kinds of objects within the small and dark room. In the centered was a stainless-steel table that was about three meters long and one meter wide. On one side of the table was a single empty, wooden chair. On the other were two other identical chairs, except these chairs had Buggy and Mihawk on them. They were tied up and unconscious.
Directly in front of them was an ebony wooden door that was closed. On either side of this door were two armed guards standing at attention. They were dressed in the same armor as the men that took them earlier; This was to say both were covered head to toe in a black metal-like armor that completely covered every inch of their bodies that could be considered human. No skin nor hair was visible at all, they seemed like machines.
Suddenly Mihawk stirred in his chair. Mihawk grunted once, twice, and then woke up with a start; The chair creaked and Mihawk performed a face drowning in shock. He took a moment to remember what had happened, he had charged at them when they ordered him to surrender! He decided he would rather go down with a fight than surrender to a couple men with guns. They had shot at him of course, he thought he was gone for when they pumped his body full of bullets. Except they were not bullets, they were sleep darts. For now, at least, Mihawk realized he was alive. He took one side long look at Buggy and realized he too was alive unfortunately. The clown was snoring, his red nose was pressed against his chest and a trail of drool ran from his mouth all the way downwards his chest. The clown almost seemed to be peaceful, too bad Mihawk was petty and he wouldn't stand for his captain staying in happy little dream land for long.
Mihawk stomped his free foot on top of one of Buggy's feet with all his strength. The clown was startled and woke up shouting all sorts of curses that were unbefitting of him.
"MOTHER FUCKING BASTARD SON OF A MARINE WHORE A THAT HURTS!", yelled the clown at the top of his lungs.
"Morning sunshine, I thought you might want to be awake to see this", said Mihawk in a calm but mocking tone.
"Yeah?! And what is so important you have to stomp my toes into non-existence?!", criticized the clown.
Mihawk nodded slightly in the direction of the still silent guards. The guards were completely unmoving. As if noticing his surroundings for the first time, Buggy wore a gaze of confusion on his face. He also seemed to have forgotten about his foot.
"What the- Where are we?", asked Buggy. Mihawk shrugged slightly with an indifferent expression.
"Who knows. My pick is some sort of torture room though", he said grimly. This drew the attention of Buggy whom was now wary.
" A torture room?! Are they going to torture us to death?!", cried Buggy out loud with a moan.
" Probably, don't know why you are so concerned though. With that devil fruit of yours, they can't kill you no matter how many times they cut you.", said Mihawk with his signature grunt.
"That doesn't mean I can't die you idiot!", yelled Buggy with staggering disbelief at his indifference.
"Yeah, well back to the task at hand. You think those are just mannequins?", inquired Mihawk with another nod at the guards. Buggy was puzzled.
"Why would they be mannequins?", asked Buggy. Mihawk seemed astonished at that question when he turned to look at Buggy.
"Well, we've been awake a while but they just stand there. No movements what so ever and not even a single word. That is more than a little odd so I can only assume they are mannequins meant to scare us long enough for the actually guards to come back from whatever donut break they are taking at the moment.", said Mihawk. Buggy saw the reason in that and suddenly grinned as an idea popped into his head.
"I've got a plan. Follow my lead and we might just get out of here alive!", boasted Buggy. Before Mihawk could reply, Buggy's torso divided itself into small portions. The rope around his torso came loose and fell to the ground. The portions then flew across the room and Buggy reassembled himself directly in front the door. The "guards" were still unmoving, Buggy waved his hands in front one of the "guard's" face and made silly 'take that' faces at it. The "guards" still provided no reaction so Buggy turned around and grinned at Mihawk.
Mihawk almost grinned back at him as well except he witnessed as lights on the helmets of the guards turned first blue then red. Quickly, both guards aimed their rifles at the back of Buggy's head.
"Buggy watch out!", shouted Mihawk. Buggy turned to see the guards and immediately wet his pants. Both guards spoke in harsh robotic voices "Surrender now Pirate! You are under arrest!". Buggy was too shocked to move or speak so the guards began to squeeze on their triggers with a loud and mechanical sound. Luckily, the door burst open and a man ran in to stop this.
"SENTINELS! STAND DOWN!"
Somewhere else in the same building.
Smoker was sprawled on the comfortable sofa in the vast and well-lit living room. Crocodile was leaning against the wall adjacent to the sofa. She was counting the money that Davos had given her in an envelope. The money was from Smoker's father—whom was currently busy—for bringing Smoker back safe. Years ago, he had hired Crocodile to act as a family body guard; In effect, Smoker had grown up for the past years of his life with her watching over his shoulder and they had developed what you could call a brother-sister relationship. Smoker was finally bored out of his wits. He sat up and stared at Crocodile until she noticed he was looking at her. She glanced away from her money at him and sent him a questioning gaze.
" I just don't know what is taking him so long.", he said in a grumpy voice. Crocodile put her money away and sat next to him on the sofa but not before grabbing a book from a nearby book shelf and opening it to a certain page.
" He is probably just messing around with some of his creations like usual", she said disinterested.
" Yeah, his son goes missing and reappears but he is too busy playing with his toys. He sure has his priorities straight", he grumbled.
" Well, what do you expect? You go "missing" every two months or so therefore I would be more surprised if he still thought much of it", she said with a slight smile. At that moment Davos appeared from the kitchen carrying a tray filled with snacks.
" I figured you two would be hungry after the long journey", he said with a pleasing smile on his old and wrinkled face. Smoker unloaded a cup of tea from the tray and thanked Davos, whom escaped back inside the kitchen. Smoker took a sip and almost burnt his toung when he heard a familiar voice yell "Buggy watch out!". The voice belonged to that Mihawk no doubt, and it came from downstairs in the basement. That was what his father was doing! The two clowns were captured after all. They were likely transported inside through the back entrance otherwise he would have seen them being dragged in.
Smoker however knew that this shout meant they were in trouble and whether he want to admit it or not, he liked those pirates. He glanced quickly at Crocodile who already had her hand on the handle of one of her swords. She looked back at him grimly before speaking to him directly
"Want to see what that is about?", she asked.
"Yeah, let's go", he responded.
Back in the interrogation room
Upon being given their instructions, the guards seemed to relax; The flashing red lights turned blue and they resumed the stance of attention. Buggy was however still gazing at them with wide eyes.
"WHAT THE IN THE NAME OF THE SEA KING GOD WAS THAT!?", he proclaimed. The man who had just entered spoke.
"Oh them? They are my sentinels. Artificial soldiers really. They are just metal and lack human intuition and such but are still great for defense and such" the man said proudly. He produced a wide grin.
" You made those?!", asked Buggy in a strained tone. The man's grin wavered a little but he responded with " Well yes of course, they are my creations."
" YOU IDIOT! YOU ALMOST HAD ME KILLED!", screamed Buggy as he held on to the man's shirt collar. The man seemed to shrink ten sizes as he squirmed.
"I am sorry! Please sir, be gentle with me! I meant you no harm at all!", begged the tiny man. Mihawk chose this time to intervene of course; He cleared his throat to get some attention before talking.
" Oi, Buggy, the man just helped you out a bit. Cut him some slack, this was obviously some sort of misunderstanding." Buggy seemed to think through this a bit before he sighed; The man's collar was let go of and Buggy gave him a little more personal space. The man seemed grateful and silently gave Mihawk a 'bless you' look.
"So, I assume you work here or something? Or at least you know why we are here." Buggy said this as he took a moment to analyze the appearance of the man. The man was of average height and weight, he had dark eyes and black hair with tuffs of white here and there. His hair was short and he seemed to have a rather ordinary face. He wore silver glasses and a black business suit that was neatly ironed. On top of his suit was a white lab coat.
"Ah yes, well the funny story is that the person whom has brought you here is me" was the man's answer. He still trembled a little. Buggy was shocked enough to almost grab the man by the collar again but at that moment two people burst into the room. One of with immediately tackled him to the ground. The other drew a sword and positioned it just next to the first person's cheek and right above his throat. Buggy over reacted as usual.
"Holy shit! What is wrong with this messed up town?! Can a guy just go a few seconds without being threatened here?!" Buggy's face froze however when he saw who these two people were. He relaxed.
"Oh, it's you two. Cancer and Sandy, right?", he asked.
" It's Smoker you bastard! Smoker and Crocodile!", said the boy who had tackled him. The man in the lab coat tapped the boy's shoulder warily.
" Smokey, all this violence really isn't necessary.", he said.
"But we heard yelling.", responded Smoker.
"Yes, that was just a misunderstanding?", he said still a tad bit nervous.
" Sir, these men are dangerous Pirates. You shouldn't have them loose and moving" intervened Crocodile.
"Croco-chan, I am so very glad you think that highly of me but I honestly don't care at all about this guy. We are the ones that were dragged here in the first place," there was a short pause "Also what is up with you and pointing your sharp toys at my throat. Hmm? What has my throat every done to you?!" Before Crocodile could respond however, the man intervened.
"Yes, well I suppose it is time I explain why you are here," he said " I have been receiving phone calls from scared citizens that they saw two 'scary' looking men fighting in the town dock. So naturally I sent my sentinels to bring you to me for interrogation"
"I don't know what's more surprising, that this town actually has citizens or that some of them thought this clown was scary" said Mihawk as he nodded in Buggy's direction. " I'll have you know I am plenty scary" said a pouting Buggy.
"Well, I would like to start the interrogation now if you don't mind" he pointed an open palm at Buggy's empty chair. Buggy was reluctant.
"I would rather not have to order the sentinels to restrain you. Again." said the man. Buggy grumbled and sat down. Smoker and Crocodile were now standing at the side of the room and paying attention intently. The man sat down and crossed his fingers.
" So, first off, introductions. Yay" said the man with forced enthusiasm
" I am Dr. Soot. You are?", he asked
" Mihawk. The clown is Buggy", responded the swordsman.
"Wait your last name is Soot?", asked Buggy incredulously. The doctor nodded.
" So, he is Smoker Soot?", asked Buggy with a point at Smoker. It was Smoker who responded this time.
"Yeah, what's it to you?", he asked.
" Gyahahaha! Your name is Smoker Soot?! If I were you I would murder whoever gave you that name!", shouted Buggy within fits of laughter. Even Mihawk and Crocodile smiled a bit.
" I gave him that name", said Dr. Soot.
" You're his father?", inquired Mihawk.
"I am", responded Dr. Soot.
"Gyahaha! That explains a lot!", exclaimed Buggy. The Dr noticed Smoker was getting irritated so he carried on.
" To change the subject, if you will. What is your profession?", asked Soot.
"Pirates. Although I wouldn't really call it a profession. More like doing whatever the hell we want", said Buggy. He had calmed down a bit but was still cheery.
" But of course, you already knew that. didn't you?", said Mihawk. Soot gave him a grim nod.
" Yes, I hoped that I was wrong however. It seems I will have to cut this short now that I know. How many crewmates do you have? Where are they? Do they know where they are?", asked the man in rapid succession.
" We are sort of just a two-man crew for now", said Buggy.
" Very well, I am sorry", said Soot sadly.
" What for?", asked everyone at the same time.
" I am afraid I will have to kill you two", said Soot. Silence fell upon on the room for seconds but finally it was Buggy who broke it.
"Gyahaha. Good one. Seriously though, why are you sorry?", he asked. Dr. Soot didn't respond.
" Buggy. I think he is serious", said Mihawk grimly.
"Oh, come on. Look at him, I've seen plenty of killers before and he isn't like them. Hell, I doubt he has the back bone to hit us. I would be more scared of a girl scout.", he said as he rolled his eyes.
"I can hear you, you know", said the gloomy doctor in a slightly offended tone.
" Dad, why would you say something like that? You have never threatened to kill pirates before", said Smoker. He and Crocodile seemed quite shocked. Soot turned to look at his son and frowned.
" It is Gunson, he and his crew are getting ready to depart for the grand line and they said they can't afford for anyone to hold them back. He thinks his rivals might try to come here and take the Sentinel factory from him so he ordered me to kill any unwelcomed visitors", he said.
"Ugh! So you listen to him? Is that what you are now? Just another one of Gunson's pets?", growled Smoker.
"I have no choice Smokey. You know what he did last time I refused to do what he said. You know what he will do if I refuse now.", he said in a saddened tone.
"Wait, so you guys are going to kill us?!", shouted Buggy as he now began to realize just how serious Soot is. They ignored him.
" He doesn't have to know. You can just let them go or send them to the marines!", yelled Smoker. He was desperate to stop his father from doing such a thing. Sure, he didn't particularly like Buggy or Mihawk but he didn't want them dead either.
" It is no use, he knows already. Before he left, he set up security den den mushi at the dock. He knew of these two the moment they stepped off their boat. Soon he will call me to confirm that I have done what he asked and you know as well as I do that he is good at detecting lies!", said Soot with dislike still glued to his face.
"Hey! Stop ignoring me!", cried Buggy.
Smoker seemed to be deflated at this realization as much as his father.
"There is nothing to be done about it than", he said weakly.
His father nodded. "Indeed"
"Don't think of it bastards! I'll kill you!", yelled Buggy. Buggy finally got the attention he desired when Soot turned to him.
"I am sorry boy, but it seems we will regrettably be doing the killing today", he said. He then spoke to the Sentinels.
" Sentinels, keep them secured in here for the rest of the night. We will have an execution in the morning.", Soot, Smoker, and Crocodile all left the room with heads slightly hung down. The Sentinels closed the door tight and aimed their rifles at the still shocked Buggy and the strangely quiet Mihawk.
"Any movements and you die now!", said the Sentinels.
The shocked Buggy was on the verge of lashing out.
"This isn't how I will die!", he growled.
"Calm yourself. We will be fine", said Mihawk in a low voice. This caught Buggy's attention.
" Why? Do you have a plan?", asked Buggy hopefully.
"Nope", he said.
"We are so screwed!", shouted Buggy.
End!
For now.
