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Disclaimer: I do no own One Piece or any of it's characters but the OC's inserted as well as Liza is my own character*

Chapter 26

Liza's blue eyes opened up when she heard the sound of a door swinging open. It was followed by footsteps and she glanced to her side to see someone approaching her. Her brows twitched slightly as she tried to figure out who it was.

She didn't know how long she sat there against the wooden wall but she was sure that it had been quite a while. She could feel her limbs were stiff from staying cuffed to that one spot and her wrists ached from the open skin.

"You look better" Aston's voice reached her ears and her eyes briefly widened. He stepped into the room, his cold expression replaced with a calmer look. There was no one else around him and she felt relieved to see him almost back to normal.

"Well, I had to snap myself back to reality or otherwise I won't be able to get us out of here. I can't let something get me down longer than it has to. You know that" Liza said and Aston vaguely nodded, his brows furrowed slightly.

"Liza-san... Where you serious when you said that you would take me back and train me? Would... Would you really do that?" Aston asked, his voice sounding very small and Liza saw the pain on the male's face.

"Of course, but don't think that I'll be easy on you" Liza teased the male and saw a small smile form onto his lips as a dry chuckle escaped him. Liza wanted to smile back at him but she had a nagging thought in the back of her head.

"He controls you, doesn't he?" She said and Aston's eyes widened at her words. "There's no use in hiding it, I can see it. He creeps into your mind and makes you do things for him. I know, since you would never eat a Devil's Fruit even if it made you stronger" He stayed silent.

"Kid, I can help you if you let me. I know that I should leave you to deal with things on your own, but sometimes you need someone to help you" Liza smiled as a redhead crossed her thoughts. Yes, he needed someone just as she needed Shanks.

"We're all there for you. Richie and I are there for you. All you have to do is reach out to us. We're your friends and we would never want you to get hurt. That's why I always kicked the asses of those who mess with you. You mean a lot to us" She said and Aston bit his bottom lip.

"I know... I know! All I wanted to do was get stronger so I can walk beside you and never have to hide my face in shame" He said, averting his eyes to the ground beneath him. Liza gave him an assuring smile and nodded.

"Don't you see? You've already reached that point where you don't have to hide your face in shame. Now, let's go home" She said and held out her cuffed hand. Aston looked back up at her, his eyes quivering slightly.

He hesitantly reached out towards her and swallowed thickly. He knew that she could help him like she always did. He wanted to be with her and Richard and he didn't want to go anywhere else. He wanted to work at the bar for as long as he was able to.

"Well, well, well, looks like we have a little rebel here. I was waiting for you to show your teeth at captain. Even after he did all that effort to make you stronger, you stayed a weak willed idiot" Odell's voice reached their ears and Liza's eyes narrowed at him.

He walked out of the shadows, his nose covered in a while bandage and his skin bluish around the area. He had a sick smirk covering his features and his snake tattoo showed proudly at the side of his neck.

"Odell..."

"Hey, broken nose, get out of here. We're having a very important conversation here. You're just as irritating as your captain." Liza snapped at the male and he growled dangerously at her. He was about to slap her through her face but Aston grabbed his hand before he could do anything.

"Don't you dare touch her, you scum." Aston growled angrily at him and threw him back. He stumbled a bit for his balance and then glared at the male. He pulled out his pistol from the back of his pants and Liza's eyes widened.

"I knew that I should've shot you dead the moment you came begging at the captain's feet for strength. He gave you everything and this is how you repay him?" Odell snarled at Aston and loaded his pistol.

"What's going on here? Are you two having a fight again? You're hopeless" Hades's voice echoed through the room and Aston's eyes widened in panic. He could take on Odell but not Hades. Why did he have to show up now?

"Odell, put down your pistol. Aston-chan, stand to the side. I'll deal with you later." Hades ordered and roughly pushed Aston to the side. He looked back at Liza, his grin widening and she gave him a displeasing look.

"It looks like you came back to your senses. I usually don't give this much time for my toys to recuperate but you're special. This is the first time that I get to play with an assassin" He said, licking his lips and Liza smirked.

"I feel honored. However, I'm going to have to disappoint you. You're trick won't work on me anymore. I made peace with what happened in my past and no matter how hard you try, I won't break." She stated in a confident tone but he merely huffed.

"Traumatic Memory!"

Everything flashed through her mind again, as it did before but she didn't waver. Her blue eyes stayed strong and her smirk became a small smile. No tear escaped her eyes and Hades gritted his teeth.

"Repeat!" He used his ability again, wanting to have Liza see the memory again but nothing happened. She didn't crumble to the floor like she did before. She didn't even show any sign of remorse.

"H-How is this possible?! Just a while ago you were pathetically crying on the floor and now you're not even fazed in the least?!" Hades asked, anger flooding through his veins and it started to boil as soon as Liza chuckled.

"I'm not alone"

Those words make Aston's eyes widen along with the others. She wasn't alone? What was she talking about? She was the only one there! He wasn't even there when she broke... He merely watched...

"You're not alone? What kind of crap is that?! You're telling me that you're immune to the most traumatic event in your life because you're not alone?! Stop messing with me! Repeat! Repeat! Repeat!" He yelled but Liza's expression stayed the same.

"I told you, you're technique won't work against me again. It's like I told you before, no one has ever broken me, how can a lowlife like you? Don't underestimate the will of an assassin!" Her eyes narrowed at him and he gritted his teeth in anger.

"Then, I'll just kill you!" Hades grabbed Odell's pistol and pointed it at her. She, however, gave him a bored look. Death? She wasn't afraid of it at all. It was one thing that you couldn't use against an assassin.

"Captain, I have a better suggestion. Why don't we let Aston pull the trigger? That way he can prove his loyalty towards us" Odell suggested and Aston's eyes widened along with Liza. What? He couldn't be serious.

Odell chuckled darkly and dropped the pistol by his side. Liza watched as he turned around and handed the pistol to Aston who refused to take it. He didn't want to do this. No, he wasn't going to shoot her.

"I refuse" Aston said and watched as Odell glared at him. Hades's face fell and his grip over the pistol tightened slightly. "I won't kill, Liza-san, even if it is to show my loyalty to you. That's not why I joined this crew"

"Not why you joined this crew? You joined this crew to work under me and be my subordinate. Now, you will take this gun and place a bullet in her head" Hades ordered, his voice low and dangerous but Aston stood his ground.

"I see, you're going to keep defying me even after everything I did for you. Then I have no choice but to accept you'll stay weak. But luckily for me, you have a weak will that I can bend to my will" Hades said as his hand glowed and Aston's eyes widened.

"Aston!" Liza yelled in panic when Aston let out a blood-curdling yell as his mind was invaded. He grabbed his head and fell onto his knees. His body shook slightly as he tried to get Hades out of his head but it was no use.

"Aston! Don't let him get in your mind! Fight back!" She tried before she glared at Hades. "Get out of his head, you sick bastard! If you want to shoot me, do it yourself! Or are you a coward?" He laughed and looked back at her.

"I know what you're trying, Red Menace, but it won't work. I gave him an order and he must follow me because he's part of my crew. Now, let's try this again. Kill her" Hades ordered and Aston's struggling stopped.

He stayed on his knees for a few brief moments and Liza stared at him, her eyes filled with panic. Then, he slowly stood up and Liza's eyes widened. His expression was cold again, he didn't even look like he was conscious anymore.

Aston took the pistol in his hand and took a step towards Liza as he raised the gun almost hesitantly. Liza gritted her teeth and glared at the other two smirking men behind her. They were enjoying the show.

"Aston! Snap out of it! Whatever he showed you, whatever he said to you, it's a lie! You're a kind and warmhearted person. You're clumsy at times and always pick fights but you're still a nice person! You can't kill a person!" Liza said and gritted her teeth.

If he killed her... If he killed her then he would be haunted with the images for the rest of his life. He was too young to kill someone. She didn't care if it was her who would die, she cared about how much it would scar him inside.

He took another step towards her until his figure was but a step away from her. Liza knew by the look he gave her that he wasn't there. She saw his index finger twitch around the trigger and took a breath. Aston murmured softly and everyone's eyes widened. Liza nodded at him and saw his col eyes briefly shift to normal.

"Aston! I'm sorry" Liza said with a sad smile as she looked back at him. "If you have to shoot me, then it's fine. It's my own fault. That's why, I forgive you. No matter what happens, remember that I forgave you" His finger slowly started to pull at the trigger.

"Take care of Richie for me. Tell him I want him to perform each week and tell him to sing that new song of his. He struggles a lot with it but I'm sure that he'll be fine. Make sure to get your orders right and not trip over your own feet. Customers don't give tips to clumsy bartenders" She said.

She watched as his brows twitched slightly and his hand shook. He struggled to pull the trigger but Liza didn't care about that anymore. Her face softened and her small smile remained. She relaxed and then took her last breath.

"I'll glad that I met you, Aston"

Aston gritted his teeth and tried to pull the trigger but couldn't. His body refused to move despite his efforts. Tears started to form in the corner of his eyes and he gritted his teeth through his blurry vision.

He didn't want to do this. She gave him everything that he ever needed and what was he going to do to repay her? He was going to shoot her. She was the only person with a kind heart to take him in and give him a job that he loved.

Flashback

Younger Aston scoffed as he sat on a pile of scrap while wiping the blood from his nose. He had a nasty purplish bruise on his left cheek and he had a few scrapes and bruises on the rest of his body. His clothes were tethered and torn from the fight he got himself into.

"Would you look at that? You're still alive! You know, a servant boy shouldn't pick fights with his master. You'll get yourself killed that way" He looked around to see Liza walking towards him, a smirk plastered on her features.

"Leave me alone. I don't want your sympathy"

"Sympathy? Oh, I'm far from being sympathetic, kid" She said and his brows furrowed, a deep frown forming onto his lips. "I merely came here to make you a small proposal. It's your choice if you want to go with it or not"

"A proposal? What? Do you want me to be your new servant boy? That's not happening. I'm not anyone's servant" Aston said as he turned towards her and Liza laughed making him raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"I like you! Come and work at my bar!" She said and his eyes widened. "You'll be my new bartender and I'll pay you. If you need a place to stay, you can always stay in the guest room too. What do you say, kid? Up for the challenge?"

"I-I don't understand... Why... Why would you want to help me? Surely you have a reason behind your proposal." Aston said, his face covered with perplexity. Liza gave him a small kind smile and her eyes softened.

"You remind me of myself"

His eyes widened at her words and he felt tears form in the corner of his eyes. He quickly wiped them away, much to Liza's amusement. "Alright, I'll come work for you, but can I get cleaned up at least?" He asked before something was thrown onto his lap.

"Get dressed. I'll meet you there"

He looked down at the new clothing, his eyes wide in shock. He looked back at her and saw her give him a reassuring smile before she walked away. She took him in without any other motives. She was the first kind person he encountered.

End of Flashback

"L-Liza...-san..." Aston murmured softly and everyone's eyes widened. Liza nodded at him and saw his cold eyes briefly shift to normal. It seemed like he was coming back to his senses to the shock of the two men behind him.

"Shoot her!" Hades ordered and Aston gritted his teeth in pain. "Shoot her now! Can't you hear me?!" Odell stared at Aston with wide eyes. For the first time, someone managed to break free of his captain's mind control.

"I... I...refuse!" Aston gritted out, his tears slowly cascading down the side of his cheeks and Liza's eyes widened. She watched as he slowly came back to his senses, his eyes blurred with the forming tears.

"I can't shoot Liza-san! She gave me a home, a place to go to when I'm alone and she showed kindness to me... I... I'd rather die than shoot her!" Aston yelled out and Hades cursed loudly. The gun fell from Aston's hand and he fell onto his knees in front of Liza.

He cried as he kneeled in front of her and Liza's face softened. She pulled him closer towards her and held him tightly as she was able to with the iron cuffs. She rubbed his back slightly and let out a sigh.

"Welcome back, Aston." She softly told him and he nodded into her shoulder, his tears making her shoulder wet. "You don't have to fight them anymore. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere. Leave everything to me" He nodded again followed by a sound of a muffled grunt.

Hades gritted his teeth in anger and grabbed the pistol that fell on the floor. He glared at it and growled angrily. Odell's wide eyes shifted towards his Captain and he watched as the male lifted the pistol.

"If you want something done, then you have to do it yourself!" Hades snarled making Liza and Aston's eyes widened as the pistol. "You would rather die than kill her? How about I kill you first, useless brat?!"

Everything slowed down after his statement. Liza grabbed Aston and spun them around, his eyes closed and her binds restricting her slightly. Hades pulled the trigger and Aston expected to feel the pain but none came.

One shot.

Two shots.

Odell watched with wide eyes filled with disbelief and shock as he watched Liza protect Aston. The bullets hit her but her body didn't move an inch. Her grip merely tightened on Aston who had his eyes clenched shut.

Three shots.

Four shots.

Hades pulled the trigger again, but there wasn't any bullet left inside. He breathed heavy, his anger still boiling within his veins. He let the pistol fall by his side, smoke still coming out from the front of the weapon.

Aston opened his eyes in confusion and realized that Liza held tightly onto him. He felt a wet substance on his hands and realized it was blood. Liza's blood. His eyes widened and horror washed over him.

"LIZA-SAN!"

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