Authors' Note: Hello everyone, hope you had a wonderful Christmas and will have a fantastic New Year! So...the next chapter is technically the last chapter if you don't count the epilogue...kinda weird to finish our first story together...anyway, hope you enjoy the update. Thanks so much for reading!
Review Responses:
Aelyanne: Hello again! Yeah, Doffy's definitely insane...he's lost it. Caesar is absolutely no help. Yes, the villains of this story, the feared Dodo and Blackbird. XD
Thank you so much for the wonderful compliments! We hope that you enjoy the new chapter and kudos to you for indoctinating your boyfriend!
yukino76: Yes, Kuri hurry up! As always, thanks for the review! :)
myzmsandraa99: Sorry for the wait, life happens. Yep, Katakuri does need to speed things up. Luffy is in trouble. Thanks for the review!
WARNINGS:
- Violence
- Death
- Gore
- Insanity
- Non-con body modification/surgery
- Secret girlfriends
- Angry Kuri
ACE'S POV
Ace was trying to ignore the fact that he and Sabo were clutching each other tightly as though they were still children but who wouldn't while being thrown around in the backseat of a small car driven by a furious mob boss?
"Ace…" Sabo whispered, too scared to raise his voice, "if I don't make it...tell Koala I loved her!"
"Who the heck is Koala?!" Ace shot back, also whispering.
"My uh...my girlfriend…"
"Wait...what?!" Ace exclaimed, earning a death glare from Dogtooth that had him shrinking back against the seat,
"Oh...um...yeah, she's great…" Sabo muttered awkwardly,
"Why didn't you tell me?" Ace demanded, "How long have you been dating her?"
"Uh...two years…" Sabo admitted, "I was planning on telling you...eventually…"
Before Ace could reply, the car skidded to a stop in front of a large mansion. Dogtooth didn't even unlock the backdoors just jumped out of the car and ran towards the house. Unfortunately, this forced Ace and Sabo to have to crawl up to the front and out of the driver's door due to the child locks in the back.
Surprisingly, they managed to catch up to the large man who had stopped in the entryway, scowling at the five different hallways there were to choose from.
"...how do we know which one will lead to Lu?" Sabo asked no one in particular.
"We don't," Dogtooth answered and took off down the hallway on the far left.
As they ran, Ace became somewhat hopeful as the hall seemed to lead down to a sort of basement lined with cages of all sizes. The first few were empty, but as they continued, it became clear that they were actually kennels filled with dogs.
Ace was about to suggest that they turn back and try a different hallway when a voice began yelling,
"I demand you remove this contraption!" it demanded, "Remove it so that I may rip out the throats of all who would imprison me!"
Somewhat confused, the trio rounded the corner and found two men in lab coats struggling with a very large beast. Dogtooth didn't even pause before skewering the two of them together on his trident, dumping their lifeless corpses on the floor.
Ace exchanged a nervous glance with Sabo, both of them seriously rethinking their choice to accompany Dogtooth on this mission as he seemed to be a bit...unstable. Surprising them, the large beast, which they could now see was a wolf, approached Dogtooth and spoke.
"You are a powerful alpha. Would you please remove this contraption from my face so that I may thank you properly?" Dogtooth shrugged and cut the muzzle's straps with his trident, evidently not in the mood to just undo the buckles.
The wolf stared at the tall man for a moment before bowing his head as he spoke once again.
"My humblest apologies, Alpha Kur, I failed to protect your mate from the bird man. It is my greatest shame that I was unable to protect such a tiny omega." Dogtooth glanced back at Ace and Sabo, obviously confused.
"I'm sorry...I believe you have me confused with someone else…" Dogtooth said carefully.
"No," the wolf replied, "I could not possibly mistake the mate of Lashaka!"
"Um…"
"You are Kuri, are you not?" the wolf continued,
"Well...yes…" Dogtooth admitted.
All Ace could think of at that moment was why the heck this wolf was calling Dogtooth Luffy's mate.
"I suppose I am Kuri…" Dogtooth said, "That is what Luffy calls me. Do you know where he is?"
"Ah, there is nothing more glorious than the quest to reclaim a lost mate! I can lead you to your omega."
"Who even are you?" Ace asked, annoyed.
"Insolent pup!" the wolf snapped, "Do not interrupt when your elders are speaking! This is a conversation for alphas, not betas. Remember my name, youngling, I am Torkai, Alpha of the New Moon Pack, Slayer of Titan the Terrible, Mate of Shakiba. And you, you are young Lashaka's kin! Those that give him such feelings of loneliness and isolation."
Ace was honestly taken aback. Had Lu told him that he felt this way?
"Enough," Dogtooth said, "We don't have time for this. Lead the way to Luffy, Wolf."
Ace scowled at the wolf as he proceeded to completely ignore both him and Sabo, leaving the room with Dogtooth in tow.
While they were running, following the very rude animal, Sabo began muttering to himself.
"Why does he consider us betas? I suppose it might be Dogtooth's presence? He is more obviously an alpha of sorts so perhaps it overshadowed our own potential…"
"Sabo," Ace interrupted him, "now is not the time!"
They followed the wolf through a great many halls and up a few staircases into an increasingly homey-looking area that was obviously lived in, certainly not where anyone would expect a prisoner to be held. Torkai stopped in front of a closed door and growled,
"In here,"
That was all Dogtooth needed before he violently kicked the door in.
They all rushed into the room and Ace could only stare in shock at the scene before him. Though they had stopped what they were doing from the sudden entrance, it was obvious that the people surrounding the bed were in the middle of some sort of surgery on his baby brother's neck.
Luffy himself was thankfully unconscious, bound to the bed with what looked like a muzzle fastened tightly over the bottom half of his face. The worst part was the sight of the gaping hole in the boy's neck. It didn't seem to have been done cleanly, the wound's edges were jagged, blood spattered and smeared on all available surfaces.
Ace had never been more horrified and apparently, Sabo felt the same way as he dropped to the floor, unconscious.
LAW'S POV
"Cora-san, this is ridiculous!" Law exclaimed, struggling against the bandages the man had used to tie him to a chair, "I need to stop Doffy from doing whatever it is he plans to do to Luffy-ya!"
Apparently, his adopted father had created a secret bunker for whenever Doffy finally lost it...which, in reality, was a pretty smart move. However, Law knew he shouldn't be hiding while his friend was in trouble.
"Nonsense!" Cora-san replied, "We must stay in here where it is safe until we know that Dogtooth is gone. It may take a few days but that's okay, we have enough supplies to last us at least a month."
"Dogtooth?" Law asked, "Why are we hiding from him?"
"Well, your brilliant uncle decided it would be a great idea to antagonize the man after he had already antagonized him by bringing the kid here in the first place…"
"Wow...that, that is pretty bad…" Law admitted, "but I still need to go. Luffy needs help."
"Now, now," Cora-san said, attempting to soothe him, "I'm sure he's fine. Look, why don't we check in on him?"
"You have cameras in the bedrooms?" Law deadpanned.
"You can never be too careful." Cora-san said defensively, "especially not with Doffy running around."
Law had to admit he had a point there.
Cora-san pulled up the feed from the camera in Luffy's room and they froze in horror at the sight.
"Cora-san you need to let me leave now." Law growled, "If I do not get to Luffy in time, he will bleed to death!"
"...but...Law…"
"If you have ever loved me, you will let me leave!"
Cora-san gaped at him, apparently shocked that he would say such things.
"Look, Cora-san," Law continued, attempting to calm himself a bit, "I don't care about many people...in fact there's only about three that I actually like...I just... I need to save my friend!"
His adoptive father closed his mouth, sighed, and nodded reluctantly.
KATAKURI'S POV
Katakuri didn't really stop to think just lunged forward and plunged himself into "battle". The sight of Joker petting Luffy was more than enough to send him over the edge. He first took care of the would-be surgeons with his already bloodied trident before turning and ripping Doflamingo away from the bed.
"Well, well! Look who finally decided to show up! A bit late aren't we? Hit traffic?" Joker jeered as Katakuri swung his trident down in an attempt to hit the surprisingly agile man.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO LUFFY?!" Katakuri yelled, the image of Luffy's open throat now burned into his memory. Joker laughed,
"Oh, nothing much," he said, "I was getting tired of his protests so I decided to simply take away his voice! Don't you agree that he would be much more compliant if he couldn't say no?"
Katakuri growled and shoved the cackling man up against the wall by the throat.
"You're sick," he snarled, "you disgusting excuse for a man."
At this point, Fire Fist had snapped out of his shock and was standing over Luffy...panicking about what to do. With the only person in the room who might have possibly known what to do unconscious on the floor, Katakuri began to fear that Luffy might actually die...until a mummified young man staggered through the door snapping,
"Portgas-ya, don't touch that!"
"TRAFALGAR, THANK GOD YOU'RE HERE!" Fire Fist exclaimed, "You've gotta do something! Luffy's dying!"
"I am aware," the tattooed man replied, "Cora-san, let go of my leg! Make yourself useful and call an ambulance!"
Katakuri couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the sight of a...doctor?...wrapped in bandages, dragging a bawling man who had his arms wrapped around the younger's leg.
"Law! I see you and Roci decided to join the party! I had thought my dear brother would keep you locked up in that bunker he thinks I don't know about." Joker put in.
"Shut up," the doctor...Law, snapped while rushing to Luffy's side.
Deciding that Luffy was in good hands, Katakuri decided to take the fight elsewhere and tossed the other mob boss out into the hallway where there was much more room.
Joker immediately jumped to his feet and took out a large pistol from inside his coat.
"It's too late, Kuri." Joker sneered, "That boy has always belonged to me and even now, even if you manage to save him, he will bear my mark forever!"
Katakuri saw red. There was no response he could possibly think of that could accurately convey his rage. This man who had most certainly scarred Luffy for life would not live to see another day.
While Joker was cackling away, the wolf entered the hallway with a growl, fur bristling along his spine.
"Fellow alpha, would you like assistance with bringing down the bird man?"
"No, this is my fight," Katakuri replied, "stay and watch over Luffy."
"As you wish. I swear I will not fail in protecting your omega this time. The medicine human is healing him now, I will guard them diligently!"
Katakuri didn't wait to watch the wolf re-enter the room, lunging for Joker, trident held tightly. His opponent fired twice, the second shot piercing his shoulder. Katakuri ignored the wound, all of his attention focus solely on the man before him and the satisfying sensation of his trident piercing flesh. The weapon would have torn through Joker's chest but the man attempted to dodge at the last second, taking the attack to his arm instead.
Joker cursed and backed off a bit, switching the gun to his other hand before firing and missing once again. Katakuri began walking towards the man, confident in the knowledge that his enemy wouldn't be alive much longer.
Joker fired his fourth shot and watched as the wall near Katakuri's head took the damage. Katakuri snorted in disdain, two shots left.
The fifth shot whizzed past Katakuri's head a bit too close for comfort but he kept walking forward even as his target retreated. He knew he would have to be more careful as Joker lined up his final shot.
The sixth shot would have hit had Katakuri not been prepared, his trident deflecting the bullet before it could bury itself between his eyes.
Before the sound of the gun had faded, Joker threw himself forward, diving beneath Katakuri's outstretched weapon to land a glancing blow with the knife he'd pulled from his pocket. Katakuri dropped his trident to defend himself in close quarters, deciding that he really wouldn't mind killing the man with his bare hands if this was the way Joker wanted to play.
Katakuri was a bit surprised by Doflamingo's height. Once, he had been taller than the other man but now they seemed to be even, and that wasn't the only thing that had changed.
Katakuri winced at a fist landing on his ribs and knew without a doubt that the other man had grown stronger. This didn't really worry him too much as he managed to remove the knife from Joker's grip with relative ease and return the blow while he was at it.
A moment later, Katakuri decided he was growing bored with the fight. He needed to end it so that he could get to Luffy.
This in mind, Katakuri stepped even further into Doflamingo's space and broke his nose with a blow from the heel of his hand sending the man staggering backward as blood poured out and tears blinded him. Katakuri used this distraction to spin around, pick up his trident, and thrust it straight into Doflamingo's chest.
Katakuri yanked his trident out of the man's chest and watched him stagger backward. To his horror, Doflamingo began to laugh even as he gasped and coughed through the blood welling up in his lungs.
"This isn't over, Kuri," the man wheezed, "even in death, I will still haunt my dear pet's every waking moment and his every dream…"
Katakuri really didn't want to hear anymore of that so he used his trident to knock the man over so that he lay flat on his back. Just like Luffy's last captor, Doflamingo would die choking on his own blood. As Joker breathed his last, the wall suddenly burst open revealing a strange old man holding Captain Smoker and Mihawk in his arms.
"WHERE ARE MY GRANDSONS?!" the man yelled, stepping over Doflamingo's body.
"Put me down, Garp!" Smoker growled. He was ignored as Garp focused on Katakuri.
"WHERE ARE THEY?!"
Katakuri merely pointed to the correct room and watched as the man dropped the detective and the cop and stalked away.
Smoker and Mihawk stood, attempting to look as though they hadn't just been carried around like sacks of flour, and immediately zeroed in on the body.
"So," Smoker began, "what's the story here?" Before Katakuri could answer, there came a shout from the other room,
"SABO! GET YOUR USELESS BUTT UP! CAN'T YOU SEE YOUR LITTLE BROTHER'S IN TROUBLE?!"
At that outburst, Smoker rushed into the other room and Mihawk moved closer to Katakuri, pulling out a first aid kit.
"Sit," he ordered, "you've been shot."
The detective led him over to the closest wall and helped him sit down.
"We passed an ambulance on the way here," Mihawk told him as he began treating Katakuri's shoulder wound, "it should arrive soon. Would you believe that Garp runs faster than any car I've ever seen?" Katakuri couldn't help but chuckle at that,
"Really? He's what...sixty-five?"
"Seventy-eight." Mihawk informed him. Katakuri wasn't sure how to respond to that but it was nice to have a simple conversation after everything that had happened. He could only hope now that Luffy would make it, with his voice preferably intact.