Chapter Eight - The Other
Updated: 11/2017
Posted: 11/2016
They were three days out from Alabasta.
Riyo was meditating in her nest. Her private, no-one-but-pit-allowed nest that she had specifically warned everyone to stay away from until she came out.
"Riyo-san?"
Princess was here. Princess was not pit and Princess was here in her nest.
Time was hard to judge when she went this deep into her mind. It wasn't something she did lightly, but she had put off looking into the damage done to the Other's wall after somnum for too long. The crack needed to be addressed before it went too far to fix.
Meditating deep enough to have full access to the wall thinned her control over the beast and the Other; in order to contain them she became more in sync with them. The beast was fine. It was an instinct-driven, hedonistic, no-impulse-control mess. It couldn't focus long enough to do much of anything besides steal one of her pit to cuddle, clear out their seafood cache in the kitchen freezer, or caterwaul over the Sigma. It might antagonize some sea kings for fun, but that would be nothing the crew couldn't handle.
The Other was the problem. The Other would threaten and hunt and kill if it got the chance. It had no conscience and no human concept of right or wrong...only strong or weak, pit or not-pit. And the Other had a lot of time behind the wall to brood and stew.
Unfortunately for Princess, that all meant the beast and the Other had as much chance of responding to an outside interruption as Riyo. The Princess was playing with fire.
They had all felt Vivi's curiosity since they had left Drum Kingdom and she had taken her swim away from Sanji. They had felt Princess' determination to finally see that curiosity through earlier today. They had specifically warned everyone away in order to prepare themselves to deal with Princess' determination later.
Princess had picked the worst possible moment to confront them.
She slit her eyes open to stare without seeing at the wooden ceiling of the cargo hold. She was floating with the beast and Other, no individual part in control of their body. She was still deep in her mind, sluggish to come back from the repair she had been performing on the wall.
{[Eat her.]}
For a frozen second Riyo was actually tempted to listen.
Riyo had laid down flat on her back in her human form to meditate; she found the position easier on her body when she planned to go deep into her psyche. Staying human was likely the only thing that saved Princess' life-in her true form she was more instinctive even when she was in full control.
No one but pit was allowed in their nest. Their warm bed at night and their safe place during the day while they left their body to explore their broken mind.
Riyo needed to ease the jagged edges of the shadowed memories leaking out from the wall. She needed to patch the growing crack and crumbling protection but that wasn't going to happen with Princess there.
It wasn't going to happen at all because the Other surged up in Riyo's distraction to shatter the repair beyond recovery and shove Riyo aside.
"Riyo-san, I'm sorry to bother you. I understand that you came in here for privacy, but I have some questions that must be answered before we arrive in Alabasta and it's been over three hours now. I need to speak with you before-oh..."
A growl reverberated around the small space. Not Riyo.
They had turned the sacks of rice and flour into makeshift mattresses beneath spare sail canvas and ropes, enough for two people to sit and relax. An old, stained tee shirt from Zoro, a ripped pair of Luffy's shorts, a compass (useless on the Grand Line) from Nami, and an old medical textbook from Chopper had been given prominent spots where she could see them from the middle of the pile.
It was the beast and Other that balanced on their makeshift bed, moving and shifting limbs, scales hardening and vibrating and shifting color from skin toned to purples and blues and oranges. Warning. Danger. Death.
The beast was the only thing stopping the Other from taking full control.
Riyo pulled back from the wall. She tried to reach for control, pull them both back inside. But Princess was in their space, walked in on them with no warning, would ask the questions in her eyes that made them remember...and Riyo had already spent so long trying to put the memories back behind the wall that would never be a wall again.
Vivi was far better than the World Nobles, but she was still a part of the Kingdoms, a part of the Reverie on Mariejois. Riyo was surprised by her own bitterness at the position Vivi was born into; it hadn't been Vivi's choice to be born a princess. It hadn't been Riyo's choice to be born a sea queen. Riyo shouldn't hold her blood against her, she knew that logically, but the broken place inside couldn't let go of that old hurt.
Riyo's weakness fed the Other's fight.
Riyo's hope that a purpose and pit would help heal those dark corners of her mind and heart had been a pipe dream. Their every adventure only seemed to bring up more and more memories of her life before she ever met Roger, those shadows leaking further outward and solidifying into bear traps and landmines on a hair trigger. All ready to explode into motion and shrapnel and catch her with pain.
Riyo's control was crumbling, and Riyo was crumbling with it.
The Other won control.
"Riyo? Are you well?"
Princess was a little human liar. Voice shaking and hands clenching so tight.
It grinned and let its real teeth fill in to contort their human face. Let its eyes change to their true shade. Prey before had called them acid.
Yes, bitter fear in the air. All the prey should fear it.
"You're not Riyo."
It grinned wider. Smart Princess. Smart prey always made the best chase. "It is the Other."
Sharp spike, tensed muscles, twitching eyes.
"Don't run. Not yet. A question to ask. Human has been waiting. Ask it."
"What-What are you? You're not a fishman or mermaid or zoan user."
It took three steps closer. A monster using human's body. It had learned the most fear could be taken when human prey saw it in human skin. When it twisted the human's body to cannibalize its own kind.
Each step was careful, silent, planned. A roll of muscle and sinew and balance as it stalked the foolish prey frozen in front of it. Like a deer before the wolf.
"You know what it is," the words lisped through their teeth. "Speak," they cajoled-hissed-demanded.
Fear, sticky sharp in the air and sweet on its tongue. Gleeful as the prey shivered.
It licked its teeth imagining the warm gush of blood.
Human had spent so many decades learning to imitate sheep that human had forgotten it could be this. It was a huntress, a predator above all others.
Human was an liar and a fool.
It took in the prey's pulse, breathing, eyes, facial twitches, every physical cue it needed to know the second Princess would bolt and the chase would start. It was too easy to read every fleeting thought. Fear, determination, disbelief, and finally the decision.
"Sea queen," she whispered as soft as a rabbit's foot fall.
It let the thrill of the soon-to-be hunt fuel its Change. Its full hybrid form would still fit through the small halls below deck. Teeth and claws and scales and tail expanding until it touched the ceiling. So many years since human used this form.
The little rabbit stood and watched.
How boring.
"Run, run," it growled. "Run as fast as you can, little rabbit." It began stalking Princess-rabbit, forcing her backwards towards the other end of the hold. "The more fun when I catch you, the more time I can plan to crunch, snap, pop you," it snarled at her.
Princess' breathing was quicker and quicker the closer it came. Rabbit was backing away, eyes dilating with adrenaline. But Princess-rabbit wouldn't run.
Its eyes narrowed. Too smart rabbit; that was no fun.
It let its aura wash out to flood the hold.
Slit eyes shining from above, claws lashing at the feet to stumble and trip, fetid breath on the back of the neck, jaws snapping at the back, shapes flickering in the corner of the eye, snarls from the darkness, choking breath, burning lungs, claws scrabbling, trying to get in. They will get in. Hunted. Fearfeaarfearfearrunrunrunrunrun.
It crouched to watch as its aura crushed all sense in Rabbit's mind.
Only fear was left.
Blind escape.
Chase.
Fun.
"Run, run, rabbit."
Princess bolted for the door.
Rasping laughter filled the room as it stalked Princess through the hold.
Only the strong deserved to rule. Princess was a rabbit playing at a lion. Weakness had no place in survival.
Weakness was prey.
Hunt the prey, kill the prey, eat the prey.
[Yes, yes. Hunt and chase!]
It smirked at the joy. Dumb animal.
Its head brushed the ceiling more than once as it jogged after the little rabbit. It had to stoop to dart through the small door after the prey.
Clever; Rabbit was trying to use her size to escape.
Its musculature shifted to support the extra joint in its legs that gave them the strength and speed on land and let them twist through the opening. The room seemed empty.
Its head swiveled with deceptively slender muscle to track the rapid pittering heart.
It crushed the storage barrel the rabbit thought to hide behind with one hand. Apples and wood shards spilled across the deck and cut open a few slices on the little rabbit.
It was stronger than a fishman in this form.
Rabbit's blood smelled divine.
Its True Change pulsed beneath its skin. It wanted to shed the humanoid body completely, but they would not harm Alpha's home. Its True Change would shatter and sink this tiny ship.
More's the pity.
"Teeth and claws to hunt you down. Put you down. Down in the ground. What good is your crown when you're worm shit in the ground, foolish rabbit?"
Princess-rabbit had already scrabbled away. Salt. Tears.
Yes, the little rabbit choked back a sob as her heart pittered and her muscles shook and she raced for the hatch to the deck.
"Cry. Scream," it laughed. "Little rabbit came here with lion's claws when it's another sheep in a dress. Rabbit wants it to remember what it is when Rabbit knows nothing of what it lost! The cost it paid to live!"
[They scream in the night. Why did human live? They're all alone now.]
"Shut up you sentimental animal!" it snarled.
An empty crate shattered under its tail. Wood flew.
"So used to the court and the crown and the rules that the little rabbit-that's-a-sheep forgot what a real lion looks like. Teeth and claws and power. We were gods before humans came! Humans stole everything!" it roared.
A fist shattered three more crates in quick succession as the rage peaked. Rice and beans and wood scattered across the floor in a cacophony of sound.
It turned to stare at where Rabbit was scrabbling to open the hatch. "It is free now, little rabbit," it said softly. "It is free and the wall is crumbling. Stupid rabbit made sure of that. Human cannot cage it now. Human cannot stop it."
But human was trying. Human was frantically pulling at it in a choking hold. Human was trying to drag them into the fractured wall.
The fractured wall would break completely. Not today, but soon.
[Freefreefree.]
It grinned. Yes. Freedom. True freedom. Human had forgotten the taste of freedom after human had been pretending so long.
The hatch popped open while it was distracted with human and green hair poked through. Beta's whole body dropped came through the hatch as soon as he saw it.
Beta put himself in front of the rabbit prey.
It frowned.
"Beta would protect the rabbit? Rabbit is weak. A sheep. Not pit."
"Vivi is part of this crew and under our protection," Beta said slowly as he took out all three blades. He placed one blade's white hilt in his mouth and took a fighting stance before them.
It crouched and cocked its head questioningly at Beta. "Beta would defend the sheep-rabbit? Waste of energy. Join its hunt. Lots of fear, pittering heart. Warm blood to feed the pit."
Little rabbit gagged and trembled behind Beta, but it was more interested in Beta's emotions.
It cocked its head as Beta changed through unease-worry-repulsed-nauseated too. Odd Beta. Why would Beta not want to feed the pit?
"Vivi, get Luffy. Now. This isn't Riyo."
"Y-yes. It said it was the other."
Beta's hold on his blades tightened. "Get Luffy. Hurry!"
It snarled. "Rabbit-sheep is for the chase!"
It lunged forward as Rabbit scurried up the ladder to the deck.
Beta tried to stop it. That shocked it more than anything. What was Beta doing halting the hunt?
It easily sidestepped Beta's swipe. Sloppy and excessive. The Hawkeyes would still crush him. Beta had much to learn to Beta well.
It placed a hand on the ladder and Beta's katana came down on its scaled forearm, blunt edge but with enough force to break a human arm.
It didn't bother to avoid the blow. Its scales surged, darkened to black, absorbed the blow and immediately returned to normal.
Beta's blade rebounded from its own force, nearly slipping from his grip.
Beta would have better luck cutting diamond.
It frowned at Beta. "It is getting the little rabbit for the pit. Stop or it will make you."
"No. You're not eating Vivi," Beta said as he bit harder on the white blade.
Human tugged in their mind. It growled as it placed a clawed hand to its head.
Stop! Not Zoro!
"Stupid human. Stupid Beta." It shook its head, stumbling a step back as human yanked.
[Hunt. Beta. Oh, Alpha.]
It glanced up. Yes, Alpha was coming.
It grabbed the ladder again. It wasn't surprised Beta spun his blades at its chest and legs, this time with the sharpened edge.
Human was winning control.
Beta was being foolish. Baby Beta had much to learn.
The animal was chanting for Alpha.
It was running out of time.
It snarled as it grabbed both of Beta's katanas in its hands. Scales surged and blackened at the points of contact.
It pulled on the blades.
Beta flew forward and past it as it wrenched the swords from his hands and threw them aside.
It ignored Beta to climb the ladder. Its shoulders cleared the edge in time for Alpha to bounce down from the rigging to land in front of it on the deck.
It stared up at Alpha.
Alpha's hat shadowed his eyes as he glared down at it.
"Stop."
The word rang final. Disapproving. Disappointed.
It growled up at Alpha, displeased.
Alpha crouched down, hands on his knees as he met it at eye level.
"No. You can't eat Vivi."
"Princess-rabbit-prey invaded its nest. Rabbit thinks it knows what it has lived. What it has lost," it bit out. "Rabbit knows nothing of what it lost. What humans took from it. Rabbit will die and feed the pit. Weak rabbits who delude themselves to be lions cannot rule."
It felt a thrum of nausea-disgust-fear from Theta. It turned from Alpha to look over its shoulder at the helm. Theta was gripping the railing with white knuckles.
Alpha snapped his fingers and they turned back to him. Alpha tilted his head. "No, we don't know what you lost. But even weak people can become strong if you give them the chance. You can't kill everyone only because you can. How else will they learn? Besides, Sanji makes all of the food we need. Don't need to eat Vivi. Get better meat off of a sea king anyway."
[Good point.]
It tilted its head back at Alpha. "Humans are stringy. Sea king tastes better."
Alpha nodded. "Yep. Now let Riyo come back. Vivi knows not to go into your nest again."
It tried to say more, tried to deny Alpha, but human surged up and it lost its grip on the wood.
It fell back into the hold below.
Riyo woke up in the hold.
It couldn't have been more than a few seconds since the Other fell down, only enough time to slide back into her human form-if fully scaled in a cascade of pale pink and yellow scales, the colors displaying her confusion.
Zoro.
She jerked, twisting fluidly to her feet to crouch at the bottom of the ladder. Claws dug into the wood.
Zoro. He was slumped against the wall where he had been thrown, head down to stare at the two katanas a few feet away on the floor.
Oh no. No, no, no. What had they done.
Beta would not forgive himself.
"Riyo? Is that you now?"
Luffy.
[Alpha!]
{Foolish Beta. Alpha should punish the rabbit!}
Riyo snarled, the sound edged too deep to be completely human, as she turned the shock into anger and faced the Other.
What have you done? Our pit will never forgive us!
{Rabbit had no right to our nest!}
"We had no right to chase!" she nearly screamed back, hands fisting in her hair.
"Riyo?"
She glanced up through the open hatch. Luffy was looking down at her, his hat blocking out most of the sun.
"Luffy-Alpha. I'm so sorry," she choked out. She felt tears at the corner of her eyes.
How many years had it been since she cared enough to cry?
She couldn't look at Luffy any longer. She could still feel the echoes of Chopper's fear, Nami's disgust and nervousness. Vivi's blood still hung in the still air of the hold and even now Riyo couldn't stop the instinctive draw to it.
She collapsed to her knees, wrapping her arms around herself. Her hair was a curtain from what she had done.
She had promised to protect this crew.
She thought she could protect them.
Then how did she save them from herself?
There was a thump and then rubbery arms wrapped her in a warm hold. She choked on a breath as she buried her face into Luffy's chest.
"I'm sorry," she sobbed out softly. "I'm so sorry."
Those seemed to be the only words she could say for some time.
She was disgusted with herself. With the beast. With the Other. But she hated herself the most because a part of her had allowed it. A part of her had enjoyed it.
They would always crave the adrenaline and thrill of a chase no matter how much she denied the beast and Other as part of herself.
"I hurt them. I broke them. We hurt them," she whispered over and over again.
"Riyo. Breathe. It's done. You're here now."
"Alpha, I hurt them."
The beast surged up. Riyo was still too unsettled to stop it completely. "They hurt us, they made us bleed. They all bleed and cry and scream and they won't stop. They won't stop taking their sisters away."
She twisted against Luffy's hold for a moment as the Other pushed a final time. "It will raze them."
Ryuko, Other, Riyo. They all struggled for control. Her voice dipped and roughened with the fear of Ryuko lost in memories and the hate of the Other at Vivi's words. It rose with her own desperation not to lose her shit again while on the ship with the crew.
She mentally lashed out at the Other and the beast.
She locked the beast in its room.
It shoved the Other away behind its crumbling wall through will and self-hate and locked it in out of desperation.
Riyo didn't try to stop the tears as she was left as alone as she could be in her mind.
They felt Princess at the edge of the hatch. Seeing her was the last thing they needed.
"I'm sorry, Luffy," Princess started softly. Riyo could barely hear her over Luffy's hold and her own tears. "I didn't realize...I didn't mean to. I needed to know I could trust her-if she was really a sea queen. I thought-but I didn't, not really. I'm so sorry, Riyo. Please," Vivi babbled, "I'm not them. I'm not the World Government. I know the stories of what they did to the sea queens. I'm so, so sorry." Vivi's voice broke with emotion as she trailed off.
"Leave, Vivi." Luffy's voice was hard and cold, not the voice Luffy would use lightly with someone he considers a friend.
Riyo felt Vivi pause a few seconds more before her presence moved away.
Luffy sat next to her and pulled her fully into his lap and chest. He pressed her face into his neck and rocked her slowly.
He held her with his entire body wrapped around her, safe and warm. She breathed him in, a part of her settling at the scent of her Alpha. Strong. Safe. Protected.
Loved.
Because Luffy knew. For all of his idiotic moments, for all of his naivety-he knew. When it counted he always knew.
She didn't know how he knew and she didn't ask. He was Alpha and protector and friend and that's what she needed right now.
She couldn't stop her instincts holding on to him as tightly as her hands clutching at his vest.
She wasn't surprised he knew the ache of losing something precious. Someone special. No matter how long ago, no matter the why, it was always an ache in the back of your mind and a bruise on your heart...tender every time you poked and prodded, thinking and hoping you were fixed. It ached at the oddest times.
She could feel her Alpha bond thickening, every one of her physical senses and all the focus of her instincts wrapping around Luffy faster and deeper than was entirely healthy or safe for her.
She couldn't have cared less for the consequences when the immersion was all that was keeping her grounded.
Some aches were never meant to fade. They became a piece of you.
Luffy knew.