Anberlyn hadn't always been as cold and as cruel as the world knew her to be. No, it was an acquired trait. The smile that curled upon her face as those who opposed her fell to the ground, reflected the smile of the master who had covered her once vulnerable heart in a layer of cold stone, stone that only melted when they eyes of the world were not upon her, when she was alone with a certain man and unafraid of interruption.

Racing across the sky on a pirate's back had lost its novelty, her grip around his body had lost its strength and the motion sickness had long sense gone.

"Where are we going?" The maroon haired girl asked as she lay her cheek her down upon his shoulder blade, her head resting upon a bed of pink feathers that tickled the inside of her nose. She had been with him for a month at best and how time had flown. Turns out, she could crystalize the moisture in the air, in short, make clouds and for Doflamingo, which, was a great thing- for her as well because it meant that she got to live to fight another day.

"It's a surprise Sweetheart." He laughed as they passed over a small chain of islands.

Watching said islands and the ships down below had become somewhat of a past time for long rides across the Grand Line and New World. More often than not, Anberlyn felt like one of those little teacup dogs that women stuff in their purses and carry around for decoration. All Doflamingo had to do was put her on his back and they would be off.

"I don't like your surprises." She grumbled, hardly able to hear to herself over the wind whooshing past her ears.

After that comment, they lapsed into silence, Anberlyn almost asleep before being jarred awake by the shock of Doflamingo's feet touching down on an island.

"Wakey Wakey Sweetheart. We're here." He sang grabbing her hands and breaking the circle they created around his neck. His words were always so sweet, at least the ones he used while speaking to her were, but they were never spoken with sweet tones as one would expect while addressing someone named 'Sweetheart'.

Anberlyn rubbed at her eyes as she walked around Doflamingo's back and stood at his side, examining the building they stood before. It was a low lying warehouse with a large garage door and a small door next to it. Across the large door read the words, Sparky's Weapons Emporium.

"Where are we?" She asked looking up at the man, trying to figure out why they were here. He didn't need a weapon, not between those blasted strings and the gun that she had seen him use, and he was a dead shot.

He gestured, with much grandeur, towards the faded yellow letters. "We're here for you." And with that, he placed his hand on her back and began walking her towards the door, which he opened and pushed her through before him, before ducking through the short doorway as well.

They stood a large warehouse of weapons of every shape, size and kind. To their left was a metal staircase that led down into the aisle filled space below them, that led them down to where the weapons were stored in buckets, on shelves, on the walls and so on. There were a great many people between the shelves picking up weapons and examining them before either keeping them or putting them back to move on to the next one.

"Oi! Doflamingo my man!" A man said. The stairs rattling as a robust man came into sight, his bald head gleaming with the light that filtered through the filthy square windows. "What brings you here today?!" He asked as they diplomatically shook hands, the man's eyes looking her up and down several times. "Is this fine thing for me?"

At that question, her shaking fists lifted from her sides, but, before they could be put into action, her body froze. Knowing that it was useless to fight it, she surrendered.

"I'm afraid I've gotta be selfish this time 'round. This little gem is mine all mine." Doflamingo informed the man better known as Sparky.

"What a shame, I could put her to such good use."

These men were talking about her as though they did not see a human being before them but a tool that could be used for their own personal pleasure and gain! It was as though they had forgotten that she was standing right next to them, listening to every word of their exchange. If it weren't for the strings that were holding her shaking body still, then she would have already put the man in his place.

"I know." Doflamingo hummed with agreement. "I'm working on that though. "

"So what do ya need?"

"Anberlyn needs to be fitted with a weapon."

"I have a devil fruit ability." Anberlyn irately snapped. So far, that was all she had needed, and as far as she was concerned, all she would already need.

"So does just about everyone else and their dog. And since you never know how one ability will fair against another, we- no- I want you fully prepared to handle a situation where your devil fruit is inferior to someone else's." He said with a sweet smile, voice firm with no space for objection as he pushed her towards the disgusting pig of a man. "Now run along,"

"If he does anything I find displeasing then I will be forced to put him in his place and don't you dare try to stop me Doflamingo." Anberlyn growled as she was led down the stairs.

The smile changed ever so slightly before the words, "You do whatever you feel is necessary Sweetheart."

It was almost as though he were giving her permission to hurt the man, to rip his testicles off and shove them down his throat before liquefying them and watching him choke to death on his own-

"Now, we have a large variety of weapons, ranging from firearms to swords to," He waved his hand about, as if the gesture helped him explain the kinds of weapons he had in his emporium.

Doflamingo leaned against the rail, watching as the girl followed Sparky throughout the weapon house. Anberlyn was tense, her guard up. But, who could blame such a well-endowed girl after what had transpired between the two of them?

Everything that surrounded them looked as though they belonged in torture chambers, god it was horrible. What was even worse were the none too discreet looks that the sweating man was giving her and the way that he just kept going on and on and on and on and on. His voice was like a mosquito buzzing in her ear and it just wouldn't go away.

"How about these?" Anberlyn asked picking up a weapon of fair enough simplicity. There was a slender, triangular blade connected to two what looked like a metallic H with two parallel pieces of metal connected by a horizontal bar that she wrapped her hand around. There was one for each hand, they were light and felt like something she could get used to if she had to.

"Oh, those are Katars. I wouldn't suggest those though." He shook his head trying to take them from her.

But, Anberlyn refused to let go. She'd rather drive the blade into his pudgy body and watch him die. The world did not need men like him, or Doflamingo for that fact, in it. And so, she would be doing everyone a favor. "Why not? I like these."

"You haven't seen anything yet." He tried explaining watching as they lost their shape and turned into two miniature shields on each of her arms and then returned to their triangular shape.

"Yes, these are perfect. Take me back to Doflamingo." She honestly preferred Doflamingo to this guy.

"How about we look around just a bit more. You never know, you might-"

"Now." She growled shoving the tip of the blade against the hollow of his throat, the sensation of eyes upon her back making her aware of the fact that people were watching them, but Doflamingo had given her permission to 'do what she must' and at the moment, she was feeling as though she should at least hurt him.

Not twenty minutes after descending the stairs with Sparky, she ascended them, this time alone. "I hope you're happy Doflamingo, I've killed my first person and I very much enjoyed it." And with that, she opened the door and stepped out, both hands still wrapped around the weapons that the dead man had called Katars.

Chuckling, he followed her out, sparing a glance behind him before the door closed. And what he saw was Sparky laying on the ground, eyes wide and vacant, his crotch bleeding, his mouth agape with blood and a fleshy colored liquid spilling onto the floor. He didn't know what she had done, but he sure could guess.

"That was fast."

"Yes, well these things were just calling to me, begging for me to pick them up." She sarcastically snapped.

"I'll be holding onto those." Doflamingo 'offered', holding his large hand out expectantly. She relinquished her new weapons to the man with a sigh. She had honestly considered using them to take him out as they traveled; the only problem was that if she didn't land on an island, well then she would be going down with him. But there was no need for worry, not now that he was holding onto her weapons.

"Sweetheart, that just won't do." Her captain, rather captor, tsked with disappointment. The man was supposed to be taken out with one blow, and she was supposed to be as unphased as she had been when she killed Sparky. The man staggered, holding the side of his face. She was supposed to be killing these people, they were the reason they were on the island to begin with, that and she needed a lesson on heartlessness.

You see, he had armed Anberlyn, she had committed her first murder, with pleasure, and experience was slowly but surely training the girl. Yet, she was still having difficulty taking care of those who opposed her, those who aimed to take her life, and those who got in her way.

Her heart was still too soft and hardening it was still a work in progress. But, he had the perfect plan.

"What, are you displeased by the fact that I can handle people and win a battle without killing them?" Anberlyn snapped glaring up at him.

"There is a time for manipulation, torture and works of that sort, but right now, I want you to kill anyone who stands in your way."

Turning on the man and pulling her katars out of their sheaths, she readied herself for the loss of control over her own body. "Then it is you I should have my sights on."

At this, Doflamingo just laughed, his shoulders shaking violently. She looked so fierce, standing before him, ready for a battle she could never hope to win. "If it I who you wish to take down then you need to get stronger, you need to harden your heart so that you can plow through all of the people who wish to take my head so that they do not take it before you do. And trust me, there are a lot of people who would just love to see the end of my life."

This wasn't exactly what he had in mind, but plans didn't so much matter as long as the end result was the same.

"Oh, I'm sure there are." Anberlyn growled, suddenly realizing just how in over her head she was.

The entire world, the World Government and just about every other pirate crew wanted to see an end to Doflamingo, just like her. Anberlyn, in that moment, realized that her hatred of Doflamingo was nothing he hadn't felt before, in fact, he probably thought that it was amusing. This was a game to him, nothing more, and she was playing right into it.

But, what else could she do?

He was right. In order to get to him, she was going to have to rise above the level of her competitors.

"I accept your challenge Doflamingo. One day I will be all that remains of your enemies and on that day, your life will be mine."

Doflamingo smiled widely. Things were going along quite wonderfully. He hadn't expected for her to fall into his trap so easily. Regardless, he said, "You won't get very far if you remain as softhearted and as unskilled as you currently are. But, until that day arrives, you are mine all mine Sweetheart." He reached out and stroked her cheek, a gesture that was almost loving in nature.

Anberlyn took a deep breath, sheathed the weapons that Doflamingo was to thank for, and said, "Then change me."

As far as she could see, it was the only way to learn how to defeat him. Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer. The closer she was to him, the more she could observe and analyze him, to figure out a weakness.

Sure, she could always decide to not make a cloud and have him fall into the ocean, but then she'd drown as well, and what was the point of taking his life if he were to drag her down with him?

"That's what I like hearing Sweetheart. I love it when you're so agreeable."

With a deep frown, she slapped his hand away from her face. "Don't think this means I like you. And don't delude yourself into believing that I will one day change my mind, because I won't."

"You've got your work cut out for you." He smiled nodding to the crowd that had formed behind her while she was too busy talking to them. The only thing keeping them back was him, and she seemed to realize that.

"I have to kill them?"

He shrugged. "You don't have to Sweetheart, but, unless you want them getting back up then I would suggest it."

Sighing deeply, she readied her weapons once again.

Doflamingo stood, his hands folded behind his head, watching with a certain sense of joy as the blade of her weapon bit into the flesh of those who stood in his way. In a sense, Anberlyn was killing two birds with one stone for him. While she desensitized herself, she would be taking care of his enemies, giving him more power and influence. Things could not have turned out much better than they had.

It was quite appealing to watch as Anberlyn cut down his enemies. He didn't even have to lift a finger, just sit back and watch her slaughter the men. She may tell herself that she did not like killing, that she did not like seeing blood; she could convince herself of those things. But, he could not lie to her, he knew that deep down, she loved it. She was reveling in the feeling of power, of the feelings of control and bloodlust she kept bottled up and buried deep within her.

Anberlyn cut the men down with little thought, because if she were to spare them that much, she would be unable to continue on as she had been. Already, the blood of many soaked her clothes and covered her hands. She could not afford to stop, to pause, to look at the damage she had done.

Her blades cut like butter through their flesh, their blood spraying from their veins like spit from a camel's mouth. Her katars were not the only weapons that she used. No, she was a devil fruit user and she used that to her advantage, turning some of their hearts to solids that refused to pump oxygen to the rest of their bodies, turning their blood into needles that jutted out of their skin and then fell to the ground, as liquid once again. She even turned the dirt road into liquid then solidified it, promptly getting the men stuck in the ground. She turned one katar into a shield, bent their weapons out of shape and so, so much more. Between her devil fruit and her weapons, she was a force of nature. Despite that, however, they seemed to be never ending, like the ocean.

But, eventually, the men began thinning out, until finally the last man fell to her feet. Anberlyn closed her head and tilted her head back, breath tugging rapidly at her chest, unable to believe what she had just done.

Anberlyn turned around and faced him, a look of horror and relief coming across her face. Her eyes darted across the fallen fuckers, taking in what she had done, before she lifted her eyes and looked up at him. She looked so hot, standing at the other side of a massacre, blood and sweat drenching her clothes and hair, such a pathetic, vulnerable expression in her eyes.

Figuring that it was too late, she did not pray for redemption, but instead turned around and opened her eyes. Before her were the bodies of the fallen men, their blood covering the dirt street, their eyes wide open and glassy, their mouths hung agape, some filled with blood, others not. Their clothes were stained, their bodies still, their limbs severed.

Facing her, at the very end of the path, stood Doflamingo, smiling as he always was.

He took a step forwards and began talking through the gore without a care in the world. To her, he looked like an evil angel, here to drag her down to the pits of hell.

When he reached her, he reached out and grabbed her chin and as his thumb brushed across her lips broke the silence saying, "Beautiful."

It was unclear as to if he was referring to the bloodstained girl before him, or the massacre behind him.

But, it didn't much matter now did it?

Anberlyn could no longer lie to herself, there was a certain disturbing thrill that rose up inside of her chest each time she ended someone's life. She could no longer say that she didn't like it. The feeling was rather addicting in all actuality, filling her chest and giving her a high each time they fell to the ground.

She had not yet reached Doflamingo's level of cruelty; she had not yet started taking pleasure in seeing blood or pain, in watching her foe squirm beneath her blade, under her eye. But, she would, at some point of time reach that level. It would be such a slow progressing, that she would not notice it.

But, Doflamingo was keeping his promise, she had asked for him to change her and that's exactly what he was doing. Yes, it was a delight watching Anberlyn's slow transformation.

A/n: I don't know how you feel about the little future tense things at the beginning of the chapters, but I figured that if I started it like that, that I should continue that with all of the chapters. I know it breaks up the story and makes it kind of choppy, but I think that's ok. It's kind of like a chapter prologue…maybe?

Did I already mention the time line? I'm not sure how that's going to pan out yet because we don't really have a distinct one…so I'm sorry if that bothers some.

I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions and to be informed if I have gotten anyone OOC and so on. Thank you much for reading and I hope to see you next chapter.